Listen to Your Doctor: Is that Good Advice?

Should you listen to your doctor if they advise you not to exercise? Is your physician giving you good advice when they tell you to skip the strength training? I've been wanting to write this article for awhile, but it sounds so controversial for me to suggest that anyone should not listen to their doctor that I have hesitated. I'm afraid I could go off on some kind of Dennis Miller rant, for those of you who remember him from Saturday Night Live. At the very least, I want you to have the facts and decide for yourself.

On more than one occasion, I've heard someone say that their doctor has advised them against exercising, particularly strength training. My first reaction is to wonder if their doctor really said that. How could a doctor be so irresponsible as to actually tell a patient not to exercise. Surely the person had heard incorrectly or perhaps they heard what they wanted to hear. It doesn't take much of an excuse for most people to avoid exercise and if their doctor said anything that slightly resembled skipping exercise, many people would grab a hold of that and not let go. When quizzing them further, however, it has become clear to me that some doctors are, in fact, advising patients not to exercise, for one reason or another.

Many doctors know shockingly little about exercise, muscles and the benefits of strength training. With all due respect to the medical community, because exercise is out of their scope of practice, they tend to downplay its importance. Many times, rather than prescribing exercise, they suggest rest or at most, recommend walking. The body is designed to move, though, so rarely is inactivity the healthier choice and walking is not enough to maintain muscle and strength. Sedentary lifestyles are the cause of numerous health problems. Perhaps one part of your body may need to be rested or perhaps your exercise program needs to be modified to accommodate illness or disease. Unlike doctors, personal trainers are experts at exercise, muscles and strength training and can easily adapt your program to fit your body's needs and help you safely maintain muscle and strength.

Refraining completely from exercise will simply result in muscular atrophy and wasting that can start a vicious downward spiral that includes weakness, lack of energy and weight gain. But I'm just a personal trainer, what do I know?

Online Personal Training: The Future of Fitness, Part 2

Online personal training is becoming popular as a valid choice in our busy, financially-strapped, high-tech society. Taking the personal training relationship from "in-person" to "on-line" has some advantages and benefits. Is online personal training right for you? It may not be the answer in every case, but it is worth considering if you are interested in hiring a personal trainer. Online personal training is affordable, effective and convenient. It can be the answer for people who are desperate to lose weight and get in better shape.


Affordability is the number one advantage of online personal training versus traditional in-person training. The cost of hiring a trainer for in-person sessions can be a luxury that many people legitimately cannot afford. Minimally, one hour, twice a week, with a trainer who charges a $40 an hour, will cost you almost $350 a month, and many trainers and clubs charge much more than that. That is just not in the budget for many people these days. I get that. My online personal training programs average around $49.99 per month.



Online personal training can be just as effective, if not more effective, at helping you lose weight and get in shape. Traditional in-person training usually involves spending just two or three hours a week with a personal trainer. The problem is, there are another 154 hours, or 22/7, left in the week for you to undo all the benefits of the two hours spent with the trainer. With the power of the Internet and mobile technology, as your online personal trainer, I can be in touch with you every day. Communicating is so easy with this program that I can "be with you," so to speak, 24 hours a day.

You can obtain lasting results by using online personal training because it teaches you self-reliance. Sometimes in-person training relationships can result in a client becoming dependent on the trainer. Unless the trainer is physically present, telling the client exactly what to do, the client won't exercise. This can ultimately become counter-productive because in the long-term, you need to be able to rely on you, not your trainer, to make you exercise. My online personal training program taps into and cultivates your independent spirit and therefore promotes lasting results.

For more information, click on www.wellnessengine.com/beckymillerfitness

Online Personal Training: The Future of Fitness

The Internet has transformed our world in unimaginable ways. Anything and everything you want to know is available to you in the click of a mouse. What if health and fitness were also available to you in the click of a mouse? What if you could have virtual access to your personal trainer via texts and emails 24/7? If we put the power of the Internet and the other gadgets in our high-tech world to work for us in our quest for health and fitness, we would have some powerful weapons in our arsenal. That's what my online personal training program offers you.

For a low monthly fee, you will receive weekly workout programs that are custom designed just for you and your unique needs. These workout programs will be prepared by me, personally. Depending on the type of package you purchase, accountability and nutritional guidance are also available. Most people need the accountability feature. Let's face it! We're too easy on ourselves, so we need to be accountable to someone else in order to be successful. After you complete your workouts, you will report back to me, giving me feedback so I can adjust your workout program accordingly.

Workout programs include strength training, cardiovascular conditioning and stretching assignments and are based on the equipment you have available and the amount of time you can devote to the program. In addition to workouts and accountability, you also receive lots of motivation, encouragement, guidance, tips and nagging! I'll be in your ear, so to speak, every day, helping you make healthy decisions and ensuring you reach your fitness goals.

Online personal training is the future of fitness. Wouldn't it be helpful if you were dragging-ass and thinking about skipping your workout, to receive a text message from your trainer with just the right words to motivate you or guilt you into making it your best workout ever? Or if you're about to indulge in some unhealthy food choice and you instead you send me a quick SOS text or email. In the future, you'll also be receiving access to my videos and podcasts. I'm also hoping to start Skyping as well!

So, help me take fitness into the 21st century. Check out my online personal training website by clicking here!

Let me know if you have any questions!

Death is Just an Excuse for Gaining Weight

I watch a lot of "reality" shows about weight loss, including "The Biggest Loser", "Heavy" and "I Used To Be Fat." Many times, the people trying to lose weight have some kind of breakdown which involves crying, yelling, revelations about past trauma and supposedly getting to the bottom of the reasons why that person got fat. Many times, the fat person has had a loved one die, which they claim led them to turn to food for comfort. I'm not sure I can buy that as an excuse for gaining weight. People have been dying since the beginning of man. Only in recent history has death become an excuse for weight gain.

The generation prior to The Baby Boomers, those born from approximately 1925 to 1946, were known as either The Lucky Few or The Silent Generation. Prior to that, the generation with birth dates from approximately 1900 to 1924, were known as either The Good Warriors or The G.I. Generation. Folks from these generations experienced just as much death as The Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y, but obesity was not a consequence or an excuse.

When I think back on my childhood in the sixties, very, VERY few people were fat. So what's up? Why are people getting fat now because of death when death has been around forever? To me, blaming the death of a loved one for becoming obese is just another example of being a victim. Oh, poor me! My mom died. Or my dad died. Or my child died. Yes, it is sad. Of course the feelings of grief can be enormous and overwhelming, but it does not in any way justify eating mass quantities of food and gaining excessive amounts of fat. I've heard people say that food is their only friend. That's crazy-talk! Food is not a friend. It is simply fuel for the body. If food is their friend, why wasn't broccoli their best friend instead of pizza? Your dog or cat can be a friend, but you wouldn't eat them.

I know first hand the immensity of grief that comes with a loved one dying. My dad died in the hospital after undergoing open heart surgery many years ago and my oldest brother died suddenly, in his sleep, from a massive heart attack several years later. Neither was overweight, but both had heart disease. I felt totally lost after they died. For at least a year after their deaths, I could cry at the drop of a hat, so to speak. I'm sure during this time that I enjoyed eating chocolate. I love chocolate. When I am sad, chocolate tastes extra good and there may have been a few times when I would over-indulge. But.... That doesn't mean that I gorged myself on it or anything else. Nothing ever tastes as good as that first bite. It's all downhill after the first bite, but some people keep eating regardless. Besides, after having too much chocolate, I can definitely count on getting a headache and having my moods spiral out of control, so it didn't take many instances for me to realize it just wasn't worth it.

The bottom line is: I get what it means to want to take the sting out of grief. But turning to food will just keep you wallowing in that grief longer and years later, you will still be feeling the sting because of the weight you have gained. It leads to a downward spiral of turning to food, overeating, gaining weight, feeling bad, turning to food, overeating, gaining more weight, feeling worse, turning to food, gorging, becoming morbidly obese and diabetic, losing all self-esteem. All because you were trying to avoid feeling the pain of your loss.

Instead: Feel the grief. Don't try to avoid the feeling any longer. Feel it, sit with it awhile, cry, experience all of it. Only then will it eventually begin to subside When it does subside, you won't need to turn to food for comfort. You will have found true comfort. If you avoid feeling your grief, and stuff it away, your body will hold onto those feelings and crave some relief from it, causing you to make unhealthy choices.

Let me know what you think! I love hearing from you!

Online Personal Training: The Future of Fitness

Do you want to hire a personal trainer, but can't find the right one?

Or can't afford one?

Do you need a fully customized workout program?

And some extra motivation and attention?

Do you want to use technology to get you in shape?

Would you like electronic access to your personal trainer and workout plans 24/7?

And mobile access? 

 Then you've come to the right place. As my client you'll have access to the workouts I design for you in a printed version that you can view from anywhere at anytime. You'll also be able to check your form through the exercise demos and track your weekly exercise routines. Just click a button and the tracking log will be sent directly to me. This is all possible through online training.

There are many benefits to training with me online. For those of you who currently train with me in-person, having access to my website will provide another great way to ensure your success. You'll have access to a huge exercise library so that if you every have any questions about how to do a move, you can just quickly look it up. You'll also be able to read valuable fitness articles and tips. Plus, you can send feedback about all of your workouts with one easy step and stay in daily contact with me, your trainer.

Training with me exclusively online also provides many, many benefits. I'll give you custom workout plans to follow that will show you exactly what you should be doing every week to ensure you are meeting your fitness goals. After your workout, simply complete the detailed workout log and I'll know exactly what you did, how it went and and questions you have. In addition, you can contact me anytime for questions and support. I'll be there for you to ensure your motivation.

Check out my website for pricing and more information!  http://wellnessengine.com/beckymillerfitness