What the "experts" say?

Fitness & nutrition are some of the most misunderstood topics.  I can be considered an expert at fitness and nutrition due to my experience and education, and in many ways I am.  In other ways, I would consider myself to be a novice.  This would definitely be based off of my experience in training. 

There are many who may be considered experts in fitness & nutrition, and like myself they are in many ways.  However you don't know what you don't know.  And there are many things that these experts get right, and many others that they don't.  One thing to consider is that each person is different, and in many ways we can focus on training and nutrition in the same way. 

Now, we have many people who enter the gym and do their own thing.  You have many who truly know what they're doing, and this is evident based upon the technique, exercise selection, and distribution of exercises, not to mention physique.  You have others who kind of know what they're doing, and fall into a lot of what I had said in the previous sentence, but their routine is identical day-to-day and week-to-week.  There's nothing exceptionally wrong with this approach, it's the comfort routine, but progress will stall after awhile. 

Finally, we have many who for whatever their own reasons choose to attempt to exercise and follow nutrition plans piece-mealed.  Now, some of these are sound, but unless you have a descent understanding of physiology and mechanics, it's not always the best approach.  Often, its wise to pursue some degree of expertise prior to beginning an exercise program and nutrition plan.  And to note, most physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician-assistants (all providers) are likely to have a limited understanding of nutrition and exercise....maybe an undergraduate course or two.  Some of them do, but you'll need to check their credentials and history. 

Overall, it's best that you consult an expert...especially in matters pertaining to fitness & nutrition.  For the overall "plan" you can easily look online (like me!) and get plans built custom for you to achieve your goals.  For the technical parts, it's more challenging.  If you do it remotely, you can always put your phone to good use and film yourself performing something or live-stream it.  Though with much of the technical (form) work, it's best to get private lessons, even if it's only a few.