Beyond Six-Packs: Esther Taub on Body & Burnout

In this raw, real, and ridiculously relatable conversation, Dr. Millie Schweky is joined by personal trainer and fitness educator Esther Taub to talk about the messy middle, where hustle meets burnout, and self-worth gets tangled up in six-packs and scale numbers.

This isn’t your typical before-and-after story. It’s the truth behind what it really looks like to build a fitness empire, deconstruct toxic body narratives, and choose kindness over control.

In this episode, we dive into:

– How Esther accidentally became a personal trainer (you’ll laugh out loud, promise)
 – The toxic trap of tying worth to how your body looks
 – What pregnancy taught her about slowing down, eating enough, and shifting priorities
 – How gratitude shifted the way she saw her body, stretch marks and all
 – Why self-love without honesty just doesn’t stick
 – The grey space between body positivity and “bounce back” pressure
 – How to start moving your body from a place of care, not punishment

This one’s for every woman who’s ever overtrained, under-ate, or felt like she had to earn her right to take up space. The moms. The strivers. The ones trying to get it right while staying soft with themselves.

✨ This is your permission slip to be kind, honest, and human.

Links:
Connect with Esther: @esthertaubfitness; www.esthertaubfitness.com
Follow Millie: @milliedpt
Join the Core to Floor community: https://millie-schweky.mykajabi.com/intimacy

Rate + review if this episode gave you a breath of fresh air and forward it to your girls who need to hear they’re already enough. 💛

Transcript

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

Hey Sis, and welcome back to What They Didn't Tell You From Core to Floor.

I'm your girl, Dr. Millie Schweky, your favourite pelvic floor physical therapist. And today, we're here in the studio with Esther Taub.

Esther is a personal trainer with over 12 years of experience in her field. She runs the largest English-speaking online fitness program in Israel called Lifestyle, in which she trains about 400 women daily. Her goal is to spread fitness, health, and empowerment to women all over the world.

She focuses on the physical and mental side of fitness by making her workouts as relatable as possible and always trying to bring laughter into the mix. She's a believer in body positivity or neutrality and in putting her clients' health goals above physical goals.

She's traveled the world as a guest speaker and has even been featured on billboards all over Israel. She's helped thousands of women worldwide change their mindset—from working out and eating healthy in order to punish the body, to instead working out in order to celebrate the body.

So, without further ado, here we go. Here's the episode with Esther Taub.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

 Hello, Esther. I'm so excited to have you in the studio so much.

[Esther Taub]

Hi, thank you so much. I'm sorry to be here.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

And, Esther and I go way back, not way back, but back before I moved here. We met.

[Esther Taub]

That's true. That's true. It's actually crazy looking back at it. It's I, it's just so cool. It's so long ago when we met and it's like you come friends with people, like you don't even realize, I didn't even know you're gonna like for sure. Move to Israel when we met.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

Oh, I know, I was on my pilot trip.

[Esther Taub]

Yeah. But I'm very happy I got to hang out today and where the world has brought us.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

It's nice that we travel in the same circles around here. It's nice.

Welcome to the show.

[Esther Taub]

Thank you.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

We're very excited to have you. Before we dive in, you tell us about yourself.

[Esther Taub]

Okay. So my name is Esther. I'm a personal trainer. I run the largest English speaking online workout program in Israel called Lifestyle. from morning till night. I help people reach their best selves, when it comes to fitness, self-love, health, and any way that feels right for them. I used to train people in person. It was like a pretty crazy life. I would train 11 clients a day, like from morning till night. And that's like I slowly transitioned into a fully online life. over here in the sense that I just now help hundreds of women online through my program. It's really awesome.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

What inspired you to pursue this fitness career?

[Esther Taub]

I think the fitness career in general. I actually, I'm being completely honest here, like it definitely was from an unhealthy place. I wanted the chiseled body that a personal trainer is supposed to have. Before I just thought having a perfect body. and so it really, I think I was. Probably 18 or 19 when I first got into this. it definitely was not from a healthy place. I could tell you a pretty funny story of how it all started.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

Let's hear.

[Esther Taub]

So I literally, you're gonna laugh. I was about 18, 19, doing my national service and I wanted to do a workout class. I signed up for what I thought was a workout class, twice a week. Great. Awesome. Okay, sign up to this class. I'm really excited to work out, I get there and it's a classroom of these, like massive, by the way, it was a weird, it was like only men. I don't know why. I was like, okay, these, like these massive dudes sitting behind tiny desks. I sit down and I'm like, why is everyone sitting at a desk. Why is this our workout? What's happening? We're all just sitting down and there's a teacher like that comes in, he starts teaching everyone you know about, like he's just teaching us nutrition and anatomy and this and that, and I'm like sitting there and I'm like. I am so confused. This is the workout class ever. Like I don't know what, like this is so bizarre and no joke. Two full hours went by. I was like, okay, so I'm sitting there. And it was like this recess and embarrassed to speak up and be like, does anyone know? Like when we're starting the workout, we go into a different room, and there's a new teacher comes in to talk about how to have confidence when giving a workout class, things like that. And I'm literally just like. Oh my God. I didn't like it, it hit me at that moment. I didn't sign up for a workout class. I literally signed up for a course to become a personal trainer. I was like, oh my God. Like I, I literally was like. Oh, that makes sense. Why do they want us to pay this much money up front for six months? Okay. Because that does add up a little more.

Anyways, basically I just had this like real like moment. I think I'll remember this really, forever. I was sitting down there and instead of walking out, I looked in the mirror and I just look at myself and I'm like. Yeah, I'd be good at this. So I literally just sat okay, let's do this. I'm my personal trainer. Cool. That is how my career started. No joke. It was a mistake. 

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

That just like a picture, like a little Esther, okay, this is my lunch breaK.

[Esther Taub]

I'm gonna do a workout class. I literally just, I, just was like, why doesn't anyone else here seem confused? Like, why is it just, did you all sign up for this too? This is the worst workout ever.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

So how did that turn into what it is now? What did that journey look like?

[Esther Taub]

Yes. So it definitely has been quite a journey. We're talking like 13 years ago. After that, I slowly, gradually got into it. I would do workout classes in my apartment. Three people came, two of them were my roommates. But then slowly, gradually, more people started coming. We couldn't do it in my apartment anymore, so we started doing it in a different location.

Before I knew it, there were 28 people in this class. And I think I started building confidence. I really did not believe I could give classes, but I don't know. It's such a responsibility. It's so much like one-on-one with people, and their health is in my hands and this, that, whatever. I don’t know it was just all these thoughts of anxiety trickling in. I'm not as talented as them. I can't do what they do. Like, it’s just the things that stop you from following your dream.

And so I definitely had those thoughts. Through that class, someone tagged me in a Facebook post when someone was like, “Hey, I’m looking for a personal trainer.” I ignored the post. I was too scared. Like, I didn’t even respond.

And so this woman even reached out to me. She’s like, “Hey, I saw you were tagged in my post. Will you train me?” I didn’t answer for two days I was still too scared.

What really happened here, and I think people just say, “Oh, I’m not really someone,” including me I wasn’t really someone but she reached out to me. I finally got back to her. I remember being like shaking literally, my hands were shaking. And I’m sending her a message: “Yeah, I’d be happy to train you. This is how much I charge. Can we talk?”

And she responded with the scariest message ever: “Hey, I’d love to have you for a trial session. I’m having two other personal trainers come this week too, and I’m going to test out all three of you, and then choose who I want to keep.”

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

Oh my gosh.

[Esther Taub]

Right?! I was like, “Who does that?” She just and by the way, I’m still friends with her to this day.

I remember thinking, “This does not help my anxiety.” No pressure at all! Anyway, I show up. Bottom line is: I came to the class. I also remember again, I think we’ll delve more into this later about my body image and things like that I just remember being so nervous about what I was going to wear. I wore a ton of makeup to a workout class. I just remember that a ton of makeup. I was, again, 19 at the time. I was so nervous.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

Did you win? Did you get the spot?

[Esther Taub]

She literally not only did I get the spot, but she told me she wasn’t even going to meet the other trainers. That gave me such a huge boost. A huge part of my brand is believing in yourself… and in others. This friend of mine she’s still my client years later I tell her this all the time. I needed her to believe in me before I believed in myself. I don’t say that lightly.

[Esther Taub]

Anyway, after that, word of mouth just took over. I started getting more and more clients. Eventually, I had literally 11 clients a day. It was wild.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

And you were working out with them, right?

[Esther Taub]

Working out with them. It was really a lot. But I wanted to start a family, I wanted to have kids and everything, and I realized I couldn’t keep up with this lifestyle forever. So I thought, I guess I’ll start an online program. And now we have almost 400 women in the program.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

That’s incredible.

[Esther Taub]

It’s a good ending, but yes, that’s where I am today.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

You’re so popular and people love you. People really relate to your outlook on fitness. If you had to let us know how you want women to see fitness, how would you put that?

[Esther Taub]

Okay. So first of all, thank you so much. You're so cute. But yeah, I definitely feel like fitness, and this, I feel like I have such a right to talk about this because I lived it. Like, fitness has… sometimes we have this mindset around fitness where you have to fit into some… I don't know. You have to look a certain way, you have to be a certain level of health, you have to be a certain level of strength, whatever it is, in order to work out. And it's not true. Anyone and everyone can work out. Anyone can be in the health world. That is definitely like the first thing I'll start with.

In addition to that though, I think that we used to be preached that mindset when it comes to, “Oh, fitness, okay, not only do you look good, but I'm doing X, Y, and Z.” Like, why was it…? It all needs to start from a place of kindness. It has to start from a place of, “I'm doing this because I love my body, because I love who I am,” not because I hate my body.

If you're coming into fitness from a place of hatred, a long-term health journey… it’s not going to come from a place of finding self-love with yourself and understanding that you're not working out because you have to change who you are and so much about yourself. Rather, you're working out to help benefit your body, your health, to help understand that you are already incredible. Whether you work out, whether you don't, whether your health levels are where you want them or not, you're incredible for literally so many reasons.

Your worth is so much more than just the way you look. And yeah, fitness… your body is the least interesting thing about you. That’s really the bottom line.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

So how did you get to this place of acceptance and positivity?

[Esther Taub]

So it definitely was a journey, that is for sure. I talked about this a little bit in the beginning of the podcast, but we're gonna just delve a little more into my journey.

I felt like I had to look a certain way in order for people to hire me or trust me. Like, it was all about my looks, things like that. It was such an unhealthy place, not just mindset-wise, also physically. I’m talking about training 11 clients a day. It was always between 8 and 11 clients. I kid you not, I literally would work out with each one of them.

I didn’t have a car yet, so I would not just walk to each one of my clients, I would run. Because in my head, it would burn more calories. “Oh, this made sense.” So you'd see me running through the city with my kettlebell and mats and weights, just like running from one client to the next.

And then at the end of the day, I would still go back, go to the gym in the evening. I just… I look back at it and I feel so bad for my past self. Obviously, it’s what got me to today, and you can look back at these things and be like, “Oh my God, what mistakes, I was crazy, this, that,” whatever. But at the end of the day, it was my life. That definitely is, I am who I am because I went through that journey.

But yeah, when it was time, it was basically, it was pretty much that big transition really happened when I got pregnant with my first. And I just remember this thought, it was in my first trimester, and I was like, okay. For the first time ever, I am aware and I have to accept, I am only going to be getting bigger in these next nine months.

My body is only going to be getting bigger, no matter what I do, no matter how little I eat, no matter how many times a day I work out. Literally these are the things I would be telling myself.

And I literally, I was like, okay, so I know I'm gonna be getting bigger. Okay. I still want to… I just remember I had in my mind, I was like, even if I am getting bigger, I still want to make sure that I am eating healthy and working out in a healthy way during my pregnancy.

I remember this so clearly. It was around the time of the birth, and I was like, “This is so wild to me. How was I so okay throughout this pregnancy, completely prioritizing the health of the baby and my health… Why was I okay with separating that mindset? Why wasn’t I okay with having that mindset for just myself? Why am I not okay with having that same mindset for myself, if I had that mindset for my baby?”

And so that’s where it started. And then as time went by, I started understanding this is actually healthy for me. This, not working out this much, is actually healthy. Me at this size is not actually healthy for me. Me not eating enough is an actual problem.

And so yeah, it just got to this place where as time went by, I really started understanding and internalizing that.

And yeah. Now I really understand it.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

So pregnancy, totally. Changed your approach to fitness? Yeah. Yeah, it really was. What about postpartum? Because you got to give yourself gace there.

[Esther Taub]

Yeah, a hundred percent. I definitely think that for my first, I definitely had the mindset where I was like, okay, I, oh, I have to quote unquote bounce back and I have to have the body that I had before and this, whatever. But I don't know, I really, it. It did that what I was doing was not healthy. so I don't know. I just, I. I feel like throughout my pregnancy I started to really get that.  And even with postpartum, I did have the mindset of putting health at the forefront was already real.

Like it was nine months of pregnancy and it really, I really did get it by then. So it was a mixture of both. Like I think I'm now at a place where I'm like. I don't wanna say a hundred percent. I always have work to do, of self-love and body acceptance and understanding what truly is healthy and what's not. So I definitely think that postpartum was hard, but it wasn't. I don't know. I also got to a level of like gratitude. I just, I couldn't believe what my body just did and like to be at a place with, of war with it. had been so used to being in up until that point. Like it was just like that gratitude fact.

okay, you talk about, oh, I'm so grateful. It's my body for being able to walk in the gratitude I felt after giving birth that took over. It was much more powerful than that voice in my body that doesn't look like these Victoria's Secret models or whatever. it just, it was so much bigger, that gratitude factor. And like I said, it had that whole, abundance of, a new understanding in my head. Throughout my pregnancy. . 

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

So pregnancy totally changed your approach to fitness?

[Esther Taub]

Yeah, it really did.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

What about postpartum? You’ve got to give yourself grace there.

[Esther Taub]

Yes, one hundred percent. With my first, I still had some of that bounce-back mindset I thought I had to return to my pre-baby body. But even then, I had already spent nine months focusing on health. So the mindset shift had already started.

By the time postpartum came, I had already reached a new level of gratitude. I couldn’t believe what my body had just done. Being at war with it like I had been used to just didn’t make sense anymore. Gratitude was stronger than the voice saying, “Your body doesn’t look like a Victoria’s Secret model.”

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

So what advice would you have for moms struggling to prioritize themselves, during pregnancy and early postpartum?

[Esther Taub]

I would say, I talked a little bit about, I know this is a little bit repeating, but it really is like I've worked now with hundreds, if not thousands of women over the years, and I've seen it over and over. A lot of women do start the health journey, the fitness journey, from a place of "I just need to change my body." That's all that matters to me.

And then they eventually do gradually get to a healthier mindset. But the most important thing is: you are not going to succeed if you're not working out from a place of kindness. And I don’t mean the fluffy kind of kindness, we have to be honest about what kindness actually means. Be honest about what self-love means to you.

And health. What does body positivity mean? In my eyes obviously, I know everyone has different opinions but body positivity means being positive about your body. That doesn't mean treating your body terribly in either direction.

Like, I definitely am a big believer in that. You have to really be honest with yourself. If you're like, “Oh okay, this is self-love, to never work out,” just never? That's not it. Of course, everyone has their own definition, but if you're never going to work out, or you're only going to eat... Like again, I eat ice cream plenty. But if you're only going to eat ice cream or chocolate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

That's not being positive toward your body. It's just not. We have to understand: our body is amazing. Our body is there for us. It’s our friend. It wants to be your friend. It wants to help you.

And again, in either direction whether you're being too extreme like I was, eating not enough calories, or being too extreme the other way, never working out and only eating chocolate for every meal you're not treating your body like the incredible gift that it is.

Your body is your home. You literally live in it for the rest of your life. You have the choice to be kind to it in whatever way that means for you. But also understand what it actually means to be kind to your body and be honest with yourself.

It’s not punishing it, it’s not saying, “You have to do this workout because you suck.” But it’s also not, “I love my rolls!” if you don’t. Like, I don't think you have to love your rolls or love your stretch marks. I get it. You're not lying to yourself if you say, “I don't love this,” and still love your body.

You don’t need to fake it. To me, when health is at the forefront of your life no matter what that actually means for you it’s going to look different for each person. We don’t all have the same 24 hours. We all have different lifestyles.

But understand that your body isn't a trend. It's not fair to say, “Oh, if you have rolls, you’re lying to yourself if you think you're beautiful.” That’s not true.

It takes a lot of deep work to get there. It’s not something that’s going to come easy. I think it’s totally normal and natural to not like your rolls or stretch marks. That’s part of life.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

But you're not body positive if you don’t love that right? Right. You can still think your body’s amazing and be like, “And I have some rolls that I don’t like,” or, “I have some red lines on my belly.” That is the least interesting part about me. I do think it’s important that we try there’s more nuance.

[Esther Taub]

Exactly. It’s a very gray area. And I think where it becomes unhealthy is when we start saying, “Everyone has to believe the exact same thing.”

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

Oh yeah.

[Esther Taub]

If you don’t, then you’re out. That’s not okay. It’s a gray area. I totally understand. But what I think we can all agree on is this: no matter what—whether you say, “I love this about my body,” or, “I don’t love that,” it’s okay.

As long as it comes from a place of self-love. As long as it comes from kindness. That’s it. That is literally the most important piece.

Give yourself some grace. Understand, you grew up in a world that told you you’re not supposed to look this way. But okay. That’s the world. Be kind to yourself.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

So how do you stay consistent in your own life now with three kids and a business and a hundred other things on your plate?

[Esther Taub]

Honestly, I just understand that life has seasons. That’s something I always say. There are going to be times when I work out five times a week, and then there are times where I work out once or twice. And that’s okay.

Right now I do my workouts at home. I do them in front of my baby. Sometimes he’s crying, sometimes he’s laughing, sometimes he’s crawling all over me. I just do my best. That’s it.

This is a lifestyle. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about doing the best you can with the season you’re in.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

And what would you say to the woman who is constantly restarting her health journey? Who feels like she’s always on and off?

[Esther Taub]

I would say stop doing the same thing and expecting different results. If you’ve done extreme dieting or extreme working out and it hasn’t worked, it’s time to try something new.

Start small. Go for a five-minute walk. Don’t commit to seven days a week. Ask yourself, “Can I do this for a year?” If the answer is no, then that’s not your starting point. You want to do something sustainable.

Make your goal to show up consistently in a way that works with your life. If that’s once a week, amazing. Do that and build from there.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

How do you manage such a large community of nearly 400 women and still make it feel personal?

[Esther Taub]

I personally answer all their messages. Every DM, email, WhatsApp I answer them myself. It takes me two to three hours a day, but I do it.

Because these women are trusting me with their health. And I don’t take that lightly. I want to be there for them.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

And what can people expect from the Lifestyle program if they join?

[Esther Taub]

We have regular and beginner-friendly workouts, recipe libraries, pregnancy and postpartum series, a PCOS series, and new content coming all the time. There’s even a surprise new series on the way.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

Esther, what’s the one message you want listeners to walk away with today?

[Esther Taub]

It’s cheesy, but I always say it: you are amazing. Not “I’ll be amazing when...” Not “I used to be amazing.” You are amazing right now.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

Yes! Esther, thank you so much for being here.

[Esther Taub]

Thank you. This was so much fun.

[Dr. Millie Schweky]

Tell people where they can find you.

[Esther Taub]

Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, just search Lifestyle Workout Program. I’m there and I would love to cheer you on!