We here at Rhino Fitness are experts in fitness, We each have certifications and lots of education and experience to back them up. We spend a lot of our free time researching new techniques, new methods and staying on top of the latest trends in health and fitness. It's our lives. Sum it up: we know what we are doing. When a prospective client comes in and tells us that they have this or that particular reason for not exercising, we know exactly what to tell them. We know all of the ways to get them through any issue with exercise. There is, after all, no excuse for not exercising.

I say all of this, not to toot our own horns, but to let you know something. All of a sudden, the Nike is on the other foot. Since committing myself to compete next year, I find that I am sitting on the other side of the table and I am experiencing all of the things that our clients and prospective clients go through on a daily basis.

I'm talking about everything from nutritional woes to lack of motivation. I now understand what our clients are feeling when we tell them we need a "before" picture of them. I now feel the pain they feel when I ask them to step on the scale or wrap their fingers around the body composition machine. There's some kind of cold reality that hits you when you see those numbers. No matter how low they may be, they never seem to be good enough. And it's painful. I know.

Taking my shirt off and having a picture taken is akin to getting slapped in the face. I don't even want to look at the picture. Just take it and hide it away somewhere. I'll look at it later, when I am in better shape. It really hurts.

I know what it feels like when I know that I need a particular supplement or gadget, or new exercise accessory but the price tag is staring me in the face as if to say, "You can't afford to get into shape!" There seems to always be a reason why I shouldn't spend the money right now.

And then there's the motivation. I know it's only my second week, but it seems like things just are not happening quickly enough. I look in the mirror and say to myself, "I don't look a whole lot different than when I started. Why is the fat not just melting off?" I want to do more to make it happen more quickly, but at the same time, I feel like I have to drag myself to the treadmill each time to get in the necessary cardio workout.

But it finally hit me. I am a client. For the first time in more years than I care to remember, I am being trained. I am no longer exercising or working out, I am training. I have a particular goal and end result in mind, and I am seriously working toward that. And, along the way, I am coming face-to-face with all of the obstacles that I hear my clients talk about. There they are, those larger-than-life hurdles, mocking me. Telling me I'm too old. I lack the willpower. It's too expensive. I'm way too out of shape to ever expect to get there.

But you know what? For the first time, I hear myself and the rest of the staff speaking in my ear and quietly reassuring me that this CAN be done. I hear things like, "Keep your focus on the goal. Don't let little things or (big things) discourage you. You CAN do this!" "Be patient and keep working hard. It'll happen. How bad do you want it?"

So, I guess I may be apologizing if I have ever given anyone the impression that I think weight loss and fitness is easy. It really isn't. I want to tell you that I feel your pain, your frustration and your discouragement. And I want to tell you that I am right there with you, literally every step of the way.

And, I want to tell you that I need your encouragement, motivation and support as well. This is not easy for either of us, but we can get through it if we are there for each other.

Deal?

I never had trouble building muscle. It was always easy for me to pack on the lean pounds whenever I decided I needed to. It’s not that I’m bragging, it’s just a fact. I’m one of the lucky few who can gain muscular weight pretty easily.  When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I could gain an inch on my biceps by just growling at the barbell. Seriously. For a young , aspiring bodybuilder, it was very motivating.

Others are not so fortunate. I have a friend who was a competitive bodybuilder also and his chief complaint was that he couldn’t gain a lot of muscular bodyweight. However, he had really low body fat. Naturally. He never had to work too hard to keep his body fat low. As a result, he looked awesome when he competed. I know plenty of people who wish they had this problem. Including myself. You see, though I could build muscle by thinking about it, I had to work really, REALLY hard to keep the fat off.

My point to all of this is that each of us is our own person. We each possess different attributes. Some of us gain weight easily, some of us can’t gain it fast enough. Some of us have no trouble sticking to a healthy nutritious food plan, some of us can’t pass a junk food place without stopping in. There are the beautiful bodies you see on television, and then there’s reality.

Where do you fit in? I’m asking this question, not to antagonize you about your physical condition, but to help you appreciate who you are. You see, not everyone was meant to look like a celebrity, with a perfect body and flawless skin. The great majority of us live every day looking at our flaws in the mirror. And I am here to tell you that it is just fine. That’s right. It’s ok to be who you are. I’m not saying you shouldn’t try to improve your body and your health, I’m just saying you need to be realistic about what you are trying to achieve. If you are happy and feel fine once you reach a size 8 dress, then what’s wrong with that? If you are comfortable at a size 2, then that’s fine for you. Do you see what I am trying to say? I want you to be in the best health possible, but I don’t want you to try to reach for some goal that is unrealistic and unhealthy. As my wife and I say a lot, we were not all meant to be Barbie Dolls. Who would want to anyway? (Must be hard for her to walk with those tiny feet and those huge…umm…eyes.)

I believe we need to strive to strike that balance in our lives and ourselves where we can realistically live.

Stand up and look in the mirror. Think back to when you felt the healthiest. If that was too long ago, then decide for yourself where you would be happy. If you really want to go for the figure competitor body and truly believe that you can, then by all means, go for it. But if you would truly be happy and feel comfortable and healthy at 20% body fat, then that is what you should shoot for. If you need some help deciding what is healthy and realistic for you, give me a call and let’s see if we can figure it out.

I heard Popeye say it more than once, "I yam what I yam." Good enough for me.

Diabetes Mellitus is a condition where a person has too much glucose in their blood. As you may or may not know, glucose is the primary fuel for our bodies, and the process in which glucose is converted into energy occurs at a cellular level. This process is regulated by insulin, a hormone which is secreted by the pancreas. There are two types of Diabetes Mellitus – Type I and Type II. The difference between the two is seen at the molecular level.

In Type I diabetes mellitus, a person’s pancreas is not functioning properly and starts to lose its ability to secrete insulin. Normally, when a person eats, the pancreas secretes insulin to allow the glucose to begin to convert to energy. When a Type I person eats a meal, the pancreas does not secrete enough insulin (or any insulin), and the glucose cannot gain entry into the cells and just piles up in the blood. The results can be devastating and sometimes life-threatening. A Type I person can inject insulin into their bloodstream which can help replace that which is lacking, and they can lead a fairly normal life.

Type II people have a different condition. These people typically have normal insulin levels, but for a reason that medicine has yet to fully understand, their cells begin to stop responding to the insulin. Essentially, the glucose gets blocked from entering the cells and their blood glucose levels go up.

Research has indicated that chronic overeating, combined with a sedentary lifestyle can increase the risk of a person developing Type II diabetes mellitus. On the other hand, studies have shown that as little as a 5% reduction in weight is enough to prevent Type II diabetes mellitus.  Along with keeping diabetes at bay, or reducing the risk of contracting it, exercise also helps the person avoid other chronic diseases such as high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease.

Some benefits associated with exercise for the person with either Type I or Type II diabetes mellitus are: Increased exercise tolerance, increased glucose tolerance, increased maximal O2 consumption, increased muscle strength and mass / decreased body fat resulting in a raised metabolism, increased lipid profile, decreased blood pressure as well as an improved overall sense of well-being.

Exercise can help to control diabetes mellitus by burning more calories, which utilizes more glucose than if a person were sedentary. Exercise has been shown to increase the cell’s ability to utilize glucose, as well as increase the functionality of insulin. Increasing cardiovascular output also reduces blood pressure as stated above, which can help to alleviate the constriction of blood vessels, especially in the eye, brought on by diabetes mellitus. Exercise can also reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol and raise HDL (good) cholesterol. This has been shown to help control diabetes mellitus. Also, lowering the triglycerides is important in maintaining a healthy weight, since excess glucose is stored in the body’s fat tissue as triglycerides.

So, now you know that if you have diabetes mellitus, you need to exercise. So, what kind of exercising should you do? The only type of exercise that is not safe for a diabetic to perform is heavy lifting or any other type of exercise that would cause a lot of straining. Walking and light jogging are great exercises for those with diabetes mellitus, as long as the person's feet are healthy. Swimming may be a decent alternative. As always, stretching is recommended and the person may also engage in light weight lifting or yoga.

Basically, get moving! A still, sedentary lifestyle is a death sentence for a diabetic. To recap, as little as a 5-10% reduction in weight is enough to eliminate Type II diabetes mellitus in some people. Now, unfortunately, those with Type I will always be insulin dependant, but a good exercise program can promote longevity and a good quality of life.

Well it’s happened once again. We’ve gotten the wool pulled over our eyes one more time. It seems that those helpful little nutrition guides that a lot of restaurants and fast food places are providing us to make us feel better about our food choices, are loaded with a lot more than chicken nuggets. One could say they’re full of baloney.

A new study by the American Dietetic Association revealed that the “low-calorie” foods that you buy in restaurants and frozen meals from grocery stores may not be as low in calories as you think. What, you say? They’ve been lying to us? Yup, once again.

According to the study, researchers selected meals from fast food and other restaurants and frozen meals from grocery stores. All of these foods were listed as having less than 500 calories, or were among the lowest calorie items on the restaurant menu. On average, the restaurant items contained 18% more calories than expected, and the frozen grocery store meals contained, on average, 8% more calories than listed. These increases are not considered statistically significant, and for the frozen grocery store meals, are considered well within government guidelines for accuracy. However, these guidelines do not apply to restaurants, and some of the restaurant items actually contained TWICE as many calories as expected.

Think about that for a second. You walk into a restaurant for an after-meeting meal with your co-workers. You think, “I’ve got a handle on this. I’m going to have the low-calorie meal and stay on my plan.” And then, BAM! You get slammed with twice as many calories as you thought you were getting. Not to mention the little extra amount of fat and carbs that no one is talking about. And you didn’t even know it. Those sneaky little guys. And you wonder why you can’t drop the pounds.

Now, consider this: If you take in just 5% more calories than you burn off, you can gain 10 lbs over a year. Tell me, how good was that restaurant meal? Was it worth it?

So, what do we do? Well, you have to make your own healthy meals, and avoid pre-prepared meals from restaurants and markets whenever possible. And if you do have to eat out, be aware that that “low-calorie” meal being hawked on the menu may be just another load of junk food cleverly disguised as healthy.

Losing weight is never easy, and the only safe way to do so is through proper nutrition and exercise. However, you can increase the amount of weight you lose through what you eat. Instead of dieting to cut calories, stick with these metabolism-boosting foods.

Boosting Your Metabolism

Your metabolism is how you burn calories. When you're not exercising regularly, your metabolic rate slows down considerably. Increasing your metabolism helps you burn calories faster, thus producing quicker weight loss results. By eating well-balanced, portion controlled meals with foods that boost your metabolism, you not only feel better eating healthy, but also make your body work harder to get rid of calories.

Beverages That Boost Metabolism

Water is the best thing you can give your body and the easiest way to transition into eating healthier. As a natural appetite suppressant, water keeps you feeling full so you don't eat more than you should. It also flushes out sodium and toxins from your system. You need at least 64 ounces of water a day to keep your body healthy.

Green tea is another drink that helps boost metabolism. This tea also has properties that could help reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. Best of all, green tea has a great taste and makes an excellent substitute for sugary sodas.

Foods That Boost Metabolism

Fruit in general is going to increase your metabolism, since its natural sugar satisfies your sweet tooth while the vitamins help your body. Grapefruit is especially beneficial and packed with vitamin C, which cuts down on insulin levels and promotes weight loss.

Vegetables, of course, are necessary and help you lose weight as well. Broccoli in particular is full of vitamin A, folate and fiber, with powerful phytochemicals that boost your immune system.

Hot peppers may seem like a strange thing to eat, but capsaicin, which is found in cayenne peppers, stimulates your body and releases stress hormones that speed up your metabolism.

When it comes to protein, lean turkey is the best metabolic boosting food, with a lower number of calories compared to beef.

Oatmeal is a great breakfast option, since it's high in fiber and keeps you full until lunch. Mix it up with low-fat yogurt, which provides calcium for your bones.

Notice the difference in your body right away when you replace your old diet with metabolism boosting foods.