RHWellsFitness

Diabetes Awareness As Christmas has just passed and we are all preparing to celebrate the New Year next week, I figured this was a good topic to discus as we begin looking at New Years Resolutions and most of us have been affected by diabetes at some point. Both of my maternal grand parents had it. I also have some friends that have it. This is my effort to help and contribute to education on the subject. There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 is an autoimmune disease and type two is the buildup of insulin resistance. Prediabetes falls under type two as it is developed over time. Both are caused by a combination of genetics, lifestyle, environmental factors leading to having problems with insulin. The main contributors have been found to be obesity, inactivity, family history, older age, certain ethnicities, and pregnancy.  What is the role of insulin? Insulin is a hormone created in the pancreas when there is a rise in blood sugar in the bloodstream and it acts like a gatekeepe...

  As we celebrate Christmas and New Years next week, a lot of people are more than likely going to over indulge.  Here is a scale to help you get ready for the New Year and any resolution you may be thinking about. We live in a land of plenty here in the U.S.  Do you know how to tell the difference between being starving, satisfied or stuffed? It seems it should be obvious and people should know the differences.  Here is a graphic to show the Hunger Scale: At a 1, we are beyond a growling stomach.  We are weak and dizzy.  At this stage I think of how Jews were treated at POW camps by the Germans in WW2.  I also see this when there is an extended famine in Africa.   At level 2, people have a constant growling in their stomach. Not occasionally but for a few days at a time. At level 3, people are hungry with a slight growl of the stomach. People claim they are hangry at this level. Being hangry should be at a level 2, with a more constant growl...

I see a lot of people constantly looking for THE perfect workout.  Whether it is a workout to firm the glutes, build mountainous arms, or chisel your abs.  The thing is...this is a myth..sort of. The majority of people that I see looking for the perfect workout are looking for three things: Time crunch - With busy and hectic lives, people are looking for something they can do around all their busy schedules. Don't want to fail - People are afraid of looking like they don't know what they are doing or don't want to simply fail. They are not into working out - They either don't like to break into a sweat or sports/athletics is not their thing. Above, I said that THE perfect workout is a myth...sort of.  I say sort of because even though there is no perfect workout for all people, you can certainly find THE perfect workout for you. Physiologically, we all have the same body structure.  Heart muscle, skeletal muscle, central nervous system, bones, jo...

Lately, I have been seeing and hearing a lot of ads for weightloss supplements and programs.  This got me to thinking, "Are these "solutions" sustainable?".  After doing some research, here are six items that I have read about that make sense and are doable.  1.  Sustainability This goes back to my initial question, "are these 'solutions' sustainable"?  If you have to buy a product to loose weight, how long will you be able - or willing- to keep buying this product?  Can you see yourself doing this for more than two months?  Do you see yourself doing it in five years?  If the answer is no, it is not sustainable.  If the answer is yes, what will happen after you stop using said product?  Will you be able to keep it off, or will the weight come back?  This is one reason that I have a problem with "Diets" that eliminate certain foods. 2.  Exercise I know some people that are not into going to the gym and breakin...

Are you thinking about making a decision to start your fitness journey in the beginning the new year?  Most people choose to start on January 1st. Some people start a couple of weeks before to get over the newness and accustomed to new routines before the crowds get there. If life, as usual, has gotten in your way to starting your fitness journey before, don't fret. Like everything in life, there is no such thing as perfection.  Consistency is the key.  Over time, it will look like perfection.  Just ask Patrick Mahomes.  As we are now mid-December, statistics show that a lot of people sign up for gym memberships to get healthier and fitter.  By the end of January, half have stopped going to the gym.  By March/April, most will stop going to the gym or exercising. Here are my tips to starting a fitness journey that is successful for the long term. The Beginning 1.  Start with a checkup with your doctor.  Especially if you have never w...

I recently came across a plethora of questions starting with "What is the the best way to lose weight...?   The ending to this question runs the gamut from "without exercise" to "in your face" to "in three days".  Most of the questions are understood and are reasonable questions.  A few, not so much.  I say this because losing weight does not happen overnight.  It took a while to add on the weight, so it is reasonable to expect that it will take some time to lose it as well. The first group of questions I am going to group into Spot Reduction.  A lot of questions had to do with losing weight in certain parts of the body.  The message has been out there for a while that we can't spot reduce yet they are still popular questions.  Not sure how this myth keeps on living.  The truth of the matter is that we can't pick one spot on our bodies and make fat go away from just that spot.  To lose weight, it has to come off from all over th...