Having spent time as a fitness trainer, added with the time I have spent in the gym over the years for my own personal workouts, I can safely say that I have seen people of all shapes and sizes. And, in the times my girlfriend and I have worked out at gyms ranging from Gold's Gym, Bally Total Fitness, and Gold's Gym, I've come across people with a wide range of workout styles. Some go hard and then go home, others spend most of their time working their jaw than they do their muscles, and others who work out like it's their job (and in some cases it is). Still, of all these people -- as interesting as each and every one of them truly is -- I have always been fascinated by the guy or girl that trains quite hard, but for some reason never seems to reap any benefits of their workout.

First of all, the key word here is "seem." At first blush, you can't tell whether someone feels better emotionally, whether their amount of vigor is at an all-time high, or even if they've lost five or ten pounds. All you can usually tell is what "seems" to be the case; they work out hard, but they look the same. "Look," therefore, is yet another operative term. But, when you spend time talking with these people, and they too confirm that they just can't seem to lose the weight or tone the muscles, one of two things springs to mind: 1) These people are what are typically referred to as "Hard Gainers"; a term that pretty much means what it sounds like, or 2) They may have a medical condition such as a thyroid issue or a gluten intolerance, either of which being a reason why losing weight could be inordinately difficult.

With respect to the latter, particularly gluten intolerance, scientists from New Zealand have recently discovered that when men who were having trouble losing weight stopped eating gluten -- a protein found in rye, wheat, oats and barley -- the weight immediately began stripping off them. The fact is that in some people, gluten appears to cause chronically high levels of insulin, which signals your body to store fat. Insofar as this study is concerned, within 3 months of adopting a totally gluten-free diet, the study participants had reduced their insulin levels by 50 percent.

So, if you are reading this and saying to yourself, "Yeah, that seems like me. I work out all the time, but for some reason I can't seem to change the way I look (or feel)," then perhaps it may be related to the gluten in your diet. I wouldn't automatically jump to this conclusion, however, as the issue could very well be something more related to your workout (how regularly you are actually performing it, how often you change your routine, etc.). But, if you still question whether you may possess a gluten intolerance, try eliminating this grain from your diet for 4 to 6 weeks and monitor your health for both positive and negative changes.