Exercise and Diabetes
Be honest with yourselves and admit that exercise is an integral part of diabetes prevention. Without exercise, we will not achieve our goal of preventing or alleviating diabetes from our lives.
Remember this, “The body was created to move.” When we stop moving it, the body will begin to change its form, move to a place of dis-easement, and maybe even die. No wonder more than 37% of American society is either overweight or obese. Many Americans have stopped moving their bodies, resulting in an increase in diabetes in our society. In addition, Juvenile diabetes, a disease we used to hear and see very little of, has become more common with our children today.
Why is Exercise Important?
Our bodies contain both fat and lean muscle (protein), only lean muscle can burn sufficient calories. The basic energy-burning engine of the body is muscle tissue. Fat tissue is a system used for stored energy and can only be burned for energy aerobically to fuel the body.
Weight loss by diet alone can only lead to large losses of lean muscle tissue or precious protein. Weight reduction by diet alone can result in significant lean muscle loss. This is important, so our fitness and wellness program must include both fitness and nutrition. We are what we eat. A person who loses considerable lean muscle tissue cannot continue to burn as many calories as they did before, because the body uses carbohydrates as its main energy source. When the body begins to gain back its weight, it does not replace pounds with only lost muscle tissue but adds half fat and half lean tissue for each new pound. It is important to preserve protein (muscle), we can do this with weight training exercises.
Diet combined with aerobic exercise reduces the loss of precious protein (muscle), and increases the burning of fat, resulting in greater muscle gain. Therefore, we should be involved in a balanced fitness program. A balanced fitness program should incorporate components of nutrition, cardiovascular (aerobic), strength, core, agility, and let’s not forget flexibility.
Am I Doing Enough Activity to Make a Difference?
We may think we are getting enough daily activity because we cut the lawn, work at the job, or run our home. The truth is whether you have a sedentary desk job, or do work that involves physical activity, work is seldom a sufficient method of exercise in terms of burning fat calories, increasing metabolism, and building lean muscle tissue.
Regardless of how often you say you’re completely exhausted at the end of the day; you probably have not exerted yourself in a way that is of any value as far as burning fat calories is concerned.
You can only burn fat by doing Aerobic Exercise. Aerobic exercise is defined as any activity that brings the heart rate up to 65%-75% (Target Heart Rate THR) of its maximum output while moving for a minimum of 30 minutes, or more. You can calculate your max heart (MHR) for one minute by subtracting 220- age = Maximal Heart Rate.
Looking to began aerobic exercises? Bike riding is a great place to start. Photo courtesy of Fortune Vieyra.
Aerobic Exercise for Diabetes
Aerobic exercise lowers blood sugar without involving insulin. It is a wonderful means of reducing the amount of insulin to which the body is exposed. Exercise also increases the mass of lean muscle tissue in the body which burns energy efficiently.
Muscle contraction is fueled by a physiologic reaction involving the chemical adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as it is broken down into the metabolite adenosine diphosphate (ADP) with the same release of energy. ATP can also be derived from the breakdown of glucose and fatty acids; in fact, the preferred muscle fuel for aerobic exercise is fatty acids.
The body prefers exercise that lasts 30 minutes or more and will create energy and burn fuel at optimal levels during such activities. When we exercise for 30 minutes or more at a moderate rate, our bodies will get its fuel from fat stores as opposed to glucose stores from carbohydrates, which come from strenuous exercise.
The key to preventing diabetes is to move the body via aerobic fitness daily for 30 minutes or more.
For questions, and for more information, please contact me at info@flexercise.net.
