Vernon Henry
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.
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