3 Reasons Why Exercise For Diabetes Sufferers Is Beneficial

Many diabetics are overweight or even obese and feel like they cannot exercise.  Sometimes you just need a little bit of motivation and explanation behind the mantra "You need to exercise more."  Here are 3 reasons of how exercise for diabetes patients can be very beneficial.

1. Your Blood Sugar Is Better Controlled - Exercise requires energy and so your muscles must burn glucose in order to get this energy.  The end result?  Your blood sugar level is decreased every time you exercise.  So, depending on your situation, exercise can actually help you reduce the amount of insulin needed, maybe even getting to the point of no longer needing insulin injections.  Obviously this is not the case for everyone but it is certainly a goal of exercise for diabetes sufferers.

2. Your Insulin Sensitivity Is Improved - If exercise is lowering your blood sugar levels, then your need for insulin is also lowered.  And the very act of getting your body moving and using energy created by that movement actually makes your body more sensitive to the insulin it does receive.  This makes the insulin received better capable of doing what it needs to do with less.

3. Your Weight Is More Where It Should Be - A third benefit of exercise for diabetes sufferers is the fact that exercising will help you lose weight.

Cardiovascular exercises help you burn extra calories both during your workout and after ... in fact your body will keep burning calories for up to 48 hours after you exercise!  So you'll be continually burning up to 15% more calories if you just do cardio exercises every other day.

Resistance training helps build muscle and since muscle burns more calories than fat, you'll increase the amount of calories you burn just by replacing fat with muscle.  Recent studies indicate that a pound of muscle will burn 6 calories a day as opposed to a pound of fat which burns just 2 calories per day.  While those numbers may seem small, they do add up and can make a substantial difference.

So cardiovascular and resistance training is a great combination of exercise for diabetes sufferers.  You will benefit with reduced blood sugar, improved insulin sensitivity, and weight loss.  Check with your doctor first, but you definitely need to get some exercise into your life.

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