Hello Everybody,
A walking for weight loss program gives many benefits. One of which is that people who have lost weight are less likely to suffer from type two diabetes. There are three kinds of diabetes and all need to be looked at by your doctor, but type two is the one associated with obesity. Nearly 90 percent of people with this illness are overweight.
Type two diabetes is the result of the body becoming resistant to insulin. Insulin reduces blood sugar and keeps it to the correct level. We need blood sugar, or glucose, in our blood because blood transfers it to the cells and this is the fuel the body runs on. If we have too much glucose insulin changes it into glycogen in the cells. That way blood sugar is reduced and the correct balance maintained.
That is fine for people of normal weight, but there can be problems for those who are obese. Fat cells are more resistant than muscle cells. So somebody with more fat cells than muscle cells diminishes the ability of insulin and glucose to enter the cells.
When this happens the body gets into an alarming Catch 22 situation. It is not getting glucose into its cells, so the liver begins manufacturing glucose to provide more. This does not work because the cells are blocked with fat. Now thoroughly confused the body tells the pancreas to make more insulin to correct the out of balance sugar levels. In time this may damage the pancreas as it is working a lot harder than usual. Type two diabetes is then a possibility.
The effect of all this can be devastating. It may cause heart disease, blindness, gall bladder problems, kidney failure, diseases of the liver, even loss of limbs. Type two diabetes is very bad news indeed.
But there is also good news. We have seen that 90 percent of people with type two diabetes are overweight. Lose weight and things will improve. Sadly not for those 10 percent of people who are of normal weight, they will have to rely entirely on medication. But for the others a walking for weight loss program will help a lot. Also benefits can be obtained by losing only 5-7 percent of body weight. So there is no need for a massive amount of effort to achieve significant results.
A healthy diet and regular exercise can reduce risk of contracting type two diabetes and reduce the need for medication if you have it already. A walking for weight loss program is easy; just start slowly and work up to having a brisk thirty minute walk every day. For your diet avoid junk food, such as fizzy drinks, and fatty or high carbohydrate food. Do not snack, cut down on daily visits to the coffee shop.
What you do eat should consist of lean meat, oily fish, fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, low fat dairy products.
This is all rather a lifestyle change. It does not mean giving up the occasional treat, or even a daily glass of wine. It does mean making a choice. Do you want to be fit and well or do you want to risk type two diabetes? There must be just one answer to that question. Lose weight. You can do it, you really can.
See you soon,
Peter Stockwell
13 December 2009
photo: freakinrad (Flickr)
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