I am taking a break from my schoolwork to write this quick blog post (it has been a thought-provoking kind of day).
You know exercise is good for you. But why?
Burn calories? Build muscles?
Yes, but here is another important way of looking at it:
Let’s think for a moment about blood sugar. When you eat a meal containing carbohydrates, the carbohydrates are broken down into glucose molecules, which float around in your blood. If the glucose is not needed or used, about 300 grams is stored in your liver and the rest forms adipose [fat] tissue as a reserve for when you need extra energy (between meals, during fasting, during exercise, etc). If you never need it, it stays there.
Let’s think about pre-diabetes and diabetes. Diabetes is a condition in which glucose is not transported into cells. Insulin is the hormone that is normally responsible for the movement of glucose into cells. Diabetes is caused by a lack of insulin and/or a cell’s inability to use insulin. Exercise naturally reduces the amount of glucose floating around in the blood stream because insulin is not needed for muscle cells to take in and use glucose – it happens automatically!
This being said,
- exercise lowers blood sugar
- exercise uses carbohydrates so they don’t get stored as fat
- exercise builds muscles (and muscle burns more calories than fat)
- exercise releases endorphins (hormones that boost mood!)
- exercise strengthens bones
and my favorite benefit of all….
- exercise motivates you to make additional health-supportive decisions, like drinking more water, eating more fruits & vegetables, and taking care of yourself!!!
Do you need any more of an incentive to get going?!?!
Exercise does not need to be a Spartan race. A brisk walk, weight training, planting a garden, raking leaves, practicing aerial yoga, or playing with the dog are all great forms of exercise!
Get MOVING!!
