Exercise has an important role to play in diabetes treatment as in any weight management regimen.

If you have diabetes, regular exercise can increase the sensitivity of the body to insulin by more than 30% and many of you will find that this along with your diet is more than enough to control your diabetes. Others may find that they have to take less of the tablets or even insulin!

The Activity Log will also show you the amount of calories which you will "spend" in carrying our your exercise and this will help you to keep within the prescribed number of calories for the day.

Moreover, many people with diabetes need to optimise their weight.

How is this done?

First, go to the BMI and the WHR Counters and find out your body weight status. Do you need to lose weight, gain some pounds or do you want to maintain your present weight but still keep to your diabetes treatment.

In order to lose weight, you must understand that for a person to lose one kilogram of weight the body must have a negative balance of 7700 calories ( 3500 calories to lose one pound of weight). In simple terms, what this means is that if you want to lose one Kilogram of weight, the body must "lose" 7700 calories in excess of what it takes "in" in the form of food.

This can be done in two ways: either you eat less and therefore take in less calories or you exercise more and lose that many more calories. It would be better if one were to do both. that is, take in less calories and lose some more than you are doing at the present times.

The Calorie Counter will tell you about how you can reduce the intake of food items and the calories "lost", whilst the Activity Log will tell you the number of extra calories which you will "lose" depending on the type and duration of the exercise you choose.

Now add up the total calories "lost" per day.

7700 divided by this figure will tell you in how many days you will be able to lose one kilogram of weight. As an example, if the calories "lost" each day is 350 calories, you will lose one kilogram of weight in 20 days!

You should aim to lose about 1.5 to 2 kilograms each month till you reach your optimal weight.

At the same time, you must remember that the figures given are approximate and for a person weighing 70Kg. You may lose slightly more or less depending on your weight. But this difference is usually small and you should soon see the difference in your weight.