Weight Loss and Tae Kwon Do - Mu Han Martial Arts (Jacob Corbean)

Most people exercise for a particular reason, either to get in shape, to exercise with a friend, or for peace of mind. There are many different reasons. I will touch upon weight loss. I did not start TKD to lose weight, but as time went on I did lose considerable weight, seventy pounds to be exact. You see sometimes you start something with one goal in mind, but end up achieving so much more than you set out to accomplish. I'm going to share some things I've used along the way that helped me lose as much weight as I did.
       
First and foremost is weigh yourself. Obviously this is important. but what I want you to do is just weigh yourself one time and one time only. Right at the beginning. This is important for your peace of mind. You will lose weight but you will also gain weight as well. When you lose weight you feel good about yourself, but when you gain weight most people feel discouraged, disappointed, I know the feeling, and when you feel that way your motivation takes a big hit. You'll say things like, how come I've been working out and have gained weight? Simple answer, your body is dropping fat but gaining muscle. You are active now, your using body parts that you haven't used before, and therefore gaining muscle in those areas. You know the feeling of trying to walk up a flight of stairs the first couple of days after your first class. Those muscles will now be bigger therefore weigh more. So in reality you are achieving what you set out to do but not seeing the results you want to see. Now of course you can weigh yourself, periodically, say every year when you get a physical, this way you can compare your yearly weight instead of your daily weight. This way there is no excuse to quit something so helpful in your life. Most people will see results and think WOW! I've done it, I've lost weight I'm done. But in reality you've just begun, your body is just getting used to being active. So you've shocked your body one way, to lose weight, now if you stop your bad habits will come back faster than when you started. Leaving you feeling depressed and thinking you've failed. That's why it is important to stick with TKD for life.
           
Also when you are losing weight you feel good, you also eat better and take better care of yourself. But that doesn't mean you need to eat good everyday for the rest of your life. You are only human, you can indulge and not feel guilty. There are days you will revert back to your old ways. You can still go out to dinner or have something as a reward, but don't overindulge. It took you this long to get to the position you are at, Don't feel that one day is going to ruin it. After a while your goals change and after wards you find yourself losing weight, you need to set new goals to keep yourself motivated and keep your level of dedication, so weight loss my be your first goal but it should not be your only goal, Getting to the next level should be. TKD represents that possibility, the possibility that things will change.