Make Losing Weight a Game!

As video games become more physically interactive, more and more people are using them as part of their diet and exercise regimen. In my own experience, I've long used a game called Dance Dance Revolution as part of my own exercise plan because it's a ton of fun. Thankfully, there are more and more options these days for video gamers who want to exercise at home using their consoles, most notably for the Nintendo Wii. Our story this week, entitled "True Story: Gamer loses weight with exercise 'gimmick'" comes to us from the Winnipeg Free Press and looks at just one story revolving around this very issue.

In this article, author Craig Humphreys describes how, back when his sister was graduating a year ago, he recalls seeing pictures of himself and not liking what he saw. At the time, he weighed 249 pounds, and at 5'9", and he wasn't happy with that, so he decided to do something about it and got a Nintendo Wii with the game Wii Fit, which includes not only the software but a "balance board" as well. The game uses the balance board to not only weigh the player and give them feedback, but also as a controller to do fitness exercises as well. Gaming giant Electronic Arts has also released a Wii product called EA Sports Active which is even more intense than the Wii Fit.

The results? After several months of exercise -- and as the author stresses, a proper diet -- he lost nearly seventy pounds to hit his goal weight of 180 pounds in about five months with an average weight loss of nine pounds a month. Fairly impressive, right? Does this mean you should incorporate video games into your exercise regimen?

It all comes down to motivation. When I began exercising myself, I found the extra motivation of actually playing a game to be quite helpful, as I tried to beat my own scores and so on. Thankfully I no longer need that motivation so I can have a more varied workout, but this is something to consider if you're just starting out.

Overall, you could consider active, physical games like these just another tool in your weight loss arsenal. In now way will just playing these games make you lose as much weight as you might if you ate right and exercised, but if you need some form of stimulation to exercise and are an avid video gamer, games like these might just do the trick for you.