So there you go. I didn't take a "before" picture to put side-by-side with this "after" image, because I didn't want a photo of my pasty, soft midsection floating around the Interwebs. But if you compare it to the photo at the beginning of this article, you can clearly see even just the weight I've lost in my face. And I promise you, my stomach didn't look nearly this toned when I started either. Of course, these results aren't exactly typical, because I played Wii Fit more than your average gamer might. But I promise you that the results you see pictured here are from playing Wii Fit, and only that. The only additional exercising I ever did was occasionally taking a long walk during my lunch hour to get out of the office, and once in a while doing some extra push-ups because my upper body is extra pathetic. The whole point of the experiment was to see what kind of results you could get from using Wii Fit as your only means of exercise.

Every morning, I would wake up an extra half-hour earlier than I used to and get in somewhere around 20 minutes of Wii Fit (minus 10 minutes of warming up and navigating menus and such). And then sometimes in the evening, I would watch TV or a DVD and instead of sitting on the couch the whole time, I would actually run for 30 minutes in Wii Fit instead. My routine was pretty much warm up, weigh in, then do 60 or 90 seconds of the Plank exercise, then 30 reps of Jackknifes, followed by 20 reps of Push-up and Side Plank. Then I would do 10 minutes of Free Run at a reasonably fast pace. Occasionally, I would also do 6 reps of Torso Twists and/or 30 reps of Single-Leg Twists, because those are supposed to work your abs. Then on weekends, I might add in a few extra exercises at random, including some yoga. But for the most part, I kind of ignored the yoga. Also on weekends, I would do the Jackknife and Plank challenges, because those would take longer, and I didn't have time on weekday mornings.

That was pretty much my workout routine, and I only missed a couple days here and there when I had to go out of town. Otherwise, I was pretty religious about playing Wii Fit every single morning when I first got up for at least 20 minutes or so. And at the same time, I watched what I ate. Basically what that means is I simply ate less of what I would normally eat, exercising some portion control and not going back for seconds, while at the same time trying to eat less junk. Not that I cut soda or candy or cookies out entirely, because if you deprive yourself of something, I believe it just makes you want it more. But I definitely tried to ease back.

What I found surprising about Wii Fit was that I pretty much used it as a workout video. I'd thought the balance games would be the way that the game would trick you into working out, much like Wii Sports had you playing tennis and boxing until you broke a sweat, trying to beat the high score. I also thought I would be more interested in the yoga. But instead, I pretty much stuck to a few of my favorite strength exercises and a couple aerobic exercises. The hula hoops were good in the beginning, but in the end, the Free Run was the best cardio workout Wii Fit offers. The Step is pretty useless, even as a warm-up, although the Rhythm Boxing is fun enough that I sometimes will throw it in just for variety's sake. But I never got into the balance games, even though I'm sure playing them would've helped me with my balance. Every time you weigh in, it also checks your center of balance, and I've never been able to get it at a perfect 50-50. Although to be fair, I have gotten to 49.9 and 50.1 percent, so that's awful close!

I do wish there were more exercises for the upper body included in the game. Pretty much all you get are the Push-up and Side Plank, the Push-up Challenge, and the Tricep Extensions. A couple variations on the ab crunches would've been nice, too. But I guess they had to save something to refine for Wii Fit 2, right? If anyone from Nintendo's reading this, I'd also like to have more variety in the background music, and the option to string together exercises into a routine so you don't have to waste time navigating the menus. If the game also would like to suggest workout routines based on what you'd like to focus on (abs, arms, etc.), that would be even better. Also, if you'd like to bundle Wii Fit 2 with a special add-on for the Balance Board to snap into that raises it up a little higher, it would make the step exercises much more effective. Just a thought!

As I wrote in an earlier entry, according to the somewhat sketchy Body Mass Index, my ideal weight should be around 145 pounds. And since I haven't weighed that since high school or even before, I doubt I'll ever reach it. I'll be happy if I can get myself around 155. Or slightly under. And to that end, I've bought myself a pair of good running sneakers (with the help of my very knowledgeable and fit friend), and intend to take up actual jogging. I'm still too cheap to join a gym, but I figured interspersing my Wii Fit workouts with a morning jog every other day or so would make for better results. I definitely will continue playing Wii Fit every morning, even if it's just to do some crunches and push-ups, because the results I have achieved have made me feel better both physically and mentally. I haven't felt comfortable shirtless in ages. I would like to thank Nintendo and Miyamoto for changing my life. This experiment was a success, and isn't over yet. Not by a long shot! (I want to see if I can get my stomach even flatter than this!)