Wootini's Weekly Whenever Wii Fit Update:
One Year Later
That's right — your eyes do not deceive you. I have indeed been doing Wii Fit for 365 days. One full year. And for a videogame that I basically bought with the intent of writing weekly articles debunking its health benefits, that's some mighty impressive staying power. As regular visitors to this site already know, I kept a weekly journal chronicling my progress with Wii Fit as I unlocked more exercises and used them to take off even more weight. Knowing I had to show my results to you guys kept me honest, and I started eating better and less as I tried to exercise for at least a half-hour every day. And by the time I stopped doing the weekly updates, I had already lost 25 pounds. The experiment had been a surprise success. By simply watching what I ate and playing Wii Fit at least a half an hour a day, I lost 25 pounds in just about three months.
But that was just the beginning.
Running in place with the Wiimote in your pocket will only get you so far, so I took my friend's advice to try running for real. I got myself a good pair of shoes and started alternating my Wii Fit workouts with jogging. Not only did this help me lose the other 15 pounds that brought me to my goal weight, but it created a new hobby in running. I signed up for a 5K race in my hometown that my family always runs on Thanksgiving to surprise them, but then I found myself the one being surprised as none of them had planned on running it that year! But my sister ran with me and I completed my first race. This has now led me to run further and faster, and after running another 5K, I have run 4 mile races, a 5 mile, and even two 10K's. I'm currently training for the New York City Half Marathon in August, and I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew!
I've already written much for this site about how Wii Fit has changed my life, and honestly, there's really not much more to say on the subject. The weekly updates kept me honest in the beginning, but Miyamoto really achieved his goal of inspiring people to become more aware of their bodies as Wii Fit became a jumping-off point to inspire myself to achieve my ideal body weight. I reached that goal in December (at Christmastime, if you can even believe that!), and have maintained that weight for the past six months. And now, a year after picking up my reserved copy of Wii Fit from the Nintendo World Store and remarking on how heavy that Balance Board felt, I am still playing. No, I don't do the actual exercises as much, but I use it to keep track of my progress, and absolutely love telling everyone that I owe my weight loss and increased fitness to a videogame!
The chart below shows my weight over the past year, and below that is a photo of me in the jeans that I used to wear a year ago! Thanks, Nintendo! I couldn't have done it without you! (Well, technically, yeah, I know I could have, but really, a videogame turned out to be the perfect motivational tool for me!)
Wootini
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games on 18 May 2009
· Comments (15)
Other stuff like this: nintendo, update, wii, wii fit, wootini
You'd make a VERY good spokes-person for this product...you look great! Not that you look that bad before, of course, but...now you got abs!
Before Photo taken from http://gaygamer.net/2008/05/wootinis_weekly_wiifit_update.html
I'd say you've done a damn good job. WiiFit along with proper diet and additional exercise (like going outside for runs and etc), helped ya lose and keep off the weight.
Two words...hubba hubba!!
Yum! I want a piece of the new you :)
i want a piece of both!
Even as a straight dude I've gotta say you look great. I actually bought WiiFit based on these articles and was really hot on it for a month… but then I eventually got really tired / bored of the *game* aspects of WiiFit. I figured it was a bold first step into a new genre of gaming; now that there are some new entries on the horizon I'm curious how they compare to WiiFit. I'd love to hear how you kept yourself going with WiiFit even when the game got boring. I'd also love it if you were able to do a review or even a simple comparison between WiiFit and the Golds Gym and EA games.
Congrats on the rewards of all your hard work, it was a huge inspiration for me.
Totally hot! I'm glad you were also inspired to get a decent hair cut and shave. ;-)
@Taylor:
I also became tired of the Wii Fit exercises, but luckily that happened around the same time that I was turning to actual exercise with the running. At that point, I would run every other day alternating it with some push-ups in Wii Fit. Now I primarily use Wii Fit for logging my weight as opposed to doing the exercises.
I haven't yet tried the other fitness games, although I am curious. I heard someone say that the Ubisoft My Fitness Coach had better cardio workouts, and I wouldn't be surprised. Heck, a few rounds of We Cheer and I'm sweating more than with Wii Fit.
I don't think Wii Fit was ever meant to be an actual fitness program. Miyamoto himself has said that it was meant more as a tool to make people more aware of their bodies and what they put in them. So to that end, the game was an unqualified success. It literally changed my life.
So try branching out into other exercises. I found running difficult the first time I tried it years ago, but once Wii Fit had kind of whipped me into shape, I was able to go jogging no problem. And if I ever give any of the other games a shot, you can be sure I'll let you guys know how they compare!
Taylor - I have to say, it isn't a game it is a tool. And, like all exercise it can get repeatative. It takes perceverance to keep working towards and achieving your goals. And that shows with Wootini in that he had dedication in reaching his goals and I'm sure if he was looking for the entertainment value in something like Wii Fit then he would have surely failed.
Sure variety is the key, and like Wootini mentioned he took up running and alternated that with the Wii Fit. He then used Wii Fit mainly as a gauge of his progress so he can maintain his weight.
I'm not quite sure how/why you deem something like Wii Fit as a game... and maybe next time you should consider why you'd want to purchase something similar if you're only after the entertainment value.
That's just amazing! You look great(er)! I'm sure all of us reading GayGamer are really proud of ya!
Keep it up!
@Wootini & @SuperSaiyanSamueru
I haven't weighed in on WiiFit in a month or so… and prior to that it had been at least two months. That's not to say I stopped working out, and WiiFit was definitely a catalyst for me to get back into working out. The reason I stopped using it is the same reason I stopped playing Brain Age… at first I enjoyed Dr. Kawashima and the Balance Board's cute chatter, until it turned into a needy nagging voice "I haven't seen you in two days… have you stated working out without me? Who are you seeing behind my back, I need you for me to live!" (dramatic license taken).
I'm curious if this kind of neediness is a characteristic of Japanese culture, and if so, how would a Western developer approach the matter?
I've ended up doing more working out away from WiiFit and I don't weigh in often because I'm usually disappointed by my poor results from the somewhat arbitrary tests of the WiiFit age (despite my continually bettering real life condition). When I say *game* I guess I mean the point where as a user I am interacting with the system. Good interaction encouraging me to "play" more, poor interaction pushing me to "play" less. Thanks for your thoughts, I appreciate both of your input.
wow. I was just searching for anyone who'd used a wii fit for more than a couple of weeks. You have really inspired me. I'm on day 31 and I was feeling rather blue that my weight was fluctuating (hey - it's a girl thing) and I was wondering could this make any difference... but you're right - it makes you think. I just ate a salad. Instead of just sitting here noodling about online, I'm gonna do some exercise. ANd the guys are right - you look fantabulous! Well done!!
Love from Brighton, UK
Looking sexy (even though you were before too :P)
Finally got my Wii back from my mother which means i get my WiiFit back. I'm starting a week-to-week progress tracking myself which you inspired me to do a whgile back just never got off my ass to do anything. But now I'm single and looking. Gotta love myself before i can love someone else.
Seriously hottest man ever.
This convinced me to finally buy Wii Fit so I went out to buy it today with my mom... I never actually realized a day would come when my own mother would be more excited about opening a videogame box than me. Congratulations on your success!