I tried searching through the SDMB but can’t find any info so maybe you folks can point me in the right direction.
I’ll admit it, I’m lazy and overweight. I know I should exercise more but I hate it. I also don’t have the funds available to justify a health club membership.
However, I do have the Wii Fit and would actually use that to get some exercise in. It’s sort of fun, low impact (I have crappy knees and had a herniated disk repaired last summer) and I don’t have to spend any extra money!
So, if I watch what I eat and do this religiously for at least 30 minutes a day, does anyone know how effective this will be in helping me lose weight and at least not turn into Jabba the Hutt? What about the Wii Active? Is that any better?
I have the Wii Fit and while I don’t use it regularly, I find myself working up a sweat if I keep at the games for at least 20 minutes at a time. So at least I’m burning a few calroies. I think if you do it consistently for, say, a month, you’ll notice results.
The nice thing about Wii Fit is that it tracks your progress for you - your weight, the number of times you use the game, etc.
I have to take a 2-month break from my job starting on Monday, and I plan to get really strict with an exercise regime. Maybe we should start a Wii Fit 30-day weight loss thread!
Well, if you currently do nothing, and you start doing 30 minutes of any activity, you will probably lose SOME weight.
How much depends on which activities you choose I think. If you only do the ball balancing stuff, it’s probably not going to do much other than make you good at the ball balancing game. If you do the running or aerobic activities that would burn a few more calories and likely result in a greater weightloss.
The vast, vast majority of weight loss will come via diet, not exercise. The exercise is a great addition to diet, and it will make you more fit, but by itself it really doesn’t do much for weight loss.
Reducing caloric intake will make you lose weight.
This guy kept a log of his WiiFit activity and weight loss over 7 weeks, along with reflections on the experience. He ended up pretty satisfied with the experience and did lose some weight - about 10 lbs over the 7 weeks.
My wife has lost weight using the Wii Fit. If she made it a regular habit, she would probably lose a pound or two a week. Of course, that is the problem, as any new physical activity done on a regular basis would probably result in weight loss. If nothing else, the Wii Fit games are fun and its time up and moving that would probably have been spent on the couch.
I love the wii fit golf, but think it would be much better if you could use the wii board to actually walk from hole to hole. For now I just walk around the house between shots, it appears to be working.
I do not yet have a wii fit board, but we do have the Wii Active, and that kicks my butt. Pretty serious workout there, so you may not be ready for it. If you do the Wii Fit stuff for a month or two, you will see results (any activity>no activity, after all) and then you could maybe try the Wii Active.
I have a Wii Fit and it’s made me drop about 10 pounds so far (since Christmas). For me though, it’s not the activities, it’s just the fact that it monitors and graphs my weight, and nags me if I fail. I find myself wondering if I should eat a second portion at dinner, then deciding against it, lest the Wii Fit say something nasty to me.
I get a better mini-workout playing Samba De Amigo (in case you don’t know it, is basically Guitar Hero, but with maracas)
I’m going to do all of the exercises, including yoga. I never realized just how poor my balance is until I tried that damned tree pose. I hope that as I get further and more flexible and do the strength training that I will be less of a lump.
It doesn’t take any time out of your schedule to eat less. So eating less is the easiest way to lose weight for many people including me. I also exercised but only about 30-60 minutes a day and not every day.
It got me off my ass and on my way to ~40 lb weight loss (from a 28.6 BMI to 22.7). The most valuable thing for me was the feedback the system would give me through daily weigh-ins and graphs. The first few weeks I did Wii-only exercises, mostly long 30+ minute running-in-place jogs, plus the yoga and strength training (push-ups, planks, etc.). Then I realized this was a bit silly, bought myself some running shoes, and started hitting the bench press I have in the basement. I also adjusted my diet, started keeping a food diary, etc., all because I wanted to beat my “high score” in terms of BMI from the day or week before.
So, for me, it was a great motivational and progress/feedback tool. Granted, you can do the same thing with a scale, a pen, and some graph paper. But the Wii Fit gave me the kick in the pants that I needed. For that, it was worth every penny I spent on it. But this is definitely a case of YMMV.
