MMORPG Diet Plan: Losing Weight the Fun Way

One of the best ways for losing weight is to replace an obsession for food, with another stronger obsession, that is incompatible with eating. Gambling or smoking, are good examples. However, both of these activities may ultimately result in greater problems than weight gain.

I have tried to lose weight, many times, by trying to eat less and increasing my level of physical activity. The problem, I found, with focusing on a diet, is that you are focusing on a diet. Because I was constantly thinking about "not eating", I was constantly hungry. I ended up having to fight with myself every second of the day, every day of the week; and that is why following a traditional dieting plan has never really worked well for me. It wasn't until college that I found a great way to lose weight. In fact, I wasn't even trying to lose weight, but the pounds came off anyway and I didn't even notice I was hungry. What was this new, miraculous diet plan? MMORPGs.

MMORPGs are Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. Back in the 80s, they were known as MUDs, Multi-User Dungeons. Wait! Wait! Before you jump away to another page because you think this weird Dungeons and Dragons game thing is not for you, know that things have changed significantly from the strange dice and board game of the past. The most popular MMORPG today, Worlds of Warcraft, has 10 million subscribers as of January 2008. Online RPGs have gained a large, varied, and international following. About 50% of MMORPG players work full-time, about 36% of players are married, and 22% have children. It is no longer a fringe activity, and I have met lawyers, nurses, personal assistants, truck drivers, movers, and some shakers :-) who participate in this fun activity. The MMORPG diet plan works because:

1. It is extremely addictive.

There are many articles and surveys that show MMORPGs are extremely addictive. On average, MMORPG players spend 22 hours a week in these environments and usage is not correlated with age.

Many people see this addiction as a serious problem. I personally think is it somewhat overblown. There are some isolated cases of extreme behavior but overall most people are able to control their level of addiction and play. While some people may get so addicted that it affects their real-life, the effects of this particular "addiction" is a lot less serious than many others including gambling, smoking, alcohol, and drugs.

And it is exactly this addiction, that makes it such a good diet plan. Thoughts of food, hunger, eating, and cooking, are all very far from your mind when in the middle of an MMORPG adventure. Often times, you cannot simply leave the game because you are cooperating with a group of players who are counting on you to reach a common goal. I would stop for 15 minutes or so to grab a quick sandwich, before going back to the game. Because the game exists in real time, there is also a desire to keep up with your friends and your competitors in the game.

Some people say that such "games" are a waste of time. According to these critics, time should be spent on more healthy real-life activities that actually contribute to society. To each his own. Don't let anyone tell you that the value of your activity is somehow worth less than theirs.

"The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time." ~~ [Bertrand Russell]

2. It can be a demanding and high adrenaline activity.

There will be many instances during play where you will find your adrenaline pumping. It is difficult not to get more than a bit excited when you are trying to get to the big bad Baron boss in the dungeon before your 45 minutes run out, and the damsel in distress is lost forever. These heart thumping moments cause your body to release adrenaline which makes you more energetic, alert, and increases your metabolism. This is great because it burns up many calories.

Many diet pills contain compounds that act in the same way as adrenaline. The advantage of the MMORPG diet is that the adrenaline is produced naturally by your body, and does not carry with it the dangers and side effects of diet pills.

3. It is a cheap diet plan.

"According to Fat - Exploding the Myths (by Lisa Colles), Americans are reported to spend between $30-50 billion each year on diet and weight loss programs, products and pills; $6 billion of this is said to be spent on weight loss products and pills that are fraudulent." [The Access Digest - August 2006]

The most popular MMORPG, Worlds of Warcraft, will cost you $20 a month. Some MMORPGs have a lower monthly subscription fee and there are some that are free.This Forbes article shows that even the cheapest diet plan, which is the Subway Sandwich diet :-) costs $14.16 more per week over the no diet plan. Jenny Craig costs $83.21 more per week.

4. It is a fun and most importantly easy-to-follow diet plan.

A diet plan is often difficult to follow because it involves getting yourself to do something you do not enjoy (exercise) and/or to stop doing something you really enjoy (eating chocolates). While it may be possible to force yourself into doing these things the first or second time, or even the first or second week; it would take a Herculean effort to keep it up for months or even years. That is why most diets fail in the longer term.

The MMORPG diet works because you are doing something that you enjoy and losing weight in the process. You are having so much fun you won't even notice that you are on a diet. Note that as with any other diet plan, if you decide to stop doing it, you will probably gain back some of the weight you lost.

5. It gives you a sense of accomplishment, and enlarges your social experiences.

MMORPGs are so compelling because they fulfill many innate human drives and desires. By reaching goals and levelling your character, you get a strong sense of accomplishment and improve your self-esteem. By interacting, cooperating, and competing with the other players in the environment you form online friendships and get a sense of camaraderie in the community. By participating in an interesting, beautiful, and fanciful environment, you get to release stress, feel young again, and have a lot of fun.

Some people eat out of depression or low self-esteem. MMORPGs can actually help improve some of these problems.

Some may argue that it is not healthy to replace an addiction to food with an addiction to online gaming. It is all fine and good to say exercise more, eat healthier, and consume fewer calories; but the fact of the matter is that such programs are almost impossible to follow unless you have an extremely strong, constant, and long-term motivator(s). Another alternative is to take diet pills, but they do not work in the long-term because the human body is very adept at re-adjusting itself to the chemical imbalance induced by the drugs.

Considering some of the other extreme things that people are willing to do to lose weight (e.g. surgery, tapeworm diet), getting involved with a fun, exciting, and vibrant online community seems to be one of the better ways to go. It is better to start with something that works and is easy to follow, rather than be discouraged by the "sound good" alternative that is difficult to implement in practice.

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