How Good Is The WII Fit For Losing Weight?

First off, I do like the WII Fit software. We love the WII overall for its potential for health benefits. You can get pretty tired playing WII games, not just WII Fit but other games as well. I play quite a bit of ping-pong using WII Sports Resort and the Frisbee golf game is awesome. But for a more regimented program along with some fun we decided to get the WII Fit Plus software and the balance board.

Before I praise the WII Fit Plus package I must make some negative comments. Like the thing is a tad daunting. If you watch the video you can see what I mean right away. Look at your MII, your little self-creation of yourself. When you made it, how honest were you? You probably created a MII that looked like an ideal, especially in weight. In WII Fit Plus, no such kindness. As you step on the WII platform (i.e. scale) and your weight is displayed, your MII grows and becomes fatter. Unless you are my wife who is a fitness instructor - her MII actually got a bit skinnier. The next painful thing about "weighing in" is the sweet childlike voice will tell you "That's OVERWEIGHT"! She might say you are obese. I was feeling pretty good about my weight, but it uses that harsh weight table that, to me, is unrealistic. I mean, my main fantasy football back, Maurice Jones Drew, is an inch shorter than I am and weighs 30lbs more and is all muscle. The WII Fit Plus would call him obese. Like to see her do that to his face!

In fact, the game is a tad abusive. A bit more to adults than children. It doesn't tell kids they are obese, just really overweight. That would be bad enough but while you are on the scale the sweet eleven year old girl is telling you to hold still. Usually, after my balance test, which is a tad difficult for me (and I can ride a unicycle so I have balance), the screen will print something like "Do you fall down a lot?". She also gets on your case if you are gone for awhile. I had a fairly large break after Thanksgiving and didn't return until just before Christmas. It was the holidays. There was eggnog. There is Thanksgiving Day feast!!! We were travelling a lot. When I had a chance to get on it the week after TurkeyDay I found I was afraid of the eleven year old girl and what she might say to me. So I didn't.

But provided you aren't a total wuss, like me, and fear an electronic voice coming out of a video game, I think the WII Fit is an excellent fitness tool. The games are a workout and burn calories and help you with your balance. You can set goals and count calories. You can take credit for walking your dog or exercising on your own as well. I especially like the yoga exercises. I went with the guy instructor but he seemed a tad.. well, he creeped me out a bit. I'm used to my wife anyway and her exercise classes so I switched to the woman avatar. She is very complimentary, unlike the girl who weighs you in. There is a great variety in difficulty in both the yoga section and the games. You need to unlock some of the advanced features, typical of Nintendo and overall a good practice I think. It motivates you.

I do highly recommend the WII Fit. I'm probaby 25lbs lighter since using it. I did remove and re-insert my MII though because I am a wuss and the girl who weighs me in does intimidate me. I'm not sure why they are so harsh on the weight. Even "fit" it says I'm almost overweight. In fact, I am fit in the overweight section, just like my running back, Maurice Jones Drew, he's just much much more fit. So I guess what I'm saying is leave your ego at the door and worry more about where you start and where you want to finish. Stick with it and mix up all the features available between games, yoga and keeping track of outside activities. I don't think you'll be disappointed with WII Fit Plus.