I’m the Interactive Director at Hall Media and on the side I’ve been running a Nintendo fansite for over 3 years. I started an “experiment” and it’s been getting a lot of attention:
It’s been 1 year and 5 months since I finished my Wii Sports Experiment, where I lost 9lbs., BMI went down two points, 3 inches off my waist, lower heart rate and more. You can see my before and after photos, video, charts, stats, and more, HERE. After that experiment I received international media attention from the largest and most respected news agencies in the world.
This time around I did (for the most part) exactly what I did last time. I decided to add a few more control elements to the experiment though, check out my Wii Fit Experiment Announcement. During the past 41 days I did not change my lifestyle at all. I went about my day just as I always do, I ate what I always eat, drank what I always drink, etc…
Another interesting variable in this experiment was the fact that I had to go to San Diego, CA because my mom was getting re-married. Instead of flying I decided to take two weeks off of work, rent an RV and drive across the country. On board was my wife, our 2 pugs, my (8 month pregnant) sister, my brother-in-law, and my sisters 3 sons (ages 1, 3, and 4. The 4 year old, Gaige, is obsessed with Nintendo and played my DS nearly the entire time.) We drove 7,000 miles in 15 days. I brought along Wii Fit and used it every night on the RV. You can watch the “Wii Fit Roadtrip” video below and also check out my on the road “diary“.
Just before I left on the road trip I was contacted by CBS. They got word of my experiment and wanted to cover my story before and after, have a look at their report on me, HERE.
Before I go on blabbing too much, let me just say this:
I LOST 15 lbs. IN 41 DAYS JUST BY ADDING WII FIT TO MY DAILY ROUTINE!
Check out my Before and After video below. I decided to do a video because there were some people who suggested that a still photo can be manipulated, so here you go:
Video stills:
Of course doing anything involving movement an extra 60 minutes a day (everyday) will result in some sort of weight loss, well that may be so, but I again I want to chart, graph, measure, document, and record the process. I’m weighed in at 191 lbs. before the experiment began, I’m not setting any goal for myself, rather I’m just going to go through the program without any preconceptions or anything like that. That way the results will most likely (if they happen at all) be more natural and not forced. I don’t want to try “extra hard” or not eat for a week to get to some kind of certain number to prove a point.
Here is what I did:
Unlike Wii Sports, Wii Fit has a built-in scale and BMI calculator, so I will be using them to keep track as well as my own scale (where I will weigh myself 3 extra times a day to get an average). It also introduces muscle building and toning, so I hope the extra muscle mass will help with my daily calorie burn and ultimately more fat loss.
I kept track of the following:
- Weight (via Wii Fit and a Digital Scale)
- BMI
- Heart Rate (at rest)
- Body fat % (via a Digital Body Fat Caliper a body fat scale)
- Additional Notes/Findings
I took all of the measurements three times a day to get an extremely accurate number, that way if I weigh myself before a meal or in the morning, it should counter balance my weight before bed or after a meal.
Weight:
In 41 days I lost 15 lbs. That’s roughly 2.56 lbs. a week. I really can’t believe these results, I feel like I spent a good amount of my time doing the strength training exercises. I really wanted to build and tone muscles rather than drop weight. Maybe any new muscle mass helped my body to burn calories at rest. It’s also likely the strength training bumped up my metabolism. Since I played anywhere from 30 minutes to 60 minutes EVERY single day for 41 days straight my body was like a furnace, devouring everything I ate and burning them off. I tried to get a push-up and sit-up session in each days gaming session. My bathroom scale had me 1 pound lighter, but the Wii fit scale (according to all my averages, was very precise). You can see my charted progress weight loss progress at the end of the video above.
BMI:
BMI, as I come to understand it (especially if it’s done just by height/weight) can be misleading, I just want to briefly say that I went from overweight (5′ 11″ / 191 lbs.) to “normal” (5′ 11″ / 176 lbs.) It was a drop from 1.5.
Body Fat %:
For most fitness guru’s and I guess the real question here, was “How much body fat did I lose?” The answer, a fairly significant amount (just like my first experiment). I took my body fat once a week (sometimes twice) using two methods, one was a Digital Body Fat Caliper and the other a body fat scale. I averaged the readings of the two and here are the results:
- Before: 20.8%
- After: 18.4%
According to The American Council on Exercise, I went from being in the “acceptable” category to being in the “fitness” category. This data really shows a lot of what I accomplished. I lost almost 2% of my body fat by doing nothing more than playing video games for an extra 30 to 45 minutes everyday. this was very similar to my first experiment, Wii Sports Experiment.
Heart Rate:
(Also similar to my first experiment); To be honest with you I only checked this when I started and when I stopped, so I don’t think the results are as rock solid as some of the others, non-the-less I saw a slight decrease in my resting heart rate.
- Before: 87
- After: 71
Conclusion/Thoughts:
Just like my first experiment I went “all out” in my experiment. I didn’t compromise anything through its duration. I tried to be as “scientific” as possible keeping meticulous records of my daily activity. I also played each game with as much as intensity as possible, I really used this as a piece of gym equipment and really gave it my all. Something else to consider is why I ballooned up to 191 lbs. (my heaviest point ever) after my first experiment? Well, the truth of the matter is that I simply stopped playing Wii Sports all together… no reason in particular, maybe it was the influx of a whole bunch of new games that kept me occupied; Mario Galaxy, Metroid, Guitar Hero III, Boom Blox, etc… Working 45+ hours a week as a computer programmer and maintaining this site daily. Also, once I found out that there was going to a “fit” game coming to the Wii, I put off my full blown/daily exercise routine for that. I’ve since been using Wii Fit solely as my workout/gym activity. I do ride my bike to work on occasion and living in Philadelphia I do a lot of walking, but Wii Fit has made it especially easy for me to make time to get extra cardio/strength training in my daily life. I love the built in scale and tracking system, I hope Wii Fit 2 or even Wii Sports 2 will incorporate an entire health/fitness management system where I can enter my food intake/workout/etc. and also access it online when I’m not using the Wii. All in all, Wii Fit keeps me coming back for more and if a fitness game can do that, that’s saying a lot about it’s replay value. Also, keep in mind that dozens of other companies are now taking advantage of the balance board/fitness, with We Ski, Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2009, and more we can look forward to keeping our fitness routines fresh on the Wii. If only there was a central database for all of the games…
During my 41 day experiment 15 of those were spent on the road, check out the video above to see a montage of my Wii Fit travels. I also kept a photo journal/blog/diary of the road trip.
I’ve said this before and it sounds cheesy/cliche, but you really do get out of this game what you’re willing to put into it. If you’re going to give it 50%, you’re going to get 50% results out of it and so on. I’d like to think my experiments reveal two things, to quote “Back to the Future”; “If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything - George McFly. As cheesy as that sounds it’s true. I’ll be straight up honest here, I knew that I was going to be posting my results on the internet, so I knew I had to stick to this no matter what for the sake of the experiments integrity and just to motivate me. Everyone needs motivation, whatever it is embrace it and use it to your advantage. As much as I wanted this experiment to be “real”, “natural”, I was definitely motivated to get results. I didn’t go to extremes to get my results, I simply had a reason to do it everyday and that’s the point I’m trying to get across. I strongly believe that if you do some sort of activity EVERY day and enjoy it, you’ll be able to achieve results. My two experiments proved that to me.
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Your email questions, answered:
I did my “experiment” 41 days straight, I really think that is the key.
I really wanted to gain/tone muscle instead of lose weight, so I spent a lot of time doing push-ups, sit-ups, and I would use a 30 lb. weight to do my triceps exercise. Also, for my cardio running for 30 minutes in place with the Wiimote would get my heart rate racing. I also tried to beat my hula score (and all scores) every time I played, so that made me workout with that much more intense.
The game is very entertaining, especially for me. I grew up when playing most games was about beating your own high score and since Wii Fit gives you points after most activities, I was always trying to out do myself.
The only complaint is the running in place, that got boring. I started to run in small circles in my living room and wear headphones. Other than that it was a blast and something I can easily maintain (not 7 days a week, but 4-5).
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My Wii Fit Experiment in the media (updates posted as they come in):
- CBS News Report
- CBS News Report (Part II, The results. Airs July 1st)
- Men’s Journal (Print Magazine - August ‘08 issue)
- Engadget
- C|NET
- Tech Radar
- Attuworld
- LifeHacker
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If you have questions/inquires regarding my Wii Fit Experiment or Interactive/Multimedia inquiries:
Name: Mickey DeLorenzo
Age: 27
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Contact: mickey@hallmedia.com
You can read more in depth about this on my site, WiiNintendo.net
November 19, 2008
sounds great. i will be trying this in the future.