My 2012 challenge: Losing weight with Games Console
Discussion
Over the past 6 months it's been very much on my mind to lose some weight, I'm 30 this year, 6'2 and currently around 12.5 stone which may not sound a lot however back track around 18 months and I was around 10.5/11 stone and always had a slim frame and went to the gym aprrox 2/3 times per week with a mix of cardio and weights.
Over the last 18 months I've been fairly inactive, eating loads of junk/sweets and generally lazy add to this the addition of a baby to the family and an IT job it's become apparent my gut is swelling, work shirts are gaping open when sat etc etc.
So I've decided to do something, to see if it's possible to shift some bulk, tone up and get a bit fitter with nothing more than some basic diet changes and a games console fitted out with some fitness games. This was decided in part to see for myself how good these types of systems actually are and my partner indicated she was also interested as getting to the gym for her with the baby is very difficult.
Three choices are currently available, Wii Fit, XBox Connect & PS3 Move. Doing my research and comparing I settled on buying the PS3 setup, this was based on already having wanted a blu ray system, it's media centre capability and that the complete kit with 2 fitness games was available for £70 less than the connect system.
I had already started some diet changes this week prior to getting the console, I will be completely dropping all alcohol & cut carbs from my lunch (potentially from breakfast too) in favour of a more protein based approach. Evening meals I will be cutting the few take aways we have along with a ban on the odd meal we have where we have oven chips and the like. I'm also trying to limit sweets etc but this is certainly a weak point for me.
I've had my first session on the move this evening having played "my fitness coach" for 30 minutes, following the instructions was a little hard at first but I did manage to completely wear myself out and had a good sweat on.
My plan is to do 60 mins every other day, however it may prove more likely I will end up doing 30 min per day with 1 full rest day a week. I will do a weigh in and update in the coming weeks!
Over the last 18 months I've been fairly inactive, eating loads of junk/sweets and generally lazy add to this the addition of a baby to the family and an IT job it's become apparent my gut is swelling, work shirts are gaping open when sat etc etc.
So I've decided to do something, to see if it's possible to shift some bulk, tone up and get a bit fitter with nothing more than some basic diet changes and a games console fitted out with some fitness games. This was decided in part to see for myself how good these types of systems actually are and my partner indicated she was also interested as getting to the gym for her with the baby is very difficult.
Three choices are currently available, Wii Fit, XBox Connect & PS3 Move. Doing my research and comparing I settled on buying the PS3 setup, this was based on already having wanted a blu ray system, it's media centre capability and that the complete kit with 2 fitness games was available for £70 less than the connect system.
I had already started some diet changes this week prior to getting the console, I will be completely dropping all alcohol & cut carbs from my lunch (potentially from breakfast too) in favour of a more protein based approach. Evening meals I will be cutting the few take aways we have along with a ban on the odd meal we have where we have oven chips and the like. I'm also trying to limit sweets etc but this is certainly a weak point for me.
I've had my first session on the move this evening having played "my fitness coach" for 30 minutes, following the instructions was a little hard at first but I did manage to completely wear myself out and had a good sweat on.
My plan is to do 60 mins every other day, however it may prove more likely I will end up doing 30 min per day with 1 full rest day a week. I will do a weigh in and update in the coming weeks!
I don't see why you can't lose weight using those games. Some may criticise them as not being "proper" exercise but if you're moving about in an aerobic fashion, I don't see why it would be any different to joining a class.
Don't cut out carbs. Reduce them somewhat but cutting out will result in you plateauing at some point in the future. There's no quick fix. Think long term, think healthy living.
Don't cut out carbs. Reduce them somewhat but cutting out will result in you plateauing at some point in the future. There's no quick fix. Think long term, think healthy living.
You may pass some time not thinking about eating but the real difference will come from the kitchen.
Eat less junk, eat more healthily and while you're trying to lose fat; consume less in general.
Cutting and/or over emphasising food groups is plain silly. A properly balanced diet is all you need - there are no magic potions or secrets - we all know this, deep down at least.
Eat less junk, eat more healthily and while you're trying to lose fat; consume less in general.
Cutting and/or over emphasising food groups is plain silly. A properly balanced diet is all you need - there are no magic potions or secrets - we all know this, deep down at least.
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