How the Wii Changed My Life

            Many people are still raving about the Wii Fit for Nintendo Wii, but I feel it is necessary to mention that there are other great ways to get healthy with the Wii. 

            Like millions of Americans, I own a Wii.  When I bought it, I was interested in the silly games that were available like Mario Galaxy, and Raving Rabbids.  When I purchased my console, I found out it only came with one controller.  How were my husband and I going to share that?  There just so happened to be a promotion going on at the time: a free controller with purchase of Wii Sports.  “Wii Sports?” I thought to myself.  What was I going to do with that?  But the price was right, so I bought it.

            Over the next few weeks, my husband and I played with our Wii regularly, enjoying all of the games we purchased, but we hadn’t spent much time or energy on Wii Sports.  Frankly, Wii Sports was just too tiring.  Then one day, looking at my overweight image in the mirror, and I decided I had to do something about it.  At my heaviest, I weighed 230 pounds.  Just looking at that number now makes me cringe.  But I was ready to make it better.  Not even considering how the Wii could help me, I decided to give Weight Watchers a try.  The program was working wonders for me.  I was eating right and getting exercise in various ways, walking after dinner, using workout DVDs.  But honestly, I dreaded my exercise.  Of course, this is the attitude that got me in trouble in the first place.  Eventually, I decided to bust out my Wii Sports and try the boxing option.  Before that moment, I had only played it two times because it was exhausting.  I laugh at myself now because I remember so clearly playing the boxing game for the very first time and rubbing my sore arms after just two or three minutes of playing.  I did not see the potential for growth in that moment.  But now my eyes were open to what I had before me.  The fact that the game made me so tired was exactly what I needed.  If I could learn to make this a routine, I would look and feel much better.  It was tough at first, and I mean tough!  But I stayed with it, working out with my Wii four-five times a week.  Astonishingly, as I became a better “boxer,” and loosing more weight, I found that it was getting too easy!  So, I beefed up my routine by creating a playlist on my iPod called “Workout Jamz,” and started dancing to my music during the game’s down times.  For instance, anytime I knocked my opponent down, I would bust a move to music or run in place to the beat of songs like “Blue,” by Sonic, or “Get Ur Freak On,” by Missy Elliott, or one of my all time favorites, “Family Affair,” by Mary J. Blige.