It looks like most of the other staffers have dropped out of the Wii Fit routine due to work, accessibility problems (we still can't find them in stores), or loss of interest. With the exception of the availability issue, I think we can safely say that Wii Fit faces the same challenges as normal fitness routines when it comes to user motivation.

Looks like I'm still on track to reach my goal weight. I spent the weekend moving apartments, so there was a lot of manual labor and not much snacking afterwe emptied out the pantry ahead of the move.

Starting Weight: 182 lbs. | Current Weight: 179 lbs. |Goal: 177 lbs.

Once upon a time, I didn't know what DOMS was. I lived a sheltered, peaceful existence where I sat in front of a computer a lot and hissed at the sunlight from a distance. On the road to becoming a healthy human being who remembers what it means to manufacture vitamin D, you rediscover exercise. This means pain.

I thought I'd gotten that all over and done with, but here's the thing. Say you don't go running or do your Wii Fit exercises for about 5 days. Then you realize you've been slacking and feel guilty. Then you step on the balance board intending to run through all the routines you used to do, at maximum reps. An hour later I felt pretty accomplished but I knew there would be a price to pay. The price of DOMS. EVIL DOMS. It stands for "delayed onset muscle soreness" or "you know how right after you exercise you feel fine, but you wake up the next morning and your limbs feel like they're full of broken glass? Yeah, it's like that". I'm equal parts annoyed with myself for skipping enough days that resuming activity makes me sore, and pleased that I'm sore because that means my muscles should heal up stronger. Yeah, that sounds sort of sick in the head, but I'd like to be able to do pushups without my knees on the floor before the end of the year.

I think I've hit some sort of plateau so far with weight loss. I deviate a fraction of a pound each day, and like the stock market I never really know if it's going to be up or down until I hit the scale. Case in point: I've eaten a lot of rice this past week. A lot. With vegetables. Also, there was an unfortunate incident with a bag of Hershey's Kisses with Almonds that I won't go into, except to say that chocolate is illegally delicious and should be banned. But even after a week of sitting in darkness in my apartment (old buildings in San Francisco have EXCELLENT eletrical) eating high-carb food and doing not much, I still lost weight. I don't understand. Apparently, building a lot of muscle from running really keeps your metabolism up. That's a great thing if you have to live in a world that includes chocolate candy.

It's also good if you happen to have the perfect weight for wobbling on some important BMI line, which I do. If I gain any weight, even a fraction of a pound, it puts my BMI calculation right above the Overweight line and my Mii develops a potbelly. When I lose weight, I drop back below the line and my Mii stays svelte. This happens several times a week. I'm beginning to worry that my Mii is going to develop an image complex, and I can't afford to send it to a shrink. Well, at least not until they release Wii Therapy.

Have you got any cool Wii Fit stories? If so, please feel free to hit up the splendiferous Wii Fit Union and chat with us!

We're two weeks into the Wii Fit experiment and I'm already behind. Assuming a 5 lb. weight loss goal, I should be down to about 180.3 lbs by now, but I only clocked in at 181 when I did my daily Wii Fit body test this morning.

Starting Weight: 182 lbs. | Current Weight: 181 lbs. | Goal: 177 lbs.

I must admit that I'm surprised that I managed to come in under my starting weight today. I ate an irresponsible amount of food when I went down to Los Angeles for my friend's wedding this past weekend. The food served at regular American-style wedding receptions often includes hors d'oeuvres and a sit-down dinner, but my friend Lori, a Chinese-American, and John, her now-husband went with a traditional Chinese wedding banquet for their reception.

(Flickr image for illustrative purposes only--I didn't have a camera at dinner.)

For those of you who have never been to a Chinese wedding banquet, imagine sitting down at a big round table with nine other guests and having an army of servers bring over eight to fourteen heaping dishes of delicious food over a three hour period followed sweet red-bean soup. Lori and John, bringing the best of the Eastern and Western dinner traditions together, also provided lots of cake.

I wasn't going to pass up on all the great food, so I prepared in advance by doing a hard workout the day before and then again a couple hours before the wedding. I could hardly walk the next day because of all the lower-body work, but I had a great time at the wedding and it looks like I was able to mitigate most of the dinner with exercise. If you ever get a chance to attend a Chinese wedding banquet, go for it!

I ripped off like 250 hula hoop spins this afternoon and it feels like someone punched me in the pelvis. My hips were gyrating so fast I looked like a Viagra commercial. Poor James Yu sits near the Wii Fit station and felt obliged to take movie footage of me, which pretty much ensures I can never run for president. That's the kind of footage that can ruin a campaign faster than you can say Swift Boat captain.

That said, I finally got a decent workout after going through the strength exercises. I was legitimately sore walking to the bus stop after work from all those lunges, but it's finally starting to pay off. I've lost three pounds already and lowered my BMI from obese to almost obese in just one weekend, and that's a pleasant surprise considering all I did this weekend was drink beer, play golf and eat burritos. I think if I can keep this up every day I just might deflate my spare tire -- the Wii Fit, I mean, not the golf/beer/burritos. I'll be sure to post some topless pics soon.

[UPDATE] I ate a turkey burger for dinner. Dedication.

Y'know, they say that it's not that people don't have time for exercise, it's that they don't make it a priority. I, sadly, must confess to such behavior. We're a week in and I just made the weigh-in. Time to make up for lost ground!

BMI: 23.6 (5'9", 157.4 lbs.)
BF%: 16.1%
Wii Age: 44 (actual age: younger than that)
Goal: lose 2 lbs., get Wii Fit to my actual age, improve my balance scores

The ski jump and soccer games are pretty fun. The balance board one, where you have to get the ball in the hole, was tough - it wasn't even a question of balance, just of puzzle skills, which apparently are not my forte when I'm trying to keep balance at the same time. I also tried some of the strength ones, and was shocked to discover I'm as bad at pushups as everyone else in the office. Must be something in the coffee they give us. . .

I didn't have time on Friday to visit Wii Fit, but I did make time on Thursday. Also note that I will be out of the office on Monday, so my next weigh-in and Wii Fit session will be Tuesday, though I will be visiting the gym in the meanwhile.

I also wanted to mention that the rowing squats exercise is flatly broken. Bethany and I both have difficulties meeting the awful balance requirements, though we're doing the exercise exactly as it is depicted. Unless you do the exercise on the balls of your heels, you can't get results--yet there is no way the exercise should be done in such an uncomfortable, clearly broken manner. I am dissapointed that the game seems incapable of noticing that I am doing the exercise properly.

But hey--I have results already! Changes in values from the last test will be noted in parentheses. Good changes will be green. Bad changes will be red. Take a peek:

Wii Fit Results, Day 2: Kevin VanOrd

Goal: Lose 22 pounds in 2 weeks

Weight: 265.5 pounds (-1.5 pounds)
BMI: 34.21 (-.19)
Basic Balance Test: 75% (+75%)
Wii Fit Age: 35 (-13)

Scores:

Aerobics

Basic Step: 265 (-1)
Running: 103 (+13)

Yoga

Sun Salutation: 94
Half Moon: 86 (+5)

Strength

Single-Leg Extensions: 70 (-15)
Rowing Squats: 33
Torso Twists: 92 (-1)

6'1", 215 pounds and I play in a very strenous kickball league, so I am definitely not fat. Wii Fit doesn't agree, and went so far as to call me almost obese. I'll show you, Wii Fit. Little do you know I was the most athletic student in my entire home school, and now I'm taking all my athletic prowess and turning it against you. Not only will I get my BMI down to a healthy 22 and lose 25 pounds in two months, but I will also start drinking light beer at kickball. LIGHT BEER!

Yesterday I jumped on Wii Fit for the first time on my way out the door -- only had time for 155 hula hoop rings before taking off. But I must say, I am very impressed with the goal-setting and stat tracking with Wii Fit and I haven't been this motivated to excersise since I uploaded the Rocky soundtrack to my iPod. Even if I never step on that balance board for an actual exercise, opting instead to hit the gym or run, I love how the Wii Fit is my own personal trainer. Sometimes a videogame calling you fat is all the motivation you need.

Today I made an appointment at my gym with a fitness advisor before embarking on the GameSpot Wii Fit challenge. In the interest of some scientific analysis, I thought it was a good idea to get a professional test to track alongside the Wii Fit activity.

As I suspected, I could do with dropping some weight and being a bit fitter, and hopefully with some regular exercise Wii Fit will help me acheive some of those goals. Also, Wii Fit seems to be fairly accurate with its analysis, even though the fitness expert had some doubts on the validity of BMI as a measurement.

Anyway, it's all in the video so check it out and let me know what you think!