Body by Mii

This is a personal post. If you have seen me in the last year or two, you have noticed that I have become rather pudgy. Back in May of this year I actually broke the deuce-and-a-half mark (251 lbs)!- Ouch. Well, at that point I finally admitted that I had officially “let myself go” and something must be done about it.

Back in July my lovely and supportive wife bought me a late father’s day present of a Nintendo Wii Fit™. If you haven’t heard of this, it is an interactive balance board to be used with the Nintendo gaming system. A virtual trainer guides you through yoga poses, strength training, balance games, and aerobic activities. It is very cool, and I would highly recommend it for families or individuals to get you off the couch. The first thing you do after plugging in your Wii Fit is to make a Mii. A Mii is a virtual representation of yourself where you pick your eye shape, hair color, etc. One caveat though, it does not let you stay the slender virtual self you programmed in if you are actually a fatty. You see, the board is also a scale and it will know if you lied about your physique. I had to stand there powerless as the little Lindsay Mii blew up like a balloon. - I thought the Japanese were supposed to be polite!
Since then, I have been working out on my lunch breaks and with the Wii at home and have lost about 19 lbs. I was pleasantly surprised when the Wii told me I was no longer 'obese', merely 'overweight'. Of course muscle weighs more than fat, so one should never just go by weight to measure progress; body fat percentage is a much better indicator.
I decided to swallow my pride and put this embarrassing info out on the web for all to see, which will force me to either stay on track or become a shut-in. So, here’s the breakdown:

• I started at 251 lbs and 34.5% body fat (I got this from a digital scale, not the Wii).
• I am now 232 lbs and 30.4% fat (I am 6' 1", by the way).

I am far from my goals, but it is an encouraging start. Ideally, I would like to be back to my post-Alaska/wedding day weight of 190 lbs, but I will be happy with my high-school football playing weight of 205 lbs (I was the smallest guy on the line). If anyone out there needs my moral support for a similar goal, please feel free to contact me by blog, email, or phone (depending on how well you know me, of course). Despite my appearance, I do know something about nutrition, physical fitness, and weight training, thanks to classes taken in college. So, if you know next to nothing about these subjects and need help setting up a program, I may be of assistance.

*By the way Reena, I am very impressed that you lost all your baby weight and have managed to stay fit-‘cuz you were huge that first time around. Seriously, you are a great role model to us fatties.