Why Wii Fit is full of crap.

I received a Wii Fit with Wii Fit Plus for Christmas from my awesome MIL, and so far, I really enjoy doing yoga on it. The moves aren't that difficult, you can select which moves you want to create a routine of, and it even has a little guide on screen to show if you're stabilizing yourself properly during the move (along with a blue orb to follow to ensure proper breathing). I haven't tried any of the strength training exercises, but the basic balance "games" are fun and I LOVE the island running (as a matter of fact, I'm going to go home on this rainy day, and run around my Wii island). I have decided to do the yoga routine nightly, as I find that it really does relax me, relaxes my wonky leg (more on that one day), and allows me to kind of give up any angst of the day. I plan to do this in addition to any strength training or cardio I do throughout the week. This is more of a stretching, relaxing, breathing thing for me. I don't really look at it as exercise (my friend Jeremy would smack me silly if he heard me say that).

Wii Fit is a crazy little robot thing that will do all kinds of things for you: weigh you, check your BMI, allow you to input the number of steps you've logged that day (it doesn't come with a pedometer. It should, and it should be wireless and feed it back to the Wii for you. Are you listening, Nintendo? I have the most brilliant ideas ever. Two words for you: Brand Ambassador. I'm just sayin'.) and create a goal and track it.

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But it's not a very accurate little robot thing.

For instance, I weighed myself and checked my BMI when I first received the Wii Fit, on Christmas day. It said I weighed in at 119.2 lbs, with a BMI of 18.04. This seemed to be correct, as I had started eating total junk shortly after our wedding in November, and had probably gained a few pounds. However, I decided to update it last night, and it said that I had LOST weight and now weighed 113 lbs (lies!) and had a BMI of 17.11.

WRONG!

I knew this wasn't true. I had just been to the doctor two weeks prior and weighed in at 125 lbs. I had not dieted, exercised, or had a stomach virus in the past two weeks, so there was no way I had lost 12 lbs in that time. Plus, it took several months of a seriously strict regimen of no sugar, healthy eating and exercise to get down to about 115 for my wedding (from about 140 lbs), so I KNOW it wasn't just snap my fingers easy (god, I WISH). So I went and calibrated the scale in my bathroom, the one I swore I'd never use again (it's not about weight for me, it's about being healthy and happy) and it said I weigh about 121 lbs, which sounds closer to what it should be. So the moral of the story is, Wii Fit Plus appears to be a useful little exercise tool, I just wouldn't use it  as an actual scale. I could just be pissed that it told me my Wii Fit age back in December was 38, and now it's telling me it's 48 (I'm 32). Stupid Wii Fit.

A note on my weight and what I'm working toward:

When I'm not working out or dieting, I stay right around 120-125. If my thyroid gets out of whack AND I'm not dieting or exercising, I have gotten up to 145. Which ironically enough, is my alleged "ideal" weight. I'm calling BS. I was fat at 145 (not that 145 is fat - it was on ME, because that ideal weight standard does not account for body type, just height and age). I feel most comfortable at 120. My clothes fit well, I don't feel bulky or like I'm dragging anything extra with me. It is my ultimate goal to be simply happy with how I feel, no matter my weight. However, feeling my best happens to coincide with my weight being around 120 lbs.


So my goal is to maintain a weight of around 120 lbs, but to increase muscle tone without adding bulk. I can do this.