I've been on Wii Fit for roughly a month. I do it for 45-50 minutes a day, 6 days a week. My goal is to drop about 25 pounds over three months.

So far, I have not lost a pound. However- I have greatly improved my center of balance, which aside from the weight is the biggest area I need to work (according to the Wii). I also generally feel better, sleep better, and am getting more limber. So I consider it a success, even though the weight has not budged up to this point. BTW, Wii Fit claims I need to have a target weight which is 40 pounds less than what my cardiologist recommended. I never weighed the Wii-recommended weight in my life since I have been full grown, and I was thin when I was a teenager (!). BMI alone is not an accurate indicator for ideal weight IMO.

As for the weight- my conclusion is that Wii Fit alone is not going to help me achieve my goal in a reasonable time frame. I'm 51 with fairly slow metabolism. I have been consciously controlling my portions, pushing myself away from the table, not eating junk food, reduced my carbs and sugar intake, and increased fresh vegetables and fruit. I also eat a small portion of protein first thing in the morning to jump start my metabolism, and stay away from foods that slow it down. I am not going to diet any more strictly than I am now. I enjoy food, it is one of many pleasures in life.

So I need to get more aggressive with the workout, but feel I'm hitting a "ceiling" with Wii Fit. As implied in the beginner's guide here, I don't think it's aggressive enough for me and I feel like I could do more. For example, no matter how hard I work, I can't seem to "burn" more than 140-143 calories on the bike in free ride mode. I'm supplementing it with other aerobic routines, but to get to my goals it will take too long. I don't want to spend more time with it than I already am. So I think in a few weeks I'm going to get EA Sports Active and try alternating these on different days. For me, the answer is more effective exercise, not more dieting.

But I love Wii Fit and am glad I started. The "fun" aspect has kept me motivated to exercise and stay active. I'll check back in in another month and let you know how it's going.

I'd suggest EA Sports Active More Workouts if you are only going to buy one of their games. You'll have to buy the leg strap separately but it's a much friendlier game than the original Active Personal Trainer. I have both and they are both great workouts but the original is a bit more like going to gym class and gets a bit boring. The new More Workouts is a good workout but a bit more fun to do so it's easier to stay committed.

Hi Doug;
Welcome to the forum and WiiFit. You are correct in everything you say. I too need to improve my balance immensely and have done so with the Wii, the other day I was ALMOST perfectly centered. Most people on this forum LOVE EA Sports more workouts, I hope to get it soon. I'll have to tell my husband that it would be a better Valentines gift than roses. Thankfully he knows better than to get me chocolate (even though I ADORE it) now. I would suggest checking out this forum more often than once a month. It can be very informative and inspiring. Good luck with your goals. I was THRILLED to fit into a pair of jeans that were TIGHT two years and at least one size ago, today they were quite comfortable and I'm hoping soon they wil be too loose (like most of my other jeans now).

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

I'm definitely going to look at More Workouts. I do post here more than once a month, in some of the other forum sections.

Another vote for EA sports active. I've got both games but am concentrating, for the time being, on the first one until I know it better and then I'll mix it up a bit with 'more workouts'. It really does give you a proper work out and makes you sweat I haven't given up on Wiifit though, I tend to do it before EA as a bit of a warm up (I love cycling) and on days when I am far too knackered to go for a major workout. The jogging on Wiifit is good as you can go for 30 minutes if that's all you feel like doing (jogging being my thing but can't face doing it outside in GB at the moment). I've found that EA and Wiifit work well together - EA giving you a serious (and often painful) session and Wii something more relaxed and fun oriented.

Honestly, I see the Wiifit as more of a starter. It gets you into exercising.

I actually barely play mine anymore, I eventually weaned off of it and into other activities, like running, and other exercise videos that I used to not be able to do. When winter hit I got a gym membership, and now that's my main thing that I do everyday. I still do use my Wiifit though, mainly to weigh myself and to play the games, or lately I've been snowed in, and can't go to the gym, so I use my Wiifit, it's a nice mixup from running at the gym and feeling weight lifting weights around a bunch of big guys.

I'm still working up the courage to go into the free weights section....

I'm doing the opposite. I went to the gym fairly regularly for most of the months of last year. I was just doing cardio stuff on the treadmill or bike. But it just gets boring to me after a while (even with headphones) and I don't like the imposition on my time. Sooner or later I always quit going, have done it a few times before. I prefer getting home from work earlier and doing Wii fit at home. In fact, I'm calling the gym today to cancel.

Incidentally since I started this thread I have lost a couple pounds so maybe I'm starting to "break through the ice" a little. Hopefully it's not just a normal weight variation. I'll give it time and see. Right now it's trending down so that's a good thing and I'll take what I can get...

Edit: Something I meant to add- One thing I'm learning is that I need to get more active in my life in general. Sitting on my butt all day and then doing some sort of exercise routine for an hour is not going to work for me. Yesterday I took a long walk with my wife. A day or two before I spent the evening playing guitar with my son (standing) instead of watching tv (after running errands all day). Starting to use the stairs at work more than just the elevator. I'm finding little ways to make little changes here and there that should add up. Doing the Wii Fit has helped make me feel more active and feel more like doing things without really thinking about it. It's like I'm not satisfied to be idle now, if that makes sense.

Maybe I spoke too soon when I started this thread. After 4 weeks or so I'm finally starting to see some weight loss that doesn't seem to be just day-to-day fluctuation (keeping my fingers crossed). Yesterday it looked like I had lost 4 pounds since starting. I'll see how it holds out. Maybe I'm finally breaking through the ice...

Nice one Doug Good to hear it's starting to shift.

Hi! You must be feeling great now that you are seeing a decent loss coming...I can so identify with you...I have been bashing away at the wii for about a month now and haven't seen any loss to speak of either. Still, at least it's not an overall gain, I should be glad about that!

Keep with it and let us know how you get on!