Is the Balance Board Balanced?
I got a Wii Fit for my birthday this year, and I generally really like it. The games are fun, and it's always good for a clutz like me to work on balance. I like the way you unlock new games as you play the various games more. There's a nice mix of fun and challenging.
I am not so happy with the Balance Board character. I wish the guy would give me a break. If I weigh myself at the reasonable and recommended (by everyone outside of Wii Fit) once per week, he cajoles me for not doing my body tests more often. "You should at least come back for your daily body test!"
So I tried weighing myself every day. The third day, I had apparently gained 2 lbs. Is this possible in one day? Well, maybe, but I'm pretty sure that I didn't eat 9,500 calories the day before. My guess would be that it's water or hormones or different clothing. I'm not really neurotic enough for my Wii Fit. At any rate, my weight comes up, 2 lbs higher, and I think "Oh well." Then the Balance Board asks me to enter in why I thought I gained the weight.
Excuse me?!
So I look over the list. You can pick things like "Eating too much" and "Not exercising enough" and even "Eating after 7:00 pm." But try as I might, I see no "Look, asshole, it's just been a day--it's not real weight gain." I don't even see a friendlier version of this. I just closed my eyes, shifted my weight, and tapped to choose something at random.
Then the Balance Board says to me: "Did you know that your weight can vary as much as 5 lb from day to day? That's why it's important to weigh yourself at the same time every day. Your last weigh-in was at 6:00 pm."
F&@$#(*
I have continued losing weight since I got my Wii Fit. I think I initially set my goal weight to a BMI of about 23.7. My BMI is just a shade under 25. I think that when I started, it was just a shade over 25. For the record, a normal BMI is 20-24.9, and I have a pretty large/muscular frame.
After I had lost 5 lb, the Balance Board congratulated me on my success, and my average hatey level toward it dropped slightly. Then it continued. "Perhaps you should update your goal. Why not aim for a BMI of 22?"
A BMI of 22 at my height would be 128 lbs. In college, I weighed 135, and my body fat was only 17%--mid-range for athletes. To put it mildly, 128 isn't going to happen.
The Balance Board continues to suggest (randomly, as far as I can tell) that I aim for a BMI of 22.
Basically, every time I get on the Fit, before I can get to the games, I have to deal with the Balance Board and its hurtful ways. I'm glad that I'm strong enough not to be seriously affected by a personified piece of plastic, accelerometers, and load cells.
It's perfectly normal to stand there, saying aloud, "I can take you Balance Board. Your brain is dangerously accessible. You just wait; maybe this time, I'll actually jump when playing the ski jump game."
I am not so happy with the Balance Board character. I wish the guy would give me a break. If I weigh myself at the reasonable and recommended (by everyone outside of Wii Fit) once per week, he cajoles me for not doing my body tests more often. "You should at least come back for your daily body test!"
So I tried weighing myself every day. The third day, I had apparently gained 2 lbs. Is this possible in one day? Well, maybe, but I'm pretty sure that I didn't eat 9,500 calories the day before. My guess would be that it's water or hormones or different clothing. I'm not really neurotic enough for my Wii Fit. At any rate, my weight comes up, 2 lbs higher, and I think "Oh well." Then the Balance Board asks me to enter in why I thought I gained the weight.
Excuse me?!
So I look over the list. You can pick things like "Eating too much" and "Not exercising enough" and even "Eating after 7:00 pm." But try as I might, I see no "Look, asshole, it's just been a day--it's not real weight gain." I don't even see a friendlier version of this. I just closed my eyes, shifted my weight, and tapped to choose something at random.
Then the Balance Board says to me: "Did you know that your weight can vary as much as 5 lb from day to day? That's why it's important to weigh yourself at the same time every day. Your last weigh-in was at 6:00 pm."
F&@$#(*
I have continued losing weight since I got my Wii Fit. I think I initially set my goal weight to a BMI of about 23.7. My BMI is just a shade under 25. I think that when I started, it was just a shade over 25. For the record, a normal BMI is 20-24.9, and I have a pretty large/muscular frame.
After I had lost 5 lb, the Balance Board congratulated me on my success, and my average hatey level toward it dropped slightly. Then it continued. "Perhaps you should update your goal. Why not aim for a BMI of 22?"
A BMI of 22 at my height would be 128 lbs. In college, I weighed 135, and my body fat was only 17%--mid-range for athletes. To put it mildly, 128 isn't going to happen.
The Balance Board continues to suggest (randomly, as far as I can tell) that I aim for a BMI of 22.
Basically, every time I get on the Fit, before I can get to the games, I have to deal with the Balance Board and its hurtful ways. I'm glad that I'm strong enough not to be seriously affected by a personified piece of plastic, accelerometers, and load cells.
It's perfectly normal to stand there, saying aloud, "I can take you Balance Board. Your brain is dangerously accessible. You just wait; maybe this time, I'll actually jump when playing the ski jump game."
posted by megan at
9:48 PM
2 Comments:
Boy, the ol' Wii Fit seems kind of rough!
That reminds me about running on a treadmill. At the end of a 4 mile run, the display tells me "Good Job" and "Well Done." I began to wonder about that - what if I ran at a suckee speed, or if I really wanted to do 6 miles? In that case, it wouldn't have been so good.
I began to notice that other people got the same message, which made my "Good Job" not as significant.
But at least Mr. Balance Board has a bit more data to work on, and maybe he isn't so worried about always being polite. Hmmm.... I wonder if a Ms. Balance Board might be a bit more kind or offer a few more choices for the weight gains!!!
Today I heard on the radio about a web site called milife.com that has a watch like device that you wear that measures all your activity and uploads it, as well as a daily weight from your scale, to their web site. Then a coach offers you advice to continue your healthy life style or otherwise give you a friendly "nudge" for you. Now, if Milife and Wii Fit get together . . . it gives a new lite on Big Brother.
By
Jay, at 5:40 PM
Oh, that Milife sounds very similar to the Body Bugg.
By
megan, at 10:38 PM
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