According to a recently published article, Wii players burn over 1,800 calories every 12 hours of play (average gamers play 12hr of video games a week).  From the story:

Last month, a U.K. study suggested gamers using the Wii Sports game burn more than 1,800 calories over 12 hours of play, the average time gamers spend playing every week.

That could translate into a weight loss of 12 kg, says study author and sports science researcher Dr. Tim Cable, who teaches at Liverpool John Moores University.

The benefits go beyond fitness. Another study published in the American Medical Association's Archives of Surgery suggested surgeons with a high level of video-game-playing skill made 47 per cent fewer mistakes and worked 39 per cent faster in laparoscopic surgery drills than their non-gamer colleagues.

 So, not only can you loose weight playing the Wii, it also helps surgeons perform their job better. 

My 30 day workout with the Wii ended last Wednesday.  I think it was a success.  The initial goal was to workout for at least a 1/2hr a day on the Wii and to make small dietary changes during that time to try and loose some weight.  The results were good but the execution proved a little more difficult than I imagine.

My original weigh-in on Day 1 put me at 226 lbs.  Stepping on the scale Feb. 1st showed that I was down to 219 lbs which by simple math means I lost 7 lbs in a month.  Not too shabby.  Looking back at the execution of the workout, makes me think that I could do much better.  I was pretty diligent when I first started and kept on schedule with my daily 30 minute workout.  The last 10 days or so, due to some personal matters (and travel) I either had days where I couldn't workout at all or days where I only got in a good 20 minutes of workout.  Also, although I did manage to curb my eating habits (found myself opting for Salad much more often), the goal of cutting down on extra carbohydrates in the form of deserts and dinner choices, I was less effective.  But in anycase, I did show some good results and plan on continuing my Wii Weightloss program.

 Some of the good things that came out of this program.  I feel much better, more healthy than when I started.  I came up with the idea of creating a copy of my normal Wii so I could exercise my less dominant hand.  Both my right-handed and left-handed Miis are on the Pro Level in Wii Sports Tennis.  I found some really cool new games which were added to my workout:  Rayman Raving Rabbits and Gamecube Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.  And of course, I lost some weight.

 So continue the good fight, this sure was a fun way to lose a few pounds!

As you have seen, the postings have really slowed down this past week.  I had some unexpected travel which has really cut into my Wii Workout.  Up until this week, I had been able to consistently workout for at least 30 minutes every day with the Wii almost always in the morning.  Days when I could not workout in the morning I either made up for it at night or did two workouts the day before (one morning, one night).  This week my exercise has been sporadic and I have been able to do a few 10 minute sessions.

There has been one item of note this week though.  I finally achieved Pro on Wii Sports Tennis.  It has taken me since the late November launch of the Wii to get this far (never claimed I had any tennis skills).  I had been close a couple times but then always got on a loosing streak and was knocked back to the 800's.

On another note, Rayman Raving Rabbits has definitely took over the favorite spot on the Wii here.  All our friends who have Wii's are also experiencing some sort of addition to this game.  I guess there is something about cow tossing .....