My Xbox Kinect Weight Loss Success Story: How I Used Your Shape Fitness Evolved to Lose Weight

My weight loss success story began with me admitting I was FAT! I weighted 250lbs and I'm only 5'9". I gained 40lbs of that with my pregnancy, which was riddled with health problems including gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure). But I was pre-obese prior to becoming pregnant. The diabetes resolved after my daughter was born but the high blood pressure did not. I should have known then it was the cause of all my health problems. I was being treated for high blood pressure at the age of 28! Really? I already had chronic pain from osteoarthritis in my neck, back and other joints and migraines from a car accident when I was 20. I really didn’t need another health problem; so, I made the decision to lose the weight. But I did it playing video games.

My husband says I was never fat. He had to say that right? He unwittingly enabled my denial. I had been out of work for over a year, and I was already really depressed. I had just lost my dog of 10 years. If you're a dog lover you know how I felt. It was like I lost my child. I had a hard time with it and how did I make myself feel better? Like most people I indulged in food. So I packed on the weight. I was so depressed after Lady died, I stopped taking pictures almost completely. I was an avid scrapbooker, but I just had no motivation after she was gone. I know my daughter should have been enough, but the bond between Lady and I, I can't even explain it with words. I'd had her since shortly after my car accident, and we'd been through so much together. It was really hard for me to accept.

When I went back to work in 2009, I started feeling really disgusted with myself. I was so fat! Not only was I disgusted by my reflection in the mirror, I was disgusted by the thought of my reflection. I, also, was starting to have heart palpitations constantly. It felt like my heart was in permanent ventricular fibrillation. I was afraid I'd have a heart attack and drop dead while I was at work. The palpitations were that bad! I went to several doctors, none of which came up with an answer. The palpitations were caused by my heart trying to beat too fast and my sinoatrial node (the heart’s pacemaker) shocking it back into rhythm. If I hadn't seen it for myself on the ECG, I would never have believed it. No one could figure out what was causing my heart to start racing. I had the palpitations as a teenager and they were dismissed as a mitral valve prolapse. When I went to the cardiologist in 2009, they said there was no mitral valve prolapse. Like most of my health problems and those of my pets (that’s a whole other hub), I had to figure out what was causing the problem on my own, doctors were useless.

Microsoft launched their Kinect for the Xbox 360 in November 2010. I just had to have one of these, but like most Americans in this economy, I live paycheck to paycheck so I got creative. I posted on Facebook to anyone looking for holiday gifts for myself or my family should look no further than the Kinect. My sister was kind enough to pre-order one for us. We were one of the first 8 million people to get our hands on one. It was AWESOME. The only problem I had with it was it proving how out of shape I was. It was horrible. I couldn't play for more than 15 minutes without getting really winded and having to sit down, which only exacerbated the heart palpitations. I knew I had to lose weight. It was killing me. A gym wasn’t an option since we couldn’t afford it and I’m really not an outside person.

Around the same time Microsoft released the Kinect, Ubisoft released Your Shape: Fitness Evolved. I had found the Holy Grail! I could finally get fit and in the comfort of my own home! I saved up the money and by the end of the month I bought the game (and actually got it for $30 off the original price). When the game finally arrived, I had to try it immediately! I started “playing” and I was hooked. The Kinect tracked all of my movements almost perfectly and like most video games it was extremely addictive! I started working out everyday. I even started a blog about my experience with a regular exercise regimen and the effects it had on my osteoarthritis. Two months later I had lost 40lbs.

My pain was getting better and I needed my pain medication less often. I felt better, my heart palpitations had become less frequent, but my blood pressure remained borderline despite my medication. So, I started researching what else I could do. I had gone on a high protein diet but I knew with my high blood pressure my kidneys wouldn’t last long filtering that much protein. I’d had the urge to go vegetarian for over a year but I didn’t know why and I was too lazy to make the switch. I started researching vegetarians and vegans and found quite a bit of evidence to support the fact that meat causes many of our chronic health conditions including my high blood pressure. My husband had gone vegetarian once before and was thrilled for ethical reasons when I suggested it. My doctor was thrilled as well.

Six months after starting the exercise with the Kinect, I had lost 70lbs. I was still exercising daily, getting up at 4:00 am to get my workout in before I had to go to work. I would typically workout for about 2 ½ to 3 hours. My stomach was flattening out. I was starting to feel sexy again! I thought the game would help me burn fat but I’d have to find my own toning exercises to shape my body. Nope! I had not only lost 70lbs of fat, I gained substantial lean muscle mass, which apparently is extremely hard to do. When I went back to the doctor, he was ecstatic. My blood pressure had gone from 136/94 to 104/72. No, really. My doctor said “You’re going to stay on the diet? Keep exercising?” Of course I said yes, and he said a few more pounds and I could be off my medication.

Ok, so I didn’t lose the weight playing Modern Warfare 3, but I was playing a video game. That video game inspired me to change my life. I’m not just trying to lose weight now; I’m trying to live a healthy life style. The game just makes it easy and fun to get in my exercise.

I finally found out what was causing my heart palpitations.They were the result of two things: extremely low potassium with high sodium and obesity. The weight put too much strain on my heart, so it was struggling to do its job, and it was out of rhythm because I didn’t have any potassium to regulate it. I still get them every now and then when I get really upset, like when Dickens died on November 1st, 2011. But I know I'm not going to drop dead anytime soon.

I'm still using the Kinect and recently got the new Your Shape: FItness Evolved 2012 game. Unfortunately, life keeps throwing me curve balls and I'm having a hard time motivating myself to keep up the routine. I had quit my job due to philosophical differences with the doctor I worked for (he had no integrity, I valued my integrity, stuff like that). Then three months later Dickens died. While she was sick, I felt selfish taking time just to do a workout when she was sitting there practically paralyzed. I became even more depressed after she died, and despite the inner battle I had with myself, I again turned to food. I had put on ten pounds by the time things started to change and my jeans were tight again.

Since I wasn't thrilled with the 2012 version of Your Shape, (which was adding to my lack of motivation) I bought UFC Trainer. The MMA (mixed martial arts) style of fighting not only helped me get out all my frustration that had festered from the previous year; it was FUN! I started playing UFC Trainer in February 2012 and as of today (March 8, 2012) I've lost five of that ten pounds I gained. I'm still struggling with the depression. Not having my puppies and trying to be a stay-at-home-mom for the first time in my life has taken its toll on me. But I keep trying. Writing here on hubpages has helped me get some of my confidence back and the UFC Trainer helps with motivation. All in all, I'd say I've been successful with my weight loss. But it will always be an uphill battle, or a war.

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