Working towards a realistic goal…

One thing that I really liked about the holidays was one of the gifts that Leah got for Xmas, which was something for our Nintendo Wii, which is what we got for last year’s X-mas. Cool thing about it is she got me this year for the holiday was also for the Wii as well: the full ‘Rock Band’ set for the Wii, which comes with a wireless guitar, a drum set and a mic for anyone who wants to sing. I have Guitar Hero II and III on my Playstation 2, so making the transition to Rock Band was really no sweat. I skipped easy mode and went right to medium level and I’m still scoring in the high nineties. Might move on to a harder level later, but I’m not rushing and am taking my time through the games pretty impressive song list.

A few songs I like going back to over and over again to play just for kicks are “Gimmie Shelter” by the Stones, “Wanted Dead Or Alive” by Bon Jovi and “Don’t Look Back In Anger” by Oasis. What I also like about Rock Band is that the Guitar Solo stands out in the song and if you play it perfectly (or well enough) you get a bonus added to your score. I think that’s a good idea cause it influences people to practice solos rather than just try to crash through them. I also really like the wireless guitar. I can pretty much run around the living room and play the some from any part of the room, roam around a bit and have a little space. That’s cool when you have kids chasing you around the stage, I mean floor.

Getting back on track, the gift I got Leah this year was the Wii fit. That cool little thing you stand on and use for exercises and other cool stuff like Yoga and games that help get you in shape. On Christmas Day after the kids went to bed, Leah and I used the Wii to test ourselves and see where we stood with the little thing and find out what kind of goals we needed to set and get started. Leah and I took some balance tests, had our posture tested and whack of other stuff… and based on that it determined what it called our ‘Wii age’, which was what it though our age was based on our combined data. The older you are the less healthy you are, and the goal is to be close if not lower than your real age. Leah had trouble with the tests, her weight was the highest its been in a while and it turns out her Wii age is 45. That kind of upset her since she only just turned 32. I took the same tests and seemed to fare a little better, and turns out my Wii age is 30. That’s really good considering that’s three years younger than my current age with is 33.

The games/exercises are quite good, and I’m doing really well with them. Scoring rather high and getting three star ratings (out of four) for most of the games I play, which isn’t bad for someone just starting off. Leah is getting a big frustrated, and is struggling with some of them, but I’ve been telling her she needs to start with the Yoga first because her balance is what’s costing her massive points in the other games and since my balance is fine I’m killing everyone right now in the score, even my older brother and a friend who tried them too. But I’m sure with practice, they’ll do better. I’m determined to keep working on it. Every time Jon goes down for a nap or after bedtime when both boys are down, I’m going to take at least 30 mins to work the Wii fit and burn some calories. That along with some changes that I made to my eating habits should produce some serious results.

So while I’m doing all right with the games, one thing I really, really need to work on is my weight. It’s a little too high for my liking, and I need work on lowering my mass. Turns out what I’m doing is working because since Christmas Day (which was only 19 days ago), I’ve lost six pounds according to the Wii fit and my weekly check ins. This machine makes it impossible to cheat so this will work to keep me honest, and while that kind of weight loss is a little too much too fast, the goal I actually set was two pounds every two weeks. It’s a realistic goal, and one that isn’t too aggressive. So that’s something I’ve enjoyed doing over the last few weeks, and I hope to keep working on it through out the entire year… hopefully that’s something I won’t lose track of.

So that’s it for now. I hope everyone is well and I’ll be back to post another real entry soon. Until then, take care.

Peter