Virtual Reality

As followers of this blog know, I now have a Wii fit. I've been asked if it's good, and to give a review.

I will say, it is fun, it has promoted exercise in my family and according to it, I've jogged in place roughly 30 miles since last week.  Given that before last week, I had not run mile one in about three years, you'ld think the pounds would be melting away.

Alas the virtual miles do not make the actual pounds disappear. I've gained two! My Wii Mii is flabby in the middle like me.  Speaking from the tiny part of me that is completely vain, I'd like a little less realistic reality in my virtual avatar. 

Then there's the Wii Mii age. The machine gives you your physical age based on a series of tests.  I've been 63, 54, 49, 33, and 25.  It's very demoralizing when your kids tell you, "Hey Mom...it says you're old and overweight.  The Wii said so." 

The Wii also says I'm running 12.6 miles in an hour. I've NEVER done that, I don't think it's physically possible given my airway issues.  So the skeptic in me has awakened.  How is it possible I'm jogging nearly the equivalent of a half a marathon a day in an hour? How is it I am morphing into Supergirl when I run in the Wii world and staying slug flabby Mii both on the screen and in real life?  Is the Wii lying to me in my activity, telling me what I want to hear in one area but not the other? If the machine is going to lie to me, I wish it would tell me I'm thinner for all these miles.

Here's what I do know...reality is always harder than virtual; rockband is easier than practicing a guitar, blogging is easier than writing for a publication, and Facebook is no substitute for time spent with friends.

Sigh...Nothing good or great or worthwhile is easy. Nothing of value does not require commitment.
I'm reminded of the quote, "Of course it's hard. If it was easy then everybody would do it. Its the hard that makes it great."--from A League of Their Own. 

Wii Fit is the exercise equivalent of diet food dessert.  It almost works, but not quite because we know what the real cheesecake tastes like.    It is real enough, I'm working out and that's a start.   I still like the Wii, but tomorrow, I'm going to try running outside and see what happens...I'll let you know how far I get in those sixty minutes outside of the Wii world.  Hopefully actual exercise in the real world will yield better results than the Wii world has.  I'll let you know.