Day 1

Today was day one of my New Year’s resolution.

The game asks me date of birth and height. I’m 25 (going on 26) and for the Wii’s purposes, I am 5 feet 4 inches tall. In real life, I’m only 5 feet 3.5 inches tall, but shorties always round up.

Weigh in Time: 7 p.m.

Weight: 136.5 pounds.

BMI 23.34 (normal)

I do some balance exercises and the Wii calculates my “fit” age as 27 years old. I've always said I'm mature for my age.

I set a goal for myself: Lose 11 pounds in 3 months. Since I’m “surfing the crimson wave,” to quote the great Cher Horowitz, that first pound, or at least half a pound, should be gone as soon as Aunt Flow leaves town.

I don’t just need to lose weight. I need to shape up. I get winded easily and am a weakling. I can take the pushes and shoves in a mosh pit, but I can’t really give ‘em back. I grunt when I pick up Felicity, my overweight cat. She's fat, but she's not *that* fat!

I decide to set rules for myself. I need to exercise 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes a day. Each 30 minute set has to be well-rounded with all Wii Fit Plus has to offer: yoga, strength, cardio and balance. The Wii Fit "Plus" games are a bit of everything and they seriously kick regular ole Wii Fit's butt.

As I shape up, I'll increase my daily goals, but 30 minutes is a good starting point for someone whose daily regime is: crawl out of bed, eat, computer, eat, computer, TV, eat, computer, sleep.

I won’t push hard on the yoga because my doctor has recommended against it: I’m already hypermobile. I’m pretty rockin’ at balance. I was a gymnast for half my life and did stints in ballet and cheerleading, as well as various forms of dance. I’m also a klutz. Don’t ask me how good balance and being a klutz go together. I don’t know, either.

After warming up on my own and then with yoga, I breeze through the tightrope (champion) and move on to cardio. Super Hoola Hoops kicks my butt and sets off my sweat glands. I get 3/4 stars and get very, very winded. I catch my breath with a snowball fight, my favorite Wii Fit Plus game. I bust out my Kung Fu moves, hit some soccer balls, lead a marching parade, try some ski jumps, go two rounds of step class, and attempt the strength exercises.

After wobbling my way through the strength exercises, I cool down with the Zen test. What is the Zen test, you ask?

You sit on the board, cross your legs (as they called it “Indian style” when I was in school. I imagine they don’t call it that, anymore.) and you focus on a flame, sitting as still as possible. Noise and movement distractions appear on the screen. My first go round I only made it 30some odd seconds before the flame went out. My second attempt, I bumped it up to 80ish.

I think I'll end every session with the Zen test.

I spent 40 minutes on Wii Fit today and I'll likely play some of the "easy" games tonight. I must beat my husband's high score on snowball: 46 hits. I'm two hits short.

As I work my way through Wii Fit Plus, I'll give more detailed descriptions of the games and how they are whipping my big butt into shape.