Wii Woes...

Scott loves gadgets. In fact, I usually receive some sort of electronic gift for Christmas as well as for my birthday. I'm not criticizing him; he simply buys what excites him. A few years ago he bought me a Wii, and I was excited to receive it The interactive game system is a lot of fun to play, and it has been a great addition to our "electronic repertoire."

When the Wii Fit came out, I knew I wanted to get one. I have been monitoring my diet and weight for several years now and have been able to maintain my 100+ pound weight loss, a task which requires constant oversight. I am always eager to try a new exercise routine, and the Wii Fit seemed like a perfect fit.

After quickly perusing the directions (okay, to be honest I handed them to Scott and immediately started pressing buttons), I was anxious to get started. I went through the initial Wii Fit set-up screen, accurately entering my height and age. I continued through the screens to create my little Mii (the cyber character that represents me on the screen).

Then, it was the screen I was dreading. I was instructed to step up on the Wii Fit balance board for my weight to be read. Uh oh... no cheating here. Before my eyes, my dreams were shattered. My hip and trendy Mii character, which I had painstakingly created to represent the "new me," was fat!

As if the unflattering shape of my Mii character wasn't insulting enough, the Wii Fit game continued through a series of screens lecturing me about my weight, BMI and diet. Discouraged but not disheartened, I opted to continue. After all, I wasn't going to let a game destroy the self-esteem I had worked so hard to establish!

After playing the Wii Fit through several sessions, utilizing a variety of games and exercises, I have some criticism to offer. These observations are based on my experience using the game as an amputee. In essence, this game was not developed for the amputee in mind.

I was not shocked to learn that my weight is not distributed evenly when I stand. As a nod to the Wii Fit, I have to admit that the game has helped me develop a better sense of balance between my prosthetic and my leg. I have learned how to stand still and to equally distribute the weight between both legs. This is not an easy task for the amputee, and I attribute this skill to the feedback provided through the Wii Fit.

Other than helping me to develop a better sense of weight distribution and balance, I had a difficult time with the Wii Fit. I found the yoga based exercises impossible to perform as I kept falling over or cramping. I suppose that I might improve with practice, but I was fearful that continuing would result in injury.

Many of the games require subtle weight shifts between legs. This is difficult to perform with a prosthetic. For me, the frustrations were not worth the pay-off provided by the game. I found that I was constantly being reminded that I was an amputee, and that I was having difficulty performing a relatively "simple" activity. I don't enjoy that feeling, so I didn't enjoy the game.

I think that the Wii Fit has benefits for the amputee, in particular the balance exercises. Perhaps the more agile amputee would have more success with the other activities. In the meantime, I will continue to use my Wii to bowl, for Dance Dance Revolution and to play Diego's Dinosaur Adventure with Robby.

I have recently received a new fitness game for the Wii which looks promising. I will keep you posted. In the meantime, I am going to try to master Wii dancing and to try to help Robby save the T-Rex.