Keiser Graphics

So I was invited to a party where they might end up playing DDR 1 for the wii. Now I used to play DDR 1 all the time for my daily exercise but for the last few months I’ve been playing the sequel. I figured I should get DDR1 out and do a little practice so that I wouldn’t look like a complete idiot playing DDR1 as all of my friends know that I play DDR on a daily basis. Did I mention how much I love this game/exercise routine? Oh yeah, DDR is awesome.

Anyways, I put the game in and start to get excited about these old songs that I haven’t played to in several months. I can see all my high scores and how I have A, AA, and AAA on almost all the songs and in all the difficulty levels except expert. I feel so uncoordinated in that I can’t even come close to my old expertise. I was lucky if I could get anything better than a D. Yup I went from an AAA to the same consistency of many community college students D grade. I don’t know what has happened. I’m stronger and more fit now then I was back then, I have faster reflexes, and I look cuter in a skirt now then I did then (I’m not sure how that would help me but whatever).

I don’t know what has happened. I’ve been starting to play DDR2 on expert mode, maybe that is what has messed everything up? Have I started to become so godlike at this game that earlier easier versions of this game no longer can keep up with me? Man I’d love to be a DDR god with light coming down from the heavens every time I step out on the dance mat and angels from above sing along with Ushers “I’m so caught up” as I pound my godly DDR feet to the rhythm of the music. I could then sprout wings and have my DDR wings carry me off into a disco burst of holy glory.

Oh and I promise to post more regularly. My brother just got married and I have some fantastic pictures to share after I get them all organized.

Recently I’ve been gaining a little weight. Being that I am a woman, the second I gain more than 3 pounds is cause for concern. The thing is that I shouldn’t be gaining any weight. I work out regularly 5-7 times a week playing DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) on the Nintendo Wii for a little over a half hour per a play session. DDR is a great game for exercising. I’ve been playing it for about 2 years, though recently I’ve been playing DDR2 which I think is better as it has more arm movements, and in that time I have lost roughly 40lbs and I now have legs that are very muscular from my calves all the way to my hips. If any of you are thinking about DDR as a fitness routine, please remember to contact your doctor as I would hate to find out one of you had a heart attack while pushing yourself to get 100 combo points.Now during my DDR time it tells me how many calories I’ve burned when I play in work out mode. I play mostly in the difficult and expert settings and it usually says I burn about 800 calories per a session. With these numbers it should be close to impossible for me to be gaining weight. So this is why I went and bought a heart rate monitor. I figure before I go to see the doctor about this I should get some accurate data on how many calories I am burning compared to how many I am eating. Who knows maybe I am just being a little piggy?

I looked at several heart rate monitors. I also had a little help from a co-worker who was also interested in heart rate monitors send me website links with more information. First I looked at the GoWear fit Lifestyle and Calorie Management System as well as the Body Bug as I was intrigued by a system that would count how many calories I burn all day long as well as telling me how much sleep I was getting, how many steps I was taking, and give me spreadsheets on my progress. Further exploration of these devices showed me that I would have to buy a watch display device to go with the arm band if I wanted to look at my stats while away from a computer, and I would have to pay for a monthly subscription to use their software to track my progress. These devices are expensive, between $170 and $200, add to that the cost of the watch display device, around $70, and then add to that a monthly subscription and the costs start getting a little ridiculous. I don’t even have a gym membership as I find it to be very stupid to pay for something I can do for free, I’m definitely not paying for all this stuff. One thing I did notice while reading many reviews on the GoWear and the BodyBug was that people were testing their accuracy with Polar products.

Polar F11

I then began to look into various Polar heart rate monitors. I’d like to say it was easy, but the Polar website is very very very slow. Did I mention how slow it was? I was tempted to just not look into a Polar monitor, but this is my health and it is really important for me to figure out what is going on. Not only that, the more information that I can relay to my doctor (should I have to visit) the easier it will be for them to determine what is wrong. After painstakingly going through the Polar website I found the F11 model that seemed to be the right model for my uses. I went and checked reviews on the model and of the few complaints out there, most seemed to be about batteries. These complaints didn’t seem to bad and so I finally decided on what hear monitor I would buy and I drove out to Sports Chalet and picked one up for the same price that was listed on Amazon so I didn’t even have to wait for shipping. Also this monitor records all my stats that I can view anytime for free without any monthly subscription.

The time had come for me to test out my heart rate monitor against DDR and see just how accurate DDR was. I inputted my weight, height, age, and gender into my new powder blue F11. I took the standard assessment test with the F11 and was told that my resting heart rate, though not excellent, was very good. So now I have actual data to support my heart & lungs getting healthier, and not just me saying I feel stronger. I put the chest strap on, which was very comfortable for me as it was very similar to any bra strap. I then played DDR how I like to play it. The Final conclusion: I do not burn as many calories as DDR is saying I burn, but I still burn a lot. DDR says I burn 800 calories, but thanks to my F11 I know I am actually burning only 500 calories. Though burning 500 calories a day, and 2500 calories a week I would have to eat an excess of 6000 calories a week in order to gain a pound. I still should not be gaining any weight.

I’ve decided to spend the next week with a food journal and really take a tally to see what in the world is going on with my body. As well as testing my heart rate doing some daily activities like drawing and such so I can get a really good idea of calorie expenditure during the day. Hopefully I have just been absentmindedly pigging out lately. I don’t like the prospects of having some health condition that turns me fat. Isn’t that terrible? I could have diabetes or something and I’m more concerned with getting fat. Being a woman is hard.