The Best Wii Fit Plus Exercise Games to Lose Weight

Wii Fit Plus is an exercise video game played with the Nintendo Wii. The game includes exercises in different categories, including Yoga, Strength Training, Balance Games, Aerobics and Training Plus, which the Wii Fit Plus website describes as a combination of exercise and fun. The exercises on Wii Fit Plus range greatly in intensity. To lose weight with Wii Fit Plus, you need to focus on certain exercises that will help you toward your goal better than others.

A Look at METs

You can understand the best Wii Fit Plus games for losing weight by looking at each one’s METs, or metabolic equivalents, which relate to how much energy you use to perform an activity. Sitting in a chair at rest is the usual description of MET 1.0. A higher MET value means that the exercise can help you burn more calories and lose more weight. A 2010 study in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found the mean MET values of every Wii Fit Plus game. It showed that Wii Fit Plus does not include any high-intensity exercises with a MET value over 6.0. Nonetheless, it has many games that fall into the moderate-intensity MET category of 3.0 to 6.0, which can help you lose weight at a moderate level. To reach your goal, you want to steer clear of many of the balance and yoga games, which have low-intensity METs under 3.0.

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Overall, the 2010 study found that the games within the Strength and Aerobics sections of Wii Fit Plus had more METs than other categories. Specific games under these categories have the highest METs and are your best bet for losing weight with the Wii Fit Plus. Under the Strength category of the game, the highest MET values come from the Rowing Squat with 3.6 METs, the Pushup and Side Plank exercise and the Single-Leg Reach with 4.0 METs each and the Single-Arm Stand with 5.6 METs. Under the Aerobics section, the highest are Rhythm Boxing with 3.9 METs, Advanced Step and Running Plus with 4.0 METs each, Hula Hoop with 4.2 METs and Basic Run with 5.1 METs.

Tracking Calories and Weight

Wii Fit Plus can also help you track the calories you burn and your weight to help you toward your weight loss goals. You need a deficit of 3,500 calories to lose one pound. Wii Fit Plus shows you the calories you burn through each exercise and each workout to help you keep track of your deficit. You can also track the amount of weight you want to lose and weigh yourself on the included “balance board” to see if you are losing.

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Wii Fit Plus can help you exercise, but this virtual experience might not be as effective as the real workout. A November/December 2009 study in ACE FitnessMatters found that participating in the real workout, such as running outside instead of on Wii Fit, burns more calories 1. If you go for Wii Fit Plus, mix it in with other workouts as well.