Cutline Speaks

The Diet Game

posted by The Cutline Team on October 13, 2008

A few weeks ago I saw this article from WIRED and was intrigued by the seemingly incongruous comparison between the often daunting endeavor of losing weight and the typically lazy hobby of escaping to role playing games. For the uninitiated, in a typical RPG, the player assumes the role of a character, and in order to proceed in the game, this character needs to build his or her attributes and capabilities by collecting experience points and completing tasks or winning battles. Although role playing games are usually a lot more physically comfortable than losing weight, the comparison is certainly an accurate one. Much like weight loss, a successful RPG player must dedicate him or herself to a long term process which requires discipline, planning, and many hours to see results.

The article talks about Weight Watchers similarly structured point-based system, which dieters can use to keep track of individual progress, but I've also discovered FitDay, a free dietary journal with a food index, nutritional graphs and calorie counter. With this tool, dieters can keep track of their own experience points to avoid junk foods so they can more easily customize their diets and accomplish their weight loss goals more efficiently. So far, I've enjoyed using this tool, and the more time I invest, the more motivated I am to continue. Once again, technology has given us a way to move to the next stage of the game.

Tags for this post: games