Slashdot Mirror
Weight Loss through Dance Dance Revolution?
An anonymous reader writes "Looking at the beer gut that's developed over the winter, and the excercise schedule that I haven't kept for more than two days at a time, I realize that I need a new plan. A gym isn't the answer; I can't keep a schedule for working out in my apartment, there's no way I could make it to the gym on any regular basis. I've had multiple people in the last few weeks tell me stories involving weight loss through Dance Dance Revolution, and it sounds like a great idea to me! working out is hard, playing video games is easy, and dancing is fun. But a Google search turned up way too much info, and way too little of it was useful unless I want to spend the next four weeks researching this. Does the Slashdot community have any ideas, suggestions, or personal experience that they cared to relate on any of these topics?"
"First, what's the best pad to get? What kind of differences are there between pads? Is it worth spending $100+, or will the cheaper pads do? Second, what software is best to use? Ideally I'd like to have something expandable, which means getting a PC rig rather than a PS2 one. Are there any open source DDR-type programs? How does one acquire songs?"
You don't need a "new plan," you just need to screw your head on straight. Your answer isn't coming up with a "schedule for working out" in your apartment, or even a gym membership. Just go outside, and run. Just go. Don't develop a schedule, don't come up with a "plan." Just get it done. Run as far as you can, then walk, then run some more! You will see results, probably faster than playing DDR. That game is a slight workout, but it doesn't compare to amount of energy burned running three miles.
:-) Such competition amongst the fast food companies to be seen as healthy may just be a passing fad, but damn, take advantage of it.
And before you say, "I can't run three miles," neither could I before this most recent spring break. Since I wasn't leaving town or really doing anything, I decided to take the initiative to run, just to see what happened. It's been about a month, month and a half now and I've lost more than eight pounds. Running that far isn't an insurmountable task like it was before. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't particularly fun, and it certainly wasn't exciting, but it did work. Believe it or not, diet and exercise are the absolute best path towards your goal. And exercise is as simple as making yourself run. Times have never been better for the fast food junkie wanting to diet. You can still munch Jack in the Box, just get a pita or a salad instead of, well, anything else on the menu there.
One last recommendation: If you can afford it, invest in a treadmill. Running outside takes more commitment than running indoors. Once I didn't have to leave for a gym, or even go out in the cold, running quickly became a daily thing.
All right, first off, I would like to say that I have lost weight by playing DDR - not much, mind you, but some. Enough for me. (I do other things too, but primarily DDR.) As far as equipment goes, it sounds like what you are looking for is very similar to my own setup. I use an open-source DDR emulator called Stepmania that runs under Windows, Linux and Mac OSX. (Note, I run it under Windows, personally, and cannot vouch for how well the other versions work.) I use a pair of pads that I bought off eBay for about $40 (similar to these), which I like a lot better than the really thin ones that tend to be more common. Finally, I have an adapter to hook the Playstation gamepads to my PC through USB. As for songs, there are several places around the Net to find them...I'm sure someone else will mention them, but just know that it's illegal to have them unless you own a copy of them (which sometimes means having a machine). As such, I'll leave that as an exercise for you to find, if you so wish.
In true Slashdot style, I'm going to presumptively answer a request you didn't ask: "Help me lose weight."
Also, you're doing what I used to do, so I'm going to be harsh. Very.
YOU'RE PROCRASTIPLANNING!
Close your browser.
Now.
Do ANYTHING that works up a steady sweat for 30 minutes.
Then do it again tomorrow.
Unless you've exercised in the last 72 hours, researching "the best pad to get" (oh my god) is bullshit, and I think you know it. STFU and sweat. Now. Go on, scram. Posting questions to slashdot about exercise is like the salesman who optimizes his contact management software instead of picking up the damn phone.
Trust me. I know how good it feels to plan out the good things you're going to do. That way, you're not really procrastinating. No, no. You're preparing. The project is underway.
No, it's not. "Research" isn't "doing".
If your question to Ask Slashdot is anything other than delusion and procrastination, you will be sweating each of the next five days, whether or not you've (again, oh my god) found an "open source DDR-type program".
About what to eat...
There's a lot of confusion about how to eat to lose weight. Here's the nutshell.
Remember the 3 Cs...
Not easy, not simple, but straightfoward and effective.
Result: Your body has a steady supply of just-in-time fuel. This discourages fat storage, big time. It also prevents energy spikes and crashes, big time. The 5% deficit is pulled from the fat stored while you were procrastiplanning.
Am I a bodybuilder? No. Am I shredded? No. Am I a trainer? No. Was I a contract programmer for someone who was? Yeah.
(Attention detail-mongers and nitpickers: Shhh! Go do something useful! These are generalities!)
Godspeed, anonymous sweating guy. Stop planning and start sweating.
P.S. Feel free to curse that asshole Grabble all the while. Just as long as you're sweating.