RPGS...take ideas...FROM LIFE!

Which one came first man...

Vecha

@Xagest:
But then again, isn't most of life?

CitizenTian

Diets dont work.They are a temporary fix to a permanent problem. To make a lasting difference one must actually change their lifestyle.

I was near 150 KG when I took charge of my own life. Now I have lost nearly 35 KG, have so much energy, yet still eat basically what I want. Who wants to count points their whole life.

djlowballer

So... It's a grind

Xagest

"A cupcake approaches!"

Jhongerkong

it's annoying that roleplaying is associated only with the stupiditity of diablo and world of warcarft rather than story development, good charactars, exotic gameplay and overall excellent single player experience.

Xtreme_Hindu_Cow

lets do this. I need to reach lvl 30 by the end of the month =3

SolidSnake1118

I need to lose weight, so I'll try to think about it like an RPG. AFTER I'm done these delicious hot pockets.

AngelMayLaugh

@GOD: The only problem is that someone hid the save points, so we gotta do everything in the first run, that's what I call a challenge!

goliathvv

No fair, I want to gain weight -.-

GodKiller0

@Numlock: There is this cheat code that allows you to eat what ever you want and how ever much you want, basically all you do is put your finger in your mouth and that causes a gag reflex. Not sure if the developers knew about this exploit, probably getting patched soon with the next big update.

sereal

@Numlock: You have to push up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right on the d-pad.

You know, the one in the back of your throat.

oboreruhito

@Vezroth: Just wait. I used to have the same "problem". In fewer years than you think, your metabolism will hit a brick wall and slow down, and you won't have any idea how to lose weight b/c you're so used to eating anything and everything. The pounds will magically stick to you.

Anyway, no one's going to be looking at you. They're all going to be worried about how crappy they look in their bathing suits, man boobs and all.

Wear board shorts instead of a suit.

Evil Tortie's Mom

I'd pay somebody real money to get them to do Weight Watchers for me, if they could level my character down to 170 lbs.

TinkerX

This is sort of like how I approached weight loss, and still do to this day. I stay within my calorie limit (well, lately I've been much more liberal since I turned twenty-one) and fat limit, try to exercise, and "level-up". I also used getting better at DDR as an excuse to exercise, which helped me lose 50+ pounds.

Mune

@Thorax: lol, go for it.

Rabbite

@Rabbite: You are my new god. Screw Bruce Campbell.

Also, do I have your permission to use Man Tits the next time I set up an account in WoW?

Thorax

Last night we had a 7 man raid on the fridge but our party wiped on a muffin. Our tank, man tits, couldn't hold aggro for shit.

Rabbite

@DissmalScientist: You know, being underweight is about as much a risk to your health as obesity...

Makoto

@subnet6:

LOL! Nice, finally someone that gets it.

Vezroth

This guy makes a great point. My wife had a lot of success with weight watchers and even went back to it after our first child. I did it with her to get the feel of it and it certainly can work. I never thought of it like and RPG but the metaphor goes along pretty well. I'll have to tell my wife about this and have a good chuckle. Next time I see her cutting up and entire basket of raw vegetables, I'll ask her if those are the material components for a heal spell. :)

subnet6

lol im tryn to lose 20 pounds and im doing the point system its the best diet ever

TrueMasta718

i'm used to spamming pots, like diablo 2.

does this game have pots? i'm gonna loose.

laio

Forget about the [color=green] thing, that was reflex from posting on a different site.

Jorw

[color=green]That concept won't truly become useful for weight loss until technology allows a cheap electronic device that can project a HUD onto the user's vision that shows their "HP."[/color]

Jorw

Man, I'd kill to step on the scale and see 155. That's supposed to be my "ideal" weight with my height and frame. I'm more of a super-ideal right now :-P.

NateN

@demonknightinuyasha: That would be an OHKO. Babies wreak havoc on the digestive system.

Aethyr

can't real life be like character customization instead?

boobie jiggle = 99 years old

don't like being a male? change your character to female instead...

wow!! new costume DLC!!! French Maid and School Swimsuit Uniforms!!!!!

now that'll make your life more interesting!!!

icepick314

i think the real question is how many hit point do you lose if you eat a baby?

demonknightinuyasha

@Eltigro:
Only to return to the local village with a sack of "Educated Brains" and to be told to go back out again to retrieve 32 more "Educated Brains."

Vezroth

If I lose 20 pounds do I get The Battle-Axe of Fiery Death?

Utmu

I'm a teacher. I feel like that sometimes. I grind from August to June each year to get to the next level. At the end of the school year when Summer is finally here and the kids are running home, I feel like saying Ding!

Eltigro

I don't tend to view life as a game. I've been reading a lot about hermits and the desert fathers, and it's definitely affected my outlook on life. Games are fun, but life should be about helping your fellow man-- and keeping all the rest of the stuff (appearance, status, goals, whatever) in perspective. It's all just wallpaper.

wild homes loves you but chooses darkness!

@DissmalScientist:

Such anger. *sigh*

On an aside, I'm not entirely sure as to why everyone is going so very far as they have been with the commentary here. The original news is honest and brings up a good point on the basis of Motivation. The key do doing ANYTHING in life is motivation, what motivates people differently. If viewing a Diet as an RPG is what motivates someone to stick to it then hell yeah for them, why is it that you must separate both parts of your life by a chasm similar to the Grand Canyon?

Vezroth

Yeah, I have a hard time mustering sympathy for uber-tall people. :P I'm a below average height + average weight, which is arguably as unattractive as being an average height and moderately overweight.

BelmontHeir

even more reasons why i hate dungeon crawlers! lol

Desfunk

@Vezroth:
"How do I go in the OTHER direction and multi-class? I actually need to GAIN weight"

Being an American, I have often heard people talk about trying to lose weight. It's the new national pasttime. And every single time, without fail, some asshole pipes in about how he wishes he could gain weight. Your 6'3". QQ. You're underweight. QQ. You're going on a cruise with your wife. QFQ.
These are not problems.
Ask the single, fat guys who will be chained to a desk this December.

DissmalScientist

155 lbs or kg?

the_answer

This game shark I shoved up my a$$ doesn't seem to be working.

mablung

@Numlock:

Yeah it's called liposuction.

rabbibert

Each time I go and put my moves on a girl, I play it out like a phoenix wright case.

"HOLD IT!"
"...I got a boy-" "OBJECTION!"

akumaserge

I really like deserts after lunch.

Hurray for phoenix downs!

xymor

@Vezroth:
dude, I feel your pain. Above average height + below average weight = I look like a stick with anorexia.

ZinkO: USA WE DA BEST

Was out shopping round town earlier... I was beating a man round the head with my daedric axe I noticed a "-13" appear above his head so I knew he was a gonner soon. I then stole his wallet and went to McDonald's for a hamburger because I had fruit for breakfast and enough gold in my pocket to keep me going.

Life is one big RPG!

GOD

Well almost anything could be applied to anything in some way or another. It sounds good when you read it and it lists all the similarities, but unlike an rpg, you WANT to eat. You don't WANT to lose hitpoints. You're rewarded for not losing hp, but you need to battle to gain experience in an rpg. Sleeping also does not "erase" whatever you ate the day before. If you approach weight watchers with such a cavalier attitude, a lot more glaring flaws are going to show up when you start "losing" the game.
It's a good idea to add a twist to drudgery, but some things should be taken a bit more seriously.
Unless you take games as seriously as real life. In that case, you probably need the diversion.

Another thing is that real life and games are held separately for a reason. When you start turning real life into games with cliche game mechanics, it depreciates the value of games. Games are supposed to be a departure from reality, and the distinction is what makes them so enjoyable. I'm not saying that "Moderating Exercise 2" is going to become the next killer app anytime in the future (unless you work for Nintendo), but I personally feel the distinction is something that should remain intact rather than being blurred however slightly.

cmoody17

Now if only I could convince my that I'm a Fighter and not a Caster then this would work perfectly for me. My wife and I are going on a cruise in December. This requires me to wear a bathing suit. The thought is almost deplorable to me, I'm six-foot, three inches tall and I weigh a laughable 180lbs. I look so much like a hermitesque, half-starved Mage that all I'm missing is the robes and a walking staff to aid my calcium deficient locomotion and I'd be perfect.

How do I go in the OTHER direction and multi-class? I actually need to GAIN weight (muscle is heavier than fat people) and I've got issues with activity. -.-;;

Vezroth

This is pretty coincidental. I'm looking to drop a few, okay more than a few, pounds and my family is pushing me to do Weight Watchers with them. I know a couple of people that have had some good luck with it so I'm probably going to succumb to the peer pressure even though I hate RPGs.

Hauler

Fibre! It's the weight watcher followers best friend. (And worst enemy of all those around you. It's a gas.)

Apoch

Alot of people like the WW point system. Yet I don't see why.
You should know why you are fat. Unless Its really a problem with your adenoids. It all comes down to: less fats, more vegys - simple. Just read the ingredients. Maybe add "some" movement too.

People are just obsessed over POINTS. I BEAT YOUR WW SCORE!1

igl

I want to lose weight as well, perhaps this could help. I just hope those aren't your feet in that picture, mate.

BelmontHeir

That....is a really interesting concept. Real-life really does need to take more ideas from RPGS. (Infinite inventory I'm looking at YOU! <__<)

NeoTurbo

if its like an rpg than i am losing. Do you have any tips or like a cheat code.

Numlock

I'll join you in that Owen!

Arnold Rimmer's Garden Strimmer

Why is it that everyone on a diet seems to think of food as the enemy, as something bad?

Not only that, why do people always equate diets with weight loss, gaining weight also requires a change of diet.

Food is energy in, exercise is energy out, if energy out > energy in, you lose weight, if energy in > energy out, you gain weight. It's simple. So this hit point analogy just doesn't work because really, all you're doing is trying to starve yourself slowly.

I've always thought the best approach to getting in shape is to consult a doctor or dietician, get an exercise plan and try to have a balanced diet. Being assigned "points" means nothing if you aren't exercising to make full use of them, and if you exercise more you should be eating more.

The important thing to remember is that food is good.

Then again, this come from someone 5'9" and 150lbs, who actually had to work up from 125lbs.

TrjnRabbit

If I grind enough of these trash cucumbers I can get an epic Slice of Cheesecake! This is the best diet ever!

Nobuyuki

Stick with Men's Health Abs Diet program or TNT plan; I kid you not, they work without gimmick. I went from about 260 at the end of my senior year of high school (D-Line weight lol... still ran under a 4.9 but whatever!) to about 195-205 now.

You'll never look at it as "dieting" ever again once you stick to it. And plus, the food wasn't bad either. It is, however, kind of costly to buy healthy and raw things. But the more you're immersed into it, the more tricks you learn. check out my blog on one of the last pages; there I have my regime laid out: wordzworth.blogspot.com

I wish you luck! Follow one of those two I mentioned, and I swear you won't look the same in six weeks. I put that on my gamer's balls.

wordzworth

It gets annoying when you come across some Flan. Unless you can do magic or something you'll take a huge amount of damage. I always have to try to get away from it when I see some.

Zero1328

Someone get that man a foot surgeon!

Sentry

I once suggested that we could improve nerd fitness by taking a pair of 15 pound dumbbells and pasting pictures of goblins on the side of them, and a pair of 20 pound dumbbells with orcs on them. Once you can kill 15 goblins without having to go to the inn for the night (read: bicep curls, 15 reps per set), then you've levelled up and can go start killing ogres now.

Of course, if you want to get really good at it, then you might want to join a guild and schedule a regular raid time (as in, go down to the gym for one hour a day).

twobeef

I can't believe someone would belittle this thought process. If it works, great! Hell, if I applied this mentality to school as a kid...

Qix213

I just stopped eating so much and I lost 20 pounds in a month went from 238 to 220 and plan to get down to 180.

-Stopped drinking soda (now drink water)
-Always eat breakfast
-Don't eat 3 hours before bed
-Try and keep my total daily calories under 1500 I like to -aim for 1200 or less while feeling full
-I still eat ice cream once n awhile so I don't deprive myself

Honestly losing weight is fucking easy if you just do it.

Also I don't even know if this has anything to do with the article I just saw that you wanted to lose weight.

Murderdolls

It's awesome that they found a way to motivate themselves to stick with it, but I fear that once they hit their goal, the effort to motivate themselves and the cost associated with WW will deter them from continuing and the weight's just going to come right back.

I always failed at sticking to a diet, but I found a plan that does work. It's called Body For Life and there's a great book that further explains the eating portion of the plan called Eating for Life. Both are written by Bill Phillips, and are excellent reads. If you're worried more about the eating portion of things, get the Eating for Life book, or check it out from a local library. The best part of it all? It's SIMPLE. No counting fat grams, calories from fat, or cutting carbs out of your diet. Oh yeah, did I mention the once a week cheat day where you can eat whatever you want?

To anyone that's trying to lose weight, GOOD LUCK AND STAY MOTIVATED!

GlibGamer

If only I could change my class from Couch Potato to Ninja!

Enordash

Screw WW, it didn't help me much from temptation.

Get the Alli diet pills, it works like wonder, I've lost 50 lbs since March 2008 just being on the pills. It cuts the appetite and cravings. That is just taking the pills alone, without any workouts. Right now my weight is slowing down a bit, so I'm at the point to start working out to shape up.

Once thing nice about it is, if you exceed eating over 30% fats... You will be going straight to the bathroom. Boy, after my first time on the pills, I was afraid of eating anything that are greasy/fating/fried. After a while, you will no longer have the craving for those junk.

Shachihoko

Just don't eat candies, drink only water and try to have a mueseli for your breakfast/lunch and in the afternoon eat a lot of fish and salad. Try to go outside in the woods or in the park for an hour a day. This helped me to get slimmer, while i not risked to get addicted to "World of Weightwatchers"...

Superuser

Shit, I wrote this article in my mind months ago, and no one paid me for it!

A great alternative to W.W. is the program "FitDay" -- It has TONS of brands built into it, and anything it doesn't include can be entered in as a custom food.

Weight goals, and all kinds of lovely pie charts and line graphs to chart your "character"'s progress.

I went from 227 lbs to 165 lbs in 12 months. I also do push-ups all day long, but I credit FitDay just as equally in the achievement of my goal.

Also, one quick tip -- do "zig zagging". In other words, say 2000 calories is your daily goal. Do one day of exactly your goal, the next day 20% less calories, the third day 20% more calories, then repeat the cycle. This prevents your metabolism from going into "Africa" mode (storing fat due to a predictable caloric intake). It also has the great psychological benefit of giving you a "splurge" day right after your "difficult" day, which keeps you from going nuts.

Now that I'm at my fighting weight... WHERE THE WHITE WOMEN AT?

topaz420

@jiffy: Oh yeah, its free, and no, I don't work for them or anything.

As far as 35lbs in 3 months, I didn't plan to lose that much, but I had to go that far to win.

jiffy

You all should check out www.thedailyplate.com

It is a calorie tracking site with all sorts of food prepopulated, similar to weightwatchers, just based on calories instead.

I used it to win a weightloss competition at work to lose 35 lbs in 3 months. Basically instead of joining weightwatchers we put the money we would have spent in a pool. I came away with $400, and the ability to fit into clothes that I hadn't worn since my honeymoon.

jiffy

@Vezroth: And according to the wonders of our analyzed body weight by whatever, you're damn near perfectly weighted. Go BMI FTW!!!111 It's the most useless piece of crap ever created.

Aesteval

I'd go Jenny Craig if you want a truly challenging end game. Facing a starving Kirsty Alley only to realize a famished, bitterly divorced Valerie Berti-Halen has crept up behind you? They can eat you, as long as they can fit your scraps into conveniently microwavable containers. Terror.

Crackula

@djlowballer: Diets do work like I said I've cut the amount of food that I used to eat in half and now eat as much as a normal person would. My stomach has obviously shrunk since I started because I can eat a sandwich and feel full and satisfied not then though.. hell no not back then I could wake up and eat 2 sandwiches with 7 servings of chips.

Most people over eat because they are bored and really don't even notice themselves walking to the fridge every hour on the hour I would eat 5-6 times a day and not even think about it now I eat 2-3 times a day because yes my diet has worked.

I've noticed if I sit inside my house all day and play video games I'm thinking about food a lot but if I'm outside with some friends or doing something productive I hardly ever think about food unless my stomach is growling like I said people get bored.

5AM and I'm rambling.

Murderdolls

@djlowballer: Plenty of people do, if it helps them. Why let it bother you? If people are doing it and they're happy, good for them.

Dirk Dorkelson

Did this as a kid and lost a whole load of weight. It becomes a fantastic Min/Maxing challenge as you try to get not only delicious food and snacks while remaining within your Fallout style set of points for this particular day.

I owe an end to childhood teasing to porridge (2 points), Mum's Modified recipes of Healthiness (between 4-6 points a main meal) and Pink N' White Mallow Squares (0.5 points for a MASSIVE biscuit that eating two of was probably a precursor to Chinese water-torture). Dunno about the US, but they're still available in the UK and you can basically eat a packet of them a day without a single worry for the diet.

Once I hit university in the first year though, I joined the campus gym and stuck it out past the initial aches, pains and laboured breathing. And my metabolism, already geared for my large frame to devour more than the average amount of calories a day, went through the roof. For the RPG analogue, imagine how your avatar feels when he's stacked with buffs just before a raid or boss fight.
I built an hour long work-out plan where I went 10km in cardio and then a 30 minute rotation of most machines in the weights room. My workout buddy, while we were about even in most of the weights at first, was amazed at my leg strength when I started on the leg presses (I was struggling with 200+kg while he had to stop at 130kg). And it is one of the best feelings in the world when someone tells you "Pfft, I can do better" and then sits down at the weight you were using and can't even budge it. Practice your /golfclap, future gamer-jocks :p. For added humiliation, sit back down and add another weight to prove your dominance.

Admittedly I stopped going for the last year once I was away from the gym for the summer and fell out of my good habits and I'm back to square one on that point. But it totally can be done. Hitting the gym three times a day is good for a slow loss or if you're close enough by, do what I did and hit it for an hour a day, every day. You feel like some sort of avatar of Death incarnate after 3 weeks.

Mattz

@TrjnRabbit: I don't see the hit point analogy as starving yourself if you've been eating too much to begin with. People naturally burn calories simply by living. I know that I, just by going about my day, burn about 2100 calories. But if I'm eating 3000 calories a day, then that's certainly no good. For me, by cutting down what I eat, I'm not starving myself, I'm eating within my boundaries for my lifestyle (which at the moment is "lightly active.")

charliew77

@djlowballer: FAD diets don't work. WW does for a lot of people. Yes, it's not for everyone, but for people that need a system, it's perfect. WW has been around too long to be considered a fad.

charliew77

Like anything else WW is a commitment. You have to stick with it in order to see results. And just like in RPGs, the higher the level you are, the longer it takes to reach the next one. This is where a lot of people lose it. They see little to no drop in weight week to week and think it isn't working, so they stop because they think it stopped working when really they've just plateau-ed. That's when you have to change your strategy, not give up.

charliew77

Owen this is America, you are not alone by any stretch of the imagination. Good luck to you. Vaya con los huevos old friend.

CaptainMurphy

I always apply video game strategies to real life (sad but true). When I'm at the gym I treat distances and times on the various machines as levels and high scores. I believe that the one positive skill that can be garnered from gaming above all others is the 'one more go' ethos that comes from our pastime. If I could somehow apply the same determination to real world scenarios that I do to achieving a good score on geometry wars, then I would probably be a very rich man by now.

trunbuns

Clearly a japanese RPG and not a Western RPG.

A Western RPG diet is more like atkins. A sandbox style "What ever you want" with a limits and invisible walls. In that the only way you level is by repeating the same skill over and over a few times.

Think the Micheal Phelps Diet. Sure you can have a 12,000 cal. day, if you don't mind running 6 miles to the next town.

huginn

Just stay away from those damned mushrooms.

Nawara_Ven

Myself I've lost 13 kgs ( roughly 28 pounds ) in about 3 months and that's without any exercise.
One of the easiest things I've done.

I eat as much as I want and it's not sum veggie stuff.
Saturated fat (animal fat) and meat all the way.
Just cut out the carbs and eat all the fat you want.

TetsuBo

Godammit, I've been powerleveling... O_o

My360broked

RPG? So am I going to plow through the first half purely on the merits of the narrative then grow sicker and sicker of the battling until I just drop it?

urutapu

@wordzworth I've followed both the ABS and WW. WeightWatchers is effective because it does a couple things: -Sets a solid calorie limit / day (1 pt is roughly 50 cal with your first 50 cal free. I memorized the formula cause its less dorky then using the slide rule.) -Penalizes for high fat -Creates a structure so you can go off plan one or two meals a week and stay on plan the other 19 meals -Weekly public weigh-ins can create a great peer-pressure to show a lower number. A lot of the foods on the ABS diet matches this with a couple of exceptions. ABS puts a priority on more protein and more exercise. With the fat penalty built into the point formula you will steer away from meat, while meat is what you need if you are going to increase you're exercise. (I know you can get meat-free protein but I'm not loading up on nuts and whey powder.) If found if you start a solid exercise program, even if its just walking for 45 min 3-4 times a week, along with WW, you'll see great progress.

SudeeptaNaso

Defeating enemy hotdog adds a +5 to fat.

KillerCRS

@Vezroth: Eat lots of protein and hit the weights 4 times a week.

Xenocide

Just run 2 miles every morning and stay away from Mickey D's. That's how you lose weight America.

lilsamuraijoe

[www.crossfit.com]

'Nuf said. It's transformed my life in the last year (and I already thought I was in shape).

Mohican

They're right, diets are just like RPG's: everyone starts one, but nobody sticks around all the way to the end.

creid

@rabbibert:

Would that be the equivalent of a healing class?

Mact

Bikram Yoga and leveling eventually by going 5 days a week +
every Sunday creating meals for the week + one free day where you eat whatever you want = Losing a f*ckton of pounds and being healthy.

There is no easy way to be healthy and keeping the weight off except resigning to the fact that pretty much the American environment and diet are ALWAYS going to be against you psychologically, socially, and financially.

There is no easy way out of it, you work out consistantly, you eat right consistantly, and you're golden.

If a mindset of making something like an RPG helps, I'm all for it.

JohnnyLA

As a lifetime member of Weight Watchers, I like the analogy.

Benjo

Damn me for not being fat, now I can't play the Weight Wathcers: The RPG.

TheReallySuperAwsomeCoolGuy

I dunno - you can't pay some guy in China to be a fat farmer for you, unless you're playing a completely different game.

Chef

This sounds like some sort of veiled insult against those who play RPG's...

Dalren

this is silly. my sister and her friend are doing WW, and of all the times they've talked about points, i've never thought of RPGs (unless i already was thinking of RPGs). i more like the concept of gaining STR to help with CON and improve DEX.

we have, however, talked about the point value of inedible objects (chalk, paint, lead, children, etc). but that's cuz we're all twelve.

geekgrrl

I had a "The Sims" moment, probably like many folks' MMO moment. I realized I spent all this time and energy to make sure my Sim was being social, well fed, showered, clean house, on time to work, having fun, empty bladder, etc... I hadn't: talked to friends, ate well, showered much, had messy apartment, late to work/early to leave, wasn't having fun.

I wondered why I was taking care of a virtual character and not myself. Then I asked myself, "OK, how can I make this a game?" But then I realized I wasn't a game designer and I was likely to make the game too hard or too easy on myself...

paydirt76

Forced analogy, which is too bad. If people became addicted to dieting, the obesity problem would be solved!

MeanMillz