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A Good Idea, but Rather Insulting

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 11 / 24
Date: July 06, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I picked this up for my daughter and was helping her get the profile set up. The principle of this game is great. However, when creating the profile in it, it asks you to enter your weight using a slider like you find on the scale at a doctor's office. As you slide the weight up, the character grows. What I found insulting is that at some point the back of the scale starts to bend backwards due to the size of the character. If you take the slide as far to the right as is possible, the character can no longer touch the groung with its feet. The facial expression also becomes less pleasant as you increase the weight. This is the image that you have to look at when you update you weight. It's an insensitive depiction. Overweight people know that they're overweight, they don't need a game, that is supposed to help making healthy choices be fun, giving them images that are insulting and demoralizing.

Good Motivater But Has Flaws

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: July 22, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I just started using My Weight Loss Coach a couple of days ago. It has started me walking and eating better, but I have noticed several flaws:

- First off, the clip that attaches to the pedometer was a little hard to get on and the instructions were not that clear. With a little muscle work, however, it did finally snap on.

- Secondly, the pedometer is large (far larger than the Weight Watchers one I already have). As a result, I have been wearing it backwards on my belt so it's not as noticable. This may have, however, created another problem. The pedometer has reset during the course of the day. I'm not sure if it's me that's resetting it or the pedometer is resetting by itself. Anyway, I just got back from a 40-minute walk and found that I only logged 1200 steps (during the set up you learn that the pedometer should log 500 steps for every 5 minutes of walking). I just may start using my Weight Watchers pedometer instead and manually logging in the steps each day.

- Thirdly, the music is annoying, but you can turn it off (thankfully).

- Lastly, using the detailed version of logging in your food intake is not very accurate and a little confusing. For example, last night I ate a Lean Cuisine pizza for dinner. This pizza, of course, does not have the same calories, fat, etc., as regular pizza. The detailed food intake log, however, only has a selection for regular pizza. Also, you find pretzels under sweets instead of the more accurate snacks. I'm going to try using the quick version of logging food intake instead to see if it is anymore accurate. I will have to say, though, that it is fun to watch the food choices hit the stick figure on the head and the stick figure eating the food.

All in all, however, I will say that My Weight Loss Coach has started motivating me to walk more and eat better. I'm just not sure if I'll continue using the program.

"Food Balance" Section Measures Only Calories, Not Nutrition

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: July 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This product could be dangerous if you expect it to calculate a "balanced diet" for you. What it means by "balanced" is that the calories of the food you have consumed are sufficient to "balance" the calories you have expended. I had been reporting the food I had eaten (you pull various food icons from the different food groups over to a cartoon figure) for over a week but one day, when I had eaten too many carbs and not enough vegetables, I started to get uneasy. While the program said the diet was "balanced" I knew it was not nutritionally balanced. The next day I calculated my food exchanges on a piece of paper, but instead of what I had actuall eaten I put down that I had consumed nothing but chicken. The program said this diet was "balanced". The next day I did the same thing, only instead of what I had actually eaten I told the program I had eaten nothing but candy. Again, it said my diet was "balanced".

This game is good in that it offers incentive to exercise, and a lot of good information about nutrition. It is a shame that it fell short when it came to the "food balance" part. Surely information about the food pyramid and healthy food exchanges is not too difficult to program into a game? Instead of the wonky pedometer, the manufacturers could have included a small calorie counter.

I think Nintendo DS would be a great platform for a program that encourages exercise *and* helps you select a balanced diet. I am looking forward to it.

Creative title but flawed

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: July 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game not knowing what to expect. It is fun and helpful in many ways. The 'coach' is a cute stick figure who motivates you through funny sounds, expressions, and actions. The distance 'reward' system is well-done. For every task or challenge you successfully complete, you get mileage which eventually adds up to walking The Great Wall of China or whatever. It is a good, graphic way to illustrate your progress.

Now for the downside....You have to enter all physical activity & food you eat on the day it happens...no going back the next day to enter that just before midnight snack or last minute exercise. This is tremendously inconvenient & unhelpful. It negates much of the value of the program for me. The other unhelpful thing is that you account for your calories by selecting from groups of general foods; if you ate something unusual, you have to take your best guess as to its equivalent.

As many have noted, the supplied pedometer is clunky & falls off constantly, but that is an easy remedy, you just use another pedometer.
I use the Omron walking style pedometer which can be carried in your pocket, records distance, calories burned, & keeps a record of all the steps you've walked for the past 7 days.

That said, this is a fun & simple program which might work particularly well for overweight children. In fact, I'm guessing that's it's target demographic.

Great concept.....very poor support

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 7
Date: July 07, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I own Brain Age, Big Brain, and PicrossDS......All are great and easy to learn. So I was very excited to order My Weight Loss Coach. It has been very frustrating. Very very poor support. Wrote to the support team and they sent me to other sites that had nothing on them about My Weight Loss Coach. Also, couldn't register because it didn't have this game listed.
The game itself has a great concept and I think could be fun, if it wasn't soooo frustrating. Can't go back.... difficulty trying to hook up the pedometer......Have spent 4 hours trying to get it to work and still can't get the pedometer to register the steps in the game. I think it could be a great game if it had a better manual and support. I finally gave up on support and will see if my grandkids can help....LOL

Disappointed

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game is a good concept, but it's too easy to put down. The pedometer is a bit bulky to wear with my work clothes at the office. The "side games" are informative and your little coach character is the cutest thing. Unfortunately, that's not enough to keep me coming back. Logging the food you eat each day was very difficult. Instead of picking from a written list you tap on pictures of food. Sometimes I wasn't quite sure what type of food the picture represented. The foods shown are very limited and there is no way to know what a serving is. If you tap on a food and realize you made a mistake, you can't fix it. I used the game for about a week and then lost all interest. Chalk up another wasted $[...] to my weight loss quest. My recommendation is to use the old reliable Weight Watchers program. Leave your DS for video games.

My Non-Hollywood Fitness Coach

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 64 / 81
Date: June 26, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I just bought this product today and I had some expectations. I will say that the little stick figure they use to coach me through is pretty darn cute. Especially when she mumbles (like a better version of a sim character). However I was not happy when I entered my weight and it figured that I was in a healthy BMI range, therefore telling me I only need to work on maintaining my current state of flab.

I am not writing this because I am trying to be anorexic or unhealthy. But I know for a fact that there are areas that I would like to tone and lose inches from. I think the weight loss coach would be more effective if it asked you how much you wanted to lose and then based its program around that. As it is now, it'll probably only recommend exercises and food intake that'll keep me where I'm at.

Pay attention Nintendo! My Weightloss Coach needs a part 2 with improvements!

Other things I've noticed during my limited use:
1. If you accept a challenge by mistake , there is no button to cancel the request.
2. Also, I got a food challenge of eating hard boiled eggs... this stuff makes me nauseous even when I smell it. Where's the menu option that lets you cross out foods you don't eat??

I'm going to keep using it and hopefully some of these cons will be out weighted by future results.

My weight loss coach is lacking...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 50 / 57
Date: June 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I agree with the other person's review. This game is fun and cute, but I feel that it would be more beneficial to someone who is clinically overweight. If you are in the healthy weight range, this game might not be for you.

The pedometer that comes with the game is rather large and difficult to conceal. It also makes a little bit of noise. The game relies on the use of the pedometer. If you don't live in a safe neighborhood that you can walk around in you will not be able to do some of the challenges.

If you are overweight or are looking for something that will put you in a healthier mode--this game is for you. If you are looking to lose those last five pounds this game might not be for you.

Overall I find this game helpful, but...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: July 07, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Overall I really like the game. I've had it for about 2 weeks and I've lost 4 pounds. It really gets a sedentary person up and moving around. I also like that it helps you keep track of everything. The exercise choices are great- I love the fact that housecleaning is an option. I put in some great music, set my timer for 30 min or more and have fun cleaning my house and losing weight! The food balance tracker is nice- I've been as honest as I possibly can (more food choices are needed). I like the fact that the game tells me if I need to do more exercise to balance out my food intake. Two things I really don't like: 1. The pedometer is really bulky and noisy plus it accidentally resets to zero often. Since you can manually input an estimate of steps, I purchased a smaller pedometer of my own and have been using that. 2. The challenges- ok I mostly like the challenges, but it assumes everyone lives in an urban area and walks to stores. When the nearest grocery store is 20 miles away, picking up groceries as you walk the dog is NOT practical and many of the physical challenges are based upon similar strategies. Perhaps on the next version when inputting your profile an urban/suburban/country location can be an option.

Pretty Good

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: July 03, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The game is ok. I have been doing it for a week, but I honestly don't think it will help loose weight. The food tracking is really sketchy. It doesn't even have all the food choices so I have to kind of guess at what's there.

The quiz games are just to easy. I don't like the pedometer at all. It is to bulky and it always falls off. Thankfully the game always the steps to be entered without it, but it only lets you put in an estimate. I have been using my own pedometer.

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