Does Gaming Contribute to Weight Issues?
 

I'm hoping this thread will get a fair number of responses. I'm curious if others have noticed the same thing in their dieting and hobbies.

When I moved out here to Okinawa with my husband, I had no job and wasn't going to school. I filled my days with playing online games (RPGs, pogo, etc.). And I gained nearly a hundred pounds (after managing to lose forty before the move).

Now I've got a job and I'm working on my B.A. in English. My weight-loss has been slow due to PCOS, but it's going down and I'm ok with that. I've also not been gaming nearly as much.

The other day, I noticed that when I'm on the computer, I am more likely to skip meals and less likely to exercise. Does anyone else have this issue? The inability to balance hobbies and the new lifestyle? Has anyone else found a good compromise between the two?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm really having trouble staying on plan lately. Thank you.

I'm a gamer and have been for years, I gained at least 40 of my excess pounds sitting and playing for hours on end. I would forget meals, rarely exercised...it was bad.

I cut back the gaming right around the time I started my new life of eating healthy and exercising. Now that I am feeling better, more physically fit I find I can focus less on the gaming and more on the other things in my life like exercise, sleep, eating a healthy diet, even spending times with actual human beings (yes I was getting that bad) :)

My advice would be, moderation. If you like gaming or any other hobby for that matter, don't give it up entirely just do all the other things that are vital to your well being first. I just don't let my focus be on one thing entirely, we still need pleasures in life and we also need to make healthy choices.

There's no reason in the world to give up everything we like, we just have to learn to have a balance in our lives. I don't want my entire life to only consist of my diet and exercise, it's a big part now but it's not everything I am. Part of me is a nerdy gamer chick, and I like that part of me too. :)

I'm a recovering gamer. I gained a good 60+ pounds when I started online gaming (WoW). Almost three years later I finally starting saying wait a minute.... Games are fun in moderation, but some people (me :-p) can't play them in moderation. I like to give everything I do all I've got, and that included games :-/ As with everything in life, the key is moderation. If you can play for an hour a day, and make time for that and everything else then do it. Just make sure you get up after your set time is up :)

I'm personally not a gamer but my sister is

She went from 145 pounds to 125 pounds over about 3-4 months because she just wouldnt eat while she was playing. She didn't exercise either...so even though she's a skinny little Aussie size 8 (US4) at 5'6 she's also pretty soft and flabby lol.

I used to be a gamer many years ago and even though when I DID eat it was lots and bad I maintained around 145-150 pounds.

Funny thing though...back then I was a size 10-12 US and NOW I'm 143 pounds and a size 4-6 US...go figure! I love muscles lol.

The original questions - I believe it depends on what you eat when you DO eat and whether or not you're a mindless muncher when playing. I, myself and my sister were always to engrossed and would forget we were hungry.

Hi ,
I am not a gamer, I do play games once in a while, but I am a SAHM with no car during the day, so I am at home all the time. I blame some of the weight gain on being a SAHM. Now I exercise in the morning, sometimes I take a 30 minute walk in the late morning or evening, so this helps me not being in the house munching all day.
Cheryl

I've had the opposite happen with gaming. When I feel the urge to eat in the evenings....and there are no more calores left for the day....I come and read the threads on 3FC, then I play a few games on Pogo. Of course, its usually only an hour or so.

Well, I really believe that the very bottomline and the "cause" for being overweight is simply eating too much and moving too little.

Of course there are things that bring us to eating too much and moving too little, which can get quite a bit more complicated. It usually, not always, stems from not caring enough to eat right and exercise. Not making it and ourselves a top priority. I can see where gaming could be just one more thing that we hide behind, in order to neglect ourselves, for whatever reason.

Not really gaming related but...

When I first went to college, I was really busy so I didn't eat, I lost 30 lbs or so. I then went back to normal once I settled back into things and gained those 30 lbs back. I then decided to major in Computer Science and did a lot of sitting and a lot less and ended up gaining 30 lbs by the time I graduated college (5 years total).

I am not into gaming, I've tried some online games but I'm too cheap to pay for a subscription :) I've played single person games off and on as well throughout my life but I think it is something you need to fit into your life if you enjoy it. My DH and I bought guild wars and would play that once in a while but we would still exercise, still do outside activities, etc. Every once in a while when we feel we want to burn a couple hours, we will play it but it isn't something we regularly do, we are too busy with other things.

Anyway, I guess my point is if you enjoy gaming, don't let it interfere with your life. I think you can fit it into your life but don't skimp on your health for some computer time. For me, it is hard to even squeeze an hour out of the day for me to do something recreational on the computer. (even 3FC is mostly an at work activity for me) There is just too much to do.

I used to be a gamer, and was overweight. But during that time, I was not active and my eating habits were HORRIBLE. I was only an occasional gamer, so I don't blame it on the games. I do attribute some of my weight loss to DDR Max, though :)

Ha, it's probably not a coincidence that my rapid weight gain from 150 to 200 lbs (1999-2004) happened when I was playing WAY too much Everquest. Big time raiding guild, raids every night, fast food in front of the computer, etc. I was really into it, moderated a big EQ forum, was a class advocate in guild, had to be the highest level, best gear...

Ugh.

I still love gaming. I switched to Everquest 2 which is much better for a "casual" gamer, I don't raid, I play MUCH more reasonably and I'm much happier (graphics are prettier and they have fairies!)

There's nothing magical about gaming that makes you gain weight. It's sitting on your butt and eating crap. It could just as easily be the tv, playing monopoly, or reading. It's the sedentary lifestyle that gets ya; you could give up gaming entirely but if all you do is sit in a different chair in front of a different entertainment box, you're still gonna get fat.

Escapism. Pick your poison: gaming, tv, internet, etc. If it helps you push out reality with encouraging you to sit in one spot for as long as possible, it's probably not going to be great for your waistline. Awareness and limiting those pursuits if you find yourself turning to them too much is a good idea!

Marine Princess, you almost sound like you could be my daughter writing. She is a Marine wife, and when she first went to live on base, of course she knew nobody and spent a lot of time gaming. She did pack on the pounds. She also happens to have PCOS. They are not in Okinawa although my SIL is out to sea, in the Gulf Shores and has just sent in paper work to re-enlist and Okinawa is one of his selections for re-enlistment. Since my SIL has been out this time my DD has been being more carefull about what she is eating and going for nightly walks. She has dropped 25 since he left in July, I am so proud of her. I sure she still spends a great deal of time on the computer, she is really into "MySpace" but becoming more active has helped. Skipping meals is not good either. You need to be regular healty meals and become more active. If that means limiting you gaming time, then limit it but don't give it up if you enjoy it. I'm sure it helps pass the time since you are so far away from family and friends. God Bless you and your husband.

Marineprincess I can relate!

It is a lifestyle if you can call it that, fastfood is the easiest of all to sit and run a raid. I was a major gamer but I just very extreme in my personality it use to be a major sewer so I do understand. When I started this life change about 6 weeks ago, I did notice that I was not very often if any. I agree with glory87 change to a game were you can play more casually. I found that this works for me, I quit my guild and only run things by myself. :)

I think extreme anything is bad though, I know that my extreme eating habits and gaming are just a way to avoid or fix my reality life so I think when you start realizing what really makes you happy and start living really living you can be a more balanced person. Only speaking from experience here.

Hope that helped some.

Hope20

My son is a gamer and yes, he needs to get up and move, also i do notice friend , when they come over they bring bags and bags of junkfood take out......not a good thing