Turn Your Weight Loss Journey Into A Video Game
What makes losing weight hard to stick?
It's a subtle change in your weight and body.
It takes a lot of effort, I'm talking about months, to see any physical change.
A lot of people are missing out on the benefits of being in shape.
You can wear the clothes you want and not be conscious of having that belly sticking out.
This alone will make you confident whenever you're going out.
People will judge you physically before even judging your personality.
You have to accept this whether you like it or not. That’s the world that we are living in today.
So sticking to that diet and workout schedule is of utmost importance when trying to lose weight. But it can be mundane over time because of the repetitive actions you need to do every single day.
This is where people give up when it gets tough to count those calories and get the workouts done.
Religiously weighing yourself every week only to find out you've lost a tiny fraction of your weight —is heartbreaking.
So why not do something about it to make it more exciting?
The question is: What is the best way to entertain yourself and get overwhelmed with dopamine hits?
Playing a video game.
This is why I got so addicted to gaming. And the other 3.2 billion gamers in the whole world. (I geeked out on this one to have the estimated number 😎)
So let's see why is that so.
I guess it is the luxury of just sitting down and having your fingers do all the work.
Just kidding.
Though it’s one of the reasons why we play it in the first place. Right?
Addictive Side of a Video Game
A video game is a structural flow of information”
–Dan Koe
The game I was addicted to was Mobile Legends. If North America has the League of Legends, South East Asia has the Mobile Legends as the famous 5 vs 5 PVP game.
So let's use it as our reference as to why we get so addicted to video games.
There is a direct ladder-like goal on it (winning = your rank goes up)
There will be feedback when you have progress (levelling up)
There are rules to keep your focus at hand and forget about distractions.
There is a tutorial at the beginning of the game to remove the friction of playing the game.
There is a rank system used in matchmaking that challenges your skill so you don't get overwhelmed or anxious.
In essence, video games put our minds into focus on the game itself. You don't mind the world around you because the virtual world is what matters at the moment.
Video games are structured so you know what to do, how to do it, and get feedback if you've done it right or wrong.
So treating your weight loss journey as a video game will make you stick to it. It can be a fun journey you'll never regret doing.
Treat it like a video game.
Choosing your avatar or alter ego.
In a video game like Minecraft, you get to choose and even customize your appearance in the game.
This is where you'll boost your confidence since you have this powerful hero that you have chosen.
In the book, Feel Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal, he tells the story of how he uses an alter ego to boost his confidence. He imagines himself, by putting on his eyeglasses, as the young Charles Xavier.
By doing this, he felt like a powerful superhero boosted his confidence when filming his YouTube video or giving a speech.
Imagine yourself as your favourite superhero or even a celebrity when lifting at the gym. In this way, you'll always be asking yourself what Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson does to lift that heavy weight as an example.
You now have a reference on how to be that confident and disciplined superhero you grew up as a kid.
For me though I imagine myself being Dan Koe. He is the influencer who I look up to and that made me start to get in shape and improve myself into a better version.
Focus on the short-term goal instead of the far future big goal.
In a video game like Mobile Legends, the mission is to destroy the enemy base building to get that victory screen at the end of the match.
Before you can attack the enemy base building, you need to destroy the outside turrets. These turrets are smaller than the enemy base building.
Just like in weight loss, the mission is to lose a certain amount of weight to lean down. Attacking those smaller turrets, like in a video game, is the way to melt those fats away.
You do this by hitting your workouts, watching your weight, and tracking your daily calorie intake.
A habit-tracking app is what worked for me and I'm sure it will work for you.
Download any habit-tracking app, it doesn't matter for now since you want to be able to start tracking.
You can choose better ones later on your journey.
This will give you a dopamine hit just like you experience on a video game after you've taken down that turret.
Grefel’s workout habit tracker. You also have a big picture on those days that you've missed or completed.
You will be motivated not to skip any workouts or else you'll have more blank spaces on your tracker.
Reduce the friction
I remember playing Counterstrike in the past.
Welcome to nostalgia if you have played it.
Instead of hovering and clicking the weapons that I needed to buy, I used the shortcut keys.
In this way, I cut down my time buying weapons before attacking the enemy.
The way you do this in your weight loss journey is to set up your environment.
An example is that my workout equipment is in the basement. Every time I walk by to do laundry or just go into the garage I see the dumbbells and treadmill.
This visual setup reminds me to do my workouts. Also doing it doesn't take a lot of effort from me since I can just do it immediately without travelling to a gym.
Find something in your space that will give you visual cues to exercise. Like putting your running shoes out so that you can easily wear them when it's time to go for a run.
Display those apples on your dining table so that when you feel like snacking, it's the easiest to reach out to.
Follow a fitness program.
Even though I have a full letter regarding this topic.
Doing this is like a tutorial in a game.
Whenever you start playing a game you've never played before, you need to know how to play it and the buttons to press.
Same way in losing weight. It's way easier to have a blueprint than having to guess the things you need to do to lose weight.
As I'm writing this letter, I'm currently reading "Trouble Spot Fat Loss by Bruce Krahn". I learned a lot about how our bodies lose that unwanted fat we don't like to see in front of the mirror.
On top of the fitness program I'm currently following I supplemented readings to have me understand more.
You don't need to do this but simply following a program takes all the guesswork out of your head.
There are more ways to treat your weight loss journey into a video game to make it more exciting.
But these are my top recommendations that you can start implementing today.
Feeling good and enjoying the journey is the key to finally lose that weight and getting into shape.
Thanks for taking the time to read this letter and talk to you soon.
—Grefel