Teen creates “video game diet” to shed off obesity

Looks like the Wii Fit has got itself a competition in this program. A 17-year-old Georgia boy claims that he shed off half his weight thanks to his “video game diet.”

Looks like the Wii Fit has got itself a competition in this program. A 17-year-old Georgia boy claims that he shed off half his weight thanks to his “video game diet.”

Taylor LeBaron has always been a big boy who constantly had to suffer taunts and teases from his peers because of his weight. One day, at age 14, he decided he’s had enough and thought of an idea that will turn things around for him the best way he knew hnow: video games. Ironically, this is the same factor he believes contributed heavily to his being — well, heavy, in the first place.

His created program, the “Ultimate Fitness Game”, is not exactly a video game game per se, but nonetheless employs the same principles of an actual game. “It has the same aspects of a video game,” he explains. “You have enemies, you have allies, and you have money. You have to play smart; otherwise, you run out of your money. Your score needs to be high at the end of the day.”

In this game, however, “money” does not buy you new armory, nor does it upgrade your characters. Instead, this money is actually the calories that you burn. He said focusing on earning money instead of burning calories made it “easier to keep track of and more fun and engaging.”

He successfully shed off weight, from an almost 300-pound 14-year-old that he was to a new lean and trim 145-pound 17-year-old today. If you’re a non-believer, you can catch his book chronicling his weight-loss experience, “Cutting Myself in Half: 150 Pounds Lost One Byte at a Time.” Or better yet, just check out the Before and After photo inset above.

See, it can be done, people!

Via [MSNBC Today]