Reader Blog: Losing 80 Pounds with Kinect and Dance Central

In the first of a new series of reader blogs, we're sharing stories from Kinect fans just like you. We want to hear bout any success stories you might have had — a great video you made in Yoostar 2, a world record score in Kinect Sports or something awesome made possible by Kinect. You can contact KINECTaku to share your story, and we kick off with Annecek from online fitness group Kinect to Spark.

Who Says Exercise Can't Be Fun?

Hi, my name is Annecek. I have battled being overweight most of my life. I grew up in a household of three brothers and one sister and eating was a sport. We were all involved in school sports and very active. My Mom was great at serving us all balanced meals in normal portions. We just knew how to help ourselves to more.

More led to being overweight all my childhood until I got to college Ever determined to make myself into the person I wanted to be, I increased my activity by taking the stairs everywhere! I lived on the 5th floor so that made a difference. I also watched my portions and not eating any deserts, I was able to lose weight.

A few years after graduating, I met and married my husband. My husband has never had a weight problem and he developed the art of stacking a buffet on one plate. Again, I joined in with the sport of eating and the pounds piled on.

After three children and approximately six failed diet plans later, I still couldn't lose the weight. I had been avoiding the scale like the plague and mirrors as well. My husband was worried about my health and my knees ached all the time.

Jan 11, 2011, was my employee wellness enrollment this year. I decided to try with no idea on how to ever succeed. I was disgusted to learn I weighed 318 lbs. With no goals in mind, I paged through my packet and found a link to SparkPeople. I couldn't believe that the site was completely free!

Finally! A comprehensive site to help me go from a diet mentality to a healthy lifestyle! I was able to track my 3 meals and 2-3 snacks with great success. I also track my calcium and fiber intake which helps me to choose better snacks.

SparkPeople started the fire, I just needed to find and stick to an exercise that I really wanted to do. I have never felt comfortable going to the gym nor was the expense something I wanted to deal with. I decided that I could use the Xbox 360 Kinect. I had bought the Kinect for Christmas for the family. I really never used the Xbox. My idea of using it was having the kids interpret the controller.

With a crash course, I started doing Dance Central for 30 min, 3 times a week. I really became a Dance Central groupie and looked on the Spark teams list to find the "Kinect to Spark" team. Little by little, I increased my time to 40 min, 5 times a week. I use the Kinect dance games for my primary fitness activity.

Why does it work? The time I spend dancing makes my workout fly by. No need for fancy clothes or equipment- just comfortable clothes, shoes and a glass of water. There is no way I can make it through a dance workout without a good sweat! I also found some Spark friends that join me on Xbox Live via the Kinect to Spark team. Besides trying to better my score each time, I have Spark friends to compete against and to motivate me.

My other favorite Kinect games also include the Michael Jackson Experience and Zumba. I recently downloaded some songs off Xbox Live for Dance Central. With 7 new dances, I can hold out until Dance Central 2 comes out.

To date, I have lost 80 pounds using Kinect for exercise and using the SparkPeople tools. As my gamer tag suggests, immotiv8d to reach my goals and to continue my healthy lifestyle.

Do you have a similar Kinect story to tell? Has the sensor changed your life? Let us know by Contacting KINECTaku!