My Fellow Gamers
soldier4242
Posts: 1,368 Member
This is specifically for the gamers. I am not talking to regular people who occasionally play games. I am talking about people who get youthful excitement at the release of a new game in their favorite genre. If you understand the references in the song “Conventional Lover” by Speck or if you have spent a 3 day weekend around a table top playing D&D or Magic: The Gathering I am talking to you. If you are not truly a gamer at your very core then you probably don’t understand the thrill we get from killing a tough opponent with a perfect headshot or figuring out the answer to a tough puzzle.
When I started college I was told by friends and family alike that I would have to give up playing World of Warcraft (WoW) in order to graduate. Well I did get my degree and I played WoW the entire time. They had the best of intentions. The people who told me this have probably seen someone spent such a large amount of their time gaming that they did not focus on their responsibilities. As it is with all stereotypes we are going to be looked at like we are all the most extreme case. In their minds they are just trying to help me out. If you are still reading this then you can probably relate.
I told people that I wanted to start losing weight. I was 250 pounds and that was not an attractive weight for me, I want to pass the army PT test and oh yeah, I also do not want to die. Of course I was told things like “You can’t lose weight without giving up the gaming.” If you are not a gamer and you are still reading then you have to understand that to us this is like saying “The only way you can lose weight is to give up happiness.”
Those of us that love gaming as much as I do won’t give up gaming any sooner than a diehard Packers fan would give up watching football. I have seen some of these football fans and some of them could stand to lose some weight too. The fact is the Packers fanatic can lose weight but he/she won’t give up watching football any sooner than the gamer will give up gaming and neither of them should. We are on a mission to lose weight not eliminate the things we love in life especially when we don’t need to.
I have lost 35 pounds now and I feel great. I reduced the sugar in my diet (which means far less soda) and started running/walking 3-5 days a week for around 35 minutes per. That does make it sound like a lot easier than it has been but the point is I did not have to give up the things I love in life just to lose weight. In fact after I push myself really hard on a run and I get home and take a shower it makes sitting down to do some gaming all the sweeter and because of that I find myself pushing myself harder on the runs. As long as you don’t skip the run you shouldn’t skip the gaming!!(I should also mention at this point not to skip the shower.) In this way the gaming that I love becomes the motivator to do better on my run.
In conclusion, I tell you to drive Mario’s cart. Get your warrior to level 20. Go win a booster draft. If you happen to be a shooter, keep shooting, and let your opponents fear you. The zombies are not going to kill themselves and neither will the Covenant. If we don’t stand up to Sephiroth then who will? Go forth and get your 25 point hunter pounces! Charge people off of bridges! Shoot portals on to walls! Rock out with your “Rock Band” and kill Deathwing for the security of all in Azeroth!!
When I started college I was told by friends and family alike that I would have to give up playing World of Warcraft (WoW) in order to graduate. Well I did get my degree and I played WoW the entire time. They had the best of intentions. The people who told me this have probably seen someone spent such a large amount of their time gaming that they did not focus on their responsibilities. As it is with all stereotypes we are going to be looked at like we are all the most extreme case. In their minds they are just trying to help me out. If you are still reading this then you can probably relate.
I told people that I wanted to start losing weight. I was 250 pounds and that was not an attractive weight for me, I want to pass the army PT test and oh yeah, I also do not want to die. Of course I was told things like “You can’t lose weight without giving up the gaming.” If you are not a gamer and you are still reading then you have to understand that to us this is like saying “The only way you can lose weight is to give up happiness.”
Those of us that love gaming as much as I do won’t give up gaming any sooner than a diehard Packers fan would give up watching football. I have seen some of these football fans and some of them could stand to lose some weight too. The fact is the Packers fanatic can lose weight but he/she won’t give up watching football any sooner than the gamer will give up gaming and neither of them should. We are on a mission to lose weight not eliminate the things we love in life especially when we don’t need to.
I have lost 35 pounds now and I feel great. I reduced the sugar in my diet (which means far less soda) and started running/walking 3-5 days a week for around 35 minutes per. That does make it sound like a lot easier than it has been but the point is I did not have to give up the things I love in life just to lose weight. In fact after I push myself really hard on a run and I get home and take a shower it makes sitting down to do some gaming all the sweeter and because of that I find myself pushing myself harder on the runs. As long as you don’t skip the run you shouldn’t skip the gaming!!(I should also mention at this point not to skip the shower.) In this way the gaming that I love becomes the motivator to do better on my run.
In conclusion, I tell you to drive Mario’s cart. Get your warrior to level 20. Go win a booster draft. If you happen to be a shooter, keep shooting, and let your opponents fear you. The zombies are not going to kill themselves and neither will the Covenant. If we don’t stand up to Sephiroth then who will? Go forth and get your 25 point hunter pounces! Charge people off of bridges! Shoot portals on to walls! Rock out with your “Rock Band” and kill Deathwing for the security of all in Azeroth!!
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Replies
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lol... what a nerd.
Good thing I'm right there with you! I understood every reference you made!
Yea, I still play videogames. Nothing relieves a little stress like shooting people in the face online.0 -
I have 80 quests in Howling Fjord and the Icecrown quests to do before completing ALL the Loremaster achievements on my 85 Pally. I play DnD on Sundays, and Minecraft whenever I don't feel like trekking across Azeroth. I love Starcraft the board game, and have played me some TI (Twilight Imperium) as well. I haven't had to give up my gaming for weight loss, and people that think you have to are usually ones who simply don't like playing games to that extent at all.
It isn't "give up", it's make time for everything. I still play nightly for anywhere from 4-6 hours on my days off (AFTER my workout!), and I'm still losing.
Loremaster, here I come... FOR THE HORDE!0 -
You, are my hero!
I'm a WoW gamerbabe, and have been since the game came out! I've been the addict of the game, I've been the girlfriend to an addict of the game, and I've had some of the best times of my life with it, and some of the worst! I would write BOOKS on my adventures while playing WoW!
And I am totally with you in this! I'm a college student studying Health Information Management... oh, and guess who is the top student AND the class clown? That would be ME! Let's add in the fact that I work part time during the school year and tutor other students in multiple courses. Ohh... but wait! I'm also the co-Guild Master, Raid Leader, and Mother Hen to a guild that has been around as long as the game has. And you know what? I love to show people that gamers are not always like *THAT*. I'm losing weight! It's coming off slowly... but that's likely from background medication conditions.
So here's to the gamers! Even the ones that don't play WoW! Lift your [Brewfest Ale] and break out the [D.I.S.C.O. Ball]!0 -
I sort of love you already! Not only as a fellow gamer, but you also mentioned my beloved Packers!
I can relate to everything you wrote about --- I took a whole week of vacation when WOW came out and I was in the alpha/beta but it started long before that... BBS games like Trade Wars, Mutants, Kyrandia...moving to muds and then the beta for Ultima Online which will always be my first love! I spent many years planning my life around raiding in WoW..it was my second job! We were obsessed with server firsts and I used to get calls at 3am that some random dragon was up and we'd all log on. I too was about 250-260 at the time -- and I smoked like chimney!
Then my dad had a heart attack and a triple bypass. He was not overweight, he wroked out, he didn't smoke -- so he was now mor concerned about my health and seeing me die before him, than his own. To appease him, I went to get checked and they told (at age 45) that my heard was 72 years old -- older than my Dad. That was my wakeup call.
I actually quit WoW around this time, quit smoking cold turkey 4 years and joined a gym. I'm back into gaming now --- but I go to the GYM First! They all tease me about being late for the raid because of Zumba but that's better than going back where I was!
What are you playing now? I'm currently addicted to RIFT -- don't think I could ever go back to Wow, Aion, DAoC, Ultima, Warhammer, AoC, LoTro --- yeah I tried them all What's the next one coming out?
And now I'm off to Zumba and then killing dragons in Telara!
Nice to meet you!!0 -
How much of a gamer does it make me if my husband and I met on WoW? rofl...
/played 257 days only on my main - Hunter 85. Also have a 85 shaman and 85 druid and a hand full of alts.
No longer playing WoW though. Cata killed my love and passion for WoW.... or I am just really burnt out lol. Played all the expansions and original. Now I am just playing Rift, CoD, Battlefield... etc etc etc ((insert long list here and yes I rotate games))
Lazer turkeys pew pew pew!!!!0 -
I've never gotten into WoW but I do play Call of Duty on PS3!! I'm Loveleeb if anyone wants to add me lol0
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I hear you. I didn't fel the need to completely give up gaming in order to lose weight. I did feel the need to give up MMORPGs in order to lose weight while maintaining my other responsibilities. I Had/Have 2 maxed out characters in WoW and a bank full of gold. I enjoyed raiding and playing the AH. But I also have 2 boys, a wife, and 2 jobs. I was able to play WoW and maintain family obligations just fine (playing later in the evening after kids and spouse are in bed mostly helped).
But as I started to fit more activity into my day in order to lose weight and get healthier I found something had to give. I couldn't change my commute, I couldn't change the needs of my family or jobs. I could get up earlier though. Bu tin order to get up earlier I needed to go to bed earlier as well. Which means WoW had to be curtailed. Since WoW time was curtailed I was no longer able to Raid effectively which meant I was not having nearly as much fun. I chose to stop my account.
I have to say I've not missed it a whole lot. I've picked up some console games I have that I've not played since I focused game time on WoW and have had some fun with them (Mostly Zelda on the Wii). The great thing about this game is it is easy to play for a few mins-hour and then not play again for a month and still pick up where you left off. this was hard to do with WoW. It's possible f you don't play for a month on there that you've been kicked from your guild (or the guild just plain blew up...) and the game has expanded beyond where your current level of gear. That is the nature of MMORPGs.
So I've not given up gaming to lose weight, but I've changed its context in my life and changed the type of gaming I engage in.0 -
Thank you everyone for your kind words and it is wonderful to commiserate the "gamer's plight" with people who have also been through it. I do appreciate all the friend requests. We gamers should stick together when it comes to both gaming and losing weight. I am impressed by how many of you got all of my references. In my first draft I actually had more references but I was afraid I would lose too many people if I went to esoteric. One of the drafts actually included klaatu barada nikto if you can believe that. Bonus points to any of you who can get that reference.
Some of this is just general information since there seems to be some interest some of this is directly answering questions that I have received from more than one person:
My XboxLive gamer tag is Zombi3Ch3f if you play Left for Dead 2 then I may have killed or saved you. I don't normally accept all friend requests on XboxLive because I want my list to have mostly good players on it but being a good sport is more important to me than that. If you mention that you are on MFP I will definitely add you to my XboxLive friends list . I do share the Zombi3Ch3f name with my wife and kids. I am extremely good at games and so is my oldest but if you end up online and for some reason I am not responding on the mic you are likely playing with my youngest who is autistic.
My main is a Balance druid(Moonkin, Boomkin, Laserchicken or Laserturkey) I won't list Oomkin because Balance druids have not had mana issues since vanilla wow.
Server: Sargeras
Character Name: Feayn
Level:85
Guild: Razorbacks
Guild Level: 25
I love call of duty I just don't happen to own the game yet so I do not have the encyclopedic knowledge of the game that I do with other games. Rest assured that when I do get on to CoD I will be a force to be reckoned with.
To Slimithy:
I totally understand. There are only so many hours in a day and when I have to cut something out of my day I do tend to cut in to my gaming time first. It seems to me that you totally get it though because you did not give up on it completely you simply made it fit with your life and that is what you call being responsible. Perhaps one day there will be enough of us responsible gamers out there and we can dispel this stereotype. Just like everyone else in the world I let my kids out of the basement to feed once a week whether they need it or not.0 -
I will fly around Azeroth with you baby! kisses LOL0
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I will fly around Azeroth with you baby! kisses LOL
Hello baby!!! Everyone Lyweeks is my wife. She is a level 85 restoshaman in the same guild listed above. She rocks out the healing. She has also lost weight and she has been gaming with me the whole time.0 -
Best thing about the 30-45 min dps heroic queues: time to get in some cardio! Seriously. After I've done my dailies, I'll just get into a heroic queue then get to exercising. It's a much better use of my time rather than trolling trade lol
So yeah, I can totally relate. I've been playing WoW nearly every day since '06. Met my boyfriend of 3 years on WoW actually lol
I have every class except for DK @ lvl 80. Have two toons @ 85 = My main shadow/disc priest & alt boomkin/tree. Fenris alliance.0 -
I'm a console gamer, PS3 & Wii. Have owned every gaming system from the Atari 2600 up to now. I'll probably never give up gaming, as it's a very convenient hobby. While I'm cleaning the house, I can play a game. When my daughter goes to bed, I can play a game. I used to wrestle, but injured my knee, so now I play wrestling games, and I actually have a group of friends that run a video game wrestling fed where we record matches and put on shows once a month or so. And yes, relaxing with a video game after a grueling workout at the gym is a very sweet reward.0
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I've never gotten into WoW but I do play Call of Duty on PS3!! I'm Loveleeb if anyone wants to add me lol
I would so WTF pwn you.
But you play on the PS3 and I'm a PCer.0 -
In conclusion, I tell you to drive Mario’s cart. Get your warrior to level 20. Go win a booster draft. If you happen to be a shooter, keep shooting, and let your opponents fear you. The zombies are not going to kill themselves and neither will the Covenant. If we don’t stand up to Sephiroth then who will? Go forth and get your 25 point hunter pounces! Charge people off of bridges! Shoot portals on to walls! Rock out with your “Rock Band” and kill Deathwing for the security of all in Azeroth!!
Amen brotha!
My brother and I love to game. Been doing it since we were old enough to function a computer or console. We also did P90X and are currently doing Insanity together. 0 -
Hey all,
I am very late on the topic - been trolling around dutch beaches on my vacation. ^^
I so agree with you all. I am a gamer girl myself and played loads of stuff - Ultima Online, Jumpgate, Star Wars Galaxies and now WoW of course. You can see I am mostly into MMORPGs due to the social aspect of the game.
I do have an 85 Draenei priest (see profile pic), 85 Bloodelf hunter, 85 Bloodelf Holy pally currently trying to save the world tree. And I am due to level my 80 Bloodelf mage and a couple of low level chars. My chars are split between two accounts, a German realm and an English RP realm.
I did also play Battlefield 1942 a lot and was the bombing officer on board of my other half's bomber. He is currently killing tons of zombies with his little brother.
And of course am shooting the occasional portal into walls and live life to the credo of "speedy thing goes in - speedy thing comes out"!
I still managed to loose those 17 pounds - the closer I get to my goal the harder it gets - but I won't be quitting my gaming ever because I love it!0 -
Its better late then never.0
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Just saw this topic too, and Hellow to all my gamer friends. I used to play WoW (2 years) and FFXI online (almost 8 years), but just like many I had to quit due to family coming first. However I still play COD: Bops, I've been getting really heavy into the FPS, and even pre-order COD MW 3, I really can't wait to see if Ghost is coming back!0
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Alas school is about to force me to kill my wow account for the first time since vanilla.
le sigh0 -
lol... what a nerd.
Good thing I'm right there with you! I understood every reference you made!
Yea, I still play videogames. Nothing relieves a little stress like shooting people in the face online.
lol can't belive I missed this, I said the same thing when my wife asked me why I was so into CoD, my response while i was wearing my headset was, "I don't know, there is just something about shooting somebody in the face that gives you a fuzzy feeling" next thing i know i hear a dude out of the head set saying "@#%! yeah it is"0 -
I had been an avid WoW raider for the past 5 years but unfortunately losing interest in the game entirely is the only reason I actually have been taking time to take care of myself. I raided in the top 40US ranking guilds for the last 2 expansions so I was just too serious about it to be thinking about cooking good food for myself and working out before raids, I had raid strategies on my mind!
I'm glad you made this post though, I wish I had the self control while I was playing WoW to get going on this journey as well. Right now I'm just very casually playing Rift so I haven't given up on the games completely!
One day I might go back to killing those nasty dargons!0 -
I had been an avid WoW raider for the past 5 years but unfortunately losing interest in the game entirely is the only reason I actually have been taking time to take care of myself. I raided in the top 40US ranking guilds for the last 2 expansions so I was just too serious about it to be thinking about cooking good food for myself and working out before raids, I had raid strategies on my mind!
I'm glad you made this post though, I wish I had the self control while I was playing WoW to get going on this journey as well. Right now I'm just very casually playing Rift so I haven't given up on the games completely!
One day I might go back to killing those nasty dargons!
I am glad you liked it. This thread really seems to resonate with a lot of people. I wish I got involved in WoW sooner but I did not make it until shortly before wow switched over to TBC I did get a chance to get involved with raiding at Karazhan and I have loved it every since.0 -
Bump, I don't want to let this topic die, is too much fun! I want to buy F.E.A.R 3 but since I got married I need to pick my game carefully due to the budget, is it any good like the last 2 games? Keep on geeking!0
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Got into Counterstrike (on PC) in a BIG way from 13-20 YO ... tournaments the works ... it pretty much controlled my life, and almost didn't graduate cuz of it ...
I then got into Xbox and Oblivion the Elder Scrolls - and that consumed me for a few years (Thank god I had the walk through book!)
Then I quit smoking pot, and with that went my 'obsession' with video games, for some reason, I 100% associate the two (FOR ME ONLY I UNDERSTAND THIS) But when I play a game (recently finished Assasins Creed) it makes me miss and think of mary jane again ...
Now I stick to silly games, like Dance Dance Revolution or now Dance central for my kinect
(My Biggest gamming accomplishment was I was ranked 11th in the world online for Burnout 3 - then they went stupid with the open world concept and lost my interest)0 -
totally with you guys.
Hardcore xbox 360 here...desperately waiting november...mw3, AC revelations, elderscrolls skyrim...expensive time of year.
COD black ops is current fav online am prestige 5 rank 48. We often play as a family cos me, hubby and both children have our own xboxs and often play online together....nothing like a good family zombie killing spree, and yep kids are not stupid and can tell the difference between gaming and reality lol.
SvelteMartine on 360 if anyone wants to add me.
martyxxx0 -
I'm primarily a console gamer and our Xbox has gone away to the land of Microsoft to be fixed. It's been the worst week of my life. Haha. Not just for me but for my boyfriend. I'm a big fan of RPGs but I occasionally enjoy a nice relaxing game of CoD: Black Ops. :P
I'm a D&D Dungeon Master too, we have a weekly meet. I loooove making the biggest most ridiculous quests with an epic storyline. It keeps me busy and away from food writing all the encounters and puzzles. 0 -
Hey all,
I am very late on the topic - been trolling around dutch beaches on my vacation. ^^
I so agree with you all. I am a gamer girl myself and played loads of stuff - Ultima Online, Jumpgate, Star Wars Galaxies and now WoW of course. You can see I am mostly into MMORPGs due to the social aspect of the game.
I do have an 85 Draenei priest (see profile pic), 85 Bloodelf hunter, 85 Bloodelf Holy pally currently trying to save the world tree. And I am due to level my 80 Bloodelf mage and a couple of low level chars. My chars are split between two accounts, a German realm and an English RP realm.
I did also play Battlefield 1942 a lot and was the bombing officer on board of my other half's bomber. He is currently killing tons of zombies with his little brother.
And of course am shooting the occasional portal into walls and live life to the credo of "speedy thing goes in - speedy thing comes out"!
I still managed to loose those 17 pounds - the closer I get to my goal the harder it gets - but I won't be quitting my gaming ever because I love it!
Lysandra81 - OK, so I think I might have been in a guild with you at some point on the English RP server...lol!!0 -
I became Namika the Seeker and lost 50 pounds at the same time.
It CAN be done. The statement that we need to give up gaming is an incomplete statement. Yes, if we spend every waking moment in front of a TV/Computer we won't lose weight.
The phrase (for those who game morning to night) should be give up "some time" gaming. Once I stepped away from constant raiding, farming or waiting around to be killed by Deathwing, the weight fell off.
Here's to those who can lose weight and keep their happiness.0 -
I gamed every day this Summer and still lost 12 pounds! But I did give up MMORPGs last year. It was consuming my life and my marriage. My husband and I would sit next to each other at the desk with our computers and game together. I'd get fast food on the way home from work as to not take away from game time. We talked more in game than out of game. We gamed more than we slept.
I don't blame the game; I blame my own obsessiveness. How can you get bored of a game that has no ending?! There is always another character to level, and new item to obtain, monsters to kill... So I quit!
Now I cook all the time. My husband does still play MMORPGs, but with much more moderation than I ever did. I exercise almost every day. And I still game every day, just not non-stop between when work is over and when work starts again.
Congrats on all of you guys' and girls' success and willpower!0 -
Although I do have to add... I will probably try out the Bioware Star Wars MMORPG... I think I have developed some willpower to control my time.0
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So far, SWTOR is pretty awesome!0
This discussion has been closed.
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