What is DDR?

I've made several mentions to playing Dance Dance Revolution, or DDR. I'm sure many people know what it is, but I'm still going to explain and share with you the video that inspired me to look at DDR as more than just a fun video game, but a great way to get some cardio in your life!

I would see the Dance Dance Revolution arcade games at various arcades and malls, but I never played it. I guessed that it was some kind of dancing game by watching others, and it always looked fun, but not something I would be interested in trying. It wasn't something that I thought about often or even at all even though we're a big video game family. (My brother loves them and I like them too.) During the MySpace craze, however, a friend of mind did one of those "Get To Know Me" surveys, and she said her favorite video game was DDR. So, I decided to look more into it. I ended up buying my first ever DDR game, DDR Extreme for Playstation 2 at GameStop, and then I sought out online to find a DDR pad. I asked for one for Christmas, but no one in my family knew was DDR was, so I didn't get one. That's okay, I didn't mind at all. I started looking online at different videos on YouTube, and on Amazon for the best pad to buy, and I bought my first ever pad from Amazon. It had a foam insert which was Heaven on my feet. I tried playing the first night and I really enjoyed playing! It's a video game, but you have to play with your feet, so you're not just sitting and wasting all kinds of energy!

I'm not sure how I came across this video, whether I was searching for DDR pads, or for DDR and weight loss, or DDR in general, but I somehow came across this video by YouTube user sumfight (Cody Rapol). I remember thinking how I ended up finding a video about losing weight when I was searching about DDR! After watching the video, I was immediately inspired. If you don't want to watch, (why not? It's very cool! You should watch!) here's the story: this guy lost around 100 pounds by playing DDR and making small changes to his diet by switching from regular soda to diet soda and eating a filling food or breakfast. He mentions eating a lot of oats in his video.

This is the video though! This is what inspired me to take DDR to a new level - a fitness level. I found his video somewhere between very late 2006 and early 2007, and here we were, around seven years later, and I still go back to the original video. He's updated at least once, the video was uploaded about two years ago, and there are other DDR related videos that I haven't seen yet. But the particular video I have here is the video that I found so inspiring. I didn't start right then. I have yo-yo dieted and exercised since seeing this video, but for the last fourteen months, there hasn't been a yo-do, except if it's on a permanent down! :) No going up for this girl!

The video above isn't the only video regarding weight loss and DDR. I'll end this post with a link to another YouTube video dedicated to DDR and weight loss. Feel free to watch. Did you know that DDR is an official sporting event in Norway?

This link is to a YouTube video where a Jeopardy contestant speaks with Alex Trebek. She lost fifty pounds playing DDR!

Motivation

I'm lucky. I've read other blogs, seem peoples comments on various places, and so many people say that staying motivated is very hard for them. I'm grateful that there are no motivation issues for me for the most part. Some days I am really frustrated with working out and I just want it to be over, but that is few and far between.

I think some of that is because I work out mostly by doing something fun (playing Dance Dance Revolution, which I will go into more details soon) but also, some of it is because I have a goal to work for, and I like to think and hope I am goal oriented. The fact that I have kept up this lifestyle, and do some kind of physical activity almost every night makes me think that yeah, I've got to at least be a little goal oriented, right?

Maybe I should explain what helps keep me motivated. Keep in mind that it might be seen as mean, or childish, or petty. In 2011, I was in a very nasty fight with a girl I once considered a very close friend, perhaps a best friend. Being friends with this person was tough from the beginning. We met when we were middle school aged, but we didn't form a close bond until a couple years later. I burned a lot of bridges to be friends with her. She has a different personality, I guess you could say, and one that not many people seem to like, or understand. I don't want to sound conceited or anything, but in school, I was known as the "nice girl" and if you give me time, I can find good in anyone, including this particular person. I was the person who would smile at everyone, who gave anyone a chance, or didn't matter what kind of person they were. I would give everyone a chance, and unless given a valid reason, I don't dislike anyone. However, when it came to this person, a lot of people didn't understand, and because of that, bridges were burned. As I look back, I can't believe that I chose that kind of friend either. I guess in a way, you could say she did not respect my feelings, ideals, morals or dreams at all. I don't want to go into details, because that's not what this particular blog post is about. Growing up, I didn't realize that she really wasn't a good friend, or the right kind of friend for me. The incidents that happened in 2011 just gave me light to the side that so many other people had been warning me about for years.

This girl said something to me one day, in the middle of our fight, that lasted an entire summer: "Julie, if you want to feel better about yourself, you should travel, or go to school, or do something else that makes you feel better to yourself besides DDR." - that's not the direct quote, but that's mostly the gist of it. Do something that makes you feel better about yourself than play DDR, which is a video game, but it's video game that has proven to work for me to lose weight.

I was really upset. Devastated. I stopped playing DDR because I felt pathetic. Even to this day, when I see someone and they're so shocked at how much weight I've lost, I can feel my face turn red. "Oh, I lost it playing a video game..." I shouldn't feel ashamed. Why should I feel ashamed? It's cheaper than a gym membership! It's a whole lot of fun! I've always loved it! I recently found that message again, and reading it just made me realize that this girl just never understood. Seriously. If you truly loved someone, and was excited that they were succeeding, why would you tell them to stop doing that?

From 2011 until August 2012, I just felt really pathetic. I mean, I felt like I didn't have any friends. I do have friends, but at the moment I don't drive, and my best friend, Aubrey, lives far beyond walking distance. I felt really alone. I had a lot of time to sit and think, and think, and think about the argument between me and the other girl, and then I realized that is what she wanted. She wanted me to relive her calling me pathetic, fat, loser, etc. And I also realized that my anger was justified, but I could do something healthier with it.

So I started playing DDR again. I channeled that anger, and I turned it into passion. I decided then and there that I wanted to be thinner than the girl I dislike the most. Maybe I was a pathetic fat loser. I can't argue and say that I wasn't fat. But that was going to change. I wanted to get to that size. She can't call me fat, unless she calls herself fat too! So that was my goal. That was my motivation, and I think I've reached that. I don't know, but occasionally I see her around, and I think so, and I feel proud. I can't call her up and ask her her weight, or her pants size! And, I did it all on my own. Hard work. Not only DDR. I walk my puppy a lot. I watch what I eat. I've realized that I enjoy running! I have a treadmill, exercise bike, and an elliptical machine at home, and I have a 3 mile floodwall near. Lots of sidewalk and two legs.

Sure, it's childish, but it's kept me going. I've kept that inside for a long time, just because it is silly, I know. But it's my motivation, and it is what started everything. And I've got to say, I know I'm not the only one who has motivation like that. I was watching Dr. Oz, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was on, discussing the soda ban. This was a few months ago. Dr. Oz and Mayor Bloomberg discussed how he had went to the federal government to try and make things like potato chips, snack food, and soda ineligible to be bought with a food stamp card. Dr. Oz made note that Mayor Bloomberg's time as mayor was coming to an end, and he wanted to know if he (Bloomberg) thought that health was going to be his main legacy. Mayor Bloomberg said, “I’ll tell you ways to think about this: think about the person you don’t like most in the world. Do you want to be at their funeral or do you want them to be at yours? If that doesn’t get you to take care of yourself, I don’t know what does.”

On top of that, I do enjoy working out. I enjoy physical activity. I've become passionate about it, and it's something that I just love to do. I'm on my way to being healthier than I was when I was a child, and I love that. I'm old enough to do things with my life and young enough to enjoy it. 

Enjoying my workouts, knowing that I'm making my life better, and of course using past anger as fuel is what keeps me motivated. Now I'm not saying that I don't think about that person every day, I don't. I did in the beginning, and occasionally I do, but I also replay years of being teased as a child in my head too occasionally, on days where I am really struggling, and it gives me what I need. If someone tells me that I can't, I want to look them in the eye and say, "Watch me!"

DDRing Through Life

My name is Julie and I am 25 years old. In August of 2012, I joined the website LoseIt! and decided then and there that I was going to do just that, lose it! There have been times in the past where I have lost weight, but I've put it back on a few months later. This time I've been keeping up this new lifestyle for over a year and I have no plans of ever stopping. From my highest weight, I have lost 61lbs, and I am very proud of myself. It's definitely hard, but I've found some things that have helped me get this far, and my hope is to share them with others. My hope is to be an inspiration to others!