How I Really Lost Weight Climbing Mountains in Virtual Reality

Losing weight is tough, especially when you're my age. Amazingly, I have found a new way to peel off the pounds in the real world by working out in a virtual one.

Full disclosure: I am a 53 year old guy that has maintained the attitude of a very immature 12 year old. Unfortunately, my metabolism is still tied to that 53 year old me. When I was younger, I played tennis, ran and lifted weights and maintained a fairly athletic body. That was a long time ago.

After having 7 children, finding the time to get out and do all that stuff kinda disappeared and then the weight began to build up. Discovering that I could lose weight by doing virtual reality workouts has been a revelation.

I have a laptop that I hook up to the Oculus Rift. It's one of the first real VR headsets that's been out for around 3 years now. One of my go-to workouts on the Rift is a game called "The Climb". Here's what it looks like in action:

Every afternoon, I climb mountains that look like they're in the Alps, Alaska and the canyons of the Southwest. It's really epic.

My other workout game is called First Person Tennis. It's a real kick as it's like playing real tennis like I did back in high school.

So far, I've lost over 15 pounds with this routine along with trying to watch what I eat better. Truth is I easily have another 40 to go before I will consider myself healthy, but it's a start.

When I started, getting into VR was expensive. You had to have a really strong desktop or laptop with a powerful video card, plus the Oculus cost another $400 on top of that. Now, it's much easier to do this. The Oculus Quest was just released and it does not require a computer. It will still set you back $399, but compared to most other workout machines is a real bargain.

I am not alone in my VR workout regimen. VR Fitness Insider has many stories of people peeling off a ton of weight doing this. I recommend it if you're interested in this sort of thing.

Once I reach my goal, I'll be sharing before and after pics. Until then, back to the mountains - virtually.