|
| 
| From: Ubisoft
Category: Video Games
List Price: £29.99
Buy New: £15.86
You Save: £14.13 (47%)
New (14) Used (6) from £15.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 394
Platform: Nintendo Ds
Media: Video Game
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 4.8 x 1.9
EAN: 3307210323453
ASIN: B000VXS7L0
Release Date: June 20, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Very motivating, but don't take it too seriously August 7, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This isn't really a game, it's more of a 'personal trainer' in your pocket. The little matchstick people are fun and very motivational, and for once they actually MAKE me want to get off my backside and do some exercise! :-)
Each day you are given four objectives in your Daily Sessions; these are to complete the required number of steps on your pedometer, to do at least one of the daily challenges, to do a certain amount of physical activity and to maintain a healthy food balance. Each one you achieve is ticked off the list and you are awarded 'distance' as your reward.
I do find the pedometer a bit unwieldy to wear all the time but it's very simple just to insert in into the DS and let the program record the steps. You can, however, use a different pedometer and just record the steps manually if you want.
Each day you enter the amount and type of food you've eaten by feeding the items to the matchstick person. Be aware, however, that this part is not terribly accurate, but is only meant to be a rough guide. For example, foods are limited and their calorie content is rounded up or down to the nearest 50 calories; also, you can only pick from standard portion sizes rather than entering the exact amount eaten. If you want to record your calorie consumption accurately then the program is no good, although it does let you have a basic idea of what you eat.
Likewise with the calories burnt through exercise; these are rounded up or down to the nearest 50 calories. I did find, also, that the metabolism they'd worked out for me was way too inaccurate.
All in all, My Health Coach is fun to use and very motivating, which is, after all, half the battle when trying to lose weight. Instead of saying "you have 30 pounds to lose!" which seems a massive task to achieve, it breaks it up into manageable targets; in this, my first month, it has given me a target of six pounds to lose which is far more attainable.
I will definitely continue to use it and see how I get on :-)
 Fun, portable encouragement in a healthier lifestyle August 6, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'm reasonably fit and have an active job, but I know I could be fitter... Like most people, I have a busy schedule and don't always make time to exercise as much as I could, outside of work. This "game" has been a great inspiration to me and I am already feeling the benefits!
Like most fitness plans or routines, you get out of this what you put in - if you lie and say you did one of the challenges when you didn't... you're only cheating yourself! So obviously, you need a bit of will power - or at the very least a vow to yourself that you will follow your Coach's advice.
If you're up for the challenge, then My Health Coach is for you! Like the description says, you don't need to spend long at all with it each day. I like to spend 5 minutes in the morning, choosing my challenge or challenges for the day - then I come back for 5 minutes at the end of the day to note the food I ate and the activity I did. Be sure to "Wrap the day" when you've done both, as you can't go back and check it off after that day has finished. I did try to alter the DS date setting so I could go back and "Wrap" the previous day (i.e. get a little tick on the calendar) but annoyingly, the game knew what I was trying to do! It would be nice to have the option to "tick" the day once its finished.
The Health Coach covers your eating habits (including your cooking, visits to restaurants, willingness to try new foods) and your activity (including your pedometer count, any exercise or activity for the day). You will be set targets for the day - usually a specific number of steps on the pedometer, a number of minutes of activity (e.g. 30 - could be as simple as a walk during your lunch break), 1 or more challenges and finally, you get an extra tick if you balance your food and activity.
The challenges are quite fun and range from minute challenges (those to be done straight away) to 24-hour challenges (which you can complete any time during the day). You are offered a mixture of food and fitness challenges (you can do up to 6 in any one day) to choose from and you can change the types of challenges you want by answering in your Coaching sessions.
As some people have mentioned, the pedometer is slightly larger than most, to accomodate the DS connection point. I haven't had a problem with it and wear it throughout my day. If it bothers you, you are able to enter the step count manually, so you could always use a smaller one. It's been a very interesting way to monitor how much walking I do every day and you get activity points for the amount of steps.
I haven't had a problem with entering my food - it does take a couple of days to get used to which category the food has been entered under and as its not an exhaustive list, you may have to substitute some things. Some of it is a little Americanised, but it shouldn't cause much of a translation issue for most Brits.
Overall, I have really enjoyed using my Health Coach - I have been using it every day for nearly a fortnight now and not only am I eating much more healthily but I am also getting closer to achieving my fitness goals. For me, it has definitely been worth the money and I would recommend it to others who would like a portable bit of encouragement in a healthier lifestyle. I have given the game 4 stars as I think it could be improved but it is easy-to-use and it changes its goals as you improve or as you alter your weight in the Passport section. I like it especially because it emphasises that the more you exercise, the more you will need to eat appropriate food to fuel the body.
has its advantages and disadvantages July 25, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I quite like the idea of the game and how you can keep track of everything you eat in a day and how it balances against your daily activities. It does motivate you to keep up with it and take on new challenges and makes you feel good about yourself when you've achieved them.
What I don't like so much is the pedometer. It is a bit bulky, not very comfortable to wear and it usually either resets itself during the day, or stops working completely, so obviously doesn't really keep track of the exact steps I have taken. In all it is a good game but needs improvement on the pedometer. I also believe that the pedometer should be available to buy seperately in case it breaks so people wouldn't be forced to buy the whole game again.
 Delighted! July 20, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
This was bought for me as a gift by my thoughtful husband who could see I was struggling to get going with my weight loss plans. Five days on and I am happy to say that it has been the perfect kickstart and I've even lost a couple of pounds already!
It's great fun to use, what with being able to plug in the pedometer and prove how many steps you have done to the programme (although you can input them manually too which is handy) and lots of varied challenges to get and hopefully keep you motivated. The more challenges you complete, the more coaching sessions it offers you. All this is supervised by your little cartoon character friend; mine is a female who occasionally mutates into an alien with one eye! In fact the graphics are quite amusing; for example, when you input how much time you spend doing physical activity she will do some gardening or take a dog for a walk.
I have read other comments about the pedometer, I have to say I am quite happy with it, you just have to experiment with the best place to clip it (as you do with all pedometers).
My only very minor gripe is the foods are obviously designed for the American market, so you have to use your initiative (for example select ketchup as they don't seem to have salad cream) and it would be nice if they designed a version for the British market but this really isn't a problem, it's quite easy to work around. In fact recording your food intake is one of the most fun parts of the programme, then at the end of the day you can see whether or not your exercise/food scales are balanced!
To conclude, I am delighted! I feel motivated and confident I will lose the weight I need to on this programme. My Health Coach makes fitness and healthy eating fun - what more can you ask for?
1 week old, the pedometer clip has broken! July 16, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I am really enjoying this game, I managed to beat my step target yesterday which actually makes you quite happy! Unfortunately whilst in the kitchen the pedometer had worked its way up and off my waistband and when I next moved it fell onto the floor and the clip broke off.
It's plastic and cannot be glued, I do have an old pedometer that I can use and input the steps manually, did the manufactors plan this optional input mode because the Nintendo pedometer is not strong enough?
I have e-mailed Ubisoft to ask if I can purchase a replacement clip, it will be interseting to see if I have to buy a new pedometer.
|
|
|
| |
