What is Raiding Obesity?

In World of Warcraft, Raiding is a term we use where a group of 10-25 people go to a specific location to kill big creatures known as Bosses, in hope that once dead they will drop a piece of gear you need.  When typed like that, it sounds a little silly, but I assure you it is a lot more difficult than it seems.  There are strategies that must be followed, things that must be avoided, and there is very little room for error.

How many times have you tried to kill me now?

When I approached the idea of blogging about my weight loss journey, I wanted to treat it almost like I did raiding.  So Meet Brutallus, my “Obesity” Boss.

Blizzard, please don’t sue me for using him, I have no monies :(

In World of Warcraft, this boss is part of a Burning Crusade Raid known as Sunwell Plateau.  In my Blog, he will simple be known as Obesity, and it is my job to kill him.  Here are some things you should know about him:

Health

91 Hit Points

-Now most Bosses in World of Warcraft have thousands of Hit Points.  The reason Obesity has only 91 is because each hit point is a pound I need to lose. 

Abilities

Self-Heal:  When Obesity casts this, he gains hit points.  In the context if weight loss, this means I’ve gained weight instead of lost :(  I’m hoping he doesn’t cast this ability too often.

Stall Time:  When Obesity casts this, it means he neither gains nor loses hit points. 

Epic Smash:  When Obesity casts this, it means he has stunned me and I am not able to do anything.  In terms of weight loss, this means that I have gone off-plan for more than a special occasion.  This move is avoidable, so I’m hoping that I never get hit by it!

Loot Table

Once this boss is dead, I expect a lot of things to drop!  A lot of cloth gear, maybe some leather pieces.  A trinket called Boost of Confidence, which increases overall happiness.  Shoes, necklaces, rings…literally a whole new gear set!  It’s an exciting loot table :)

My Strategy

My strategy to kill Obesity is two-fold.

Diet-This is the biggest part of the strategy, and it involves a lot of self-control on my part.  The goal is to stay below 1200 net calories each day, with the only exception being Special Occasions, where I will watch portion sizes.  I can eat whatever I like, as long as I stay under 1200 calories!

Exercise-This part allows me to adjust my diet as needed, and also helps to build lean muscle mass, which in turn helps burn more calories.  While Diet is the most important, Exercise adds enough “oomph” to help push it along.

My Abilities

Stab-This is my primary attack that uses the energy from Diet and Exercise to fuel it.  In terms of weight loss, when I use this move, I lose weight!  Yay!

Bubble-This is a protection move, and I can only use it on Special Occasions.  It allows me to just manage portions instead of count actual calories for one day.

Where is Obesity Now?

Every Monday I will track my weight loss, and adjust Obesity’s health bar pictured below. 

This was the best adjustable bar I could find, don't judge me!

I will also tell you what moves were cast, just like a turn-by-turn table top game!  It may seem silly, goofy, or to some even stupid.  But for me, if I think of weight loss like a game, it’s a lot more fun than if I think about it as something that is a chore.