New Challenge Starts Sunday: Kinect vs Oculus Weight Loss

Last Updated on May 21, 2023 by Michael Brockbank

I’m always on the lookout to gamify fitness as much as possible. That’s because making it fun is what keeps me motivated. Today, I’m starting a new challenge to see which burns more calories, the Xbox Kinect or the Oculus Quest 2.

Now, the vast majority of the content for this particular challenge is going to be available on ColoradoPlays.com. That is our “gaming” site, after all. Besides, that’s one of the things ColoradoPlays focuses on…physical gaming.

However, I will lay out the meat and potatoes of this challenge here, because Crossing Colorado focuses on weight loss and fitness.

Sometimes, it’s a pain in the ass to keep the two sites separated simply because of how intricately connected they are to one another.

Why Start on Sunday?

I want to make sure all of the extra junk isn’t in my body by the time I start this new challenge. This will give me several days to maintain my diet plan and essentially digest everything.

I wanted to start it today, but I’m sure that the Taco Bell I had last night would skew the results. So, I need to intently focus on my Net 600 Diet plan for the next few days.

That means keeping MyFitnessPal in the green and keeping the carbs equal to or less than 150g per day.

What this also means is that I can’t justify pigging out on junk for the next couple of days simply because I’m starting an intense regimen in a few days. I want the weight loss stats to be as accurate as possible.

Why Kinect vs Oculus Quest 2?

I’m a big fan of using the Xbox Kinect to burn a lot of calories. I know, it’s a dead platform. But I still enjoy a lot of the games I have and really put myself through the wringer when I play.

The Oculus is a newer addition to my exercise routines and is a bit more difficult to maintain. Mostly because I can play between 20 and 25 minutes before my glasses start fogging up something fierce.

Still, I found a game that nearly puts the Oculus on par with the Kinect in terms of how much you burn per minute. And no, it’s not Beat Saber, although, I bet Beat Saber has a stupid high burn rate.

Anyway, I’m always curious about anything that gamifies fitness and whether certain devices are worthwhile.

Rules of the Kinect vs Oculus Challenge

The premise of this challenge is to see how much weight I can lose in a 7-day window through gameplay. Now, seven days really isn’t a lot of time to lose fat. So, I doubt there will be a significant difference between the two.

And yes, I do have another challenge planned after this one that incorporates gaming with going to the gym.

If you have either of these systems or both of them, feel free to join along.

7-Day Game Play (Equal Time)

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of this challenge is making sure both systems get equal time. As I am really into Fruit Ninja at the moment, I can burn three hours throughout the day doing nothing but playing the game.

I know that I can easily handle two, 30-minute sessions playing the Kinect per day. So, that will be the focal point: 420 minutes per week.

Heh…420.

I’m sure that the minutes are going to vary by quite a bit, though. Still, I’ll do what I can to make them align as closely as possible. I know how long it takes me to play certain games on both systems, which means I can choose appropriately to hit an hour per day.

Kinect and Oculus Games with the Best Burn

Currently, I only have one Oculus game that has a great burn. Though, I would love to try out a few more. I just need a few extra bucks to buy them…like Beat Saber and a few others I want to review.

So, at the moment, it looks like it may be Virtual Smash or Tennis vs Fruit Ninja. That might change if I buy something else, though. Or, perhaps I’ll start doing challenges pitting specific games for each system against each other.

Anyway, I am going to focus on the Arcade and Zen aspects of Fruit Ninja. I find them to be the most physically active while playing.

Keeping Calories Green and Carbs Around 150

For this challenge, I’m going to keep the calories green and stick to 150 g of carbs or less. This all but guarantees that I should lose around half a pound per day without exercising.

I know because I’ve done it before.

What I’m really curious about is how much physical activity is going to play into how much weight I lose. According to past studies, I can drop around 3.5 pounds per week just by following my Net 600 Diet. What happens when I add the workouts?

No Carbs After 8 pm

I’ve been noticing a pattern in my eating habits. It appears that if I have carb-rich foods after 8 pm, I tend to lose far less weight if any at all. And it doesn’t appear to correlate to calorie intake.

So, for this challenge, I’m going to reel back on carb snacking at night. If I want a snack (and have calories for it), I have plenty of Keto-friendly things here that I quite enjoy.

Plus, my friend just got a gummy snack maker and has recipes for keto-friendly gummy bears, worms, and whatnot. I’m looking forward to making gummy candies for Halloween…with red gel centers.

Oh, the ideas I have for that device.

70,000+ Steps for the Week

When playing the Oculus Quest or the Xbox Kinect, Fitbit will record a lot of the movements as steps. Technically, you’re burning more calories than you would by walking.

At any rate, I’m going to focus on hitting 70,000 steps for the week through a mixture of gameplay as well as actually walking. That averages out to 10k per day.

Now, the reason why I aim for a weekly target is that I am far less active on Saturday and Sunday as compared to the rest of the week. I am a desk jockey and know myself quite well.

Thanks to the weather, I’m not sure how much time I’ll get in the backyard. So, in order to hit those step goals, I’ll take Sam to the gym in the evenings to at least get on a treadmill to hit what I need for the day.

Because I am anal about numbers, I’ll try to match week two as closely as I can to week one in terms of total step count.

No Weights While Playing

Another one of the hardest parts about doing this particular challenge is not using wrist weights or weighted gloves while playing. And I don’t plan on lifting weights at the gym.

This challenge is strictly focused on cardio. The overall idea is to burn through the fat as quickly as possible. I’ll work on muscle mass in the next challenge.

Eh, it’s only two weeks. I should be good to go.

A New Tab in the Spreadsheet

Instead of making a whole new spreadsheet, I’m just going to add a tab that I can embed. My list of spreadsheets in Google is a mess right now, and a lot of them can be combined into a much better layout.

Although the bulk of the content about this challenge will be available on ColoradoPlays’s website, I’ll share the spreadsheet on CrossingColorado.com to show the results.

What I Think Will Happen

Based on my previous performance, I know I can lose 3.5 pounds per week while sticking with my diet plan. Adding physical activity and decreasing carb intake should put me closer to five pounds.

Then again, I’ve never done an intense challenge like this while keeping the carbs low.

If I was certain I could stick to a specific menu throughout the week, I could guarantee the exact same carb count. And now that I think about it, sticking with a specific menu for this challenge would improve the accuracy of the results.

Maybe I’ll do that in a future challenge. Between birthdays and heading to Utah next month, things are a bit hectic until April. Since I highly doubt I’ll hit my goal weight by April 1st, I’ll simply set up another 12-week fitness challenge.

So, overall, I am thinking I’ll lose 10 pounds total within two weeks. The trick is to follow through with the plan and stick to the rules.

Another aspect is that I am betting that I’ll burn more fat playing the Kinect than I will the Oculus. There is far more physical movement when playing Kinect Tennis than anything I’ve seen on the Oculus thus far…including Beat Saber.

That’s because when I play tennis on the Kinect, I play tennis. I jump around and move all over the living room, which is something you don’t see in a lot of Oculus games.

Future Kinect vs Oculus Challenges

Until I pick up another console or device that gamifies fitness, I’ll keep planning out a few challenges that have piqued my interest. But if you want to see me do something special, leave it in the comments.

Perhaps I’ll do it either on the blog or the YouTube channel.

Using 1-Pound Weighted Gloves & the Gym

After this two-week challenge, I looking forward to doing something similar but including the weighted gloves and the gym. That will be interesting as it’ll focus more on mixing muscle development with cardio throughout the week.

That means I’ll need to get my ass to the gym every morning regardless of the weather. Good times.

In this case, I’ll take before and after photos to see if there is a visible difference after two weeks. That actually might be a really fun challenge for me.

Virtual Smash vs Beat Saber

Beat Saber, from what I can tell, is an incredible game for calorie burn. But is it better than Virtual Smash? I guess I’ll have to save up a few bucks to buy it so I can find out.

This is one of the Kinect vs Oculus challenges I am really looking forward to testing out. Then again, I could find a better game on the Oculus that has a higher burn-per-minute rate.

That’s the whole point of these challenges, though; it’s about discovering what works best for you.

Continuous Case Studies of Games

As I am building a new list of games for ColoradoPlays.com, I’ll keep playing different titles on a regular basis. For one thing, I would love to know what games are the best for exercise. Secondly, it’ll give me a slew of content for the blog.

In fact, I’m working on its gamifying fitness page today and embedding the spreadsheet.

Perhaps one day, I’ll be able to buy some of the more expensive units, such as the Liteboxer. But right now, $1300 is a bit steep for my budget.

How Much Will I Lose?

As I said earlier, I am betting I’ll drop around 10 pounds total throughout the two weeks. Not only will I be eating a dirty keto-style menu, but I am pushing myself to burn all that I can.

Though, I’m also going to pay close attention to my performance. I’m getting up there in the years and don’t want to push myself too hard. I have a habit of going beyond what I’m physically capable of handling and wind up doing some bad things to myself.

Still, it’s not like I’m a stranger to this kind of activity. Back in 2018, I was doing physically great. But a lot can change in five years, especially in your mid-forties.

Which do you think will have the better weight-loss results, the Kinect or the Oculus Quest 2?

About Author

Michael Brockbank

Since 2015, Michael has put in the effort to lose more than 80 pounds by gamifying fitness and eating proper portion sizes. He conducts extensive research into various health and fitness products to provide the best answers possible according to his own experience and knowledge.

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