Find the reason.
Lance Jackson’s advice for anyone considering a VR fitness program is simple, yet meaningful. It has also helped the 40-year-old lose nearly 100 pounds through a combination of lifestyle changes and VR exercise that includes the YUR fitness app.
“If you don’t do it for a reason that feels right for you,” says Jackson, “you’ll never do it. So find that reason.”
Near the end of 2017, Jackson weighed approximately 341 pounds (155 kgs). He had poor eating habits and had recently been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. Around that same time, his long-time partner was hospitalized with a serious health problem.
“I decided it was high time to … improve myself both mentally and physically,” Jackson explains. He wanted to be available to help his partner with aftercare when she returned from the hospital so he started moving to a high fat, low carb diet. Then a few months later he picked up a used HTC Vive from Facebook Marketplace.
“By this time my other half had come home from the hospital and I wasn’t really able to leave the home to go to the gym or be away for extended periods of time without getting someone over to look after her,” states Jackson.
He had been noticing that the changes to his diet and playing VR were making a positive impact on his weight so in August 2018 he decided to do a stream while playing Beat Saber. This would allow others to observe his progress.
Throughout the remainder of 2018, Jackson would stream while he was playing Beat Saber or, every now and then, other VR games. He focused on sticking to the low carb diet and after the hiatus to care for his partner, he began working again as a video production artist for local combat sports events.
The hard work paid off and the Brisbane, Australia native saw results. Since his journey began, he had lost around 80 pounds and was staying a steady 264 pounds (120 kgs) simply by adjusting his diet and using VR once or twice a week for an hour as his exercise.
For the next several months, he maintained the weight, but he wasn’t losing anymore. Jackson and his now-fiancé plan to be married in 2020 and he wants to be under 220 pounds (100 kgs) for the wedding, but he wasn’t sure what to do since his weight loss had stalled.
In October 2019 Jackson discovered YUR, a fitness app which gave him an easy way to track his VR workouts. The ability to track his calories burned, heart rate, etc. encouraged him to take VR fitness more seriously and see if it would help him push beyond the weight loss plateau where he had been stuck. He began setting certain calorie count goals per week and he saw positive results. He went from 1-hour streams to 4-hour streams and in addition to an improvement in his overall general health, Jackson noticed an increase in muscle and the pounds (or kilograms in his case!) began to come off once more.
YUR Level 60
Jackson is one of the first people to reach YUR level 60, which requires you to complete a minimum of 90,000 calories over a 90-day period.
Along his path to YUR level 60 and better health, Jackson has been encouraged by the stories of viewers who visit his Twitch channel. Known to them as MrLiveProducer, Jackson’s viewers would share their own stories and tell him that he was inspiring them with the possibilities of VR fitness as an alternative to going to a gym.
“For people of a larger size (like I was),” says Jackson, going to the “gym is a daunting task. Using VR takes you away from focusing on how you look and focuses yourself on how to work out.”
He points out that weight loss and improvement to one’s overall health and fitness are great motivational aspects of VR exercise, but he reminds people to listen to their body and take breaks when necessary. After all, self-improvement isn’t simply about a number at the end. It’s about the path you take to get there – and the changes you make along the way that will allow you to maintain good health.
In 2017, Jackson sought options for weight loss and better overall health because he had a reason. He wanted to care for his partner. Eventually his journey evolved and he sees many reasons to use VR for fitness.
“Find the reason that reminds you why you do it every day,” he recommends. “Hold onto it. Never forget it and use it to drive you.”
Whether you exercise for ten minutes or three hours, he reminds people that it’s important to keep going.
“The important thing is that you do it,” says Jackson. “And eventually you won’t see a reason to stop doing it.”
