MUMenTUM - Monday Check in 3

I have to admit this week hasn't been my best week. Dedicated and focused I have not been. My good intentions are still the same, somewhere along the line I just became a bit relaxed about it and let life get in the way.  So this past week I have only been on the exercise bike once *hangs head in shame* and not been as careful with my food choices as the week before. I don't drink that much these days and because of this I have never really looked at alcohol as a factor with losing weight. When I do get hold of some wine, the worry of extra calories is not going to stop me, I assure you of that.

As you may have read I attended an exclusive event for Nivea and Ubisoft and along with a few glasses of champagne and a cocktail, I was given a game. The game being Your Shape: Fitness Evolved designed for use with Kinect on the Xbox 360. Having told myself and the other girls in MOMenTUM that I would give the game a go, here I am with the low down.

I tried in vain to set up the Kinect this morning and was somewhat challenged with all the cables and plugs. It doesn't take much to challenge me with setting up consoles and this is usually my main reason for jacking in anything I try and start. However, knowing that I have to give it a fair go and let everyone know what it's all about I managed to get it all working (with a little help from the husband at work).

The next challenge was trying to figure out what to do whilst Beastie suddenly decided he wanted cuddles. You see with the Kinect you need to be within a certain area/space in front of your tv, in view of the sensor and here is the important bit, on your own! A little person running around and climbing on me confused it no end. At this point I gave up and decided to wait for nap time...

When nap time eventually came, I got to try it out. Now I have played on the Kinect before and understand about using your arm as the controller, all of this seemed pretty straight forward. When I had tried to do this earlier (with interference) it was driving me crazy. The sensor scans your whole body and takes your height and dimensions and then asks for your weight, so it seems quite accurate. It was extremely frustrating though when I couldn't enter the correct weight due to the sensitivity of the pointers on the screen. No one wants to weigh more than they actually do! I feel like a need a good few hours to get used to the controls and what I can expect to achieve from the programme. It has options to spend time with your personal trainer, carry out exercise classes and have a go at gym games. My first choice was the gym games which looked the 'fun' option and also had a game that Liska at New Mum Online had tried out at the event (lots of praise her way for giving it a go). So I quite enjoyed punching some blocks, could also be good for releasing pent up anger?

Anyway, so far so good and I moved on to the other sections, where you choose your personal trainer and mimic their moves as if they were in the room with you. I generally fail abysmally when it comes to copying other people's moves. Remember The Macarena and Whigfield's Saturday Night? I never got it, I usually just slinked out of the way to avoid embarrassment. What I need is time and no one watching to get the moves right, so in the comfort of my own home and no audience I can do just that.

The exercise section gave the option for Cardio Boxing and Zen. I decided to give Zen (see below) a try leaving the Boxing for another time. This is designed to relax you and also stretch your muscles, it felt very spiritual and great for following, not too taxing for me. Having already decided that I would not commit fully to a proper session today I also discovered you can make pretty swirling patterns on the screen when waving your arms, completely pointless I know but fun none the less. It's all about distraction from exercise...

On a more serious note I am certainly going to continue with the game and get to grips with the routines, from just the briefest go I could feel some benefits, particularly some of the cardio routines. All I need to do is find the time to give it my best.

Nivea and Ubisoft Event

I was given the opportunity to attend this event along with the other MOMenTUM girls and jumped at the chance. As it happened just three of us could attend which was myself, New Mum Online and Multiple Mummy. Not only was it a great opportunity to meet them for the first time but it was also a great night.

Having never attended an event like this I was unsure of what to expect, it did however exceed my expectations. The fitness and beauty event was held to celebrate a unique collaboration between games developer Ubisoft and worldwide beauty brand NIVEA. They showcased the new NIVEA downloadable (DLC) content available for Your Shape: Fitness Evolved on the the Xbox 360 Kinect.

Courtesy of Multiple Mummy

The evening started with a demonstration of how to use the fitness game, with the opportunity to have a go ourselves. When I probably should have been doing this I was enjoying a smoked salmon blini, a glass of champagne followed by a mini facial.

The mini facial was a rare treat for me and made my skin feel fantastic. The beautician talked me through all the products she was using and they felt luxurious, so it just goes to show that products that are affordable on the high street can provide results to rival the expensive brands. It was lovely and relaxing and besides the products the beautician was a pleasure to meet and I shall not forget her. So by chance if she ever reads this I would like her to know that.

I took a photo of New Mum Online (which I am sure she won't mind) as she was the last to have her treatment, I didn't however get out of that as I had a photo taken by Nivea's official photographer so I shall have to wait and see that one!

New Mum Online having facial

We then moved down to the bar for more drinks and a chance to chat to some fellow Mummy bloggers as well as bloggers with blogs about fashion and fitness. The next part of the evening became very interesting indeed as we were given the opportunity for face reading and kinesiology.

I was intrigued by a gentleman who practises the ancient art of face reading called Al Ferasa, I watched Multiple Mummy who was intently looking at him during her reading and I was eager to have a go myself. It was very interesting how he defined characteristics by the way you use your facial muscles and the overall shape. Apparently my ears signify I like to be in control. I have had a palm reading in the past and it was spookily true however on this occasion I am not sure I gave much away?


Promptly after that finished I had a consultation with a nutritionist who carried out kinesiology. We were asked to complete a form highlighting any ailments we have or areas of concern, so that she could test us for allergies. This was fascinating and she identified that I need to take supplements to ward off viruses and exposed my bad relationship with vegetables and particularly greens. I do in fact love spinach and rocket despite all this so shall be heeding to her advice! I hope to find out more about what else she offers through her website including allergy testing through the post, so when I have this information I will write a post about it.


At the end of a lovely evening of relaxing, drinking and chatting we were presented with a goodie bag of creams and a copy of the Your Shape: Fitness Evolved for Kinect. I am now very glad we have a Kinect in our house, I shall have to dust it off after it has been pretty much abandoned since Christmas (a present for my husband). This is the perfect excuse for me to use it again and also try out the game, having pondered over getting a fitness game when I first bought it. It seems my prayers have been answered.











Once I have had a fair go on it I shall let you all know about how I get on. Something tells me this is a personal trainer with a difference and in the comfort of my own home I have no excuses for not giving it my best.



Nb. I have written this post to share the experience and have not been paid to do so.