Three years ago today, a phone app known as Pokémon GO was released on the App Store. Being a huge fan of the franchise, I immediately downloaded it and started playing it right away. Little did I realise that playing something Pokémon related would end up being hugely beneficial to my health.

Every morning since its release (even during my overseas trips to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Italy, and New Zealand), I've been walking (and running) long distances outside, catching Pokémon, visiting PokéStops to collect items, and hatching eggs by walking a certain distance. In addition to this, I also started working out as well, lifting weights, doing push-ups, sit-ups, and squats before I go out walking. No matter the weather, I persisted on towards my goal of being healthy. This is all particularly noteworthy to me because throughout my entire life, I have struggled with obesity, mainly due to depression, anxiety, poor diet, and lack of motivation to exercise. At my heaviest, I weighed about 110kg/242lbs. But thanks to Pokémon GO, I now have that motivation to improve myself and my well being.

In the three years I’ve been playing, I have lost over 30kg/66lbs (from my starting weight of around 96kg/212lbs) because of all of this physical activity and I currently weigh a healthy 63kg/139lbs at the time of posting this. As a result, I am able to breathe through my nose properly, I am eating healthier meals, I have more stamina, I have less chance of developing sleep apnea (which my family has a history of), and I have an improved sleeping pattern thanks to the daily exercise schedule I have set for myself. Some may still dismiss the App for being “lame” and “childish”, but I believe the results of playing it everyday speak for themselves. I have no intention of stopping now.

For many, Pokémon GO was just some flash-in-the-pan novelty App of 2016, but for me, it has helped change my life for the better.

(TL;DR - I've lost weight and kept it off because of Pokémon GO)