Television Facts

Eat, Drink and Be: "Those who reported watching two to three hours of TV were 77 percent were more likely to be overweight or obese, and those who watched four or more hours a day increased their odds of obesity by 150 percent, compared to people who watched less than two hours."

I pulled this factoid from another blog that was sent to me. Television is an interesting topic and quite volatile for many. For instance, I love opening day for football season. I will sit in front of the television from start to finish which means ALL DAY LONG on that one day a year and for some reason I think that is fine. However, when my friend says on Sunday afternoon for the entire summer that she sits and watches 2 - 3 hours of Nascar Racing, I seem to roll my eyes and think why would you do this. Here's the reason priorities. For me the sport of football is a priority on that day, for her Nascar Racing is a priority on Sunday afternoons. It calms me and sets me straight that we are heading into fall and all is right with the world. Who knows for my friend it may calm her week down.

Realistically I watch about 2 hours of television a night, usually from 8 - 10 pm sometimes until 11 pm depending on the shows. Here's what I find when I watch television, I find myself hitting the pantry about an hour into the television time for really no apparent reason. I'm not hungry. There are two factors working here; advertising (did you ever notice that advertisers during the 8:30 - 9:30 hour are all about fast food) and boredom (do you really want to watch a show about another person's life that is what you just lived?). I find that there are a couple of inspirational shows; American Idol, Biggest Loser and that new Food Revolution and you may have your own inspirational shows but after that I don't find anything that exciting. So I completely understand how one would be more overweight with the amount of television one watches. You can't help it with the amount of subliminal messaging from our advertisers you get hungry. The more you watch, the more hungry you get. So, 4 or more hours a day, you are bombarded with advertising for unhealthy food items and drugs with a long list of side effects. I can't see how one could not hit the pantry a few times during a 4 hour marathon television time.

How do we combat this? Let's try a baby step. When the commercial comes on they are usually 5 minutes long. During that time you can chose one one of these items to do:

1) Throw in a load of laundry
2) Load your dishwasher
3) Brush your teeth and get ready for bed
4) Vacuum any room in the house
5) Wipe down the kitchen counters
6) Move a load of laundry from the washer to dryer
7) Pick out your clothes for tomorrow and lay them out
8) Finish your water bottle for the day and refill for tomorrow
9) Get the coffee ready for tomorrow morning
10) Clean a bathroom
11) Pack your lunch for tomorrow morning

One item each commercial break, you are still watching your television shows you love and you are getting your house in order for the next day. Try it, we are taking baby steps to see what lifestyle changes we can make to ensure success with our weight loss goals.