Two Ways to Avoid the Negative Effects of TV on Your Health

At the end of a long day are you excited to sit down on the couch, unwind, and watch your favorite show? Next time you sit down be careful, you could be doing more harm to yourself than good!

How could this be possible? There are some days when lounging on the couch is my FAVORITE thing to do...especially after a long day and a good sweaty workout! Oh...bliss!

I recently saw a study from the American College of Sports Medicine that watching too much television can have a negative impact on your overall well-being. Well, of course - if you sit all the time - you aren't moving - so you aren't burning any calories and you are increasing your risk of disease. Got that much.

However, the study went on to say that even IF you are active, and you watch two hours of television a day you can see a negative impact on your overall fitness levels. YIKES!

After reading this I felt doomed - sometimes I do overreact a bit but its natural - especially when you find out that even though you are spending all this time in the gym you are still doing harm to your body!

So I took a deep breath and realized that yes, I probably was slightly overreacting -- so I decided to do a bit more research and found some interesting facts that helped to lessen the stress and will allow us to watch TV without affecting our overall well being.

Problem #1 -- Making Poor Food Choices While You Watch TV

This is probably one of the biggest mistakes we make while watching TV that can have a negative impact on our overall health, even if we went to the gym. In some cases its completely understandable -- when was the last time you saw a commercial for broccoli or vegetables that made you want to go running into your kitchen for a big salad or bag of carrots? NEVER!

We are more likely to make poor food choices and justify those poor food choices while watching TV because we are bombarded with commercials that encourage us to eat poorly. Every few minutes you see commercials for potato chips, sodas, burgers or another type of deliciously, unhealthy food. These commercials, plus the fact that we have been to the gym and have 'burned' calories, make it easier for us to justify eating unhealthy, therefore increasing our risk of harmful diseases.

Next time you see a commercial for chips, change the channel, so you won't be tempted by the messages to eat unhealthy.

Problem #2 -- Not Moving For Hours While You Watch TV

As I mentioned above, I look forward to sitting down on the couch at the end of a long day. Just sitting down and NOT MOVING. It's sometimes the BEST feeling.

However, this lack of moving is actually doing more harm that good, especially while watching TV. Researchers have found that when you watch TV you move less than you think, as you fall into an almost trance-like state of mind. This trance-like state of mind actually prevents you from making any type of movements that will do your body any good. Its fine to sit down and relax, but its important to keep the blood flowing, to ensure we stay healthy.

So, next time there is a commercial - get moving. Find a song you like in the commercial and start dancing to it. Or do a set of pushups or situps before your show comes back on - turn it into a challenge - can you do more situps this commercial than you did the commercial before? Adding these movements to your TV watching regimen will help you see more results to your physique while helping you decrease the risk of any diseases.