TV Isn't My Enemy, And It Doesn’t Have To Be Yours

I admit it. I love TV. I also don’t think there’s anything wrong with the fact that I love TV.

TV doesn’t stop me from devouring books and magazines, from enjoying the outdoors, from keeping an insanely packed schedule—flying weekly—to promote health and fitness across the country. TV doesn’t make me sedentary. It doesn’t hinder my workouts or all the fitness classes I teach.

Of course, you don’t want to fill your head with negative shows and an endless stream of depressing news if you want to stay positive, but enjoying TV doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a healthy life.

Here are 3 ways to make TV work for your healthy lifestyle:

1. It helps me escape for a while and reduce stress. 

Watching your favorite TV shows can help you escape from the stress of every day for a while. Do some exercises while you watch TV and you can burn some calories and escape from your ever growing to do list. I can get on my stepmill or my elliptical exercising and burning calories while I watch my favorite shows. My iPad fits nicely on the console.

You can do the same at home! All you need is one piece of fitness equipment. A yoga mat or free weights also suffice to burn some calories while you catch up on your favorite shows.

2. It provides distraction, which helps your workouts.

I am sure you have one of those days when you just don’t feel like working out. If you have a piece of workout equipment near a TV, you can let your mind escape to one of your favorite shows while your body works out. You may even forget you're working out and spend more time burning calories than you normally do! There are TVs in most gyms and fitness centers for a reason.

3. It helps me laugh a little! 

Tune in to a great comedy and laugh a little. Laughter is good for your health. It can reduce stress and add some years to your life. I just rented the movie Bridesmaids on iTunes and plan to only watch it while exercising. I can start and stop whenever I want.

As long as watching TV doesn’t become the center of a sedentary universe, you probably won’t be negatively impacted by watching it. Life gives us plenty of serious moments, couldn’t we all benefit from lightening up a little bit and tuning in?