TV is hard to watch without eating

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Replies

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,611 Member
    Kdewit03 wrote: »
    I am finding it very hard to watch tv and not eat.....how do you guys do it?

    I do other things while watching TV. I've never been able to just sit and watch TV.

    I might ride my trainer (bicycle on device that holds it in place) for anywhere from 30-75 min.
    I might do housework.
    I might do university homework.
    I might work on any number of other projects.

    When I'm busy, I can't be eating too.

  • Morgaen73
    Morgaen73 Posts: 2,817 Member
    We watch tv while we have supper.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    stop watching tv. it kills your brain cells, anyways.
  • pitegny
    pitegny Posts: 1,006 Member
    I also think that having your dinner a little later helps. I live in France, which has one of the lowest obesity rates in the world despite their pastries and sauces. (I gained most of my weight on visits to family in the USA.) One of the reasons they don't snack in the evening is because the dinner hour is between 7 and 8 pm. What I am doing is planning a light MFP friendly snack for around 5 pm, like hummus and vegetable or one really chocolately cookie, which I preplan into my calorie quota for the day. That tides me over to the dinner hour and I don't have any yen for food after that, whether I watch TV or not.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    Or come at it from a different angle - if you like eating whilst watching Tv shows and you are spending too many calories doing that......
    Instead of stopping the snacking, change to low calorie snacks - carrot pieces, green veggie pieces etc - won't be too hard to fit In those sort of calories.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    That is so funny in a sad way, or sad in a funny way, I'm not sure.
  • BCullari
    BCullari Posts: 33 Member
    Kdewit03 wrote: »
    I am finding it very hard to watch tv and not eat.....how do you guys do it?

    The average American watches 4 hours of TV every day....and people don't "have time" to exercise...haha
    As for your question, I gave up TV.
    I have those 4 extra hours....
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    Kdewit03 wrote: »
    I am finding it very hard to watch tv and not eat.....how do you guys do it?

    The average American watches 4 hours of TV every day....and people don't "have time" to exercise...haha
    As for your question, I gave up TV.
    I have those 4 extra hours....

    yeeeeeeeeeees

    my tv is always ON, but just as background noise. what is actually on it, makes no difference. i semi pay attention to the news in the morning and evening and thats about it. there are no actual shows, i watch.

    okay, so my fiance and i did binge watch the entire series of breaking bad over xmas week (we were both off). but that was highly unusual for us LOLOL
  • crackpotbaby
    crackpotbaby Posts: 1,297 Member
    Cup. Of. Tea.

    Planned small snack.

    More tea.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I realized that I just really don't enjoy the food I eat while watching TV as much as the food I eat when I don't.

    Just think about it next time - you have no idea how many times I eat something while watching TV then realized that I didn't actually appreciate any of it because I was too busy paying attention to the TV (that being said - I like focusing on what I watch and typically won't do anything else at the same time).

    Or get a stationary bike, or run in place while you watch. Hard to eat while doing either of those things.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,611 Member
    If you still want to watch TV, try this:

    Get up at each commercial break and do something ... load the dishwasher, put a load of clothing into the washer, vacuum a room, sweep the kitchen floor, fold some laundry, prepare for tomorrow, lift some weights, do some crunches or planks or whatever other core work you do ...
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    Kdewit03 wrote: »
    I am finding it very hard to watch tv and not eat.....how do you guys do it?

    I watch limited amounts of tv.
    I hold and brush my cat.
    I walk around instead of sitting down.
    I have planned snacks.
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  • ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken
    ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken Posts: 1,530 Member
    edited February 2017
    Nothing wrong with snacking while watching tv. You just need good snacks. Maybe construct a small platter out of a dinner plate. A couple of cookies, a small serving of chips, then add in some things like veggies and dip, cheese slices, cold cuts, pop corn, toss in something like jicama or apple slices, orange slices, mixed nuts. Mix it up. This way you won't sit down and kill a bag of chips or cookies or something. You can arrange the platter to suit what ever craving you are having. Salty or sweet, sour, tangy etc...
  • ktekc
    ktekc Posts: 879 Member
    i try to save some calories for when im watching food network at night. . gotta or ill eat the house. . popcorn or something. . a hood fudgecicle has 60 calories. . i did not know that til recently.
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
    have your meals sat at a table, tv off. set new routines that separate eating and TV viewing.

    oh, and watch foreign films with subtitles - you have to concentrate more (and bizarrely I find myself straining to hear...) so eating becomes difficult.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    I keep my hands busy. Tonight it was two glasses of Perrier water through a straw. I may also read, play chess, or sew.

    This^

    Solitaire, crochet, adult coloring book....any little bit of distraction.

    Not eating in front of the TV can become normal.

    For me it's ice water & a lemon wedge.
  • claireswin4
    claireswin4 Posts: 18 Member
    I actually picked up knitting and crocheting for this reason. Though it's grown into a passion of mine, I initially learned how to knit/crochet because I wanted to keep my hands occupied while I watched TV and relaxed.
  • jbirdgreen
    jbirdgreen Posts: 569 Member
    This is something that I want to do, but I haven't yet. Put an exercise mat down and then do a bunch of exercises during the commercial breaks -- Like hold a plank during the first commercial, do sit-ups during the next, etc.
    If you're Netflix binging without commercials, find the drinking games for your chosen show and substitute exercises for the alcohol. Like everytime they say Pornstache on OITNB, you do five sit-ups. It won't necessarily stop you from eating, but it adds in a calorie burn you wouldn't have had before.

    Portion your food out and log it before you sit down to watch, and go for things that have less calories per volume. You could probably have a whole popcorn-sized bowl of kale chips (little to no oil) -- it'll last a good portion of the show and you won't have any guilt about eating so much. As a matter of fact, you could have a whole lot of air popped popcorn as well. Tell yourself you can have NO MORE than the portioned amount.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Deck of cards workout - Hearts = cardio, spades = lower body, diamonds = core, clubs = upper body.

    Draw the 9 of hearts....do 9 jumping jacks. Draw the 8 of spades....do 8 squats.
  • RachelElser
    RachelElser Posts: 1,049 Member
    I run on my elliptical when I watch tv!
  • ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken
    ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken Posts: 1,530 Member
    edited February 2017
    I want to know how people pay attention to a movie or TV show while doing all these card games, knitting, and squats etc... Also are all these saying they exercise really doing this exercise for the duration of the movie or TV show some specify that they do these things during commercials, but others seem to just be doing it through out.? I don't know how healthy it would be to keep up cardio or squats or whatever for such a very long time. I could be wrong though. It could be totally healthy to do such at length on a regular basis. I don't sit down to watch TV often, but when I do my attention can either go here or there. If I try knitting or crochet while watching TV I always either mess up my project or forget to watch the show, if I exercise I also fail to watch the show, card games too. Sometimes just relaxing and watching that show you have waited all day or week for could just be that. Relaxing and resting and enjoying the show.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    I save 200 calories or so for snacking at night
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    edited February 2017
    I picked up one of the adult coloring books for this purpose. Hard to eat and color in Doctor Who pages at the same time. ;)
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    I want to know how people pay attention to a movie or TV show while doing all these card games, knitting, and squats etc... Also are all these saying the exercise really doing this exercise for the duration of the movie or TV show? I don't know how healthy it would be to keep up cardio or squats or whatever for such a very long time. I could be wrong though. It could be totally healthy to do such at length on a regular basis. I don't sit down to watch TV often, but when I do my attention can either go here or there. If I try knitting or crochet while watching TV I always either mess up my project or forget to watch the show, if I exercise I also fail to watch the show, card games too. Sometimes just relaxing and watching that show you have waited all day or week for could just be that. Relaxing and resting and enjoying the show.

    It's going to depend upon what you are watching and the thing you are doing. A simple crochet pattern is easy while watching a comedy. The plot rarely hangs on every spoken word. But if I'm watching a documentary, then yes I may be playing solitaire just during commercials.

    We all make our choices. I chose to eliminate the habit of eating while watching TV. That's not the same choice for everyone....and that's okay.
  • ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken
    ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken Posts: 1,530 Member
    edited February 2017
    TeaBea wrote: »
    I want to know how people pay attention to a movie or TV show while doing all these card games, knitting, and squats etc... Also are all these saying the exercise really doing this exercise for the duration of the movie or TV show? I don't know how healthy it would be to keep up cardio or squats or whatever for such a very long time. I could be wrong though. It could be totally healthy to do such at length on a regular basis. I don't sit down to watch TV often, but when I do my attention can either go here or there. If I try knitting or crochet while watching TV I always either mess up my project or forget to watch the show, if I exercise I also fail to watch the show, card games too. Sometimes just relaxing and watching that show you have waited all day or week for could just be that. Relaxing and resting and enjoying the show.

    It's going to depend upon what you are watching and the thing you are doing. A simple crochet pattern is easy while watching a comedy. The plot rarely hangs on every spoken word. But if I'm watching a documentary, then yes I may be playing solitaire just during commercials.

    We all make our choices. I chose to eliminate the habit of eating while watching TV. That's not the same choice for everyone....and that's okay.

    Darned right it's okay! I never implied that it wasn't. I was asking a question not judging. :p
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    I actually picked up knitting and crocheting for this reason. Though it's grown into a passion of mine, I initially learned how to knit/crochet because I wanted to keep my hands occupied while I watched TV and relaxed.

    I crochet while watching tv too :smile: Sometimes it messes up my counts though! Now I know, certain shows I can't multi-task during. Nothing like pulling out 45 minutes of work because you missed a stitch!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    About the only time I watch t.v. is when I'm eating dinner. I watch maybe 3-4 hours of t.v. per week tops...

    Snacking while watching t.v. is just habitual behavior...it can be broken.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    Make the decision to change a habit and then follow thru. Is being overweight easy/fun? Probably not. If you find it hard to break the connection between snacking and watching tv, then for now: watch less tv. And work to form new habits. Do you have a treadmill or similar piece of equipment? Watch tv (or Netflix on a device) while on the machine.

    The other option is to allow calories in your budget for snacking while watching tv.

    I was a picky eater growing up. Had no interest in eating vegetables, did not 'like' things even though I also was not willing to try them. As an adult I knew I needed to eat a wider variety of things. Not because I wanted to, but because I could recognize that I needed to. Adding in variety helped me find vegetables that I DO like. There are still some I don't care for, but its no longer due to lack of sampling.

    If you know something needs to change, do something about it.
    Kdewit03 wrote: »
    I am finding it very hard to watch tv and not eat.....how do you guys do it?

  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,129 Member
    I usually watch TV whilst I'm having dinner, joys of being single :lol: if I want to watch some more I do some ironing whilst it's on or watch the one in my room in bed after I've cleaned my teeth.
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