Is your TV making you fat?

July 28, 2:34 PMSouth Carolina Weight Loss ExaminerKrista Leopold

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Photo of an old Polish TV from stock.xhchng.

There is a bumper sticker on a car in Atlanta, GA that says, "Guns kill people like spoons made Rosie O'Donnell fat." Regardless of your feelings about either guns or Rosie O'Donnell, there is a bitter truth to that bumper sticker. And the truth is that nothing happens all by itself. Guns don't fire without human intervention. And spoons don't put ice cream in your mouth without someone's hand doing the shovelling. Answering the original question in this light, we are forced to face the fact that no, your TV is not making you fat, but it might be making it more difficult to achieve your ideal weight.

Changing channels is not exercise. But you knew that right? Neither is watching the FitTV exercise shows, unless you get up off your couch and try it at home. If you are worried about your waist line, sitting in front of the TV should be saved until *after* your workout. In fact, if burning calories is your concern, you might be better off sleeping, which burns more calories on average than watching TV does.

Mindless eating is the same as overeating. When you pay attention to something other than your food, you will eat more than your body needs to fill full. Listening to a show instead of listening to your hunger cues leads to binges and taking in excessive calories. According to an article in US News and World Report: "Mindfulness has been studied as a way to cut down on eating disorders, including binge eating, and it seems to work to reduce bingeing behavior, at least for some people."

Commercials kill willpower. Advertisers design their ads to do more than make you think that the food advertised simply looks tasty. They have studied your response in advance through marketing research to make the greatest psychological impact on you. Commercials are expensive, so the advertisers use every gimmick they can to make you crave that food to the point that you will actually make a trip to the restaurant or store to get it.

So what can you do to ensure that you are still on track for your weight loss goals, despite the challenges provided by your television? Here are a few tips:

Turn it off. Start by cutting your time in front of the tube in half and replace that time with physical activity. Give it up entirely if your desire to transform your life is great. Go to the gym, walk your block, play with your kids. Do anything you can to shake off the cobwebs and wake up your inner store of energy.

Jump around during the commercials. Minimize the impact of the advertising by skipping the commercials any way you can. Fast forward through shows on your DVR. Put them on mute or cover up the screen if you can't get away. For best results, take a quick power walk through your house or get a quick set of pushups, lunges or situps in another room until the commercials end.

Outthink the advertiser. You'll never be able to escape all forms of advertising, so the smartest bet is to understand what the commercial is trying to do. Remember, the purpose of advertising is to get you to buy the product and advertisers will go to any lengths to appeal to your most basic emotions in order to get your business. Next time you are forced to sit through a commercial take a moment to notice what emotions the advertiser is appealing to in order to get you to give in to temptation. The most commonly used emotional targets are fear, discomfort and envy. Armed with the knowledge that the message in the advertisement has been specifically designed to weaken you to a point that you will feel that you must purchase the product, you can stand strong to resist the urge.

Choose healthier programming. You can learn a lot from educational shows, and channels like Fit TV can provide valuable tips and insights into your weight loss woes. Watching a workout may not give you any calorie benefits, but it might give you a few good ideas for your next trip to the weight room.

It is up to you to make the choices and follow through with actions that support your goals for weight loss. Your TV does not make you fat. But it can make it more difficult to achieve your ideal weight.