Snack Healthy While Bingeing Shows
By Brandi Goodman
Binge-watching your favorite shows may be how you spend your days off. While it's fine to sit around and relax for a while, you should still be adding some exercise into your day to help combat the effects of sitting for long periods. Not to mention, you need to be snacking on healthy foods. Sitting while eating a bunch of junk is only going to worsen the sluggish behavior.
Try Watching During a Non-Eating Time
You don't have to have food every time you watch TV. Try watching a show during a non-eating time, such as after you've just finished a meal or in the couple of hours before bed. You'll be less likely to binge on food when you're already fully satisfied. Then, you can just focus on your show.
Bring a Properly Proportioned Snack
If you still plan on snacking, you should at least never bring an entire bag of chips, popcorn, or other snack with you to the couch. Despite your insistence that you'll only eat a little, it's highly likely that having the food left near you will cause you to reach for it more than you should. Bring a bowl with the proper proportions to ensure you aren't overeating.
Skip the Soda and Choose Water
Soda pop and other sugary beverages are not safe to drink often. Don't sit on the couch drinking can after can of the stuff. You need water to help keep your joints limber and your body and mind feeling and working their best. A glass of water helps wash any snack down easily, anyways. Infuse it with fruit and herbs if you want to enhance the flavor.
Choose Fruits and Veggies
Lots of TV viewers opt for chips and salty treats. You should choose healthier alternatives that fuel you instead. Fruits and veggies make the best snacks because they pack in so many vital nutrients. Your brain will be better able to take in all the information from the newest episode of your show if you've been eating right. Apple slices or celery sticks with peanut butter are both good options.
Binge-watching shows can lead to pain as well. Your body gets stiff when you're sitting for so long. Having water and healthy snack options in the mix can actually help your joints feel better and make your TV-viewing less painful.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Van Nuys, Calif.