Taming TV Time

This weeks topic at the WW's meetings has been about how much time we spend in front of the television and/or computer and what we do while watching TV. I usually don't watch TV during the day but as soon as David gets home at 3pm from work the TV goes on and stays on until we go to bed at 9pm or 10pm. That's 6 or 7 hours of TV. Most of the time neither of us are watching it though because we're on our laptops. It's mostly just background noise and habit to have it on. We are well above the national average of 5 hours of TV per day. I may watch one show from start to finish but again, I'm usually on my laptop at some point during the show too.


So, how much time am I spending sitting in my chair on these activities? Maybe not as much as I think. When Bayou is home I'm up at least every 30 minutes to let her in and out. I'm also up every hour getting myself a cup of tea. Then there are the 3 meals and 3 snacks that I get up to prepare. And let's not forget about laundry and dishes too. So, I don't think I get to just sit for hours on end unless I'm blogging or working on my novel. Even then I have to get up to do the things I just listed.


I can tell when I've been sitting too long anyway because I get a butt cramp. I know it's time to get up when that happens. I'll get up and do something around the house or go and do an errand or go to a WW meeting if it coincides with a meeting time. So, I don't think I get to sit constantly. Even on days when Bayou is in daycare I'm still getting up for meals/snacks and tea. Plus the TV is not on. It's the laptop I'm on during the day.


One thing is that I don't find myself sitting in front of the TV mindlessly eating junk food anymore. So that's a plus. And I'm up and down a lot especially in the late afternoon and evening.


What could I be doing while watching TV or instead of being on the laptop? I could throw in some exercise. I keep using my knee as an excuse to not work out at all but I could be doing Qi Gong sitting in a chair or other chair exercises. I just haven't gotten into the habit of doing it yet. I'm afraid of exacerbating the tear in my knee so I don't do anything. I see the orthopedic surgeon on Monday and I'm hoping that we'll get the knee thing figured out so I can get to working out on a regular basis.


I think once I'm able to get around without so much pain that I won't be spending near as much time in front of the TV or laptop screen. But for now I'll take the victory that I'm not eating junk food and fast food while doing either thing.


How much TV do you watch? What do you do while watching TV? Do you eat while watching TV? Or is TV for you, like it is for me, just background noise when it's on?


Picture is of WW leader Karen's presentation on Taming TV Time.