The One Common Habit of Unhappy People

Happiness comes in many forms: sleeping until noon on Saturday, finding a twenty in your pocket, biting into a warm cookie…

But here's something that could put you squarely in the unhappy camp: spending too much time with the tube.

Happy-Time Pastimes
Studies confirm it. In analyzing 30 years worth of data collected from a national social-survey database as well as other previous studies, researchers found that people who considered themselves unhappy tended to watch significantly more TV than those who said they were very happy. Higher-spirited folks, they found, spent more time on other types of hobbies, including mingling with friends and family members, reading newspapers, and attending religious services.

And A Bonus: Hiding the remote could reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes, too.

Don't Kill Your TV
Watching a little TV here and there isn't a huge threat to your quality of life, as long as you don’t devote more time and energy to it than to your personal relationships, hobbies, or other interests.

There have even been some studies lately showing, that just like with comfort foods… people have comfort TV shows that make them happy. Watching TV just can’t be the main or only thing you do. And with today’s technology… you can record any and all shows that interest you and then watch them when it fits into your schedule, or when the weather is bad, without you missing out on other fun or positive activities.

In addition to turning off the tube now and then, try these other mood-boosting maneuvers:

• Make friends with happy people and like-minded people to do things with.
• Choose the right comfort foods; ones that really give you a pick me up.
• Grab the mop. Housework can actually improve your mood.

Posted: Ask Marion – True Health Is True Wealth

Same Workout, New Pants Size

Make your usual workout burn more calories -- without working a stitch harder -- with this simple switch: Do cardio before you strength train.

Doing cardio first -- brisk walking, cycling, swing dancing, whatever -- can help you do your full workout, and thus burn more calories, instead of pooping out halfway (not 'cause you have to poop, but because your legs feel exhausted). And finishing your workout with weights helps boost postworkout metabolism -- the rate at which your body burns calories after you're done. The result is an overall higher calorie burn. Plus, muscle burns more calories than fat, upping the total even more.

That said, if you can do only one, do strength training. But don't make the choice. We don't. Both of us think physical activity is SO important that we both make it a priority on our schedules.

Also, don't start obsessing about what you do when. Yes, cardio-first workouts help you get a calorie-burning bonus. But if you've only got 20 minutes -- enough for a quickie weight routine -- grab it. ANY kind of exercise burns calories. It's far more important to get moving than to chew it over so long that you end up doing nothing.

In fact, what's so gratifying about exercise is that unlike the list of things you need to clean out of your life (Cheetos, excuses), physical activity is something you can add almost as much of as you want. All while watching Raymond reruns. Don't have a treadmill in front of the TV? Get some dumbbells. Or do sit-ups. Or jumping jacks. Just do something!

YOU: Being Beautiful: The Owner's Manual to Inner and Outer Beauty