Trashy TV - watch it or watch out?

Trashy TV 

What is it that makes it so appealing? 

In a world where people become ‘celebrities’ from participating in ‘reality’ shows, so-called trashy TV is now rife.

I’ll admit it, it is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. I love to sit and watch these programs.

Often my other half laughs that we’ve got 3 kids, I’ll be shattered after putting them down for the night and then I’ll switch on a show about children, moreso a program of a ‘celebrity’ Mum with her child/children. 

My partner does nights, I’m not a big fan of him doing shift work, but admittedly one thing I do like about it is having the TV to myself once the kids are in bed. I like nothing better than sitting in my PJs and laying down on the sofa to watch some trash.

I love the escapism. Yes I know most of the time it’s a load of rubbish and these people are often talentless and just fame hungry selfie addicted wannabes. But I love to switch off and watch this toot.

I don’t need to think. I don’t need to be responsible for anyone. I can just sit back and switch off. 

And that is what appeals to me.

How comes some of us gorge on this junk, whilst others find it makes their skin crawl?

Take tonight, I’ve seen on catch up TV there’s a new season of a program about couples on a holiday testing their relationships - perfect! And there’s a whole season to watch.

My fiancé used to get so excited over Netflix and tell me how good it is to sit and watch boxsets and back to back programs. I used to hate Netflix as I couldn’t find any recent films on there that I wanted to watch.

Fast forward a few years, well quite a few, and suddenly I’m a Netflix addict!

I’m not so bothered about the films, it’s the binge watching boxsets! 

I seem to have a thing for psychological thrillers at the moment, well, when I watch with the other half.

However, when I have time on my own it’s all about the trash. Love Island, TOWIE, baby programs with celebrity parents, relationship reality shows, dating shows, I could go on and on...

Are these types of shows harmless fun? Or are they - like the non stop social media thrown in our faces constantly - dangerous to our wellbeing? 

For example, seeing these fit bodied attractive young people in the sun does it make us start to judge our own appearance? Watching a reality TV woman looking like the ideal Mum with her kids, rather than relaxing are you actually starting to doubt your own parenting? 

Is this all another example of the fake socialised world we now live in? Everything is lived through social media. Not only do we like to showcase our own lives through various online accounts, but we like to watch others too.

The question is how healthy is it? 

This ‘trashy’ TV, that we think is letting us relax and switch off. Is it in fact doing the opposite and trashing our well-being? 

Day Three: how a day can completely turn around

Wednesday is here, halfway through the week and three days into my healthy eating and exercise regime.

As I mentioned yesterday I had to do some late overnight work through Tuesday to today so I was worrying about being able to stick to my plan. Often working overnight leaves me craving sweet treats to keep me going.

As it turned out I ended up working from 4pm Tuesday to 5 o'clock this morning, just a bit longer than expected... I'd originally thought we'd probably be done by about 3am based on previous experience.

Whilst work continued and I noted the time ticking further on, I realised my best made plans might not work. I'd 'cleverly' thought if I finished at 3 I could get up about 11am and get my eight hours of sleep and then go to the gym to complete today's 5k on the treadmill.

Hm...after signing off work and walking zombie-like to my bed after 5am the last thing I could think of facing was the gym. I felt like I could sleep all day!

I managed to get about 7 hours sleep or so in the end and woke up feeling full of headache and confused (i.e. what time was it, realising I was at my parents not my flat and so on). As you've probably guessed by now I still wasn't overly excited about hitting the gym.

However I pushed myself, had a shower, big cup of coffee and a banana and after a bit of a chat I left my parents to go direct to the gym.

I felt fed up to be honest because I was tired (lack of sleep and hunger always makes me moody!) and then also realised I'd left my coat at my parent's house! But I got in the gym and on the treadmill and I'm pleased to say I did it!

There were a few moments where I felt so so weak and tired out but I pushed through - despite my annoyance at the guys who came onto the treadmills next to me... Seriously, there are 30 treadmills downstairs in our gym (yes, I did count them!) About 5 or 6 of them were in use and we were all spread out. Why oh why would you come and plonk yourself down directly next to someone else?? Grrr.

When I finished though I felt great! I'd beaten my time and managed to run a lot longer today (I'm trying to increase my running time and decrease walking time until I can build up to run it all and run it fast, well that's the plan).

My strop came back when I got outside, it was so cold and the bus wasn't due for ages. I ended up getting a bus part way and walking the rest. Once back in my home sweet home I had a healthy salad lunch and then had a lovely long hot shower.

After finding a burst of post-exercise buzz energy I had a bit of a tidy up and sort out of the flat and then sat down to relax.

I'm sad I know, but when I sat down I realised I'm A Celebrity was on repeat from last night. Obviously I was working so missed the episode and was keen to watch the eating challenge.

Since then I've had a nice dinner of quorn spaghetti bolognese and lots of water and I've noted some trashy TV programmes on tonight I love - MasterChef and Girlfri3nds. Embarrassing I know, but I am looking forward to chilling out and indulging myself.

So there you go, another successful day again, I've stuck to my healthy eating (I've had a yoghurt for a snack and will probably have another small snack later on). I've stuck to my exercise planned, despite an initial setback too.

I've gone from being tired out and fed up to feeling proud, relaxed and happy! Funny how a day can completely change eh?


Pic of some of my OTT organisation - food diary and exercise planner.

Don't tell the bride - magical or mental?

As we all know I love trashy TV. I like nothing better than unwinding on my sofa after a day at work and letting my brain go numb as I enjoy programmes which need no thinking. Just sit back and enjoy the trash!

One of the shows I therefore love is Don't Tell The Bride.

For anyone who - insanely - hasn't seen this BBC Three offering, it focuses on a couple for a few weeks. The man gets a budget of £12,000 and after being separated from his girlfriend he has to plan and book an ENTIRE wedding.

The girl gets NO say at all on the day, no input at all.

Just think girls, that big day - some say the biggest day of your life and you're leaving it all to a man. The cake, the flowers, the venue, the hen do, the dress! Need I say more.

Nearly every time I watch this show I think why, why did you go on this show?? Why would you ever agree to it? Particularly when those girls feature who have their dream day in mind and are very set in their ways about what they will or won't have.

Of course if you really have no money and this is your only way to get married, well you're getting handed £12k for 'free' effectively.

I just can't get my head around the fact you put something so important on the TV for every trashy TV watching person to see. Your special day. Surely that should be private?

Also the cynical side of me says - why don't you talk before the show?? Yes, of course the rule of the show is not to communicate throughout the process. Nobody knows what you've told your man beforehand though do they?...

Just give them a list of what you want and hey presto! It's done!

Moreover, why are some of the people getting married? There are the guys who pick the opposite venue to what the bride would ever choose, those that waste most of the budget on jokey props or the stag do. And nobody will ever forgot the moron in the Las Vegas episode...

I for one would not go on this programme unless I was super desperate. However if we did have to go on there, I am pretty confident my man knows me well enough to know what I'd want and what we'd both want on our special day as a couple.

Most of these men (and to be fair women) seem to forget the point of marriage - love and spending the rest of your life with that special someone. Not an excuse for a party or being the most different.

Anyway I've got to get back to my trashy TV, there's a guy planning a heavy metal wedding this time and a girl who wants two wedding dresses...

Trashy TV or a way to unwind?

So, no blog ALL weekend. Although I’ve only just started doing this I actually genuinely missed writing it, much to my boyfriend’s bemusement.

Don’t worry though this means an extra treat (or punishment, depending on your opinion of this blog) for you because I’m now writing more than one post today as a result!

One of my guilty pleasures is watching what we refer to as trashy TV. You know the sort of thing, where you don’t really need to engage your brain too much, just sit back, relax and stare?

Why do we label it so? And is it bad for you? Should I be ashamed of my TV-watching, or be proud to be seen as shallow? Why is it trash and why shouldn’t we watch it?

I’m sure many of you will know those people who loudly declare they don’t watch television – as if it’s below them to merely use a remote control and partake in something so common. It’s this sort of comment which makes ‘trashees’ like me feel ashamed of going home after work and vegging out in front of the box.

More importantly who is it that decides they are trashy?

I often gorge myself on said programmes and recently a friend of mine reminded me the reason our friendship got started was based on our common interest in the delights of television shows such as Don’t Tell The Bride, World’s Strictest Parents and Embarrassing Bodies.

There you go then, there’s one reason I think can be firmly listed under the pro section for any argument surrounding these programmes – conversation. There’s no denying it they spark debate – whether it’s to discuss what happened in the programme, to people outright laughing at the stupidity of what they watched.

Other delights such as cookery based items – Masterchef, Come Dine With Me, Dinner Date etc – actually can prove inspiration to cook. A couple of girlfriends and myself started a regular CDWM evening once a month last year where we’d compete with one another (serving a course each). Not only did this give us a regular chance to catch up on our news, but it also created a bit of banter between us and encouraged me to make proper meals and not just chuck something together with a few bits of food and a jar of sauce!

Relationship-led pieces can help you treasure what you’ve got – be thankful your Mum loves you and doesn’t try to compete with you, unlike those on Hotter Than My Daughter. Or get ideas for your upcoming wedding on Four Weddings, Bridezilla or DTTB. Gain some tips on DIY and colour schemes from the likes of Mad About The House, 60 Second Makeover or DIY SOS.

In a world where we deal with underpaid, stressful jobs and have to juggle relationships, family, a career, looking good and developing our skills, then surely having a way out is key? My Dad used to constantly fall asleep in the evenings whilst he was still at work and was told it was his way of coping with the pressures of his role, some of my friends like to indulge in a cheeky glass of wine to soothe their nightmare day, or go on a wild night out to let their hair down. Why then can we not unwind with watching the television, switching off from the day and our responsibilities and watching something that interests us?

Sometimes we might want to enjoy a factual documentary, discover more about a historical event, or work out how to be better with our budget. On the flip side we may get home from work after a hard day of juggling figures, schedules and clients and just want to sit down and find out how people in Essex, Chelsea or Newcastle like to spend their time – tanning, drinking and living up to stereotypes...

I say don’t feel guilty for watching these sorts of shows on TV, so what if you get some form of relief watching Jeremy Kyle, it’s just another part of who you are and what you enjoy. As long as you don’t spend your whole spare time indulging in them and find you can’t recall the last time you read a paper, watched the news or met up with friends, then I think you’re safe.

Right I better go; I’ve just seen this ‘reem’ idea for how to discipline your kids with the ‘naughty step’ which I need to put on Facebook, then it’s off to get my nails done and top up my fake tan, after that me and my Mum need to go shopping for clubbing outfits, I need to start my new diet shakes to become the best loser, ask Dr Christian for tips on how to get rid of that embarrassing bodymark, oh and pick up my gypsy wedding dress from the dry cleaners!