Don’t Let Halloween Scare You!

Trick or Treat!

It’s that time of year again. The stores have been full of candy and decorations for months and now the candy is about to take center stage. Or is it? Here are some tips to keep Halloween from spooking you and derailing your healthy eating efforts. Halloween is just the first in a series of holidays which will be coming over the next few months, a little planning now, will go a long way in ensuring that your New Year’s Resolutions aren’t too desperate in January!

  • Make a plan – I’ve said it a million times but it really bears repeating. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Take a moment today and decide what tomorrow will look like. Don’t “save up” calories so that you can eat lots of candy tomorrow night, that’s a recipe for disaster! Instead, make sure to eat some healthy balanced meals throughout the day so that you aren’t ravenous at trick or treat time. Make a decision in advance about what kinds of treats, and how many, you will choose to enjoy. An all or nothing attitude will not end well, but deciding ahead ahead of time to enjoy 2 or 3 fun sized candy bars, is a sensible way to go.
  • If you have children that will be going tick or treating (and bringing their candy back into your house) make sure that you are not the keeper of the stash. It’s all too easy (and I say this from experience) to take a little something every time you walk by the bags. You can request that your spouse or partner be the one in charge of the loot and have them put it someplace you don’t happen upon throughout the day; or if your kids are older, request that they put it someplace out of sight. There’s no need to hide it, just make sure that it is out of eyesight throughout the day, which will make it much easier to resist!
  • If you have leftover candy, get it out of the house as soon as possible or, put it out of eyesight (see above) to a place where you won’t see it all the time. It is also advisable to not buy your favorite candy to give out to trick or treaters. If you cannot resist Butterfingers (and really, who can?) don’t buy them! Get some other kind of candy that the kids will like but you look at and think – eh, not so much.
  • Halloween is one day only, don’t let it continue on into Thanksgiving. We are headed into the holiday season believe it or not. Try to get back into your routine as quickly as possible and stick to it until November 22nd. If you do end up overindulging on Halloween (or if you are reading this post too late), check out my previous post on mitigating damage done on food holidays.
We can all get through the holidays as long as we keep our focus. I am definitely an advocate of enjoying the sometimes treats that go hand in hand with most holidays, just make sure to keep them special by only indulging sometimes. Happy Halloween!

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