Halloween… full of ghosts, goblins, witches, monsters, and the scariest of them all:
CANDY
How to survive this nightmare???
Worst yet, Halloween marks the unofficial start of the diet-busting holiday season for those trying to eat healthier.
The first of three consecutive “food” centric holidays to close the year.
No wonder over 100 million Americans feel the need to make New Year’s resolutions in January!
If you are someone who gets derailed by Halloween candy every year, this post is for you.
This post is all about my favorite Halloween survival tips!
Below are my favorite tips to help you navigate all that candy that will inevitably be beckoning you:
1. This first tip might be my favorite, though it may already be too late for many of you. Buying candy for your neighborhood trick-or-treaters? Pro tip #1: buy candy that you don’t personally like. If you love KitKats, for example, DON’T BUY THEM! Instead, but something that you won’t be tempted to eat, like Dum Dums (nobody likes those, right?). The kids will get plenty of the “good stuff” from other houses, don’t worry about them. Do what’s right for you.
2. Try to give out all the candy on Halloween. If you overbought, and it’s looking like you will have a lot leftover at the end of the night, as the trickle of doorbell ringers grows less frequent, give all the candy you have left to those last few lucky ghouls! If you dump 30 pieces into their sack, they’ll be thrilled and you won’t be stuck with that candy the next day! Just be sure to turn off your porch light after you give out the last of it. You don’t want your house egged for turning those little monsters away empty-handed. 😉
3. Didn’t give it all out and have leftover candy in the house on Nov 1? Get rid of it. If it’s in your house, it will get eaten. Instead, give it away. If you work in an office, take it to work for your co-workers to enjoy. (Wait, is this health coach telling me to give out unhealthy “food” to other people?? Yes, yes he is. Not everyone is on the same path as you, so others might enjoy it guilt-free. Let them!) Don’t have co-workers, find other people to give it away to.. your dry cleaner, your neighbors, etc. If all else fails, throw it away! It might seem like a waste, but it will be better than you eating it.
4. What if you have kids and it’s THEIR candy that is tempting you? That’s trickier… if you give or throw away their candy, you’ll have a mutiny on your hands. You probably don’t want that. This will be a good chance for you to model moderation with your kids. Perhaps you put it away, somewhere out of sight, and allow them a couple of pieces per day. You will have to adapt this to your parenting style, as I’m not here to give parenting advice (though I certainly could if asked 😉). The point is, to not have it constantly tempting you. Find a way to keep it out of your head and gnawing on your nerves.
5. Of course, there is the most obvious: don’t buy any candy at all, and don’t let your kids bring it home. That might be a stretch for most, so not what I typically recommend, but it is certainly an option.
There you have it.. my 4 favorite tips to survive Halloween, plus a fifth that I don’t particularly like, but included anyway. 😉
How will you keep Halloween from derailing you?
Halloween 1996