It's time to dress up and enjoy a spooky evening! While we want to enjoy the holiday, we don’t want to regret our choices afterward.
Halloween is the day of the year most known for excessive candy intake. In fact, 35 million pounds of candy are consumed on Halloween. Children on average consume a whopping 3.4 lbs. of candy in that one day.
With candy everywhere, what are we to do? With a few tricks, you can enjoy some treats without falling prey to too much sugar. You might not be able to follow all of these tips, but implementing a few of them might keep you from going candy crazy!
Lunch, & Dinner
Make sure to eat a good healthy lunch and dinner so you are full and satisfied! There’s a common practice among people who want to indulge on a special occasion. It involves eating less throughout the day, so you save your calories for the event. This is the worst thing you can do on Halloween!
If you are passing out candy or trick-or-treating on an empty stomach you will likely end up eating way more candy than you would if you nourish your body all day. It is also important to eat healthy meals because you need protein to balance out the candy and help regulate your blood sugar.
Read the Ingredients
When choosing a sweet treat, look at the ingredient list. If the list is long or if it contains a lot of words you don’t understand, you may want to think twice. Reading ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup, food coloring, and hydrogenated oils reminds me that it is NOT REAL FOOD after all.
A colleague told me that when they see poor ingredients in processed food (i.e. a Snickers Bar), they view it more like an object (i.e. their spiral notebook) rather than food. I don't know if I am quite there yet, but I'm working on it.
Rethink Handing out Candy
Now, I don’t want you to be known as the grinch house that passes out toothbrushes, but consider passing out something besides candy at your house. Get creative and you could even become one of the coolest houses on the block.
I remember one of my favorite houses to trick or treat at growing up had a jar of foreign coins. The top of the jar was small, but you were allowed to take anything you could grab between your fingers. Small hands could grab more than big hands. It was fun to see the foreign currency and figure out what country it was from.
Get candy that doesn't tempt you.
It’s tempting to buy your favorite candy to pass out on Halloween. After all, you want to give out the good stuff that everyone likes. But we forget that everyone has different tastes. We don’t have to buy our favorite candy to give a good treat.
For example, I struggle to avoid Reese's peanut butter cups, and wouldn’t you know that it's the most popular candy to pass out? I know that if I pass these out at my house, I will inevitably eat more of them than I should. So, I hand out candy that isn’t as hard for me to resist and it is probably someone else's favorite candy.
Set a Limit Ahead of Time
Early in the day, think about how many pieces of candy you want to eat. I won't tell you how many, you know your goals and can decide for yourself. Set this amount aside and don't allow yourself to unconsciously grab pieces from the bowl without realizing it.
If you are going trick-or-treating with children, this can be a little challenging. When you are walking around, it is easy to grab a piece or two out of the bag - that is unless you have older children who will resist sharing their candy! Just do your best to be aware of your intake and make sure each piece is really worth it.
Go for a Walk
It might be a little chilly out on Halloween, but it is a great day to be outside in the neighborhood. You can look at the house decorations and all the kids' costumes.
So many people are out and there is a sense of community. Take time to chat with your neighbors. This way you are being social, moving your body, and distracted from the bowl of candy at home.
Donate Your Candy
Move America Forward encourages people to collect excess Halloween candy and ship it to the Move America Forward Operation Center. The candy will be put into military care packages that will be sent to support the brave men and women serving our country overseas!
Just send your candy and items in their original wrapping to:
Move America Forward Operation Center
3105 Fite Circle Suite 108
Sacramento, Ca 95827
I hope you have an amazing evening enjoying Halloween. If you follow some of these tips for a healthier celebration, I’d love to hear how it went!
Dr. Jamie