It’s that time again.
“Fun Sized” candies are everywhere. In the grocery store, in your house, at the office…So what happens when sugar and candy is your trigger food?
This has always been a hard time of year for me. I love candy. I love chocolate specifically. And Halloween, Christmas…those are all holidays that revolve around bagged candy!
So what do you do to resist the temptations? Here are my tips:
1. Out of sight, out of mind. Don’t keep the bowl of candy within reach or eyesight. If it’s packed away in the pantry and not noticeable, maybe you’ll forget about it.
2. Buy bags of candy that you don’t like. I actually do dislike a lot of candy. Milky Ways, Twizzlers, Baby Ruth, Whoppers, chewy caramels…Yuck. On the other hand, I CANNOT have mini Butterfingers, 5th Avenue bars, Candy Corns, or Snickers in the house. Those are my favorites.
3. Skip the candy. You could be that house that passes out boxes of raisins or tooth brushes…but be prepared to have your house toilet-papered. Or fire-bombed. 🙂
4. Buy less. Instead of buying a bunch of Costco sized candy bags, buy one bag and when the candy is gone go to bed. Sorry kiddos, this candy store isn’t open all night.
5. Wait until the last minute to buy. Having a big bag of candy in the house for several weeks is just asking for trouble.
6. Put some candy in a bowl on the porch and then go for a walk. You get some exercise, resist eating candy, and get to see the cute kiddos trick-or-treating.
7. Freeze the leftover candy. I used to put the remaining candy bars in the freezer and take one or two out at a time. Once they defrosted, some time had passed and I wasn’t going to gorge myself.
8. Eat a big, healthy dinner before it’s time to pass out candy. Eat a lot of vegetables and food with fiber in it to fill you up.
Finally, don’t beat yourself up if you do indulge. Chances are the fun sized candy you ate was about 100 calories a pop so if you had a few it’s not the end of the world.
QUESTION: What tip or trick do you use to avoid overeating on Halloween?
Jill
How can you not like twizzlers!!!!!! I used to bite the ends off and use it as a straw for my coke! Homemade cherry coke! 🙂
Lisa Eirene
You are too funny! Nah, I never liked them. There’s actually a lot of candies I dislike (which helps when it’s Candy Season!).
Jane Cartelli
If it is dangerous for me to have it in my hands then I do not have it in the house. If I cannot give it away with joy I shut the outside light and the front room lights and no one comes to the door – no need to have candy ready to give away.
One year there was a storm and we had bags and bags of leftovers. I threw it all out. Who was I saving it for? I do not donate junk food to the local food bank because I volunteer there and the donated and government issued food it trash enough without adding trick or treat candy to it.
Jane~
Lisa Eirene
Agreed! If it’s dangerous, don’t have it in the house! I agree. I wanted to make some Halloween cupcakes this weekend and then I realized that I’d have them in my house. Temptation is NOT what I need right now.
Lori
We buy stuff that won’t be so bad if it is in the house, like goldfish or mini pretzel bags. Or raisinettes. We were surprised at how many kids chose the pretzels or goldfish when give a choice of that or the chocolate covered raisins. They were happy to see them, too. I found that quite interesting.
Those are things I can have in the house and not be too tempted with for leftovers.
I would never give away Reese’s anything because I would mow through those like nobody’s business!
Lisa Eirene
I’ll have to look for those. That’s a great idea!
For me it’s Butterfingers. CANNOT have those!!!!!!!
Maria (RealFitMama)
This one is actually easy for me… I just DON’T buy candy. Jason and I take both girls out trick or treating so there’s no need. When we get home the girls each get to have a couple pieces and then the rest goes in a big bowl and stashed away in the pantry. It gets rationed off two pieces at a time (per day) till it’s gone.
DONE!
Lisa Eirene
That’s a great system! It doesn’t work for us since we don’t have kids but yea, I like that. Just avoid it!
I often take any leftover candy into work (but my coworkers have the same idea so there’s often lots).
Ashley
Ahhh I love candy corn, too! You hit one of the big sticking points for losing/maintaing weight: Just don’t bring it into the house, and it’s not there to eat. The end! That’s always been something I’ve adhered to, and luckily enough my husband has, too.
I’ve actually purchased two bags of candy corn this year; the first lasted a week, and the current one has lasted longer. I probably SHOULDN’T bring it into the house, but part of me wants to be able to have that stuff in the house and not binge on it (well, I don’t binge per se, but a nibble here and a nibble there and poof! It’s gone). Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. Those flavored sourdough pretzel nibs definitely can’t come into the house …
Lisa Eirene
I’m glad your hubby is supportive and doesn’t bring it into the house. Michael is usually pretty good about that. It helps to have support.
Evil candy corns!!!!! I’m sure you will eventually get to the point where you can have treats in the house and not eat them all. I never thought I’d get to that point but it’s gotten a lot easier.
Allison M.
I bought mini bags of popcorn to pass out to kids. It’s a healthier option and if we don’t give it all away, it won’t be a huge temptation. I passed out mini bags of pretzels last year with the same idea.
Lisa Eirene
I haven’t even looked at alternatives yet. I’ve been avoiding those aisles at the store!
Samantha
What a wonderful post Lisa! Thank you so much for this! Thanfully here in France we don’t have halloween candy hanging around like back home but I know my Mom and Aunts are anxious and I will pass this great advice on to them!
XO
Sam
Lisa Eirene
What do they do in France for Halloween?
Karen@WaistingTime
Great tips. In the past I used many of them, especially not buying candy I like and buying it at the last minute. With leftovers, my trick was to put them in my son’s car trunk so he could have it but it was away for much of the day; if I wanted any, it was an effort to get any:) This year, teen is gone, no door bell ringing last year, so we aren’t buying any candy.
Lisa Eirene
Good job. Out of sight, out of mind!