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?
Biz
Before we moved from my old house 13 years ago – I had about 400 kids for trick or treat – so fun! We moved to our new house – only six houses on the block, but we thought for sure we’d have tons of kids! One kid. Our neighbors granddaughter, and I had 9 bags of candy. I told her to open her pillowcase, and dumped all 9 bags of candy into her bag!
Most Halloween candy is insulin worthy to me, but I have my eye on the prize – one bite on the lips goes right to my hips!
Lisa Eirene
It’s funny, a few years ago we had TONS of trick or treaters at our house. So many kids. There were a lot of little kids living on our street and we live next to a school. We’d get the big Costco bags of candy and most of it would be gone. The last two years or so, we’re stuck with the Costco bag of candy. Not many kids come by. I think this year we’ll skip it entirely.
Courtney @ Don't Blink. Just Run.
Good tips! I think it was two years ago we bought candy early because it was a good deal and we ended up eating it all before Halloween and had to buy more! We buy last minute now!
Lisa Eirene
Yes!!! Last minute usually helps a lot!
Jess
I don’t do Halloween. I’m that person. It isn’t that big in NZ anyway, and I live in a quiet street. If I even get one person I’m surprised.
amy @ fearless homemaker
The tip about buying candy you don’t like is such a good tip! I never would’ve thought to do that, but it makes total sense. Definitely going to do that this year, as I still have a bit of baby weight to lose + don’t need the extra calories!
Lisa Eirene
It really does work. I’ve done it for years. I usually get Milky Ways (which I dislike). No temptation there!
Barbara | Creative Culinary\
I get what a love but not a lot of it; as it gets later I give out more which is sort of perfect; the later it gets the older and bigger kids are anyhow. I’m living with friends after my house sold too quickly; waiting on a new home to be completed. So, first time in 30 years Ii won’t have to worry about it and I’m OK with that!