If you have kids (or if you’re simply a kid at heart), Halloween is an exciting time of year. Your child gets to dress up in a costume they love and go door-to-door collecting candy—which also means you too have candy in your home to give out. Don’t be confused, it’s a trap. Plain and simple. It’s going to test your will having bags of candy laying around that you could eat just one piece now, and maybe another one later, and before you know it, there’s nothing left for trick-or-treaters. Don’t let Halloween treats trick your decision making!
Below you will find some “tricks” to prevent yourself from indulging in the “treats”:
1. Have a nutritious meal before trick-or-treating
If you have a large meal before going out to collect candy, you are less likely to come back and devour everything in sight. And if that meal can contain fiber, even better. The fiber will help keep you feeling full longer than not including it in your meal.
2. After buying candy, don’t open the bags
When you stock up on candy for trick-or-treaters, show some restraint and do not open the bags until the night of trick-or-treating. If you do, you know the candy isn’t just going to just sit there—you’re going to want to eat it. Once you start, it might be difficult to stop. Don’t let those Halloween treats trick you into thinking they are healthy.
3. Ensure each piece of candy is accounted for
No, I’m not talking about counting every last piece your child collects. What I mean is, when you eat any of the candy, make sure you know how much you and your child consumed. Keep in mind that while the pieces are small, it only takes 3-4 of those snack-sized treats to equal a full bar (or more).
4. Indulge and exercise
Halloween and Halloween treats come only once a year. If you give into temptation a little bit, just make sure you are getting in your workouts. Now, don’t go crazy with the candy, but a piece here or there won’t kill you. Remember, you need to be a role model for your child as well. If your child sees you consuming handfuls of candy, he is going to assume that is acceptable.
5. You don’t need to keep everything you catch
Just like with fishing, you can catch and release. Apply the same principle to your Halloween treats. Just because your child scored over 100 pieces of sugary deliciousness doesn’t mean all 100+ pieces need to be consumed. Allow your child (and even yourself to have a couple pieces every day). After a few days, either donate the candy to get it out of your house or toss the rest in the trashcan. It was fun while it lasted, right?
6. Don’t go down the rabbit hole
If you find yourself with chocolate all over your face and a full belly from Halloween treats, don’t think all hope is lost and give up. So, you gave in? We all do. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Now’s when you need to buckle down and regain your focus. Your end goal is to lose weight and keep it off. Get back on the horse to healthy eating and exercising, and all will be well again in the world. Don’t let one bad choice ruin all of the hard work you already put in towards reaching your goals by giving up now. Stay dedicated.
At the end of the day it’s all about self-control. Remember that you don’t want short-term instant gratification to ruin your long-term progress. The appetite control that you get in products like High Metabolism can help you with that. It can really help shut off those sugar cravings while helping you burn off some of those treats that you do have.
