Don’t Let Halloween Candy Play a Trick on Your Diet

Halloween is just around the corner, and, for some us, we’re still haunted by the weight we gained after the ghosts of last Halloween tricked us into chowing down on holiday Halloween candy and sweets that our diet could not afford. This Halloween, let the trick be on them. Treat yourself to healthy snacks instead. You don’t have to deprive yourself an occasional piece of candy here and there; just don’t let it derail the diet you’ve worked so hard to maintain over the past year.

BistroMD has created a quick checklist for you so that you can recognize a trick when you see it and know how to respond so that you can keep your diet and health on track:

Choose wisely. It's alright to enjoy a little Halloween candy, just be certain to do so carefully and select candy that isn’t 100% fat and sugar. Chocolate in very small portions will not sabotage your diet but they may not always be the best option to choose from the Halloween loot. Candies like licorice and gummies sometimes are fat-free (although high in carbohydrate). Still, these may be safer choices when your sweet tooth wants to come out to play. If your problem is that you have trouble stopping once you’ve started, a safer route to go would be to choose hard candy like lollipops that last longer and will satisfy your sugar cravings.

Buy your stash later in the month. Even though Halloween candy displays go up almost right after Labor Day, you will have to pretend not to notice them when you’re shopping at the grocery store. Plan on buying the candy you’ll give out to trick-or-treaters just a few days in advance of Halloween. This way, the candy won’t be hanging around the house for too long and tempting you to eat it. Candy won’t run out, so don’t worry that the supermarket suddenly will be wiped clean of candy right before Halloween night. They know to overstock.

Buy candy that won’t tempt you. If you absolutely love milk chocolate then you should probably consider buying candy to pass out that is fruity instead. You’ll be less inclined to sneak a piece of chocolate out of the candy bowl in between trick-or-treaters on Halloween night.

Consider a non-candy alternative. Assume that all your neighbors are passing out candy. Maybe there’s a creative alternative that you could employ? Consider passing out dried fruit mini-packages or low-sodium pretzels. Hey, even if the kids reject them, they most certainly have a parent who will appreciate snacking on this health-conscious Halloween treat. Pencils and stickers are also two other safe and useful suggestions.

Leave no trace. If your overestimate the amount of visitors you’ll receive on your doorstep on Halloween night, don’t hold on to the candy! Start passing out two pieces of candy at a time to deplete your resources so that you won’t be left with too much candy once trick-or-treaters stop arriving. Doing so would mean having these treats around the house for possibly even weeks and it could negatively impact the success of your diet. If you are left with any candy, find another way to get rid of it. For example, take it to work or send it to school with a child to give to his teacher so that they may have it to pass out as an occasional reward for a job well done on homework assignments.

Treat your body to some exercise. Join your kids for a walk around the neighborhood as they trick-or-treat; it’s a perfect way to get exercise and also socialize with other parents. And be sure to have a satisfying dinner meal before doing so. This way, you won’t try to sneak a candy or two from your toddler and munch on it on the way. This is also a good suggestion if you plan to attend any Halloween-themed parties during October. By loading up on a healthy meal beforehand, there will be no reason to stand for too long too close to the candy bowl.

There you have it. Halloween can be a fun time even if you’re trying to be conscious about your diet. And you should be. Because a month of splurging on high-fat and high-sugar holiday Halloween candy can really take a toll on your waistline…and haunt you for months to follow.

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