Having a Healthier Halloween

In case you haven't heard, Halloween is coming up.  That means costumes, Jack-o-lanterns, and candy, candy, candy.  If you are trying to lose weight, or just live a healthier lifestyle, this can seem like a huge roadblock.  Fortunately, it doesn't have to be.  Here are a few tips to help you have healthier Halloween.

Photo from Mars chocolate.

1.  Don't buy your favorite candy to hand out.  As a former trick-or-treater, I am not advising that you give out Cherry Mash (no offense to anyone who might actually like Cherry Mash, if you're out there).  But if you have a bag of that one candy you can't resist sitting around the house, you are setting yourself up for disaster!

2.  Don't buy your Halloween candy Labor Day weekend.  This is another resisting candy technique.  The longer the candy sits in your house before the big night, the more likely you will be to dig in.  This is one time when procrastination pays off!

3.  Don't give out candy. If you don't want candy in your house at all, give out something else.  Pick out something such as toys or sugar free gum.  I actually saw little individual bags of baby carrots called "scarrots" at the store this morning.  Perfect!

4.  Limit the trick-or-treating.  If you are taking your kiddos out to show off their costumes, limit the number of houses you visit.  The more stops you make, the more candy you end up with.

5.  Don't deny thyself.  Nothing will make you want candy more than telling yourself you can't have any.  A small indulgence won't ruin your day.  Determining that you won't eat any candy and then eating a whole bag of fun size Snickers will.  

6.  Keep it small.  The saving grace of Halloween candy is its small size.  I did some research on the calories in fun size or snack size candies thinking I would come up with a brilliant revelation of what candy you should and shouldn't eat.  But it turns out they are all pretty similar.  Most chocolates were between 70-90 calories.  For most people, an extra 30 minutes of walking will burn off those few extra calories. 

7.  Choose dark chocolate.  While it's not the same as munching on a celery stick, dark chocolate is actually a good source of antioxidants.  Milk chocolate has some, but the darker the chocolate, the more antioxidants it has.

Photo from Hersey's

8.  Share.  If you overestimated your candy needs, or your aforementioned kiddo hit up everyone in town and you end up with more candy than you know what to do with, share!  Your coworkers and bathroom scale will thank you.

I hope these tips help you through the holiday.  Do any of you have other ideas to share?