- Image by sean dreilinger via Flickr
Halloween – another stumbling block on the weight loss journey. Candy corn, candied apples, chocolate bars, popcorn balls, apple cider, pumpkin pies, etc, etc. Sweets and Fats, our limited intakes. How do we sidestep this holiday?
First – there is no law that says you have to give sweets to trick or treaters. There are many other types of treats to hand out.
- Reflective bracelets or necklaces
- Halloween stickers
- Halloween kit – like a small Styrofoam ball with a Popsicle stick, a square or circle of while cloth, a 3 inch piece of string or colored yarn, and a couple black dot stickers. Put them in a zip lock bag with a small diagram of instructions. The child can easily make his/her own ghost. Or paper pieces they can make a pumpkin out of. There are lots of small craft kits you can put together.
- Coupons from fast food stores like McDonalds and Burger King. They sell coupon books you can give one coupon per child.
- A small flashlight, like those made for keychains
You get the idea. But if you decide to give the traditional candy out, there are a few things you can do to avoid eating the candy yourself.
- Do not open the bag of candy until the first trick or treater shows up. Open other bags as you run out. Immediately bag up the left over candy – give to a neighbor or take to work.
- Dress the part for Halloween. If you actually set up a part to play, you will be too busy to snack on the treats.
- Have a party for your kids and their friends where you can control the types of foods and beverages served. Fresh fruits and low fat/low sugar treats with water or fruit juice to wash them down.
- Take your child to a church, school, or community carnival.
Get your camera out. Being busy taking pictures does not leave time for snacking.
The most extreme way to get through Halloween is to turn off all the lights and hide in the bedroom, ignoring any visitors. Take a long bath, then go to bed early.
And if you do attend a Halloween party or carnival and remember – this is not a crime. You would do best to make sure you adjust your eating during the day to offset your treat and/or step up your. Walking the kids or grand-kids around trick or treating would be some extra activity.
Whatever you decide do, enjoy the festivities. And leave a comment with your ideas. 
Listen to this post 
