Halloween Candy: Don’t Get “Tricked”!

Halloween is a sugar addicts worst nightmare! You know it’s that time of the year when stores stock up on candy corn, tootsie rolls and other tempting snack size candy bars. Little packs of M&M’s, Snickers, Sour Patch Kids – how cute! They’re so small  – how many calories can they really have? Read on….  (pic is of  candy in my local supermarket Gristedes)

Halloween can be a problematic day for many people – especially if you like sugary treats. How many times have you bought Halloween candy weeks in advance?   Of course, the bag doesn’t stay unopened for long! How many of you anxiously await your kids to go to bed so you can dig into their stash of candy? Or how about the Halloween candy in your office – once you start, you just can’t stop? 

Here are a few problems associated with Halloween:
1. Buying candy for trick or treaters too early. The longer it sits in your apartment, the greater the chances are that you will open the bag. Even nutritionists know how hard it can be to resist eating candy when it is in your apartment!

2. Candy everywhere in your office. Again, very difficult to resist when you are bored or stressed. And who isn’t stressed these days? (Check out my free download Dietary Tips to Manage Stress … and eating chocolate is not one of those recommended tips!).

3. Candy that your children bring home. How many times have you found yourself getting into their stash? As soon as they go to bed, you find yourself digging in their candy bags searching for your favorite treats. You may be thinking all that sugar isn’t healthy for them, but it isn’t good for you – or your hips – either!  (pic – these children will soon have their candy bags raided once they fall asleep)

 
Here are the calorie contents of some popular Halloween candy:

Tips to control your intake of Halloween candy:
1. Don’t buy candy too early for trick or treaters. Try to buy it the day of Halloween or the day before. It doesn’t matter that some of the best candy may be sold out. Handing out “second rate” candy won’t ruin your reputation!

2. Don’t buy your favorite candy. Instead, buy something you don’t love. For example, I would buy snack size Twizzlers or Sour Patch Kids instead of anything that contains chocolate (since I am a chocoholic!). You could always buy something healthy like mini boxes of raisins.

3. Consider leaving the candy in a basket outside of your apartment/house. The less you see of it, the less you will eat.

4. Dispose of any leftover Halloween candy that you don’t give out immediately after the trick or treaters stop ringing your bell.

5. If you have candy at work, try to limit yourself to 150 calories or so of candy a day. Check out the above chart for calorie content. If you find that you lose control once you have even one piece of candy, DON’T even start with it! Bring in a more “appropriate” snack.

6. If there is bowl of candy at work, try to keep it out of your sight and/or reach.

7. Decide how you will handle your child’s Halloween candy. Perhaps allow your child 2 mini candies a day for a week. Throw the rest out if you find you can’t control yourself if it is around.

Bottom line: while there is no problem enjoying a treat or two on Halloween, don’t get “tricked” into thinking these mini candies are harmless as the calories can really add up.  Make sure you plan ahead and try some of  my tips to prevent yourself from overindulging.  The real season for overindulging is just around the corner!