3 Tricks to Beat Halloween Treats

Halloween marks the start of the holidays where your weight and health can take a serious turn for the worst, but with these tricks up your sleeve you can indulge without the bulge and still enjoy your treats!

Trick #1. Trick Your Belly and Treat Yourself

The best way to manage your mini-sized munchie madness is to scratch your dietary itch with a few pieces of small candy and have something healthy and filling with it. 

Why is it that you can easily eat five mini-sized Twix bars?  Because there’s no nutrition in them! They’re loaded with sugar and other chemicals that play tricks with your brain that make you want to keep eating more of them. 

To trick your belly into thinking it’s full when you eat your treat is to have it with something fatty and high in protein like raw nuts, nut butter or a small glass of organic, whole, raw milk.

So instead of eating five Twix bars, eat two of them with a small handful of walnuts or almonds; one tbsp. of raw almond butter; or an 8oz glass of milk for some added healthy fat and proteins to keep you feeling satiated and prevent you from experiencing the sugar craving cycle.       

Trick #2 Clear Away the Candy

Halloween is ONE day—it is not a week-long event, so no need to hold on to the candy collected or left over after trick-or-treating or Halloween parties. 

Don't fool yourself into thinking that you’ll eat just one piece of candy on occasion until it is all gone.  Who really has that kind of discipline?!  Can you really eat just one Reese’s cup or mini Snickers bar?  Whatever stash of candy you have in your house will quickly disappear, and before you know it, a bloated, bulging tummy will appear!

Here are a few ideas to get rid of those tempting treats:

• If you don’t want the candy to go to waste…

Donate what you have left to a soup kitchen, or send it with your spouse to share with his or her co-workers.

• If you have children who will be upset about taking their candy…

Set up an appointment with the “Halloween Fairy” or the “Switch Witch” where after letting your child choose a few pieces of his or her favorite candy to keep, you leave the rest to be taken away by the “Halloween Fairy” or switched by the “Switch Witch” and replaced with a surprise (something that your child likes that is non-food related.)

• If you just want to GET RID of it…

Throw it out!  Don't feel guilty about tossing out all of that sugar and chemicals; your body will be glad you chose to dump it in the trash instead of in your stomach!

Trick #3 Hit the Woods

After allowing yourself to indulge in some candy, it’s time to treat your body to some exercise!  Your body will store any excess sugars in your fat, so it’s important to keep your body moving to keep those calories burning.

The fall is a great time to get outside and move around, and not just to trick or treat!  In NH, we have beautiful foliage this time of year, so when you go outside to get your body moving, you’ll not only get some fresh air and exercise, but you can enjoy the beautiful scenery our state has to offer.  

Here are a few ideas to get moving outside:

• Find a trail near your home and go for a walk, a hike or a bike ride.  For some added accountability and motivation, go with a friend or group of friends.  Set up times to meet 2-3 days per week.

• Rake your yard.  Raking leaves can actually be a great work out because you’re using your WHOLE body.  Your arms and core get a great workout as you pull the rake and twist your body; your lower back and your legs have to work as you bend over, lunge and squat to bag and carry the leaves.  And if you’re using a wheel barrel to transport the leaves into the woods, that’s an even greater workout because you have to load it, lift it, push it, and dump it—20-30 minutes of that, and it’s a serious workout!  Who needs the gym when your yard needs raking?!

• Pick apples and pumpkins.  Going to an apple orchard or pumpkin patch to pick your own fresh apples and pumpkins can be a great way to have fun with exercise.  If you go with young children it can really turn into a workout.  My nephew likes to really take his time and pick out the best pumpkin in the patch, and that means looking at EVERY one! So we not only spend a lot of time walking through the patch and lunging over the rows, we also get some exercise by bending over and squatting down to turn them over and pick them up to carefully inspect them.  Exercise is a lot more fun when you’re not thinking about your physical activity as “exercise,” and if you can spend some quality time with your children and other loved ones while being active, that’s time well spent!

Share these tricks with your friends and family by clicking the “like” button.

Please leave a comment on the blog with your favorite tricks.  I’d love to hear from you!

To beating Halloween treats,

Melissa Koerner