Happy Tuesday! It’s everywhere! I’m talking about Halloween candy; one of my biggest triggers all year long! Can you relate? Halloween is my favorite holiday because I think it’s fun, silly, and it reminds me of cozy fall memories. Growing up, of course, the sight of so much candy at once was exciting. Although I don’t remember ever eating all of the candy I collected while trick or treating, I do remember eating a lot of it…until a handful of years ago when I started to ask myself WHY! It’s not like I couldn’t eat candy at any time of year, so why was I overindulging every October? ALL. MONTH. LONG.

Once I thought about how it had become an automatic habit, I started to flip my thinking, and I came up with 3 ways to tame my inner Halloween candy demons:

1. Plan your treats: Decide ahead of time what you are going to eat for a sweet treat and when. For example, we used to have “Sweet Saturday” in our house. On that day of the week, one sweet treat was planned and enjoyed without guilt or shame. When it was gone, it was gone. It truly became a treat and not a daily event. That made it more special and more intentional. It also made the other 6 days of the week without treats very doable. Perhaps it was the anticipation that was actually more delicious! Another example is sitting in front of the trick or treat bowl as you wait to pass out candy and selecting a few treats for yourself and enjoying that amount only. Again, when it’s gone, it’s gone.
2. Celebrate Halloween on Halloween (October 31st). PERIOD. To me, this means enjoying a sweet treat or two on October 31st and that is it. This strategy takes some getting used to since we are bombarded with candy months before Halloween and temptations are all around us. It also requires you to remind yourself that Halloween is one day, not the whole month of October.
3. Swap your sweets: It takes practice to find a healthier version of your favorite Twizzlers, but it can be done. In fact, you can reason with yourself that in your lifetime, you have eaten plenty of Twizzlers and it’s okay if this year you decide to bake some peeled apples with cinnamon to feel satisfied and to enjoy the flavor of a very delicious fruit. Another swap idea is to reduce the amount of candy that you eat. For example, you can choose a fun size candy bar instead of the full sized version. Eat it slowly and be mindful of the flavor to fully enjoy it. Portion swaps like this DO add up to noticeable weight loss as the habit becomes more automatic.

So, try to do one thing differently this year to push your weight loss goals further a little faster by trying one of these 3 strategies. Keep an open mind and take the first important step to a small change that can improve your health and help you shed some extra pounds. Give it a try and tell me what you think!

You’ve got this!

Georgette