Healthy Living

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

4 Ways to Survive Halloween on a Diet

By Heather Ashare - DietsInReview.com

Halloween and its homage to sugar is lurking just around every corner. As the temptation mounts each time we go to the grocery store to purchase enormous bags of candy bars and suckers, remember these surefire ways to treat yourself during this spooky time without tricking your diet plans before the holidays. You can survive Halloween on a diet.


Plan Ahead.

Before going to the store, determine how many bags of candy you will need, not how many you want. That way you know the stockpile of candy is for the little goblins and gremlins at your door.

Don't Play Favorites.

Avoid buying candy that you love, and select only the candy that you are not tempted by. If you know you'll lose all self-control around a certain candy-covered chocolate, do yourself a favor and opt for something you're not likely to crave.

Skip the Candy.

It might feel like you're violating some code, but more and more people are opting to hand-out healthy snacks or non-edibles as Halloween treats. Colored pencils, boxes of raisins, organic lollipops, granola bars, or party favor toys are all great alternatives to traditional candy.

Give it Away.

Between the leftover candy you were distributing and the haul your kids brought back with them, your kitchen counter might look like a little candy store. A very tempting candy store. Let everyone choose a few pieces of their favorites, and then get rid of it by donating to a local food bank, foster care center, senior center, homeless shelter, or even send it to the troops.

The idea with Halloween is to relish in this sugar-coated holiday, but not go totally nuts with sugar. Let everyone celebrate and enjoy the fun with costumes, decorations, or even a special Halloween dinner with warm apple cider, instead of embarking on a sugar high.

And remember, one peanut butter cup tastes just the same as the ten additional ones you were considering eating.


Learn more about maintaining a healthy diet at DietsInReview.com.

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From the Community…

Comments 1-10 of 32
  • Julia's Avatar
    Posted by Julia Thu Oct 15, 2009 10:25pm PDT

    not give candy at halloween? kids are kids and they should be able to splurge for one day a year. If I went out to get candy and ended up with a bunch of granola bars and 99 cent toys i would be soooooo upset. I say.. be careful with what you purchase and try to limit your own candy intake.. but don't ruin it for kiddies that think about this one day all year.

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  • Angela's Avatar
    Posted by Angela Thu Oct 15, 2009 10:28pm PDT

    Hey Shine, there's a reason why no one's posting to this blog. People are tired of being told that they can't even enjoy treats on holidays like Halloween.

    When I was a kid, there was one "family" (quotes because they were common-law 'married', only considered 'husband and wife' because they'd finally lived together long enough, 'Christians') who gave out the same rotten, bruised apples every year. How funny that these "treats" were actually symbollic of their relationship to everyone else? Haha! They were mean, nasty, and horrible to all the kids that lived around them. They even had a bad reputation with the local police for wasting their time, because they called them when they were angry because the kids played "too loud" or someone parked outside the lines in the lot in front of their place.

    If anyone ever cried out to be tricked on Halloween, it's those who give out "healthy" treats.

    I've heard that people these days even give out toothbrushes and floss. If I were a kid, and you gave that to me, I'd seriously throw a rock threw your window.

    It's a holiday. Pig out and enjoy yourself. Stop letting all these diet freaks make you feel guilty for every single thing you put in your mouth.

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  • Angela's Avatar
    Posted by Angela Thu Oct 15, 2009 10:30pm PDT

    High five, Julia!

    Grown ups shouldn't ruin a holiday for kids because they have no self control.

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  • Brenda, Shine Community Manager's Avatar
    Posted by Brenda, Shine Community Manager Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:35am PDT

    Hi Ladies,

    I'm all for kids enjoying Halloween. However, this blog post is to help women who are on a diet and might be looking for tips on how to stay in control when surrounded by so many Halloween treats. Also, these are suggestions. No one is saying that candy during Halloween should be banned!

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  • Babbalou's Avatar
    Posted by Babbalou Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:04am PDT

    Here are my suggestions - 1) Don't buy the candy until Halloween, I've yet to see every store run out of candy! Buying it early and having it in the house just increases temptation. 2) Send the leftovers away the next day - to work with your spouse or divide it up among your kids if you have kids. We all have weak moments and a bag of your favorite goodies hanging out in the kitchen is tempting fate. 3) If it looks like I'm going to have extras, I increase the amount I give to each trick or treater, my goal is to have no leftovers. 4) I brush my teeth and sip on tea while the kids are coming to the door and the treats are just sitting there in plain sight. Happy Halloween everyone!

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  • Brenda, Shine Community Manager's Avatar
    Posted by Brenda, Shine Community Manager Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:18am PDT

    Thanks Babblou! Love idea #3. No leftovers!

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  • Joy in Seattle's Avatar
    Posted by Joy in Seattle Fri Oct 16, 2009 3:10pm PDT

    Oh, I'm a mean mommy. My daughter is allowed to trick or treat, but is not allowed to bring the candy into the house. We are harshly anti-candy in this household. That stuff is toxic waste.

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  • promise's Avatar
    Posted by promise Sun Oct 18, 2009 10:33am PDT

    buy candy the day of halloween or just a couple days before so your not tempted to open the bag and eat some. im trying to be good this whole month so when halloween day comes i wont feel so bad digging into a bag of candy!

    and joy from seattle, whats the point of your kid going trick or treating if she cant eat the candy? do u like to torture lil kids? instead of letting her eat it all at once try to seperate it so she can enjoy a little every now and then, geez ur mean. a little candy never hurt anyone!

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Comments 1-10 of 32

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