Many people celebrate the spookiest night of the year with scary movies, haunted houses, elaborate costumes, and, most of all, trick-or-treating. Candy has become such an integral part of Halloween that having a healthy holiday can seem almost impossible.
However, here are a few simple tips and tricks to make sure you enjoy Halloween while maintaining a healthy, balanced lifestyle:
- Enjoy a small treat: Do not deny yourself candy altogether. Instead, indulge with a keen sense of mindfulness and moderation.
- Buy candy you don’t like: This will help you keep yourself from dipping into the stash before the big night.
- Procrastinate: Don’t buy your Halloween candy until October 31. This will prevent pre-holiday snacking.
- Count calories: Before Halloween arrives, make a decision about how many treat calories per day you will allow yourself. Keep this calorie amount below 200 calories.
- Work it out: On days you decide to indulge in extra calories, do more physical activity to burn those calories off. A two mile walk at a brisk pace [about a 15 minute mile] should burn those 200 calories.
- Drink Plenty of water! Drinking enough water can help you say “no” to the sweet treats or help to limit yourself.
- Keep a Log: By keeping a food log it will help you to have accountability for your actions that day.
- Forgive Yourself: If you do happen to over indulge, or indulge a little, forgive yourself and don’t let it ruin the rest of your week. Get back on track the following day!
- Get it out of the House! If you do end up with a lot of leftover candy get it out of the house! Bring it to work, try donating it to shelters, just don’t keep it in your house! Sometimes avoidance after a day of indulging is key!
Have a Safe, Happy & Healthy Halloween!
Theresa Zangerle-McArtin is a New York State Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist with experience in helping individuals to focus on nutrition in an effort to improve their overall health. She specializes in food allergies, food intolerance, digestive disorders, and irritable bowel syndrome.
To schedule an appointment with Theresa, please call #845.471.9410