How to Stop Eating Halloween Candy and Avoid the Halloween Binge
Updated: May 15, 2023
Don’t be frightened by the sweetest night of the year! Here’s expert advice on how to choose calorie-conscious candy, curb your cravings, and bounce back from a sugar binge.
Buy Candy the Day Before Halloween
If you’re stocking up for trick-or-treaters, minimize the number of days the treats are in your house to help stop eating Halloween candy. Research shows just looking at food triggers the circuitry in our brains that makes us imagine eating it, says Susan Albers, PsyD, a psychologist and author of the book Eating Mindfully.
If you’ve already bought candy, keep it out of sight in the back of your pantry until your doorbell starts ringing. (You can also try to trick your brain to hate junk food.)
Also, many stores offer steep discounts on candy in the days following Halloween—resist the urge to buy just because it’s on sale!
Take the Three-Minute Test
About to bite into that Reese’s? A study in the research journal, Appetite, found that the mood-enhancing properties of candy last only three minutes, says Albers. So before you rip open that wrapper, ask yourself if the indulgence is really worth it.
Act Like a Kid
Remember when you’d get home from trick-or-treating, dump out your entire loot, and sift through it creating multiple piles: Candy you love, candy you sorta like, and candy you hate/want to trade?
Apply that same filter when you’re about to dig into the office candy bowl. If it’s not on the “candy you love” list, don’t eat it.
Also, chances are your parents had some rigid rules around how much candy you could eat each day after Halloween. To stop eating Halloween candy, consider setting similar rules for yourself. For example, you can have one or two mini candies a day for week, then you’ll get rid of the loot. Besides, there are many reasons not to eat too much sugar.
Follow a Normal Eating Routine
Whether you’re manning the candy bowl at your own house or taking your kids out trick-or-treating, it almost goes without saying that going out hungry is a recipe for a Halloween sugar hangover. If it happens, don’t worry, we have the detox foods to cure your junk food hangover, but really, prevention is key.
Follow a regular day of eating (typical breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner) and don’t “save up” calories for all the candy. This makes you much more likely to binge and overdo it, especially since candy is typically low in protein and fibre, the two ingredients that help make you feel satisfied and full.
Trick Your Brain Into Eating Well
Albers recommends this simple move to her clients: Just chew gum about 15 minutes before you plan to have some candy. Research shows that the very act of chewing helps curb cravings, so you’ll eat less.
Ditch the Pillowcase
The smaller the bag your kids trick or treat with, the less candy they’ll tote home, and the fewer sweets lying around you’ll be tempted to eat. You won’t need to stop eating Halloween candy if there isn’t that much for you to snack on.
Turn Trick-Or-Treating Into a Workout
Walking around for an hour or so does burn calories! (And here’s how to burn even more when walking.) So as long as you have a good, safe place to do it, don’t drive your kids around to satisfy their sweet tooth. Take advantage of the many health benefits you’ll reap from a leisurely neighbourhood stroll.
Try a Candy Corn Meditation
Those love-’em-or-hate-’em Halloween staples are a perfect example of how we can mindlessly munch candy, says Albers. “You often eat so many so fast, you don’t even really taste it,” she says.
To retrain yourself to eat more mindfully, follow this exercise: Line up three candy corns, away from the rest of the bag or bowl. Eat one at a time, noticing the taste and texture, focusing on the piece in your mouth instead of the one that’s coming next. Then apply this slow-and-savouring method to all the candy you indulge in.
Know What 150 Calories of Candy Looks Like
This is a relatively harmless amount to enjoy. But it’s easy to overdo it with those “fun size” treats. To stop eating Halloween candy at a reasonable amount, keep this list from Shape.com in mind: 150 calories is approximately three mini York Peppermint Patties, two fun-size packages of milk chocolate M&Ms, six mini Musketeers, six rolls of Smarties, seven Hershey’s Kisses, or five snack-size Twizzler twists.
Another smart trick: Leave the used candy wrappers in your eyesight (on your desk at work, the kitchen counter, etc.) Research shows that you eat less when you can see evidence of the damage you’ve done.
Detox From Your Candy Coma
If, despite your best efforts, you still wake up in with a candy-triggered Halloween hangover, don’t beat yourself up over it. Have a filling breakfast with fibre and protein to help steady your blood sugar (try oatmeal with some berries and nuts) and go for a nice, normal, healthy workout at your usual time.
Don’t use exercise as a punishment, but rather as a way to recharge your energy levels and confidence after a not-the-best eating day.
Bring healthy snacks from home so you can avoid temptation at the office candy bowl.
Originally posted as 10 Best Diet Tricks for Halloween on ReadersDigest.ca.
Next, check out three simple ways to be as healthy as possible.
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