Let me preface this entry by saying that I LOVE HALLOWEEN. I am all about The GreatPumpkin, the costumes, the scary noises, the haunted houses, the tricks and of course, THE TREATS. It makes me sad that Halloween is NOT what it was when I was a kid. My friends and I came home from school, grabbed a pillowcase, picked a neighborhood and exhausted it until dinner time. Home for some real food and back out to another neighborhood we would go. When our kids were little, we were always “the Halloween house,” complete with scavenger hunts, the haunted “garage,” bobbing for apples, costume contests and pinatas filled with treats. It sure is nice to be young and enjoy this day without thinking about the consequences of those treats.
Every year I am disappointed to be reminded how bad peanut butter cups are for us. (They seem so harmless with all that yummy, peanut butter). In fact, 3 miniature Reese’s Peanut Butter cups have more sugar than a glazed doughnut, and if you happen upon the novelty pumpkin shaped ones, 170 calories and 16 grams of sugar in ONE. Just half a pack of Skittles has more sugar than a scoop of Haagen-Daaz Cookies and Cream Ice Cream. Nine Twizzlers, as many calories as a Wendy’s Double Stack Burger. A “fun size” Butterfingers has 100 calories and 10 grams of sugar. 4 little squares of Brach’s Milk Maid Caramels has 160 calories and 16 grams of sugar. OUCH.
If you insist on picking at the candy your kids bring home, or what’s leftover (some parts of the country may be extra slow tonight because of the crazy weather most everywhere) consider working out this morning. Lifting weights today will help reduce your blood sugar levels for at least 12 hours post workout. Drink a ton of water through the day. The more full you feel, the less likely you are to give into the candy cravings. Think dark chocolate. Maybe buy yourself your OWN indulgence so you won’t give into the stuff in the bowl. A few tootsie rolls will satisfy your sweet tooth without packing on the pounds. If you must indulge, do NOT exceed a few hundred calories.
Many of us still can indulge for this night and honestly, one day of eating candy might be do-able for those of us that don’t have blood sugar issues. This year, a big concern is that Halloween falls on a Monday. The candy we eat today, will no doubt create cravings tomorrow. That is a recipe for a week’s worth of failure if we give in. With Halloween marking the beginning of the eating holidays (that don’t end until the New Year) it’s important to remember that Halloween is a ONE DAY event. Today I will be at the gym teaching all morning (hope to see some of you there) and then training this afternoon. Tonight I am hoping lots of little ghosts and goblins will show up and finish ALL the treats. Tomorrow, any leftover candy in my house goes to the office with Mitch. What will you do with yours? Don’t let it haunt you, but do have a fun Halloween.
Related articles
- Test Your Halloween Candy Knowledge With A Game Of, Which Is Healthier (wirk.radio.com)
- The Five Most Unhealthy Halloween Candies (wirk.radio.com)
- Halloween Candy: Which Treat Has Fewer Calories? (fitsugar.com)
Happy Halloween to one and all!
I did want to share one little story about my lifelong friend, Barbara Jean. She is the gal I wrote about weeks ago that is on a journey towards fitness, weight loss and improving her life style. Well………she just returned from a 10 trip to Italy. I was really apprehensive about her food choices and portion control……..boy was I wrong!!!! She informed me that she walked every where, and practiced all her portion control strategies and healthy choices. She LOST 8.5 pounds while she was there AND lost an additional pound when she weighed in at home Her total weight loss is 36 pounds!!! I am so proud of her and I wanted all your readers to share in this exciting news. Bravo………BJ!!!!!!! Keep up the fabulous work!!!
Thank you for the kudos Coach Rita….you are an integral part of my success.
Yes I was careful about my food intake while on vacation….I also walked every day, something I do not do at home. I work out at the gym with a trainer twice a week and go another 1-2 days a week, but other than that I don’t walk much…. Since I got home last week, I have tried to walk as much as possible…parking farther from the stores, taking an extra lap around the mall before leaving and doing a zig zag pattern in the grocery store rather than my usual compulsive shortest route possible. I will admit it does not compare to the uphill climbs I was doing in the Tuscan medieval walled cities, but it is a good bit more than I did before…. So once again, “they” were right…the more moving you do, the better you feel and the faster the weight comes off.
WOW – 8.5 pounds while on vacation! That’s amazing – good job BJ. Congrats !
WOW, BJ! Congratulations on the weight loss while on vacation. That’s usually where people have setbacks, but you proved to yourself and to others that it can be done. I’m so inspired by you!
Bonni – I’m glad you posted the real deal on the sugar content of some of our faves. I admit I’m a Kit Kat and Skittles fan, but fortunately don’t do it all the time. However, being reminded of the pesky details like sugar and empty calories will have me making different choices…or at least more conscious choices!
My trick this year was to buy mixed bags of candy which contained things I can resist. Worked like a charm – I only ate 2 mini-Kit Kats and a couple of mini- 3 Musketeers 🙂 The handful of leftovers will go to the office.
Here’s to moderation over this coming holiday season!
Namaste~
Toi
Good morning, Toi…smart to buy candy that is easy to resist….Anything I might like is out of the house and I stick to those dark chocolate chips…(though I need to exercise portion control when i hit those)…
yes, lets toast to moderation this holiday season 🙂
Namaste
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