Trick or Treat

It is that time of year – the leaves are turning
brilliant colors, the air is crisp, and the bags of those
cute little Halloween candies line the aisles of
practically every store you go to.

Have you ever purchased your Halloween candy and the bags are
empty by October 31? Have you raided your kids’
bags of candy after they’ve gone to bed? You can
have your own set of tricks to avoid the buffet of
Halloween treats. Develop your own bag of WLS
tricks for a lifetime of long-lasting treats.

PLAN OF WLS TRICKS:  

1. What are some of your favorite candies? Those are the ones that you don’t buy. When you purchase your Halloween candy, select the ones that are not your favorites. Get candies that are not triggers for you. Another option is to purchase sugar free gum.  

2. Procrastination can be a great tool when it comes to Halloween candy. Purchase your candy on October 31st so it isn’t available until the evening kids are ringing your doorbell.  

3. Would you like to avoid the issue of gum or candy entirely? Give small toys, stickers, mini boxes of raisins, fruit roll ups, mini juice boxes, or cracker and cheese packs. Halloween doesn’t have to be a free for all of the consumption of sugar and fat.  

4. Get rolls of coins and give coins as treats.  

5. Host your own form of Halloween trick-ortreating by having a party. Rather than chance the introduction of sugary treats in your house, invite your own trick-or-treat guests to partake of healthy party treats that you provide.  

6. Get in some extra steps of exercise by taking the kids out for trick-or-treating. Enjoy the excitement and fun that kids have going from house to house.  

7. In years past, has your tradition been to raid the kids’ trick-or-treat bags after the kids have gone to bed? Solve that problem by allowing the kids to select their favorite candy and giving away the rest of their stash. If necessary, put the kids’ treat bags in the trunk of your car!  

8. Do you want to avoid waking up the day after Halloween to bags full of candy? Package up the candy to take to work for co-workers to enjoy or drop off in the teachers’ workroom at the kids’ school.  

9. Set a date for a Halloween candy-free zone for your home. Store the candy in a airtight container that you put out of sight…out of mind….and do not enter! You could also establish a date from a few days to a week that any Halloween candy will be thrown out. Remember, throwing out excess candy isn’t necessarily considered waste since it isn’t put on your waist. Consumption of excess candy and sugary treats don’t have to be added to your waist.  

10. Are the Halloween treats too much to navigate? A treat for you might be to eliminate the problem by going out. Go out to a nice healthy dinner and a movie.  

11. Put the freeze on candy. Place candy in airtight bags and store in the freezer. Allow the kids to take out servings directly from the freezer to enjoy. This strategy can minimize consuming multiple servings.  

12. Don’t deprive yourself. Indulging in candy is depriving yourself of weight loss and maintaining your health. Don’t practice deprivation of your healthy lifestyle in exchange for digging into bags of Halloween candy. It truly isn’t worth it!  

13. Do not fool yourself that those little candy bars don’t count. They do! Let’s count what is in those little sugar and fat, calorie-laden bombs.
Keep in mind that all these calories add up to virtually nothing nutritionally, and mostly sugar and fat:  

Butterfinger (1 snack size): 100 calories
Milky Way (1 snack size): 90 calories
Almond Joy (1 snack size): 90 calories
Three Musketeers (2 fun size): 140 calories
Hershey Kisses (quantity of 8): 190 calories
Hershey Almond bar (1 snack size): 100 calories
M&M (plain, fun size 1 pack): 100 calories
Snickers (1 fun size): 85 calories
Whoppers (1 snack size): 100 calories
Kit Kat (1 snack size): 120 calories  

Halloween can be a preview of coming attractions – the holidays of November and December. Start your holiday season off healthfully. Create the precedent for the holidays by making healthy choices and   holidays with Halloween treats of healthy choices!