Navigating Halloween (and all the other occasions and holidays of "Candy Season")

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Hey there! Halloween is coming up fast.  Are you ready for it?  I call it the start of the "candy season" because it seems as if candy is everywhere from now until Easter.  For those of us with a sweet tooth, cravings, and weight loss goals, it can truly be a nightmare.  But it doesn't have to be.  Here are some tips on how to make Halloween healthy and fun.  

1.  Skip it altogether.  Plan a getaway for the night or make it into a long weekend.  However you spend your time, make it active and focused on health.  Go hiking, cycling, or swimming.  Work out in the hotel fitness room, volunteer to pick up trash on a hiking trail, run in a 5K, go for a walk.  Also, practice mindful eating--eating only when you're hungry.  Ask yourself, "Am I eating this brownie because I'm hungry or because it's there? "  Or, "Am I really hungry enough to eat everything in the fridge, or am I reacting to stress?"  Before you grab something to eat, stop, think, then put it back or grab a healthy alternative such as a piece of fruit or a serving of yogurt.  

2.  Give Out Healthy Alternatives:  If you decide to hand out snacks to trick or treaters, make them healthy.  Buy low fat or sugar free snacks instead of the usual less healthy offerings.  You can also hand out glo sticks and other small, relatively inexpensive items rather than food.  I think it would be awesome to hand out fresh fruit, but since some sick people decided to put razor blades and other nasty stuff in them before handing them out on Halloween, they aren't that popular with parents anymore.  All it takes is one jerk to spoil the fun (and healthy) aspects of Halloween for everyone. 

3.  Buy Only Candy You Don't Like:  For me, that would be anything with nuts in it as nuts bother my stomach.  I don't like hard candy either.  Pick whatever you don't like and bring it on home for the trick or treaters.  

4.  Don't Save Left-Over Candy:  Give any left-over candy to a local food bank, or donate it to an organization that sends care packages to sevice men and women.  

5.  Have a Healthy Party:  Throw a party and invite only people who are supportive of your goal to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle.  Serve only healthy foods, and if you decide on a potluck, request that your guests bring healthified dishes as well.  Bob for those healthy apples, dance, have a "health/fitness/nutrition" costume contest to see who can come up with the most original one, play Halloween-themed charades and other games, and tell ghost stories. 

I'm sure you can come up with other fun and fit ideas.  Share them with me via email (iwrite41@yahoo.com) or in the comment section below.  Have a safe, fun Halloween!  Take care.