2 tricks to help you end the Halloween candy panic while sticking to your health goals & enjoying your favorite autumn treats
Halloween is just a few weeks away and for a lot of mamas that means the kickoff to the holidays and the season of treats. October, November and December can be downright scary if you head into them without a clear plan on how to stay healthy. I want to help you conquer that fear and learn how to stick to your health goals while enjoying your favorite holiday treats!
You don’t have to let Halloween be the beginning of the end for your health goals! Especially, if you’ve worked so hard this year to create healthy habits! The real way to live a healthy life year-round is to include fun eating and holiday eating as a part of your healthy habits!
Decide what Halloween treats you DO want to eat
Instead of approaching the holidays with an “I can’t eat that” attitude, remember, deprivation is a short-term win for a long-term disaster. When you deprive yourself of something you want you’re more likely to binge eat or eat way more than you would have if you just satiated the craving right away.
Instead of going through the deprive, binge, restrict cycle for the next four months, just include what you want to eat into your healthy-eating plan!
For example, I love Twix bars and I know that on Halloween I’m going to want a full-size Twix bar! So instead of telling myself, that Twix bars are bad and that I can’t have any if I want to be “good” or “healthy,” I’m just going to eat the dang Twix! In fact, I’m going to go to the store and buy the candy bar I want so that I”m not disappointed or frustrated if I can’t snag one from my kids’ trick-or-treat bags!
I’ll include a Twix in my eating plan for the day. I’ll stay within the nutritional boundaries I’ve set for myself by eating higher in protein and lower in carbs and fat earlier in the day so I can fully enjoy my Twix bar later!
I won’t have to feel guilt, share or regret because I knew that this was going to happen. I didn’t need to hide in the pantry and binge eat fun-size candy bars after my kids went to bed. I set myself up for success by including the candy in my meal plan!
Creating a nutritional plan sets you up for long-term success without having to give up the treats you want now! A healthy mindset about food is a huge part of living a healthy life. If you need help getting your mind to match your nutritional goals, then check out my Macros Made Easy program!
3 ways to get rid of the extra Halloween candy
The other problem a lot of moms have with Halloween is aaaalllll the candy that’s leftover afterward! We usually run into two problems with leftover Halloween candy:
If it’s in the house we want to eat it!
We’re tired of fighting our kids on how much candy they can eat each day.
Trust me, I have dealt with both of these problems, and I’ve come up with a few suggestions for you so that you can choose which option works best for your family!
The one caveat is that you have to give your kids the option to keep or get rid of their candy. It’s important that they make the decision! When they choose what to do with the candy, they stop fighting you about it!
Donate it
This is a great way to get candy out of the house and to teach your kids about charity! Look for a local business or organization that collects candy and then donates it.
A local dentist's office near me pays kids for their candy and then donates it to soldiers who are overseas. Hop on Facebook and look for a local organization that does this or something similar!
If you struggle with the “it’s in the house, I want to eat it” mindset, then this is the best way to get it out of the house so you aren’t constantly tempted by candy.
The Switch Witch
I learned about the Switch Witch a few years ago and this idea has been amazing for my family!
You tell your kids to leave their candy outside their rooms and then the Switch Witch comes and takes the candy and switches it with something else.
The best part is you (aka the Switch Witch) get to choose what to switch it out with! It’s a surprise for your kids which makes it even more fun! Here are a few ideas of what the Switch Witch can bring your kids:
An experience (going out to eat, get a pedicure, etc.)
A new toy
New clothes
New books (maybe Thanksgiving books to set them up for the next holiday)
Coloring/art supplies
Gear for sports they’re playing
You can make the switch big or small, it’s completely up to you. I like to think of what each of my kids enjoys getting and base their switch on that. For example, my oldest isn’t into stuff as much as experiences so one year I got her a gift card to get a pedicure, while my son got legos. It doesn’t have to be the same for each kid!
Reuse the candy
If you choose to do the Switch Witch and are still looking for a way to use the candy, then I got you, Mama!
I love to reuse Halloween candy throughout the year because 1. It’s candy! It’s not like it’s going to go bad. 2. Candy is SO expensive, so why not make it last a whole year instead of eating it all in a few days!
If you host a lot of events throughout the year, then simply save the candy for that event and put it out for guests to munch on. If you’re having people over for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Bible study, kids parties, etc. you can serve it then!
You can also save the candy and use it on other big holidays. My family celebrates Christmas and Easter, which tend to be bigger candy holidays, so I pull out some reserved Halloween candy and use it to fill Christmas stockings or Easter baskets!
With three kids I have more than enough candy to use throughout the year and it saves me so much money!
If you’re already stressed about how the holiday season is going to affect your health, then let’s work together to create a game plan for the season. You can have your pumpkin pie and lose weight too! Schedule a free discovery call to learn how!
