It\u2019s that time of year. The beginning of a downright cornucopia of excessive, delicious, and typically not too nutritious food. I\u2019ll be tackling each of the glutinous holidays in turn (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas\/Hanukkah\/Kwanzaa, and New Year\u2019s), as well as overall strategies to approach the upcoming surge of excess food and merry making, from office parties, to family dinners. But, let\u2019s start with the first of these food-focused occasions \u2013 Halloween.<\/p>\n
While Halloween didn\u2019t start out as a costume party adorned with candy, that\u2019s often the way it\u2019s treated these days, especially in our country. For many, this means the mini candy bars and orange-colored treats will start showing up in office candy bowls and lounges as early as October 1st<\/sup>\u00a0and keep on coming right into November as the trick-or-treating \u201cextras\u201d make an appearance. And if you have kids or part-take in handing out candy around your neighborhood, that means left-over candy, trick-or-treating spoils, and often, extra sugar from school functions, too. What\u2019s a trying-to-be-healthy-but-still-love-chocolate person to do?!<\/p>\n As I\u2019ve said before, I believe in moderation in all things, including moderation.\u00a0 So, set limits and reasonable expectations. Is there a Halloween party on Friday at the office? Make a clear, firm decision about what you\u2019re going to do. Are you planning to indulge? How much? One serving of dessert? Two pieces of snack-sized candy? Or, are you going to abstain? If so, hold firm, don\u2019t give in at the last second. Enlist a friend\u2019s help. Is a coworker also trying to lose weight or avoid unhealthy food? Hold one another accountable. Don\u2019t give in to temptation at the last minute. And if you\u2019re going to indulge and made the decision to do so, go for it, but don\u2019t overdo it. Make a clear plan ahead of time so you have established your limits. Scope out the offerings and decide what you want to indulge with and stick to it! And be especially good about your eating and exercise the rest of the week and weekend before and after the indulgence. Indulging now and then will not derail or set-back your overall weight loss and health journey. In fact, it can actually help keep it on track, as you won\u2019t feel like you\u2019re constantly depriving yourself and be more likely to binge!<\/p>\n What about that trick-or-treating candy? Well, there are a couple of approaches. You can certainly set limits for yourself, but it can be difficult to stick to them when the temptation is just inches away. I actually recommend a more \u201cstrict\u201d approach. Growing up, the Halloween \u201crule\u201d was we could eat as much candy as we wanted that night, but then the rest got thrown away. Now, my mother might keep a piece or two to surprise us with in our lunches over the coming weeks, but ultimately, the message was, \u201cThis is a special night. Indulge. Enjoy. Go nuts. But, it\u2019s just for tonight, then we\u2019re back to normal\u201d.\u00a0 Candy isn\u2019t good for anyone \u2013 you and your weight loss and health efforts, or your kids and their overall health and slowly forming eating habits. Just because your kids or spouse don’t\u00a0need to lose weight or improve their lab values doesn\u2019t mean they should eat junk. That\u2019s a bad habit to form and will ultimately be more likely to end in them having to make drastic changes further down the road to \u201crecover\u201d. Set a good example now and build healthy, life-long habits. Maybe everyone gets to pick 5 pieces of candy from the haul to eat. Any five, but then the rest gets tossed. Or maybe you do as my family did and go crazy on Halloween, but then get rid of the rest immediately. Whatever you choose, make it something that encourages moderation and, ultimately, overall healthy eating for everyone. A week long sugar binge is not a healthy habit.<\/p>\n The fall and winter months are full of temptation. Halloween is the first big test; set the tone for the holidays and put yourself in a position that your New Year\u2019s resolution can be something other than losing weight!<\/p>\n Aubrey Phelps MS RDN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s that time of year. The beginning of a downright cornucopia of excessive, delicious, and typically not too nutritious food. I\u2019ll be tackling each of the glutinous holidays in turn…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":1652,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n