By: Debbie Lui
Halloween is around the corner! Are you ready for the fun-filled parties with treats and sweets? While Halloween is great for celebrating with family + friends, don’t let it be an excuse to throw your healthy habits out the window! It’s hard to resist those devilishly delicious treats, so let these tips help you navigate the sugar cascade to enjoy a healthier Halloween!
Have a Plan In Place
The saying “people don’t plan to fail; they fail to plan” seems to pop up everywhere around this time of year, and there’s a good reason for it! Planning is essential in keeping us on track when temptation is everywhere. Planning in advance for the celebrations and parties can make it easier to have supports in place where you need them and healthier options (like a TLS® Shake) available when you’re out and getting hungry. When you’re grocery shopping for the party you’re hosting, think about healthier Halloween treats you can make or how long you can wait before stocking your pantry with candies that you won’t be able to resist.
The best “diet” is one that allows you to live your life, so allowing yourself a few treats or a day of overindulgence is totally fine just as long as you can get yourself back on track. If you need a little help, don’t forget you’ve got the all-new TLS® Flex Plan that can offer additional guidelines and structure + your Trim Cafe or Trim Tea to get cravings back in check.
Follow a Normal Eating Routine
Even if you know you’re hitting a friend’s house for a Halloween party later + know you’ll be treating yourself a little extra, don’t skip breakfast or lunch beforehand! The idea of “saving up” your calories for a treat will just leave you hungry + in a position to overeat despite your best-laid plans. Instead, try to eat as you normally would but add in an additional 15-minute walk that day or omit your late-night snack instead.
If you do find that you over-indulged, don’t freak out and throw in the towel! It is, after all, the holidays and these things happen. Take it as a learning experience + consider how you can adjust your approach moving forward!
Eat Before You Arrive
Another way to avoid over-eating at the party is to eat before you arrive! Especially for those evening parties that you head to straight from work, it can be hard to ignore that empty stomach when cookies and cakes are calling your name. Have something high in protein + fiber or with healthy fats to tide you over and keep cravings in check, or bring a pre-made dinner with you so you arrive full!
If you have kids and plan to go trick or treating in the evening, having a healthy bite before heading out can reduce the temptation to snack. Stashing a TLS® Shake or Choice® Bar in your car provides a delicious, nutritious on-the-go alternative for a healthier Halloween!
Trick-or-Treating On Foot
Taking your kids out trick-or-treating is an essential part of the holiday, but you can skip the car and go on foot for a healthier Halloween excursion! Most neighborhoods are walkable and you can bring along strollers or a wagon to tote little one with tired legs (and score a higher calorie burn!) to make an evening out of it! If you take on a longer route or want to hit multiple neighborhoods, you can even bring bikes along and card the kids behind whenever necessary. Remember, workouts don’t have to be in a gym for them to count!
Keep Temptation Out of Sight
How many times have you been checking out at the grocery store holding a basket of fruits + veggies when, all of the sudden, the Hershey’s bar catches your eye? Before that moment, you weren’t tempted by or even thinking of candy! When you see it, you crave it; when you crave it, you’re likely to eat it.
If you know that saying no to a sweet tooth is one of the harder things in life (it is, we know!) then try to keep candy out of your immediate line of sight whenever possible. Purchase Halloween candy the day before or as close to the day as possible, and avoid keeping a candy bowl out on the counter. After the holiday ends, don’t keep large bags sitting at home over the next few weeks. Have your kids to pick out a few of their favorite candies and see if they can “trade in” for a non-food treat with the rest!
DIY Healthier Halloween Treats
Halloween treats don’t necessarily have to be candy, chocolate. They definitely don’t need to be store-bought! Get a little creative and whip up your own healthier Halloween treats for your little ones, guests, treat-or-treaters all by yourself. You’ll have more control over the ingredients, amounts of sugar, and portion sizes than in store-bought options and it’s much more fun!
Get together with a few friends or your family to create fun, kid-friendly treats such as Banana Ghosts or Monster Fruit Pizza and have fun preparing them together. You can even go beyond tradition and prepare something other than foods! Gifts like fun paper crafts, masks, and creative costumes are great choices when you need to fill an evening with something other than food.
Do you have any tips for healthy Halloween?
Share it in the comments below!
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