Thursday, October 30, 2008

Halloween Survival Guide

Well, it's here. The day every year that we love and dread. The day we lose the eat-your-dinner-before-you-get-any-treats battle with our kids, because well, they've already been eating candy all. day. long.

It's also the day we beat ourselves up for eating too much dang candy. I'm totally speaking for myself here. I'm pretty sure I'll be going through my toddler's trick-or-treat bag and sneaking as many Reese's Peanut Butter Cups into my pockets as I can. Or I'll give each little goblin a nasty sucker while I jam 5 Twix Bars in my mouth.

I know myself. I have a major weakness--chocolate! Add peanut butter, and I'm like Pavlov's dogs...my mouth waters at the very thought. So guess what? I'm totally giving myself permission to indulge. And if you want it, I'm giving you permission, too. That way, we won't be beating ourselves up over every little lick of candy, bite of sugar cookie, dab of frosting. It's OK.

I've never been an official "dieter." I tried the South Beach Diet for a few weeks. It drove me crazy! I craved things I'd never even eaten before...just because I couldn't have them. So I try not to obsess over food. Especially on days where I'd be setting myself up for failure. Like Halloween, for example. I'm generally a healthy eater, but I allow for indulgences (probably more often than I should admit). Halloween is one of the occasions where I just know I'm going to eat candy.

But guess what? I haven't bought any yet. I will go to the store tomorrow AM to stock up. And probably on candy I don't like. [Well, I like it all, but am less tempted by fruity varieties.] Suckers, gum balls, life savers, etc. Like I said--chocolate is my weakness. I'm banking on my own little trick-or-treater-dressed-as-Mickey-Mouse bringing me home what I really want.

So I will have chocolate, but not all day long. And I won't eat three pieces of candy each time the doorbell rings...cuz I won't really like the kind we give out. I will work out in the morning. I will eat some of my MIL's homemade goodness that is her Chili to help stave off major cravings. But I will indulge. And it probably won't be pretty. But I'm OK with that. For tomorrow.

Other survival ideas include giving away non-food items. Tattoo stickers. Pencils. Sugar-free Gum. Why is the focus of so many celebrations on the food anyway?

What are your Halloween/holiday survival tips? You know what to do. Leave a comment!

3 comments:

Melissa said...

Remember how I gave all my Halloween candy away at your birthday party last year? Or is this not Kimberly? It sounded like Kimberly. Anyway, I just throw it away or give it away like last year. Otherwise I eat all the chocolates. Reese's are my biggest weekness also. It's just evil how they make the chocolate in little sizes so you feel like you can eat more.

Maylene said...

I always eat what I want when I want. But I have to be careful too. I've learned the hard way that if I don't eat mostly healthy food then I get sick and feel tired or depressed for days on end. I think just maintaining a good balance and not going overboard is important. And then regular exercise! If I need a few more calories burned, I can always clean my house or work on my yard! That always ends up burning off lots of chocolate!

Michael said...

You might as well just get ready for the holidays by throwing all rules out the door. Last week at work we invited all of our customers to have a "Taste of Christmas." Everyone made excuses to not eat food, and I told them that regular rules don't apply at holidays, parties, weekends, and some week nights. But those are some good ideas, especially buying candy you don't like.