Despite the 90 degree days we are still having in Texas, the calendar tells me it is already OCTOBER. Of course, the grocery stores have been featuring HALLOWEEN CANDY for nearly a month already! Did you resist? Or are you tossing in a bag of bite-sized candy on impulse as you check out?
If so, it’s high time to realize that we are now officially in what I call the “treat yourself” season, as we hit the trifecta of food oriented holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukkah. We tend to celebrate with nonstop EATING, and then what do we do every January? That’s right, make New Year’s resolutions where LOSING WEIGHT tops the list!
This year, let’s THINK AHEAD…
Let’s SAVE THE HALLOWEEN CANDY for…yes, HALLOWEEN! Start in the grocery store. Do NOT BUY the candy till the DAY BEFORE Halloween. It’s way easier not to eat it when it is still sitting on the shelf in the grocery store, rather than sitting on your desk at work or your kitchen counter top. We all grab a small handful of treats when they are openly displayed in front of us.
Do the calories add up? You bet. Here are some of my favorites: Snack Size Butterfinger: 170 kcal, Fun Size Kit Kat- 50 kcal, and ONE single, plain M&M-4 kcal. Now, if you stop at ONE, it’s really no big deal. but if you eat a handful of M&Ms each DAY for the next few weeks, or grab a couple fun size chocolate treats, BOOM-you will gain a pound right there. (Remember one pound is 3600 kcal- do the math.)
BOTTOM LINE: Don’t wait for NEW YEARS to make a resolution for better health- start NOW by limiting Halloween CANDY to HALLOWEEN DAY!
PS. It’s a new month, so CHANGE THOSE AIR FILTERS!