Having your favorite candy in the house for trick or treaters and expecting not to eat it yourself is about as likely as logging onto the Obamacare website and expecting to get answers. You can try it, but setbacks are likely.
I love sweets. And I also love candy. If candy is in the house, I will eat it. This also applies to my not-so-favorite candy. I've been known to eat candy that I don't like, like candy with coconut, stale candy glued to a gingerbread house and even petrified tootsie rolls stuck to the wrapper that practically break your teeth. I've eaten M&Ms that I discovered in the backseat of my car.
If any of this rings a bell for you, then this article may be just in time to help you think outside the (candy) box for this Halloween's sugary festivities.
Here are my tips:
Only buy candy that you do NOT like. If you hate coconut, buy it. If nuts give you hives, think Reese's. Also, mini-sizes are evil.
Sure, regular size candy bars have more calories (around 300 on average, most of which are nutritionally worth zilch and will also take you more than a half-hour of pretty hard cardio to burn off), but who eats just one mini?
I personally would never sneak a regular-size Snickers bar, but I cannot resist the temptation of the tiny size --the fun size! Then once I have one, I have to have just one more, because they are so tiny. Then just one more but for sure this is the absolute LAST one, and so on.
I love miniaturization: mini ketchup bottles, mini dachshunds, mini skirts, mini liquor bottles.
The problem with candy is that once you get a tiny taste, the odds are against stopping with one taste. The taste-bud dam springs a leak, plus the brain starts rationalizing that you can have one more since they are so tiny.
Also, do not buy candy that's a bargain the day after Halloween, even if it is 90% off. It will not be a bargain when your little black dress won't fit.
Never open candy bags that are not already open. Think of opening a bag of candy like a leak in a dam; once it's open, the nibbling will only accelerate.
After the last ring of the doorbell, make the end of the candy exchange official by packing it up, putting it away and out of reach and sight.
If you do happen to disregard my advice and find yourself unwrapping a Payday for sentimental reasons, one damage control technique you can use is to save all your wrappers so that you can keep track of how much you've consumed so far. Put each of your wrappers in a bowl near the candy bowl to remind your crazy self how many calories need to be burned tomorrow.
And finally, make a plan to deal with your leftovers by donating it to the troops or to a shelter or even throwing it away. Granted, it's best to find someone or somewhere to donate leftovers to, but if that's not realistic, throw it out. It's hard to throw out leftovers, so hopefully you will have handed it all out. As trick or treaters trickle down at the end of the evening, I always give out bigger and bigger handfuls. But if you didn't give it out, throw it out. In the trash can or in your mouth, both are a waste, but if you throw it in your mouth, you are going to be dealing with the junk in your own trunk for weeks to come.
I always say that five minutes of eating can undo five hours of exercise but when you are dealing with candy, you are probably talking about more like five minutes of candy consumption equaling seven hours of sweating. Now tell me, does ANY candy taste good enough to make it worth an almost full eight hour shift of exercising?
Often, kids are not thrilled about giving up the majority of their loot, so talk to them beforehand about the plan that you've made and then stick with it. If you are the bargaining type of parent, buy it from them. Let them keep a few of their favorites and extort the rest off of them.
Another tip is to be accountable to someone. Tell someone who loves you how you plan to deal with the sweets and ask them to lovingly hold you to it. Sometimes, it gives you some extra fortitude if you know you have to file a candy report in the morning.
Finally, get a workout in, no matter what. Waking up the day after and feeling good will make all your effort worthwhile.
Heading into the holiday season is a great reason to stay strong through Halloween. You'll set the tone for the challenges ahead in the upcoming holiday season.