Enjoy Your Halloween Candy!

Is this blog post title for real? A nutritionist saying to enjoy your Halloween candy? Yup. That's right. There's no reason why you can't enjoy a moderate amount of candy without guilt.

Whether it's chocolate or gummy bears, with a little pre-planning, you'll be able to enjoy your candy, and still maintain your waistline. That's the topic of my totally fun Halloween segment on the Today Show.

Click to watch the segment

Candy is all about portion control. On Halloween, or other times when you want to enjoy a sweet treat, it's important to read the labels of your favorite candy, and pick and choose carefully. Most importantly, pick what you like. Don't choose dark chocolate because it's "healthy" if you really want a few strands of licorice! Check out the size differences and calorie equivalents for some popular candies:

SNICKERS

This is a typical candy bar, mixing sugar and fat as the main ingredients. A King Size bar "weighs in" at 510 calories. While the small print on the back says the bar is "3 servings," almost everyone looks at this as "one candy bar." The regular, full size Snickers bar contains 280 calories; downsize to a Fun Size at 80 calories, or even the Mini-Bites, with 40 calories per piece. It's not about the size of the bar, it's how we enjoy the first bite or two.

TOOTSIE ROLLS

While a chocolate candy, it's one that is high in sugar, but without fat. Still, a large tootsie roll contains 220 calories, and it's easy to downsize to a snack size bar at 50 calories. Even smaller is a 50 calorie mini, 25 calorie midgie, and even a 10 calorie teeny tiny midgie. All tootsie rolls with the same taste - just a matter of scale.

RED LICORICE

This sugar-containing, non fat candy still packs a lot of calories, despite it's lack of fat. A three-foot licorice rope contains 250 calories, but three standard twists provide 90 calories, And, the mini-bites have about 30 calories in 10 pieces.

SUGAR FREE OPTIONS?

Another mportant point: Sugar free candy doesn't mean calorie free candy! Many diabetics consume sugar free chocolate, since they can't utilize white sugar (that's in regular chocolate). This sugar is replaced by another type, that diabetics can utilize, but the calories are about the same.

Watch out for the candy dish in the office! While two or three small candies can be satisfying, and provide under 100 calories, multiple trips can add up quickly, and pack on an extra 500 calories a day - an extra pound in a week!

So, for both you and your children, enjoy Halloween, and downsize (don't eliminate) your candy consumption. Consider donating some of the candy to a local hospital, or food bank, to help children who aren't able to have the fun of dressing up and trick-or-treating.

Every Halloween, my children also received new toothbrushes!

I'd love to hear how you manage on Halloween. An indulgence without deprivation? Or, is your household out of control?

Comments

It's these little decisions that I see many of my weight loss clients faced with everyday. You figure, if someone puts on 20 pounds over a 2 year period, that's an extra 70,000 calories consumed in that period. 70,000 divided by 730 days (2 years) comes out to roughly 95 extra calories eaten per day! 95 calories! That's almost 1 Fun Size Snickers! It just goes to show, every once in a while, treating ourselves to these great tasting treats is fine, but turn it into a habit, and we'll be sorry we did.

I indulge everyday - a little. The indulgence is always planned and I always make sure to stay within my calorie range. You don't have to give up everything - Failure for me is linked to how much I withhold. So - I get a fun size snickers, twix, 100 calorie pack of cookies or even an extra serving of fresh grapes or berries and I don't feel deprived and therefore I am able to keep myself on goal. Give in a little :)

I think everyone needs a cheat day eithe once a month or once a week. Where they eat some things they "miss eating". If you go to long without giving yourself that food you always used to eat your going to eventually fall off track. I eat healthy for 6 days a week and one day on the weekend i like to eat whatever I want. I work out 3-4 times a week, and no matter what I eat on my cheat day, I dont gain a pound. It also gives you motivation to eat healthy 6 out of the 7 days to week, because your looking foward to that burger or chinese food you used to love.

Or... you can just not eat candy, like I do.

I eat pure foods with little additive (a little butter for sauteeing, a little soy sauce in the lomein) and I make almost everything at home.

No white flour, no 'junk' food, etc. And 16 8oz glasses of water a day. I'm down from 240 to 225.5 in about two months. Can't wait to drop the rest off.