It’s almost Halloween and I’m SCARED! My fear and anxiety about Halloween are because of the CANDY!
Since I lost 140 pounds on a DIRTY, LAZY, KETO diet, I’ve learned the hard way how to survive this sugar-laden holiday. There have been many Halloween fails in my past and I’m here to help you avoid them.
I want to share with you six strategies to help you stay on track and even thrive during the month of October.
?ONE: This one might seem obvious, but it took my BFF pointing it out to me before it hit home. Don’t buy the freaking candy until Halloween! If you must buy candy (or risk having your children disown you), wait, wait, wait, until an hour before the trick-or-treaters arrive before you throw down your cash for bags of sugar. If the candy isn’t in your house, then you can’t eat it! DUH!
?TWO: Buy a candy alternative. I’m not suggesting you hand out toothbrushes or pennies taped together (as my childhood neighbor did – really, people. REALLY!) These days, the stores are bursting with alternatives to hand out to trick-or-treaters. Sticker packs, nuts, temporary tattoos, you name it. Find something not made of sugar and buy in bulk.
?THREE: Perhaps NOT buying candy isn’t an option. I totally understand. My own young goblins revel in picking out cavity spirits at Target to hand out to their friends. If you fall into this category, and are backed into a corner about buying candy, then for the LOVE OF GOD please buy candy that YOU DO NOT LIKE. If it’s not something you enjoy, the likelihood of you shoving it into your mouth is greatly decreased. (Then again, I’m the girl who will eat baking squares of chocolate when desperate, so what do I know.)
?FOUR: Don’t lie to yourself. I’m not someone who can enjoy sweets in moderation, and I’m not going to fool myself that on Halloween I could actually “count out” a small selection of candy to enjoy like a normal person and then stop. That doesn’t happen for me. I have absolutely no “off switch” and I need to be honest about my lack of self-control. Other Halloween lies I’ve been known to tell myself are, “it’s a special holiday, this will be a cheat day, or I’ll work out tomorrow”. If you’re like me, and these lies can sneak up on you, call BS and move on to the celery.
?FIVE: Keep busy on Halloween. Volunteer for the job that can keep you distracted from the mounds of candy piled up by the front door. Carving pumpkins? Yes! Walking kids around the neighborhood? Yes! Making a craft with the family? Yes! Anything to keep your hands from dipping into the till.
?SIX: Create a backup plan. Even though I have followed all of my own advice listed above, I’ve been known to backslide when dressed in a costume. It’s like my alter-ego takes over and starts making rash decisions. Be prepared for this! Even if you aren’t a fan because of your purist keto doctrine, eating a couple of pieces of sugar-free chocolate or candy isn’t grounds for the keto police to come knocking on your door.
Have a Happy Halloween and festive October, my friends!
