Of course, when you're trying to be healthy, Halloween is a nightmare. Not just because it's a day filled with candy, but because it's the beginning of two long months of delicious and terrible food. As you see, I'm on the anniversary of my weight loss efforts, and that also means I started losing weight in the midst of all these dangerous days and weeks. That just means it's possible to stay healthy in the midst of the fat and sugar. Here are some things I did last year to make myself stay on track:
1) Potluck isn't about luck. It's about strategy. So many of the Halloween and other holiday parties I go to are of the variety where everyone brings something to share. Even my family Thanksgiving and Christmases work that way. So that meant I have some control of the day in terms of options. I was very sure that I picked things to take that I could eat plenty of without going over my points. Given that I was new to everything, I often chose something simple. For multiple events, I combined fat-free Cool Whip and a packet of sugar-free cheesecake pudding, and served it as an apple dip! The dip was only one point for a decent-sized serving, and it was sweet and delicious.
I also frequently took some vegetables with greek yogurt vegetable dip (combine a medium sized fat-free Greek yogurt with a splash of milk to soften it up and a packet of spinach veg dip). Now that I'm more used to things, I also add some fresh spinach to that to make it healthier.
Now I often take my black bean brownies, which are always a hit and allow me to snack on what seems like junk but isn't.
2) Reconnaissance. Of course, my contribution is only one of many items to select from, and my willpower is not always what it ought to be. Alas! I've whined on here about my bad behaviors and over indulgences. But when I'm being good, and sensible, I still don't deny myself the candy and cookies, cheese and crackers, breads and oils...and wine. I just try to work on filling in with as many healthy options as I can, and then consider which of the nasty things I most want. I used to be more rigorous in the early days: I got two bad items the whole party. That was probably for the best, but I'm nowhere near that hard on myself now (perhaps to my detriment). But I do try to make a really thorough scan of the spread and figure out how I can incorporate a few of the unhealthy items without going completely bonkers. If I go into the plate-filling with a bit of a strategy instead of a blind lock and load, I find that I'm more likely to make better choices. Conscious eating is the key, which leads to the next thing:
4) Grazing is for cows. Oh, those nights when I'm worst. When I come home and feel terrible (both from overstuffing and guilt), the common denominator is that I've spent the evening sitting with the food. If it's sitting right there in arm reach, I'm going to inhale. I'm going to lose track of how much I ate, and then do that justification thing (e.g., "It can't have been that much...just one more and then I'll be done..."). I've noticed a strong gender pattern here, too. Women sit in the kitchen around the food. Men sit in the living room away from the food. Guess who eats more? Guess which sex has a harder time losing weight? Does this make any sense whatsoever? Whenever possible, I do my best to sit away from the food table so that I end up in fun conversation with people and don't grab food without being conscious about it. If I have to walk to it, I won't go get it. Usually. :)
5) Dayplanner. I've mentioned this before, so I won't belabor the point, but when I know there's a party at night, I'm sure to eat low-cal and healthy food all day so that I can overindulge at night without going over my daily calorie total quiiiiiite as much as I might have. I also make sure I exercise a little extra to help balance things out. A little pre-planning and strategizing is a big help for these big holiday events. I also try to be good on either side of the big day.
6) Weighing It Out. Another way to be conscious about overindulgence is to think about the costs and rewards. Multiple times last year, and still sometimes, I have to go through the whole process of thinking about whether the delicious taste of the Halloween or Christmas candy is worth the points/calories. I have to remind myself that each "fun-sized" candy bar (evil term, that one) is two points. For two points I could eat two whole apples, a cup of yogurt, Laughing Cow and Ryvita crackers, or any number of things that will actually leave me feeling full. For two points of candy, I am getting a very very short amount of satisfaction and no health gains whatsoever. Given all of that, is it still worth it to me to eat this? Frankly, sometimes the answer is YES! But often I realize that it's not. I'd rather be full than hungry. Full is a great feeling, and I'm lucky enough to have that pleasure. But feeling full on candy is going to mean eating a day's worth of fat/calories in no time at all.
And then, if I say YES, it's worth it, I have to account for it in my food diary and I have to adjust my meal plan to make it work! That's okay. It might just mean having a light dinner, and I've got strategies for making the most of few points for dinner. I can do that. Of course, if I eat three or four pieces of candy, then I know I'm up a crick. :) That's just more justification for eating one and running away. Which is why I never have it around my house, too, which leads to:
7) Buy Halloween candy at the last minute. Don't have it laying around so you can say, "Well. I'll just open it and have one. Then I'll save the rest for the kids." Nice try, lady. I still haven't bought mine for this year. And won't till I absolutely have to.
8) Be kind. Lastly, I'm nice to myself as often as I can be. It's easy to feel like a failure when you eat that third or fourth "fun-sized" candy bar or box of Milk Duds. Yeah, it sucks, but don't turn that into a "screw it all" binge. Just get back on the horse and ride on. Remind yourself that at least you're aware now of how dumb it was so you can hope for better in the future. Remind yourself that you're not a failure. Life goes on. There are lots of days ahead for you to be good. Take those days and make the most of them.
If more holiday stuff pops up, I'll pass it on!
UPDATE: I'm passing it on. Check out this link from WW and Hungry Girl for the best of the worst Halloween treats: http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=61241&sc=3030
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