About a week ago, a friend of mine was asking for advice on the best possible way to get through Halloween without binging on all the candy. She has lost some weight over the past few months and is worried that she'll get off track by being tempted with all the treats. I think there are many people out there who understand her dilemma. One of the first things that comes to mind is one of the dietary theories I learned at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. This particular dietary theory was called "Joshua's 90-10 diet" after the founder Joshua Rosenthal. If diets with to many rules are not your thing, this one is very simple. It only has one rule, and that is 90% of the time you eat what is healthy for you, and 10% of the time you eat whatever you feel like eating. Sometimes it seems that the more you avoid certain foods, the more appealing they can be. When you do indulge in a tasty treat, savor every bite of it. Take time to taste and smell the treat.
Another idea that may be helpful is to fill your trick or treat bowl with some candy, small boxes of raisins and some craft items for kids like cool pencils or stickers. Not only will this reduce the amount of candy in your bowl, but it also has some better options for the trick or treaters. When my kids were little I always had other items in my treat bowl. One of the reasons why I did this was because of my son Travis who is tube fed. Halloween is one of his favorite holidays, and after coming back from our outing, he would have a bag full of treats he couldn't have, so he would give it to his sister and dad. This also gave me the ability to have an option for the children who had diabetes. There are many good reasons to have treats other than candy.
Last but not least, here's an opportunity to observe the effects of the "sugar rush". For those who are interested in learning the difference between eating a healthy sweet treat like an apple or banana verses a candy bar, try this easy experiment. When you are hitting an energy low, on one day eat a piece of fruit, and on another day eat a piece of candy. Notice how quickly your energy level spikes and how long you can last until you need something to bring that energy level back up. There's no doubt in my mind that the healthier alternative will convince you of the difference.
Being that I believe that the best balance for health is a healthy body and a healthy soul, I would like to add another treat idea to your bag. This treat has zero calories and is free! In this economy, that's a bonus. It is good for all ages too. That treat is a big sweet hug! We could all use one every now and then.
{{HUGS}} to all and have a healthy Halloween!
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