Those little Halloween candies looking at you from the bowl, little, bright colored and just jumping up with the sweet chocolate that you know that you love so much are very very evil.
You know you want one, you yearn for one or two but as you try you just can not say no….or can you?
Halloween Candy Calories
Halloween candy is some of the worst stuff that you can eat.
- It is small so you do not worry too much about the calories (even if you eat 20),
- it is high in saturated fat,
- and there is so much around at this time of year that it is hard to avoid.
In fact it would be hard to find an office building anywhere in america that does not have a few bowls of Halloween candy lying around on November 1st.
Here are the calories for some Halloween candies:
Nestle’s Crunch – Fun Size 3 bars=210 calories
Peanut M&M’s – Fun Pack 2 bags=80 calories
M&M’s – Fun Pack 2 bags=180 calories
Snicker’s – Fun Size 2 bars=160 calories
Milky Way – Fun Size 2 bars=150 calories
Kit Kat – Fun Size 2 bars=100 calories
Hershey Chocolate Bar – Fun Size 1 bar=90 calories/ 5grams of fat
Reese’s Cup – 1 cup=80 calories
Butterfinger – Fun Size 1 bar= 100 calories
Twix – Fun Size 1 bar= 80 calories
York Peppermint Pattie – 1 pattie=70 calories
Twizzlers – 1 treat size pkg= 45 calories
Almond Joy – 1 snack size bar = 90 calories
Milk Duds – 1 treat size box = 40 calories
Butterfinger – 1 snack size bar = 100 calories
Milky Way – 1 snack size bar = 90 calories
SweetTarts – 1 treat size pkg. = 50 calories
1 Tootsie Pop – 1 pop = 60 calories
1 Tootsie Roll – 1 small roll = 13 calories
Note: Calorie content is based on 1 serving of Halloween snack or fun size packages, not full size servings found in the candy aisle.
If you are not worried about all of these extra calories over the next week that is fine, but if you would like to avoid Halloween candy and the calories that they offer here is a few tips.
1. Change the way that you think about the little Halloween candy. Most of us will associate these candies with childhood and that carefree feeling, instead think of them as something that will raise your blood sugar and make you jumpy.
2. Eat properly so you can stay away from Halloween candy. If you keep yourself on track for eating then avoiding the Halloween candy is easier because you will not be hungry.
3. Only buy the Halloween candy that you do not like. What may be tough for someone to resist may not be too hard for you to resist.
4. Decide what you are willing to eat ahead of time. Look at the list above, there are some good decisions that you can make that will stop you from making this a gain holiday by eating the right Halloween candy. I am a big fan of Tootsie Rolls and those are apparently OK to eat.
5. Just stay away. there is some willpower involved in not eating the things that we are not supposed to eat. Have some willpower and you can stay away from treats, it is only a one week holiday anyway, right?
Paul Kriegler from Life Time’s Weight Loss Team gives a few easy steps you can do at work this Halloween season to avoid screaming at the scale:
Ditch the break room: Coworkers are infamous this time of year for bringing in treats to share during or even after the holiday (so they don’t eat them at home!). Don’t fall for those temptations of freebies and instead, try to encourage more walking trips during your break times. If you like to share, bring in some seasonal apples and heat up some almond butter with cinnamon for a nice dip.
Procrastinate: If you are planning to give out candy on Halloween night, don’t by that candy until the day or two before the event.
Rest assured, the grocery stores will have plenty leading up the day – you might even get it on sale – but it will also help you avoid eating or snacking on it yourself.
Trick or treat with your kids: Halloween creates the opportunity to get exercise and more steps in!
Make a goal of how many houses you’ll visit and make sure everyone is wearing comfortable, exercise shoes. Halloween might actually be one of the few holidays that encourages movement.
Skip the fun-sized: Skip the fun-sized candy bars and choose individual servings of trail mix made with nuts, raisins or dried fruit, pretzels, and a sprinkling of chocolate pieces for a protein-packed snack will help you nix the munchies without leaving you feeling deprived
Check the ingredients: Life Time has just introduced a new app for your phone. The Healthy Pantry App helps spot artificial ingredients and common allergens in many packaged foods and beverages by simply scanning a food item’s barcode to see specific information about its ingredients.
It’s as easy as red, yellow and green! Practice scanning Halloween treats with your kids to help them identify healthier Halloween options.
Be a healthy party planner: Don’t use the excuse that Halloween gatherings take your focus off your Healthy Way of Eating. Take charge of your Halloween plans, and delegate who brings what dish.
Volunteer to steer the menu options toward more whole foods and fewer processed carbohydrates. Plan on bringing one of the main dishes to ensure everyone (including you!) has a healthy, filling food option.
If you don’t want the hassle of planning, bring your family to any Life Time location for Spooktacular- a healthy Halloween event. Kids of all ages will enjoy games and activities, a costume contest and more.
Don’t drag out the holidays…it’s a long season: Halloween is one day; have fun and indulge a bit, but get right back into habits the next meal or day. Don’t justify an entire weekend of indulging only to be spooked by the scale or tight pants and low energy next week.
