9 Ways to Go Cold Turkey – From Halloween Sweets

Halloween can trip up even the most conscientious dieter. The sweets meant for the Halloween Trick-or-Treaters take hold, uncontrollable cravings take over, and before you know it, your midsection is carrying around its own very scary Halloween pumpkin! What’s worse? The holidays are just around the corner with potential weight gains of 5, 10 pounds overall. And what about those fabulous outfits you’ve planned for the parties and family reunions?

Relax! You can easily stop this cycle, but only with careful planning:

• You may get away with one big splurge on Halloween. But if you splurge for two or more days, it will probably effect your waist line negatively,
• Plan tomorrow carefully! Get your exercise in. Eat a big breakfast, medium lunch, and go light at night. You’ll be back to your former size within one to two days, and you certainly won’t gain anything,
• Give away or throw away the remaining candy tonight – or NOW! – so that there’s nothing left,
• To reduce the possibility of sweet cravings, make sure you’re getting 30 minutes to one hour of sunlight each day by taking a walk in the mornings or at lunch. You may be able to “catch up” on the weekend, if you didn’t get enough rays during the week. This increases the neurotransmitter, seratonin, which decreases with Fall’s reduced sunlight and can cause cravings and weight gain,

• Eat plenty of healthy carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans, to keep serotonin at optimum levels and reduce cravings of less healthy carbohydrates, such as refined sugar,
• If you want to lose weight, keep your candy – or other “extra” calories – to no more than 10% of your daily calories (that’s 200 calories for the average 2,000 calorie intake, or 150 for 1,500 calories).
• Try fun and healthier alternatives to sweets to have around your home and serve to family and guests, such as popcorn, roasted pumpkin seeds, sliced apples and fruit with nice dips,
• If you feel driven to eat sweets, it may be a signal that you’re depressed, anxious or stressed. Reduce tension and anxiety by exercising, meditating or talking with loved ones. It’s important to understand the core of the problem and for that, you may need to seek help from a professional,
• Most importantly, if you do find you overeat, lighten up! Don’t dwell on the negative and get over it! Analyze objectively what you can do differently next time.
• With awareness and good planning, you can have your sweets and eat them, too!