Indulge wisely in Halloween treats.
(AP Photo: Business Wire)
Before you dig into your kids trick-or-treat stash, think again. While you may believe that just a piece or two of candy will not hurt your weight loss plans, think again. You may be unknowingly sabotaging all of your efforts. One way to prevent falling off the wagon is to stay away from the sugary stuff all together. However, that’s not always easy to do. So if you do decide to indulge in Halloween treats, at least know what your getting.
Channel3000.com, a site sponsored by Madison’s local WISC-TV, offers a online tool called Calculate Your Kid’s Stash that enables you to track calories, fat grams and sugar grams of the candy you and your child consume this Halloween. By selecting the candy type, it’s size, and how many pieces or packs you ate, you can see how much you are eating. While all candies are not included in the application, it does have popular brands listed including M&M’s, Skittles, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Tootsie Rolls, and Twix. The site even includes an option to track popcorn balls by size.
So for instance, two miniature Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups adds up to 72 calories, 4 grams of fat and 72 grams of sugar. A healthier option to satisfy that sweet craving would be fresh fruit such as an orange. On average a medium orange is about 62 calories, is virtually fat free, and has considerably less sugar. Remember, it’s important to be mindful of sugar intake since refined sugars can boost insulin levels. This can lead to fat storage and ultimately weight gain.
So before you reach for the miniature candy, remember how these small indulgences can have negative impacts on you reaching your weight loss goals.
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