Happy Halloween and hold the candy

October 30, 1:30 PMObesity ExaminerRenee Melton

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These mini bars can add up to mega calories.
flickr: terren in Virginia

On the heels of National Chocolate Day, tomorrow is Halloween. For a lot of people, this means trouble.

The Halloween candy, leftover candy, raiding the kid’s goody bags, and discount Halloween candy at every store can triggers the start of winter weight gain. The best advice is avoidance.

If you don’t need it, don’t buy it. There’s no reason to buy 4 bags of candy if you only have a dozen trick-or-treaters. You know where that extra will end up. So whey you are buying, buy what you don’t like and won’t eat. Better yet, buy something like pencils or stickers to give out.

Get rid of leftover candy right away. An open bag of small chocolate bars in the cupboard has a habit of calling your name. Take it to the office, give it to the neighbors or give out handfuls to the last few kids who come by. If it’s not there, you can’t eat it.

This is harder if you have children. It can be far too easy to grab a couple pieces here and there from that big bowl or bag. Remember, your kids don’t need all of that sugar either. Regardless of their size, they’re better off limiting the amount of sweets they have each day. Try placing the sweets in an out of the way place and setting rules for how much everyone can have each day, including you.

Lastly, next week when you see the Halloween candy at 75% off, WALK AWAY! Remind yourself that while those little bars may only be only one or two bites, they contain anywhere from 80-120 calories. In exercise terms that means walking between 1 and 1 ½ miles to burn off each little bar.

Those little bars are like potato chips, it’s hard to eat just one. Before you know it, you need to jog around the city to undo the calories from the week. Start the winter right, make it through this holiday without overindulging and set yourself on the right track for the season. When spring comes around and you haven’t gained any winter weight, you’ll be glad you did.