Survive Halloween without gaining a pound

October 22, 3:48 PMLA Diets ExaminerLorie Dudley

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Halloween, like most holidays, is full of temptations. Resisting those crispy, chocolaty Kit Kats, smooth Reese's Peanut Butter cups, and coconut Almond Joys can be difficult, especially for candy lovers, but it can be done. Here are the L.A Diets Examiner tips for surviving Halloween without gaining a pound.

• Skip Halloween entirely. You shouldn’t feel obligated to neighborhood trick-or-treaters nor should you feel guilty for contributing to an epidemic of childhood obesity, which according to the CDC has more than doubled in the past 20 years in children aged 6 to 11. Give yourself permission to skip a year and curl up on the couch for an evening of classic scary movies, or head over to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery screening of the 1978 classic Halloween, which starred Jamie Lee Curtis and was filmed in neighborhoods of South Pasadena and West Hollywood. If you have children, check out other local Halloween themed activities and events in lieu of trick-or-treating.
• Buy candy that doesn’t tempt you. Avoid the temptation; fill your candy bowls with sweets that don’t appeal to you. If you can turn away from a bowl of Butterfingers or Twix without a second thought, for example, you’ll not be tempted to binge and your neighborhood trick-or-treaters will still leave your steps happy.
•  Buy healthy treats. A 2008 report of California 5th-, 7th- and 9th-grade students found that more than 30 percent of them were overweight. Overall, the childhood obesity is continuing to increase in Los Angeles County at one of the fastest rates in the nation.  Rather than contributing then to an epidemic that threatens the health of our children, consider healthy alternatives. Fill trick-or-treater's bags with mini packs of raisins, sugar-free gum, pretzels, or non-edibles such as temporary tattoos, sidewalk chalk, Play-doh, stickers, or baseball cards. 
• Set limits. If you have little monsters of your own who received more candy than you know what to do with, here are a couple of ways you can save their teeth and your waist. First, allow the kids to choose a specific number of treats from their assortment; second, set rules about when and how much can be eaten at one time. Store the remaining candy out of sight, give it away, or throw it away. Better to throw it in the "waste" than see it on your "waist."
• Buy only what you need. There's no reason to buy enough candy for an army. If you run out, you run out. Simply apologize to the little ghosts and goblins, compliment their costumes, and tell them to come back next year.
• Think about the big picture. When confronted with a bowl full of candy, think about the big picture and ask yourself if it’s really worth it. If that isn’t enough to make you back away, here’s something to think about; you need to walk the full length of a football field to burn off just one M&M. Before you peel the paper off of that piece of candy your holding then, think about how many football fields you'll need to walk to burn it off.

Have a happy, healthy, and safe Halloween!
- the L.A. Diets Examiner