10 Fitness Tips You Must Follow This Halloween

• Wait until last minute to buy candy — who says you must get candy a week in advance? Minimize the number of days the candy is in your house beforehand so you don’t have it laying around for a long time, increasing the temptation to dig in.
• Don’t purchase your favorite candy to give to trick-or-treaters — choose a treat you can easily resist having in your house. If you like chocolate, get lollipops; enjoy chewy gummies? Get crunchy chips.
• Hit up the local bulk food store — why buy a giant bag of Halloween candy and have leftovers you will be tempted to finish? Buy just the right amount based on the previous year at the bulk food store, saving your waistline and wallet.
• Out of sight, out of mind — once you buy the candy, store it in a place you don’t often see frequently until someone rings on your doorbell. Don’t keep the candy sitting out as you’ll be more likely to grab a piece here and there whether you are or aren’t truly craving sweets.
• Think before you chew — you are sitting at home watching TV and a craving for candy strikes you. Before you give in, ask yourself, am I hungry, am I thirsty or am I simply emotional? Resisting emotional cravings is hard when candy is readily available, but try to identify what you are feeling and do a different activity to calm that particular feeling. Still craving? Try making yourself a healthy snack. This fitness tip really applies to any situation, not just Halloween.
• Keep track of your intake — given that Halloween candy is fun, bite-sized pieces they often go down very quickly and before realizing it you can be 10 pieces in. It’s easy to keep going back for “just one more” fun-sized candy bar, but those calories add up fast. Keep track of how many you are eating by either writing it in a visible place, logging it in a food diary or app, or keeping all your finished wrappers in one place you can see.
• Savor one piece a day — completely restricting yourself of candy can actually set you up for an all-out binge. Indulge your sweet tooth, but make it planned. Decide what time of day you most want the sweet stuff, and save your special treat for that time. Then sit back and slowly savor the taste sensation.
• Focus on maintaining your regular diet — dramatically cutting calories from regular foods to allow yourself more room for candies or to make up for one too many never did anyone any good. Instead, eat filling meals high in protein and fiber, and drink plenty of water. Fueling your body properly will leave you less likely to have cravings or hunger pangs set in when you are exposed to candy.
• Treat trick or treating like a workout — walking around with your kids burns calories! Make it a race to up the intensity, do some extra loops around the block to check out other people’s costumes. Make being active fun!
• Don’t feel guilty! Forgiving yourself is the best fitness tip. Everybody loves candy. If you have a piece, just enjoy it and then let it go. Getting frustrated with yourself will only start a downward trend that will spike your cortisol stress hormone and make you hold belly fat. Take a deep breath and enjoy the holidays!