There’s Nothing Spooky About Healthy Eating Habits

Halloween can be pretty scary if you’re trying to lose weight.

Do you dread filling up that big Halloween candy bowl?

There’s a reason I still haven’t filled mine.

Who needs the extra temptation every time you walk by it?

When I head into the candy section at the store this weekend, I’m going to let my children choose what kind of candy to give out this Halloween. I figure if I don’t pick up my favorite treat – those tiny foil-wrapped Reese’s peanut butter cups – I won’t have to constantly tell myself that there’s no nutritional value to how they melt perfectly in my mouth. Or how many minutes running on the treadmill it will take to burn off the extra calories.

Once Halloween is over, any leftover candy from the big bowl gets bagged up and given away. My kids, still young enough to go trick-or-treating, are allowed to keep their candy, but we have limits on when and how much they eat every day. I also place their stash up high where they can’t reach it without my help.

Do I seem a little strict?

You can blame my parents.

My dad was a dentist. We rarely had candy in the house. Come Halloween, my mom handed out loose, unshelled peanuts. Some kids actually loved it.

At the time, it embarrassed me. Today, I can appreciate the lesson my parents were teaching.

And it taught me something else about peanuts: they taste really good with chocolate.

Alice Warchol is a freelance health writer and fitness instructor.

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