Halloween is my favorite holiday. You get to be anything or anybody you want, celebrate without family stress, and total strangers give you candy. What’s not to like? Well, I suppose the constant bombardment of chocolate and goodies could be considered a bad thing for those of us trying to lean up.
So, if you’re one of those crazy people trying to keep your waistline from expanding during Halloween time, here are my top ten tips:
- Be that chick with the fruit bowl on her desk at the office. It’s festive. It’s colorful. And you can reach for an apple just as easily as a Snickers.
- Be that guy carrying the water bottle everywhere. If you’re drinking lots of water, you’re less likely to eat crap. A good rule is to drink half your body weight in ounces if you’re going for weight loss. (For example, a 200 pound man would drink 100 ounces of water daily.) Also try to make sure your water bottle is stainless steel to avoid the nasty possibility of plastics and chemicals seeping into your water and causing endocrine disruption – unless you LIKE man boobs.
- Tell yourself to eat the veggies FIRST and THEN you can have a little snack. The order in which we eat our food can help fill us up on the good stuff first.
- Remember the 80-second rule. Before indulging in a sugary snack, do 80 seconds of squats or wall pushups and then 90 minutes later, do it again. Why? Because essentially that sugar will be pushed into your muscle tissues to be used as energy instead of being stored as fat. Here’s a little more info on this strategy.
Plan an active Halloween event. Perhaps it’s a 5k fun costume walk/run. Here’s a great website to find a race near you: www.active.com.- Make a pact with a buddy. For example, you can schedule your workouts together from now until Halloween night, or agree on how many pieces of candy you’ll eat, or what days you’ll allow yourself to indulge.
- Take your measurements TODAY. Be mindful of where you’re at right now in your progress and you’ll be less likely to stray from your goals.
- Take pictures of all your food before you eat it and send it to your buddy. Who wants to take a picture of a huge bag of M&Ms?
- Post your intentions and ask for support on a blog, Facebook or other web page. Having trouble saying no? It’s easier to stay on track if you keep yourself “out there” with open communication with those who love and support you.
- Forgive yourself. Everybody loves candy. If you have a piece, just enjoy it and then let it go. Don’t start a downward spiral of self-loathing over Milk Duds. Alleviating stress also reduces the stress hormone Cortisol which can make you hold onto belly fat. Take a deep breath and enjoy the holiday!
Happy Halloween!
Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.
