Halloween is almost upon us: the time of year when people shell out big bucks for slutty costumes, purposely scare themselves in haunted houses and digest a myriad of “fun size” sugary treats.
I’ll be honest — I don’t particularly like Halloween. It always seems to coincide with midterms, daylight savings and weather that makes me think way too much about which jacket I’ll need to wear. Plus, I always feel at least some pressure to come up with a creative costume. All this amounts to anxiety on my part. But by far the scariest thing about the eve of All Hallow’s Day is those darn confectionary delights that somehow trickle into my surroundings and, consequently, my tummy.
Back home, my mother would start preparing for Halloween trick-or-treaters much too far in advance. Bags of miniature Twix, Kit-Kats, Almond Joys, and Snickers were left brazenly on the counter tops, daring someone to just tear into them. Usually it would be my mom or dad, but if my sweet tooth was ravenous enough, I’d crack under pressure and opened the Rolos.
Being that this is a college campus and few kids are audacious enough to knock on dormitory doors and windows, pillow cases outstretched, we have less reason to buy bags of candy. That doesn’t mean that the temptation is totally absent; teachers’ desks stocked with plastic Jack-O-Lanterns full of goodies, Halloween-themed dorm munchies and the philanthropic event Project Pumpkin are all places you need to be extra aware of as potential for diet disruption.
If you do live in an off-campus house where kids might come by, and you want to minimize caloric harm, why not stock up on candy you can easily resist? Personally, the idea of candy corn makes me gag, and I’m not that big on gummi bears or most fruity candy, but plenty of kids go crazy for this crap. You can give out the so-so candy and make their Halloween just as fun without torturing yourself. There are also fun alternatives to candy like stickers and temporary tattoos, which take food out of the equation completely. It’s better than being the weird house that gives away raisins or pennies.
Let’s say you decide that Halloween only happens once a year and defiantly throw all caution to the wind. Who’s to tell you that you can’t tear into a nice bag of Milky Ways like they’re going out of style? And you’re right — holidays are built-in occasions to splurge. However, this columnist sincerely hopes you balance it out with lots of veggies and healthy things the rest of the day, and that you throw in an extra half-hour on the treadmill the next few days. It’s all about balance.
Here’s to looking the best you possibly can in your sexy Hermione costume!
On a more personal note: Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the start of my healthy lifestyle change. So far I’ve lost 53 and a half pounds! Thanks for continuing to read my column, and some day I’ll pull a Kirstie Alley and appear on Oprah in a bikini, I promise.
