Trick or Treat

This weekend could pose to be a difficult one for many of us.  It will be challenging for me.  It comes every year but every year I forget about how hard it can be to say no to all of that candy. I was reminded today when a friend of mine called and asked if we wanted to come over and trick or treat with them in their neighborhood tomorrow night.  We have gone to their house several times to trick or treat and thinking about it gave me some flashbacks.  I remembered how they make a pot of chili and we all eat a bowl before going out into the Wisconsin, October cold.  I remembered how last year, the men stayed home to hand out candy with baby Samuel and the women went out with the kids around the neighborhood.  I remembered the kids walking around with their flashlights and having a blast with their friends.  Then, I remembered the scariest part of Trick or Treat..,....my 4 children coming back to the house with bags full of candy.........it's enough to make any health-conscious, weight-conscious mom scream with fright!

So, it's time to make a plan.  It's time to think ahead and envision myself handling this situation in a way that I will make me proud.   My plan is to have a little candy.  If I don't let myself have any I will have chocolate and Twizzler cravings for a week and eat everything that has sugar in it trying to satisfy that craving.  I will pick my absolute favorites.  I will have a few pieces, count them, track them and enjoy them.  I will enjoy them by eating them slowly and consciously.  I will not inhale them as I have known to do on occasion.

I have not bought candy to hand out at my house yet.  That is another trick I have for this time of year.  If I buy it early, I will taste test it.  I will buy it on my way home from church on trick or treat day.  I will also buy candy that does not appeal to me.  That way if there are any leftover, they will not tempt me.

This last strategy is something that I just started trying a couple of years ago.  I got it from one of my WW friends.  I used to monitor my kids' trick or treat candy.  I would keep it in the cupboard and dole it out carefully so they did not overdo it.  A couple of years ago I realized that it was a good thing for me to teach them how to control themselves too.  They each keep their own candy stash in their rooms for themselves.  I encourage them to eat it slowly.  I remind them that if they eat it all now, they will have none for later.  I tell them about last year when one kid was still eating candy in a month while the others were jealous because they had already eaten all of theirs.  They listen carefully to my strategies and I believe they learn from them.  I know that some years they learn that too much candy gives them a belly ache but that's a good life lesson too.  I tell them that they are in charge of it, to keep it somewhere that I can't see it and not to let me have any unless I pay for it.  That's right, I tell my kids to charge me money for their candy.  It works.  It's funny to see them tell me that they will give me a candy bar for $1.00.  I'm cheap.  I'm not paying $1.00 for a piece of candy.  It keeps me in check.

So here I go.  I've got myself in the right mindset.  That's half the battle.  Making a plan helps keep me successful.  It always has in many instances, trick or treat included.

Have a great day,
Corinna

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be a healing for your flesh and a refreshment for your body." -Proverbs 3: 5-8