Staying Healthy

I don't think Halloween is considered the beginning of the holiday season, but in an unofficial way it's the start of that time of the year when fattening goodies seem to be everywhere.  It's a constant struggle, and for me, I really have to mentally up the ante against gaining weight and remind myself that it may taste good now but it will take a lot longer to work it off.
 
Halloween is all about the candy and it seems to be everywhere: the grocery store, CVS, offices and even banks -- which never give out anything for free.  At least with Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year's, there are other food groups to choose from when you are celebrating.  But with Halloween comes the introduction of the powerful food/candy/holiday connection that I've always associated with this time of year.  Starting with Halloween, I tend to relax my diet and give myself permission wayyyyyy tooooooo many times to eat sugary things and unfortunately, this sugar party can sometimes last until at least the New Year, if I don't try to put the brakes on it.

Every year I tell myself that it's okay to buy candy to give to the kids in neighborhood and this year I intend to buy only two bags.  Not two bags of something I really, really find tempting like M&M's or Reese's Peanutbutter Cups but two bags of something I dislike.  My way of dealing with the possibility of over indulging is to buy candy I don't like at all.  Yes, I know it's hard to believe, there is such a thing.  I don't like Sweet Tarts, gummy worms or gummy bears, Milky Way bars, Three Musketeer bars, or anything that has caramel in it.

This year my strategy is read a lot of Kris Carr and try to keep myself on some sort of a nutritious track and to exercise more frequently.  If you are not familiar with Kris Carr, she is a cancer survivor, wellness warrior and author of several books, including the best-seller Crazy, Sexy Cancer Tips and Crazy Sexy Diet.  I find her to be refreshing and down to earth and her books are chock full of great factoids such as this one: The U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated that we eat 79 pounds of corn sweetner per year.  That's a lot of sugar!

When you first eat candy, it initially makes you feel so good and seems to take away feelings of stress, loneliness or anger.  But don't be fooled.  It's a temporary high and in the long run, sugar doesn't help your body or your mind feel stronger or healthier.  It compromises your immune system and with all the holiday socializing that's about to be upon us, we all need to be as healthy as we can be.

As Kris Carr says, we are all sweet enough, all on our own.