Trick or Treat?

Can you believe that Halloween is right around the corner? We are officially in "treat yourself" season, as we hit the trifecta of food oriented holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukkah. We tend to celebrate with nonstop EATING, and then what do we do every January? That's right, make New Year's resolutions where LOSING WEIGHT tops the list!
This year, let's THINK AHEAD...
The great news is that the weather is generally BEAUTIFUL in the fall (at least here in Texas!) What better time to head OUTSIDE and go for a walk? If you're here in Austin, make time to head down town and stroll, walk or jog around Lady Bird Lake. Wherever you are, respond to that sweet tail wagging of man's (and woman's) best friend, and grab your dog's leash and start WALKING.
Now, here's the "hard" part- which really is not so hard. Let's SAVE THE HALLOWEEN CANDY for...yes, HALLOWEEN! Start in the grocery store. Do NOT BUY the candy till the DAY BEFORE Halloween. It's way easier not to eat it when it is still sitting on the shelf in the grocery store, rather than sitting on your desk at work or your kitchen counter top. And forget the excuses here: "if I don't buy it now, they wont have my favorite kind", "I wont remember, then we wont have candy to give out", or "but I LOVE those little Reeses cups- how many calories does just one have?"
For a great list, check out Daniela Knight, R.D.'s list on her website, http://www.austinnutritioneducation.com/Halloween-Treats.html, but the ones that matter to ME are Snack Size Butterfinger: 170 kcal, Fun Size Kit Kat- 50 kcal, and ONE plain M&M-4 kcal. Now, if you stop at ONE, it's really no big deal. but if you eat a handful of M&Ms each DAY for the next few weeks, or grab a couple fun size chocolate treats, BOOM-you will gain a pound right there. (Remember one pound is 3600 kcal- do the math.)

BOTTOM LINE: Don't wait for NEW YEARS to make a resolution for better health- start NOW by limiting Halloween CANDY to HALLOWEEN DAY!