**This was my Newsletter article I sent out yesterday.  I’ve been getting some great responses from it so I thought I share it with my blog readers – It’s my Halloween treat from me to you**

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When Halloween rolls around, there are spooks and ghouls and witches and aliens, and if you’re watching your weight, there are also a lot of pitfalls!

For lots of people, you can’t have Halloween without candy, and candy is full of empty calories.  If you’re keeping an eye on your waistline, you’ll find that Halloween is just the beginning of those treacherous holiday pounds, so unless you’re careful, you’re going to be falling for some of these common traps.

 

Buying Your Favorite Candy

Do you love chocolate kisses, or can you simply not get enough of peanut butter cups?  If there is a candy that you simply can’t stay away from, do yourself a favor and make sure that you don’t bring lots and lots of your favorite candy into your home before the trick or treaters show up.  This is a good way to make sure that you have less candy that you thought you did when the big night rolls around and to incidentally pack on some pounds.

 

Keeping a Candy Bowl at Work

If you work in an office, you’ll find that there is a lot of fun to be had in getting into the holiday spirit, and one way that’s easy to do that is to put out a candy bowl.

You’ll find that a candy bowl can be a real trap in that you can just pick candy out of it as you walk by and completely without thinking about it.  If you really want to put out a candy bowl, do it in the break room away from your desk, or better yet, why not put out a candy bowl and fill it with plastic spiders?

 

Soda and Lots of It!

Between all the parties and the general availability of sugar, you are going to find that you may be tempted to drink more soda than you usually do so.

With just a little bit of planning, you’ll find that soda is easy enough to cut out, especially if you take the time to replace it with some lovely no-fat cocoa for those chillier nights.  Tea is another great option, and if you need a little bit of soda, try to make it diet.

 

Eating Large Meals

You’ll find that as the days get shorter and we are feeling the weather more and more that you have the urge to eat heavier meals.  Resist this urge and keep your meals light.

While this will mean that you eat more often, it will mean that you are going to get healthier and more filling food than you would if you were eating candy.  It’s altogether too easy to eat candy for a small meal if you are not keeping an eye on yourself, so be careful!

 

Skip The Gum

When you really want something sweet in your mouth to chew on, you’ll find that gum, especially sugarless gum, is going to be the winner.

Chewing gum can actually hold off your hunger for a bit, and it can give you a taste of something sweet without making you worry about the calories.  Take the time to make sure that you are carrying gum around with you.  You can even make it the treat that you pass out on Halloween itself.

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