How to Keep Halloween Candy in Your House Without Binging

If you’re stressed about keeping Halloween candy in your house without binging, this Halloween guide will share useful tips and tricks (or should I say treats) to teach you how to enjoy the Halloween season while still feeling good!

How to Eat Halloween Candy Without Binging

Halloween is around the corner, and I’m hearing from many of my clients that they’re frightened (and not by ghosts and goblins)… but by the candy bowl! Does Halloween season scare you too?

Take a deep breath… I’m going to share why Halloween can feel like any other time of the year… but a little non-food spookiness thrown in!

Most of my clients THINK they’re doing Halloween right by…

• NOT keeping any candy in the house leading up to Halloween
• Buying candy they DON’T like for trick or treaters
• Immediately throwing away (or hopefully at least donating) any leftover candy

And while this can totally be you if you don’t LIKE candy, if you’re doing avoiding candy at all costs because you don’t trust yourself around it, let’s chat.

Most of the time this AVOIDANCE behavior BACKFIRES!

So for the first time this year I want to share my Halloween Survival Tips that I discuss with all of my clients to share that you can have your Reese’s AND feel good too! 

Because yes, you can keep your favorite Halloween candy in the house without feeling out of control…

You can eat halloween candy without binging!

Before Halloween…

If you stocked up on candy on sale before Halloween and it’s calling your name, I want you to verbally give yourself 100% permission to eat it. By saying “you have permission to eat this Halloween candy” you’re taking it off of its “bad food” pedestal. 

Remember, there are NO BAD FOODS! 

Give yourself permission to eat the Halloween candy you wish alongside your meals over the next couple of weeks…

I can *almost* guarantee that if you’re truly giving yourself permission to eat it that the allure will begin to wane… especially by Halloween! 

When you eat the candy I do want you to…

• Do so MINDFULLY
• Turn off distractions and pay attention to the flavor, texture, scent, etc. of your favorites
• Choose the candy that’s worth it to you… not just because it’s there
• Try to eat it alongside a meal *most of the time* for optimal blood sugar control
• Think about how you feel after the eating occasion

The same tips ring true on Halloween. Halloween falls on a Sunday this year. That means trick or treating may be longer than other years when it’s only in after school hours.

On Halloween…

Give yourself 100% PERMISSION to eat your favorite candy… and enjoy EVERY BITE! 

Try not to mindlessly munch while out trick or treating with your kids. Mindfully decide to eat a piece or two, but make sure it’s the candy you actually want.

How can you ensure you mindfully eat candy on Halloween?

• Avoid getting over-hungry – eat regular meals and snacks throughout the day to keep your blood sugar balanced throughout the day
• Eat a balanced meal BEFORE trick or treating with your kids
• Set your candy intention before going trick or treating – What are you really in the mood for? How do you want to feel by the time you arrive back home?

By thinking about how you want to feel BEFORE you go trick or treating, it’s easier to honor that feeling. Yes, you can eat all the candy you wish, BUT eating TONS of candy makes no one feel good. And you won’t be satisfied if you’re over-full and feeling crappy!

Remind yourself that this isn’t the last occasion you can eat candy. Candy – even Halloween favorites! – are available YEAR ROUND!!! You can go to the store at ANY time to buy your favorite Halloween candy. Reminding yourself of this often forgotten fact can normalize candy to make it easier to stop eating when you feel full and satisfied versus being in the “MUST EAT IT ALL RIGHT NOW!!!” camp. Make sense? (More on this later too….)

After Halloween…

The candy is free flowing in your house now, huh?!?

Many of my clients feel the compulsion to “get rid of it all now!!!” after Halloween. 

BUT don’t do this!!! When you feel the need to eliminate all candy from your house when you truly love candy you’re signaling to yourself that it’s not OK for you to eat candy. 

Now, is candy the most nutritious food? HELL NO! But will it totally derail your health? Also no!

If you keep it around, over time it will lose its appeal and you may even forget about it in the pantry (I know that seems impossible, but it really does happen when you give yourself permission to eat it!!!).

Remember: you can head to the store to buy your favorite candy ANYTIME, even when it’s not Halloween.

No, your Reeses may not be in the shape of pumpkins, but you can still eat candy year-round.

Remind yourself of this often forgotten fact in order to NORMALIZE candy. 

This is the process of habituation that I teach my students in the Nutrition Training Program, my signature online program to help women find balance with food AND feel their best!

No foods are off limits at ANY time (unless you have an allergy). 

HOWEVER, if you demonize candy and put it in the “bad” bucket, your cravings will go through the roof! You’ll think about the candy 24/7, want it more than ever before, and you won’t be satisfied from just a piece or two. 

Instead, if you give yourself permission, eventually the lure will die down. I promise!! 

But Chelsey, Halloween candy is not healthy… how can you tell me to eat it?

Years ago when I first became a dietitian I would have told you to eat one or two pieces and then get rid of it. Candy is not the most nutritious food. FACT. I’m not denying it!

But over the years I’ve learned (through HUNDREDS of peer-reviewed, scientific studies) that your relationship with food is much more important.

The women I often work with know that candy is not nutritionally equivalent to kale. I wouldn’t tell you to make a candy salad everyday because that will leave you feeling like crap.

BUT if you feel out of control around Halloween candy (or any food) in your house… that stress and micromanaging your intake, and worrying, and binging is WAY WORSE for your health.

Here’s the thing… if you learn to improve your relationship with food and eat the foods you love (Halloween candy included), you’re not going to be eating ONLY candy. Your diet WILL include other foods, like well-balanced meals, veggies, fruit, whole grains, etc.

Don’t trick yourself this Halloween season! A healthy diet includes balanced meals with protein, healthy fats, whole grain carbs, legumes, veggies, fruit, etc… but it can 1000% also include some candy!

Do you struggle with keeping Halloween candy in the house? Remember that you can eat Halloween candy without binging too!

If you feel like you must keep Halloween candy out of the house or you’ll eat it all, join the waitlist for the Nutrition Training Program for when enrollment opens. You can find balance and feel your best!!

XO