How to Get Rid of Your Halloween Candy
If you find yourself eating your Halloween candy that was intended for the trick or treaters we need to talk. It all starts with understanding what need you are filling when you are buying it. Does Halloween candy last for weeks or do you replenish your stash before the holiday even starts? Is it for the kids or for you? The answer is easy. If you are buying your favorite candy you are buying it for you and using the kids as an excuse. I am speaking from experience.
My first Halloween with my husband proved it. I grew up on Long Island, NY where the houses were right on top of each other and the kids would go door to door trick or treating all day and night. When I moved out to New Jersey I thought it would be the same. I went to the store with my husband to get candy and wanted to give out the 3 musketeer, butter fingers, milky way bars and tootsie rolls and he wanted the snickers, reese’s and sweet tarts. Not being able to settle on which to get we got an abundance of over 5lbs of what WE LIKED. There was only one challenge. No one came! You see we live on a mountain with only 5 houses in the court and have a 300ft driveway that even we don’t like to walk up. We bought the candy for ourselves. Adding insult to injury we repeated this tradition for a second year before I had ask my husband to get it out of our home. It wasn’t safe for me here. I suggested we give anyone that made the trip up the hill some money. This was a much better alternative for everyone.
Now this doesn’t mean that we never enjoy a treat now and again, but if you are having challenges refraining from binging or emotional eating it is best not to test your will. Make wise decisions and do what will serve you best to be good to yourself during those times.
Halloween & Holidays can be Challenging
I was working with one of my FAB Woman today because she was having challenges with her food. Her binging had gotten out of control and she was eating everything in sight. Nothing was safe and that included the candy she had in the house for her 6 and 9 year old boys from trick or treating. We discussed different ways of removing all the bad food choices in her home so she would stop binging. I told her she had to get it all out of the house. No excuses. I knew it was going to be difficult because it meant having them get rid of some of their Halloween treats. Not wanting the boys to think they did anything wrong we asked them to help. I suggested she have them pick 20 of their favorite pieces to keep and put in a safe place out of her sight. We would then get rid of the rest, since she was pilfering their candy. When they weren’t ready to comply I suggested she pick them for the boys, but not to pick the ones she likes best. She said, “you’ve been here before.” I started to laugh. I knew this situation only too well. If it isn’t good for you, get it out. Clean house, literally of anything that calls to you when you are hungry, angry, lonely, tired or bored. You can’t eat what isn’t there and you want to make it easy to be healthy and difficult to eat poorly.
How to get rid of your Halloween Candy Without You Eating It
This requires you loving yourself more than the food. Love yourself enough to throw it out. The youngest was ready to help his mom after a little resistance, but the oldest boy told her he would rather die than give up his candy. This was going to be a challenge. After much discussion the boys agreed to play along. We needed to make a physical declaration that the candy was no good and so we elicited their ideas of what we could do to it to make it unappealing and that no one would want to eat it. I suggested they take them all out of the wrappers and throw them in the garbage and then add detergent on top of it. I did this for years. Yes, it is true. I had been known to go into the garbage when I got desperate and learned to cover all my bases. The 6 year old suggested we put dog poop on it. That would work and then he said toilet water. He was a natural at this. He was all excited to be part of the mission to help mommy. Mommy armed them with plastic gloves and the project of elimination began. Eventually cat poop substituted for the dog’s, but the message was clear. It’s all garbage and it doesn’t need to be in your home or your body today.
