Well, hard to believe it but Halloween is upon us once again. As they prepare to trick or treat, every year in the month of October Canadians spend about $55 million more on candy and sweets than the average of the other months of the year.
Meanwhile overweight/obesity rates are climbing. Is it any wonder when you consider the average Canadian consumes almost 60 pounds of sugar per year? Not to mention that childhood obesity rates are skyrocketing and incidences of type II diabetes among children, previously almost unheard of, are now becoming more common.
Often, overeating around Halloween can be that ‘slippery slope’ that leads to steady weight gain which lasts through the holiday season. And while that usually makes business pretty good for us here in January, we at Personal Trainers Toronto are sincere professionals who believe that ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’
With that in mind, here are 3 quick tips for controlling your weight at Halloween:
1. Eat a lean protein and complex carbohydrate before eating sweets to minimize the impact on blood sugar. Because your body needs more time to digest lean proteins and complex carbs, eating these first will slow down the absorption of the sugar. The resulting impact on blood sugar will be less, and require less of an insulin response. Elevated insulin levels contribute to fat storage and a residual drop in energy. By getting that healthy meal in first you’ll not only curb your hunger for the sweets and reduce their impact, but you’ll help yourself avoid the energy ‘crash’ that usually comes with sugar consumption.
2. Buy your candy at the last minute to avoid eating it ahead of time. Sounds pretty simple, right? If you want to avoid candy don’t keep it in the house! For most people getting in shape requires major lifestyle changes, which aren’t always easy to make. So you should try to remove obstacles to success wherever you can. One way to do that is to wait until the last minute to buy your Halloween candy, and then when Halloween is over, set a deadline to get rid of any left over candy that hasn’t been eaten.
3. Suck, don’t chew. Choosing candy you can suck on is a better bet than things like M&M’s and chocolate bars that you can go through quickly. Not only do they last longer, but they are generally lower in calories. More importantly, while the hard candy is dissolving you can’t stuff your mouth with other stuff! Since you’re probably going to partake anyway, better to have something sweet that will last you longer and let everyone else rack up the calories!
Oh yeah, and when Halloween’s over, get back into the nutrition plan and workouts right away!
Check out the free seminar we’re doing at the Whole Foods Market next month. You can get all the details and save your spot by registering at www.WholeFoodsWorkshop.com
Live Strong and Healthy,
Conor Kelly
EVOLUTION FITNESS – Personal Trainers Toronto
