Tag: halloween

7 Ways to Avoid Eating Leftover Halloween Candy

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Let’s be honest: We all say Halloween candy is for kids, but it’s hard not to reach for a piece — or seven — once it’s in your house. While I can’t come to your house and physically prevent you from housing the whole bag at once, I can offer you some tried-and-true tips to keep your candy binge in check.

How to Avoid Eating Leftover Halloween Candy

7 Ways to Avoid Eating leftover Halloween Candy

1. Hold Off On Buying Candy

Buy candy for trick-or-treaters as close to Halloween night as you can. Less temptation leading up to Halloween, and you are less likely to make a run to go buy more.

2. Buy Less Candy, Give Out More

Buy less than you think you will need. This will help you avoid having leftovers hanging around the house. It’s better for you to run out of treats than to be left eating them yourself. If you find that your Halloween candy bowl is still full as the night goes on, start handing out more candy to each costumed kiddo that rings your doorbell. They’ll be thrilled, and you’ll be saved.

3. Buy the Stuff You Like the Least

One simple way to prevent yourself from eating leftover candy is to buy stuff you don’t like, whether that’s candy corn, atomic fireballs, or Good & Plenty. Buying what you don’t like will make you less likely to indulge and reduce the urge you have to sample treats as you hand them out on Halloween.

It’s not that I want to be cruel to others by feeding them waxy candy corn. Some kids love it. I just know I won’t eat a single piece.

4. Eat Well

Sugar cravings can strike when you’re hungry and haven’t consumed enough fuel to keep your blood sugar in balance. Eat protein and fiber-rich meals in the days before and after Halloween. It’ll make you feel less tempted to create a dinner out of mini candy bars.

5. Savor a Single Treat

Mindless eating is a good way to eat way more than you mean to — whether that’s nuts, chips, or candy. Rather than sitting in from of your TV munching your way through a bag of chocolate, try mindful eating.

Select the one piece of candy that you most want to eat. Tune out all other distractions and focus on savoring the experience of eating it. Chew slowly, let it melt in your mouth, enjoy the sweetness, and notice how it makes you feel. Cutting that piece of candy into smaller pieces will make the experience last longer, and according to research may even make you feel like you’re eating more. Make your piece of candy go even further by chopping it into tiny pieces and sprinkling the bits on top of plain Greek yogurt.

6. Keep Your Mouth Minty Fresh

When you get the urge to unwrap handfuls of Halloween loot, give your pearly whites a quick brushing and see if that curbs it. Brushing your teeth can be a successful deterrent  — especially the chewy, sticky stuff like caramels and gummy bears.

7. Just Chuck It

This will likely put you in the running for Worst Parent Ever, but ask your kids to choose their favorite treats and then donate or throw away the rest. The longer treats stay in the house uneaten, the more likely you are to give in to temptation.

4 Fun Pumpkin Exercises

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A Halloween workout? Well, it doesn’t take a mad scientist (or a person dressed as one) to realize that a pumpkin can be used as a weight. The pumpkins grown for carving typically range from two pounds to 25 pounds… though the biggest pumpkin ever weighed in at a monstrous 2,323 pounds!!!

But enough pumpkin trivia. We are here to sweat.

Halloween Pumpkin Workout Exercise Routine

Two types of pumpkins are needed for this routine… For the push-up, use a flatter, heavier pumpkin so you don’t lose your balance and take a nosedive into the squash. You’re going to have to be a little careful which actually makes you work a bit harder for balance and stability. For the other exercises, choose a second, lighter pumpkin.

Here are weighted pumpkin exercises to ensure that you’re a fit gypsy, a limber ghost, or just a downward-dogging little devil in the pumpkin patch this year. Aim for 15–20 reps per move.

 

Halloween Workout - Staggered Hand Push Up Exercise

Pumpkin Staggered-Hand Offset Push-Up

Target Muscles: Chest

Assume a push-up position (feet together, body straight from head to heels, arms straight, hands in line with and slightly wider than your shoulders) with a pumpkin three inches in front of your right hand. Place your right hand on the middle of the pumpkin, squeezing your glutes and bracing your core to keep your body rigid (and your hips from sagging). This is the starting position. Keeping your elbows tucked, lower your chest until it almost touches the floor. Pause, then push yourself back up to the starting position. Switch sides for each set.

 

Halloween Workout - Overhead Press Exercise

Pumpkin Pick Up and Press

Target Muscles: Glutes, quads, shoulders

Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and turned out 15-degrees with the smaller pumpkin between them. Keeping your back flat, straight, and core braced, lower your body and grab the pumpkin with both hands. This is the starting position. Straighten your legs as you lift the pumpkin to chest level. Now press it overhead until your arms are straight. Pause, and then reverse the movement, lowering the pumpkin to the floor. That’s one rep.

 

Halloween Workout - Weighted Lunge Exercise

Pumpkin Loaded Lunge

Target Muscles: Quads, glutes, shoulders, core

Stand tall holding the smaller pumpkin straight overhead with both hands. Keeping your back flat, straight, and core braced, take a large step forward with your right leg, lowering your body until your right thigh is parallel to the floor (don’t let your left knee touch the ground). Pause, and then push back up to the starting position. Do equal reps with both legs.

 

Halloween Workout - Seated Twist Exercise

Seated Pumpkin Twist

Target Muscles: Core

Sit on the floor with your knees bent, holding the smaller pumpkin in front of your chest with both hands. Lean back slightly. Keeping your back straight and core braced, rotate your torso as far to the right as you can, and then as far to the left as you can. That’s one rep. Not challenging enough? Hold the pumpkin farther away from your chest.

 

Halloween Pumpkin Workout Exercise Routine