What to do with Halloween candy

Four options to consider along with possible outcomes. 

Option 1: Eat it. 

Option 2: Don't eat it. 

There is NO right or wrong way to be with Halloween candy. I’m not advocating for one way or another. It can be helpful to know how your choices may impact how you feel about yourself and your relationship with food. 

If you've been restricting, believe you have a food or sugar addiction or are worried you'll be out of control around the candy if you just have one piece, then I get how you may not believe it can be this simple. 

So, let's break it down. 

Option 1: Eat it. 

You can eat the Halloween candy while telling yourself you shouldn't be eating it and feel really guilty about it. 

Possible outcomes: 

• You may not enjoy eating the candy. 

• If you’re telling yourself,  “I can eat this today, but I can't eat this tomorrow” you’ll likely eat more today knowing you have to restrict tomorrow. 

• As a result of feeling guilty, you may trigger a restriction response which means you’ll try to limit your food intake and increase your exercise. This will likely set you up for a future binge or drive you to overeat. 

• You may feel like you’re a failure. 

Another way to eat it. 

You can eat the Halloween candy with full permission to eat the candy you like and enjoy it. 

Possible outcomes: 

• Eating mindfully means you'll be noticing the taste of what you're eating. You may even pay attention to how your body feels when you eat it and afterward. 

• This will be interesting information for you to know what candy you like and what you don't like. 

• You’ll enjoy the candy and can practice tuning into your body to know when it’s time for you to stop eating because you’re satisfied and don’t want any more. 

Option 2: Don’t Eat It.  

You may want Halloween candy but choose not to eat it. If you're choosing not to because you're afraid to start eating it, you don't want to eat bad, sugary foods, or you just want to be good, you may feel deprived and like you're missing out. 

Possible outcomes: 

• You may choose to eat other foods to replace the Halloween candy. 

• You may notice you eat a lot of that food and still don't feel satiated or content. 

• You may still want Halloween candy and eventually choose to eat it. (See Option 1). 

Another way to not eat it.

You may choose to not eat Halloween candy because you know you can have candy anytime you'd like. It's not novel or special to you. 

Possible outcomes: 

• You've checked in with your body and you're just not interested in Halloween candy right now. 

• You’ve reaffirmed the trust you have in your body to guide you to eat joyfully. 

• You give yourself full permission to eat Halloween candy anytime for any reason. 

You’ve Tried Everything To Stop Overeating

Except for this one thing that made a huge difference for me

I had a sugar hangover on most Monday mornings. Still filled from eating too much the night before. Still empty and hungry for something I couldn’t name.

My mind would be busy trying to figure out how to stop myself from overeating and losing control around food ever again. I’d tell myself, “If I could just fix this, everything else in my life would be better.”

Yet, a week would pass. A month. And many more. Despite all of my efforts and prayers, I couldn’t stop myself from doing what I kept doing week after week. And I tried everything. More diets. Calorie tracking. Nutritionists. Therapists. Mantras. Journaling.

There came a point when I knew that I had to try something new. I felt somewhat insane doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Here is what I did.

What’s happening now.

Chances are, you’re frustrated when you eat too much because you’re afraid of weight gain. You want to change your body and get healthier. Yet, overeating is painful because it’s getting in your way.

Overeating becomes an obstacle on your path, preventing you from getting to where you want to go.

The obstacle gets bigger and bigger because we create a lot of stories around overeating and what it means to have this problem. The first time you overate, it may have been a pebble. Now, after months or years of this pattern, it’s turned into a massive boulder.

A problem becomes a problem when we make it mean something.

Eating 10 Oreos has become a big deal. It’s personal. It means something about you, your value, and your character.

Consider an “I do this… because I’m…..” statement. For example, “I can’t stop overeating because I’m broken, and there is something wrong with me.” This may be a typical conversation you have in your mind.

Overeating is no longer about having a filled belly; it means something more. It can mean you’re broken, wrong, damaged, and have no willpower.

Overeating becomes a personal attack.

Explore how you’re making overeating a problem in your mind. Consider questions like these:

When you just ate that second bowl of ice cream, what did you say to yourself about yourself?

What does it mean about yourself that you ate more than what your body needs?

What does overeating say about you, your character, your health, and your body?

Stepping around the obstacle.

Overeating isn’t the problem. The problem is how you’re thinking about overeating. Feeling broken is the real problem.

This is why you may feel stuck. Your focus and attention have stayed on the same internal conversation.

You’ve been pouring your energy into trying to fix the problem the same way over and over.

Without the narrative around what it means to overeat, you can look at your patterns with food with fresh eyes. Overeating will no longer be an obstacle that’s in your way.

Examining why you feel damaged and believing weight loss will fix that is the real work. But let’s put that aside for now.

A new approach.

When I stopped focusing on stopping myself from overeating and started focusing on tuning into my body, my binging quietly and unceremoniously slowed down and eventually stopped.

Give yourself permission to let go of the stories and beliefs that have made overeating significant to you.

When these patterns are no longer personal, you’ll change your focus and attention to make the changes you desire in your relationship with food.

You Know You’re Not Hungry, So Why Do You Want to Keep Eating?

You’ve just finished dinner. Your belly is filled. Yet, your mind is filled with thoughts of what else to eat. Crackers, cookies, more dinner, ice cream.

It defies all logic. Your body doesn’t want food, but another part of you, a loud and clear part, does. You’re wondering, how can I be hungry and full at the same time?

I know how confusing and frustrating this internal battle is. You don’t want to eat when you’re not hungry. Your body doesn’t want to eat when you’re not hungry. But you want more food.

What the hell is going on?

Let’s explore just a few reasons this could be happening for you.

Did you miss something?

Eating for pleasure is a birthright. But that may not be your experience. Eating may feel like a chore, something you just need to check off the to-do list.

Or, you may not even take the time or slow down enough to even enjoy the pleasure of eating. Sitting together with loved ones can feel nourishing, no matter what food is on the table.

When you finished your meal, were you able to receive what was offered? Did you feel connected to the tastes, smells and textures of the food you ate? Did you feel connected to the conversations and people you were breaking bread with?

If you didn’t, this isn’t something to feel guilty or ashamed about. If you were like me growing up, we sat around the coffee table in front of the TV for most of our family meals. Mindful eating wasn’t a thing, and my mind was on a few other things besides the food in front of me.

You may want more because you’re craving the contentment from finishing a satisfying meal.

Did you eat what you wanted to eat?

Diet culture tells us what foods are “good” and what foods are “bad”. It’s common to choose to eat things we think we SHOULD be eating instead of eating foods we know we will enjoy eating.

Before I practiced Intuitive Eating, I’d always choose the lowest calorie or “healthiest” food. This is one of the many gifts of Intuitive Eating. I learned to let go of those food labels, ask myself and give myself permission to eat food that I would enjoy eating and would satisfy me.

If you want to eat a grilled cheese sandwich, no amount of baby carrots and hummus will satisfy you. It will only leave you wanting more.

Is there a rebel voice living within you?

“I deserve to eat this.” “Screw this, I can eat what I want.” “I need to eat this now because I can’t eat it tomorrow.”

Our internal voices are powerful. You may be noticing a rebellious voice, one that doesn’t want to be controlled. This voice is our response to someone or something trying to tell us how to eat and what to eat. It’s a reaction to diet trauma.

This voice is trying to maintain your own freedom and autonomy around food choices. It may sound like a young child stomping their feet and saying, you can’t be the boss of me. Or, it may be angry and determined to let the world know that you decide what to do with your body.

This voice is trying to protect you, but it doesn’t serve your desire to listen to the signals your body is sharing.

What is your body asking for?

You may be bone tired and need energy. You may be confronted with a problem at work and just don’t want to deal with it. You may feel overwhelmed by life, a pandemic, vaccines, school at home, on and on.

Food can offer you some temporary energy, distraction, and comfort.

You may also need to feel safe. You may want the weight and certainty of food in your belly so you can feel secure. Sometimes overfilling gives you this physical experience.

It’s okay that you’re seeking food for other reasons than physical hunger. It doesn’t make you a bad, out of control, or crazy person. It just makes you human.