Tips & tricks to help you stick to your nutrition this week // Tricks & treats to help you stick to your nutrition

My childhood Halloween memories that stand out most are dumping out my bag of candy and eating myself sick year after year. As I got older, I took the approach of “just don’t have a single piece of candy this year” as a strategy to get through the Halloween week without feeling miserable and guilty after. If you’re like me and have a MAJOR sweet tooth, Halloween may feel like it’s impossible to manage without either completely overdoing it and eating yourself sick on Dots (big, big Dots fan over here) or getting grumpy because you’re restricting yourself from treats you love. 

It doesn’t have to be like that. 

You can have candy without “ruining your day”.

You can enjoy the holiday without feeling guilty the rest of the week. 

Below are a few of our best tips to help you navigate trick-or-treating, office treats, and Halloween parties with friends while still coasting towards your specific goals.

1 — PRE-TRACK YOUR TREATS

If you are tracking your macros, you can start your Halloween day by picking the candy you want to have and tracking them in your tracking app. Once you have accounted for the candy, work backwards and plan out the rest of your day accordingly. This can help you fill your day with nutrient dense foods that will keep you full while still leaving you with room to enjoy your treats. It will also help you stay accountable to yourself and stick to the treats you have planned out without feeling restricted and, instead, just eating ALL the candy.

2 — ACTUALLY EAT YOUR FAVORITE CANDY

A “trigger food” is a specific food that may cause us to overindulge, feel out of control, or cause us to binge eat. Knowing what foods make you feel less in control can be helpful, as awareness of how we respond to different foods allows us to work on those food relationships. Think about how you can incorporate those “trigger” foods into your day while enjoying them, rather than resenting them or feeling guilty or out of control when eating them. We don’t actually have to have trigger foods! It’s just about allowing ourselves to recognize that food is just food - there is no moral value or repercussion for enjoying it and we can actually enjoy it when we do so in moderation rather than in out of control overeating.

3 — CREATE A GAME PLAN AROUND FOOD, NOT CANDY

Aligning your nutrition goals with enjoying the holiday is going to be a lot easier if your focus is fueling well throughout the day while enjoying candy, rather than just about how to fit the candy in your day. If you center your meals around protein sources and high volume foods like fruits and vegetables, you will be full and satiated and won’t go into a Halloween party feeling hungry and ready to eat everything in sight. Tracking your macros is all about balance and you have the flexibility to enjoy candy while hitting your targets, but you will enjoy the treats more if you’re also eating balanced meals rather than suffering through a day of only candy and protein shakes. In an effort to find balance, your game plan may include some of these guidelines: focusing on hitting your protein target through whole foods rather than supplements, hitting your water target, eating a meal of real food before enjoying candy/treats, bringing along more macro-friendly sides and treats to any parties you attend, and setting intentions and limits on your alcohol intake.

The most important thing to remember is to not beat yourself up things don’t go as planned. We will have many imperfect days, and the best thing to do is to shake it off, drink some water, and make the next day better.