Healthy Eating Tips for Halloween Ep 71

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Hey y'all, and welcome back to the Find Your Edge Podcast Halloween edition. We are sharing some strategies to help you enjoy the holiday treats without overindulging and derailing your health and fitness goals. So I'm gonna give you some tips and tricks as we come into this holiday season. Don't forget to head on over to theenduranceedge.com/halloween and grab some healthy holiday treats as well as some mocktail recipes. So first and foremost, we wanna make sure that you are planning for your protein. With Halloween or with any other holiday, oftentimes our routines are thrown off, which means our regular meal and snack times are often thrown off, which of course means our protein intake is thrown off. So protein is the magical micronutrient that helps you to maintain, if not gain, that wonderful, fantastic lean body mass that you have worked so hard for. So if you want some ideas of what to have, no problem, we got them for you. If you head on over to our website, theenduranceedge.com, and under resources, you're going to find our free guide to high-performance healthy eating. In there, you're going to find sources of high-quality protein, both non-vegetarian and plant-based sources. Let me give you some examples. So we've got bison, we've got Greek yogurt, we've got eggs, shrimp, tuna, chickpeas, hazelnuts, hemp seeds, chia seeds. The list goes on. I will at least give you an example. We are having a little Halloween party at our house. I am going to be making a vegetarian black bean chili for all of our vegetarian friends out there, and other people are gonna be bringing other items. So that's at least what I'm gonna be providing. And that's a great tip. If you ever head to a party of your own, make sure to bring something that you know is healthy and that you can eat and gives you some of that good quality protein. So there's step number 1, making sure to plan for your protein and also plan for your treats. I like to be selective because listen, you are worth it and you are gorgeous and you are strong and you are amazing and you only deserve the highest quality food to go into your body. So if you wanna have some treats, okay, cool, great. It's better to indulge rather than to overindulge and then feel shame and guilt. It's not worth it, you guys. It's not worth it. So what are the treats that you're going to allow yourself to have? Generally speaking, if it's chocolate, I probably enjoy it, but it's a matter of going in with some expectations and saying, "Okay, I'm going to allow myself to have X number of treats." What is that for you? Is it a fun-size bar? Is it a whole entire candy bar? Is it not having candy and having something else? Maybe it's a couple of alcoholic drinks for you. You have to make that decision as to what is gonna be best for you, your short-term and your long-term health and fitness goals. Be selective. Figure out what your expectations are gonna be at the beginning of the evening in the case of Halloween, or really for any holiday. Plan it out. Make sure you got that protein too.

And then the other key to remember is to stay hydrated.

Here in North Carolina, it's supposed to be upwards of like 80 degrees on Halloween. It might be freezing cold where you are. It might be be super hot or somewhere in the middle. But that's oftentimes the thing that we forget is to stay hydrated, especially let's say you have little kids and you're gonna be walking around a lot. Make sure that you're getting that good hydration so that you're not mistaking hunger for thirst or vice versa, right? So get that protein, stay hydrated, and check out our mocktail recipes on theenduranceedge.com/halloween. Don't forget about those. I got a couple on there as well as some really fun Halloween treats. You guys have to see these like Scary Apples. They're hilarious. So definitely check 'em out. All right, so other things to do during Halloween is try to focus on non-food traditions. Like, I'll give you an example. We have— my husband's, uh, grandfather used to always put a pumpkin on the roof. Now granted, this is not a real pumpkin, uh, it's a lit pumpkin, but we get so many comments of people who walk by and they're like, oh my gosh, that is the coolest thing. And that brings us so much joy and that has zero to do with any calories. So if there are general non-food traditions, maybe it's decorating for you, maybe it's pumpkin carving, maybe it's walking around the neighborhood and looking at all the different lights or going to a specific park or doing some sort of a trunk or treat or whatever it is, try to focus on the non-food traditions. A lot of the point of these holidays is to really enjoy time with friends and family. And having some fun, right? And enjoying the experience so that you can connect with others and also enjoy a few treats along the way. So another thing that you may be thinking about when it comes to Halloween is, well, what about the kids? What about giving out candy? And then I'm going to have all this leftover candy and then I'm at risk of eating it. So there's a couple of things that you can try. I encourage you to check out the Teal Pumpkin Project. And yes, that is the color teal. And it's the Teal Pumpkin Project. It is brought to you by the Food Allergy Research and Education, and 1 out of 13 children have some sort of food allergy, which can be life-threatening allergic reactions. So what the Teal Pumpkin Project is, and we have this, um, foam pumpkin that I bought probably 10 or 12 years ago, and I had the kids paint it with teal paint, and then we decorated it with glitter, which made a ridiculous mess, but it was a lot of fun and I remember it every time I bring that out. So if you have a teal pumpkin, either like a sign or an actual teal pumpkin, that is an indicator. You can also put your address if you want on the Teal Pumpkin, Pumpkin Projects website that you have something that is food allergy friendly. So for example, on their website, they have different signs that you can print off. In multiple languages. And then they also have some checklists and ideas of things that you can get, cuz everybody tells me, oh, well, if you don't hand out candy, the kids are gonna revolt. And that is 100% not the truth. So I have always not given out candy. I just find it morally, like, I just, I just, I can't do it as a dietitian. That doesn't mean that I don't think those kids should have candy. I'm just not going to be the one to give it to them. And that also doesn't mean my kids can't have candy. They absolutely can. But again, just sort of one of those things that I won't— I just won't do it. So I have a teal pumpkin out and some of the things that we've given out over the years, I mean, glow sticks are a hit for everyone, for adults and kids alike. It also helps once the sun goes down and it's dark out. Some of these kids are in really dark colored costumes and the, you know, we're being inherently useful by giving them a glow stick so they're actually visible to traffic. But I generally let the kids choose something that they want to hand out or that they would want to receive as a kid. So it's been everything from the little glow-in-the-dark teeth, like the vampire teeth, or the little fingers, like a, like a witch's finger. It's been the little annoying things that you throw against the wall and they stick on the wall. I hate those things, by the way, but the kids liked them and we handed them out. Bouncy balls, all kinds of stuff that makes it fun without being candy so that not only is, is the candy not in your house, but you're also, you know, giving kids who have severe food allergies a chance to be able to go trick-or-treating. But if you are one of those who already bought your candy, you're already ready to give it out. No problem. And if it's gonna be a problem being in your house, and you're more tempted to overindulge, because that's the point. You want to indulge a little but not overindulge because 'tis the season. Now we're in the holiday season, and generally speaking, most people will gain weight during the holidays. And the problem is, is it gets harder and harder to lose the weight over time, right? So if we can help to let you enjoy the holiday but without overindulging, great. So here's what to do with that leftover candy. You can sell it, you can trash it, or you can donate it. I mean, if you just do a quick web search on donating Halloween candy, you will find everything from local dentists who are collecting it to other organizations that collect it and send it over to the troops. I again am one that I would prefer to toss it or maybe give it to a neighbor. Because I don't think it belongs in anybody's body. 'Cause again, you guys are amazing human beings who have a lot to accomplish on this planet and a lot to give each other. And I want you to be as healthy as possible, but that's your choice. And again, that's my choice with our candy. We also have the Switch Witch for the kids. If they get like gobs and gobs and gobs, we let them keep a certain portion and then oftentimes we'll buy it back from them. But again, that's totally up to you. Some fun things, some fun little resources. So hopefully these give you a couple of different tips so that your Halloween can be fun, can be about connecting with others, enjoying a few treats along the way, but not overindulging so that you can stay on track for your short-term and long-term health and wellness goals. So have a great Halloween and I hope you tune in next time. Thanks so much for listening. Thanks for listening to the Find Your Edge podcast. If you like what you heard, don't forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. And if you're interested in learning more about our endurance coaching, sports and wellness nutrition, metabolic and sweat testing, triathlon training team, or our triathlon training library, be sure to check us out at theenduranceedge.com. And don't forget to follow us on social media at The Endurance Edge. Thanks again. And we'll catch you next time.