October Diet Thread - Hallowe'en Candy Hell!

danidance · 10-02-2007, 10:14 PM

I admit it: I love candy corn. I love all Hallowe'en candy. Today I read that 4 mini-bars are 320 calories. Yipes - know how easy it is to inhale 3 small candy bars?

So this is the start of the brutal season from Hallowe'en to New Years. What's your strategy? I am determined to lose 15 pounds before December 20th (my 47th birthday). I will wear a size 8 party dress by golly with thoughts that maybe a 6 would fit better

I spent September and most of August at my plateau weight after losing 18 pounds. I'm okay with that. My body definitely feels that it's a new set point. Even when I overate on vacation - I got back to the new set point pretty easily.

Jenny Craig for me again starting this weekend!

ssipes · 10-02-2007, 10:27 PM

I don't know how I'm going to make it through the holidays. However, looking at my weight over the last year as logged on fitday, I am just now down to the weight I was a year ago, having spent most of the summer and fall working off the 10 lbs that I gained last december.

This must not happen again!

mish_mish · 10-02-2007, 10:29 PM

I started this month with serious PMS bloat, two out of town trips and a wedding in the same week.

Yikes.

But so far, I haven't done too badly.

darkangel7631 · 10-03-2007, 12:51 AM

I have set a candy goal for this month, no candy till halloween night! Then I can eat as much as I want that night=)! It might seem impossiable but it is not! I will succeed! How everybody else doing on their diets?

ozma · 10-03-2007, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danidance

So this is the start of the brutal season from Hallowe'en to New Years. What's your strategy? I am determined to lose 15 pounds before December 20th (my 47th birthday). I will wear a size 8 party dress by golly with thoughts that maybe a 6 would fit better

I think the key word is strategy. So before we get into the muck of multiple seasonal posting of "OMG! I messed up I ate (such and such) " let's talk about what has worked for us in the past and what idea we have for avoiding dangerous guilt causing situations.

For me?
Well, most of ya'll live in countries with calorie informations on your packages...and most of the dangerous halloween food is pre-packaged candy. Those open bowls and bags.

Do not allow the open bag to take you into temptation. Read that information. Use it.

Say, as Dani mentions, your beloved mini-bar serving is 4 mini-bars = 320 calories. 320 is getting over what many of us think of as acceptable snacking limits when it comes to cheap-quality candy bars (gourmet homemade chocolate to die for cake...all good...eating crappy Snickers that now have animal rennet in them? That's not where my calories will come from)...but that open bag full of tiny bars? Irresistable.

So I do anal things like this: I stock up on ziplock baggies. I sort my huge bag o goodies into proportions/snackable calories I can live with (say, baggies of 2 mini-bars)....then I usually toss what I shouldn't be eating in the freezer/fridge if I can (out of sight, needs time to thaw up a bit..time that to think) and leave one portion out per day/snack time. Even if I don't freeze them, opening a new baggy is a mental cue to the fact that I am going over the limits I set for myself...in a way that a huge baggie full of tiny bars isn't.

Let's be honest, sometimes with that huge bag we lose track until we wake up in a pile of empty wrappers and guilt.

Don't keep a huge bowl of candies around for grazing. If your family insists on it, put it somewhere out of sight when they are not around.

Pack some nuts or a healthy snack if you're going to work where there is a huge bowl just sitting there.

Making gooey rice krispy bars of halloween sweets? Pop those nuts or filling snacks prior to cooking those temptations.

ozma · 10-03-2007, 01:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkangel7631

I have set a candy goal for this month, no candy till halloween night! Then I can eat as much as I want that night=)! It might seem impossiable but it is not! I will succeed! How everybody else doing on their diets?

What will your plans be for leftover candy on November 1st?

shanna · 10-03-2007, 04:08 AM

I have a solution.

Just indulge in stuff like Vosges and you'll never want to put a piece of Herseys in your mouth again.. but yet you'll be too poor to afford the $8 each Vosges Barcelona Bar which is my total addiction. I also recommend the Goji Bar.

... and when you can afford it, you'll treat it like liquid gold, so you won't eat as much. ;)

http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/

Egyptianangel · 10-03-2007, 04:57 AM

OMG yesterday I ate so much crap, regret it now, but at the time it was very nice. Trouble is as soon as I've eaten it I think, why? I tend to eat more if I watch tv, so I guess I've just solved what I have to do.

ozma · 10-03-2007, 05:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shanna

I have a solution.

Just indulge in stuff like Vosges and you'll never want to put a piece of Herseys in your mouth again.. but yet you'll be too poor to afford the $8 each Vosges Barcelona Bar which is my total addiction. I also recommend the Goji Bar.

... and when you can afford it, you'll treat it like liquid gold, so you won't eat as much. ;)

http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/

I second this. When I started getting all foodie about my treats it made casual temptations less tempting. You lose the taste for crap, you eat less of it, so the cost (financial) evens out and guilt isn't the huge issue it once was.

Plus. I'll say it again. Rennet! Rennet in many commercial brands of candy bar. Naaaaaaasty.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6653175.stm

danidance · 10-03-2007, 08:18 AM

This doesn't work for me. If I want it, I buy it & $8 is not something I'd think about really (that may sound terrible but these days, things don't register as expensive to me if they're under about $20).

Plus, fine chocolate, cheapie chocolate - I love it all. I decided last week to buy a dark chocolate bar because I wanted just a smidge of chocolate but didn't want to tempt myself. I typically hate dark chocolate. Well, gee, guess what - yummy! after not indulging for so long, the dark chocolate was great and could I stop at one piece? no. ate the whole bar.

I cannot buy trigger foods and have them around. I have to just keep good stuff handy - fruits. yogurts. etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shanna

I have a solution.

Just indulge in stuff like Vosges and you'll never want to put a piece of Herseys in your mouth again.. but yet you'll be too poor to afford the $8 each Vosges Barcelona Bar which is my total addiction. I also recommend the Goji Bar.

... and when you can afford it, you'll treat it like liquid gold, so you won't eat as much. ;)

http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/

CharlotteDesorgher · 10-03-2007, 11:20 AM

Hi girls!

I haven't actually reached my goal, but a few days before my competition I put on my bedlah and realised I really liked the way I looked

What happened is that a month ago I discovered that I'm gluten intolerant. So I cut it out completely and I look like I've lost ten pounds!! I haven't but, hey who cares, I look great!! Even better EVERYONE has noticed and I'm getting so many lovely comments!

I did my competition (got placed third!) and then asked for feedback from Jim Boz who was one of the judges. We had a long talk and I told him about the fact I'd been dieting for the comp and he said I definitely didn't need to lose any more weight.

So I'm officially resigning from the Diet Thread!!!!

Lauren_ · 10-03-2007, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shanna

I have a solution.

Just indulge in stuff like Vosges and you'll never want to put a piece of Herseys in your mouth again.. but yet you'll be too poor to afford the $8 each Vosges Barcelona Bar which is my total addiction. I also recommend the Goji Bar.

... and when you can afford it, you'll treat it like liquid gold, so you won't eat as much. ;)

http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/

I'm all about their Red Fire bar: ancho and chipotle peppers, cinnamon & dark chocolate. And yeah, at $7 each I can make one last nearly a week.

My second fave is the Oaxaca, with chilies and bittersweet chocolate.

I'm crazy about hot chili peppers in strong (not sweet) chocolate. I think it stimulates my root chakra.

Lauren_ · 10-03-2007, 11:30 AM

My halloween strategy -- give out quarters. Or cans of soda. I don't like soda.

My holiday strategy: I will say no to all but the most special treats. I will allow myself my very favorites (pumpkin pie!) and skip the traditional stuff I don't care that much about (most christmas cookies). I will keep some alternatives around the house (sugar-free fudgesicles, slimfast treats).

BabsGrrrl · 10-03-2007, 01:29 PM

Halloween is not that difficult for me as I can walk by most candy and chocolate with no problem. One little snack size bar and I'm good. Around the office my strategy has been to pack MORE snacks with me in the morning (yogurt, fruit, granola bars, a bagel, veggies) so that I don't go browsing the candy dishes laid out in EVERY office we have.

Now, Thanksgiving and Christmas are another matter entirely. I am a carb-addict and the opportunity for mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, cheesy-veggie casseroles....oooohhhh do I love it. And cookies. Don't get me started on Christmas cookies....

So, my strategy is going to be to NOT indulge in this stuff until the day of, and ONLY the day of. No more "Second Thanksgiving" the next night, and no more "Oh, it's the WEEK of Christmas so I can have whatever I like."

I would like to lose at least five pounds this month, so I have to be good, eat my green veggies with lunch and dinner, keep the good protein up and the fast food out. And continue with the gym workouts, which are definately helping my endurance and energy levels. Tonight I'm even going to be brave enough to get on their scale so I can start keeping track "officially" of my losses.

yasmindiab · 10-03-2007, 03:24 PM

I have to admit, I'm a little nervous about the holidays.
However...

Today was my first official weigh in since starting my Weight Watchers meetings, and I'm down 3.6 lbs! in ONE WEEK!

The good news is, my whole family is doing it with me, so we are already starting to talk about what we're going to cook for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and how MUCH we're going to cook...we always tend to make way too much...

halloween? No problem. I have my new WW treats!! :)

jessedan · 10-03-2007, 05:17 PM

Shanna's strategy works for me. We sell chocolates downstairs in our store year round. You name it, we got it. Milky Ways, KitKats, Reese's Peanut butter Cups, Baby Ruth, Butterfinger, Hershey's Milk Chocolates...etc. Plus an assorment of European chocolates as well. I never touch them. I think I O.D.'d on them in the beggining so I don't find them even remotely tempting.
But, give me a 2 pound box of See's chocolates, (my mom sends them a couple of times a year) and I can eat every last one within 24 hours. And if for some reason I can't finish it, I'll hide it in the vegetable bin of my refrigerator under the vegetables so nobody else, especially my kids who have antennae for these things, can find them. Muahaha They're mine!

Regards
Priscilla

angelique2 · 10-03-2007, 08:38 PM

well, I can say my diet went all to hell this last 2 days. I think I am one of those
people that gets nervous then eats. So yesterday and today I have ate chocolate cake & more chocolate cake. I am not much of a sweets eater but I have been recently.
I have a goal, I want to lose 50 pounds by march!!! so I have to get focused!!!

darkangel7631 · 10-03-2007, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozma

What will your plans be for leftover candy on November 1st?

Ozma I can promise you this there might not be any left......I LOVE CANDY!!!! I know that its still unhealthy to eat that much but it willl be only one night outta the year I do it..so it won't kill me.

danidance · 10-03-2007, 10:24 PM

You know where to find us if you backslide.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunshine

Hi girls!

I haven't actually reached my goal, but a few days before my competition I put on my bedlah and realised I really liked the way I looked

What happened is that a month ago I discovered that I'm gluten intolerant. So I cut it out completely and I look like I've lost ten pounds!! I haven't but, hey who cares, I look great!! Even better EVERYONE has noticed and I'm getting so many lovely comments!

I did my competition (got placed third!) and then asked for feedback from Jim Boz who was one of the judges. We had a long talk and I told him about the fact I'd been dieting for the comp and he said I definitely didn't need to lose any more weight.

So I'm officially resigning from the Diet Thread!!!!