Many people look forward to Halloween because it is a time to enjoy spooky movies, dress up in costumes, and enjoy delicious treats! For people living with diabetes, Halloween can also be a challenging time to manage blood sugars. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you enjoy Halloween while also managing your blood sugar levels.
1) Remember that completely restricting yourself can lead to over eating later on. Binge eating may cause gas and bloating, make you feel nauseous and of course, lead to difficult to manage high blood sugars. To avoid over indulging, give yourself permission to have a small number of your favourite treats, and enjoy them mindfully.
2) If you can, wait until October 31st, or as close to Halloween as possible to purchase your candy for trick- or- treaters. This will avoid having extra candy lying around the house that may tempt you into over eating. When shopping for Halloween candy, avoid going to the store on an empty stomach. When you’re hungry, you are more easily tempted to purchase more than you need.
3) If you’re attending a Halloween gathering, try bringing a diabetes friendly dish or snack that tastes good and that you and others will enjoy. You’ll be surprised at how thankful other health conscious guests will be to have a healthy alternative! Check out some of these healthy Halloween inspired recipes! Healthy Halloween Recipes
4) If you do find that you have overindulged, now is a good time to lace up and get out for a walk or other physical activity that will help your body use the sugar you have consumed and burn off some extra calories. Enjoy the fall colours and the crisp refreshing air that are a nice change from the summer heat and humidity this time of year!
5) Don’t feel guilty about tossing the leftovers in the trash or gifting them to others. One of the tricky things about Halloween is that left over candy can linger in your home for weeks, leading to unnecessary temptation. If your children brought home a large haul from trick or treating, choose an amount that you think is reasonable for your family and toss the rest. If you’re hosting a gathering, encourage others to take leftovers home with them.
6) Put more emphasis on the non food aspects of Halloween. When you’re trying to eat healthy, it can be difficult not to focus on the aspects of Halloween that you feel you might be missing out on (like the candy). Instead try putting more emphasis on finding joy in other aspects of Halloween, for example, spend time watching Halloween movies with your family, get your creativity flowing by making home made Halloween costumes, or go on a haunted Halloween walk around the neighbourhood to enjoy the decorations on display.
Hope you enjoy a safe, happy and healthy Halloween!
