Back in the day, I remember my Halloween spoils being taken away to the office by my parents after I had picked out the designated number of my favorites (plus whatever I ate that they didn't catch).
Now, I am one of those co-workers who has bowls of fun sized candy at her disposal up and down the cubicle aisles.
I've realized however that I don't crave it until I see it. And even worse, once I see it, if I eat it, I eat as much of it as possible. Literally gorging on the stuff. Also, working in the food industry means that as the holidays approach our vendors will be sending gift baskets by the truck load. These range from candies, chocolates and cookies to cheeses, sausages and popcorn. So as the trick or treating and holiday seasons ramp up here is how I will kick the fun sized treats to the curb.
Refuse it. I will not eat anything that is on a coworker's desk. I plan to joke about it being 9 AM and that I can't have candy so early. Or that it is 4 PM and I don't want to spoil my dinner. Or use the classic "I'm trying to quit the stuff" response.
Plan for it. So, if I could refuse it consistently I wouldn't have an issue. So when I do cave, I need to plan for it by cutting out something else later in the day or doing an extra 15 minutes of high intensity cardio.
Question it. Studies show that most of the time we eat when we are not hungry. We eat when we are bored or if food is available. So, when I am staring at the Jack O'Lantern bowl of kit kats I will ask myself "Would you be full if you ate an apple?" And if the answer is "Ick, an APPLE?!" then I don't get candy. If the answer is "Yeah, I'm probably hungry because it is only a few minutes before lunch time." then I should still refuse it but if I do get the kit kat I can then plan for it with the rest of my lunch.
Godspeed and Happy Halloween!
