Halloween Survival Guide
It's that time of the year when everyone's favorite holidays are fast approaching, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years all come with the deliciously dreaded 3C's of the . are The three C's of the holidays: candies, cocktails, and cookies are everywhere we turn at holiday parties and can easily derail us as we start to bundle up in our fall sweaters and forget about all that hard work it took to stay fit over the summer.
Tip #1: Plan an activity that isn't centered around food. Yeah, it can be fun to stand around and chat with your friends at a house party or stay home and pass out candy. But think about it for a second...If you're passing out candy, you're putting yourself right in direct contact with one of the most sneaky of our 3C's! Casually munching on a mini Reece's in between every few Trick-Or Treater's while staying sedentary just ensures that all those extra carbs and fats are gonna glue themselves right to your body. And standing around drinking beers or cocktails, maybe munching on appetizers has the same end result. I'm not saying that you're gonna gain 5 pounds overnight from hanging out and having a beer, but I am saying that there are endless ways to have just as much (or more) fun while doing something that might actually benefit your diet!
Instead...
Try going out to a club and staying away from sugary drinks, maybe take a couple shots of vodka (moderation people) which is carb/fat free and then burn off the extra calories dancing and having a good time. This option is great because you're moving (aka burning calories), you're not surrounded by food so there's no temptation to munch, and if you don't have any alcohol then you're doing absolutely nothing to mess with your diet, you're actually helping yourself get closer to your goals.
If you're not into the whole club scene, there's a ton of other fun non-foodie things to do in the Bay Area! I went ahead and linked some of them below.
Tip #2: If you know you're going to be around food, bring some healthy options. Imagine this, you walk into a room and see a table full warm melty cookies, your favorite salty chips with a jalapeno dip that everyone is raving about and you have No. Healthy. Options. to choose from! What are your odds of leaving that party feeling proud of yourself for sticking to your program? I'd say they're pretty slim. So why not avoid the guilt and bring something you won't feel bad about eating? If you know me, you know that I have no shame in my game and I'm completely comfortable busting out my meal prep Tupperware in literally any situation. I get it, not everyone's like that and not everyone needs to be like that. But if you know you're gonna be surrounded by sweets and junk food, offer to bring a few healthy options! There's tons of healthy appetizer alternatives and I've even posted a couple of them on this blog,see my mini powdered doughnuts, Clean protein cookies, and healthy brownie bites if you are looking for some suggestions. And maybe you're not a baker, pick up a veggie tray or make a cute platter of clementines, or bring yourself your favorite Quest bar as a healthy alternative!
I'll bake some cute ideas tonight if anyone needs some extra inspiration.
Tip #3: Focus on the people, not the food. You're at a party, right? You accepted an invitation, put on some makeup and maybe a costume, and got in your car to get here...right? So unless you were somehow kidnapped and forced against your will to be at this place, I'm guessing you like the people at the party. So talk to them!! You're in a room full of people you care about and want to catch up with, so enjoy that! Social situations are about people and memories, not food. I would be so proud of every single one of you if you went to a party full of delicious food and ended up being so involved with the people and interactions that you completely forget about the treats. Holidays give us an amazing opportunity to make memories and spend quality time with the people who matter,so don't let yourself forget that and concentrate on what you're favorite appetizer was.
Tip #4: Set a goal! Before you leave the house do two things: 1. Write down 1-5 goals that are important to you, they can be fitness related or not, but be specific 2. Next to each goal, write down one thing you're going to do tonight to get you closer to your goals. For example, if one of your goals is to lose ten pounds by Christmas, then tonight make a promise to yourself to eat absolutely no processed foods. If your goal is to learn three new things about five of your friends then ditch the snack-bar and show some interest in the people around you. Bottom line, make your holidays productive, you'll come out of this feeling so much happier and fulfilled if you follow these tips, I promise!
Staying on track is all about being mindful and having direction. So set a goal, make a plan, and be present.
I hope some of you found this helpful,
Happy Halloween!
Kelsey
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