Have Your Candy, and Eat It Too

Hello from Karen's world! Halloween is just a few days away and my kiddos are eagerly anticipating trick-or-treat, at which time they can show off their costumes and haul home a bunch of candy. What's not to love if you are 10 and 13 years old? But for the adults, Halloween can trigger feelings of anxiety because we feel like we're surrounded by candy 24/7. Maybe your kids bring it home from trick-or-treat, or maybe coworkers bring it to the office because they don't want it in their houses. Whatever the reason, the candy is everywhere and we're scared that we will lose control at any minute and eat waaaay too much of it. But it doesn't have to be this way.

For starters, candy is not "bad" and you are not a "bad" person if you enjoy eating candy. Viewing candy in this way only serves to make us feel guilty every time we eat it (or anything else deemed "bad"). Instead, let's call it "play food." It is something you eat simply for the enjoyment of it, and there is no shame in that. Ever.

Let's also consider what sets us up for for feeling like we will lose control around candy (or other play foods). For many, this loss of control is rooted in not allowing ourselves to enjoy candy in our everyday lives. When Halloween (or insert holiday of choice) rolls around and candy is everywhere, we feel that this is our opportunity to eat it. So of course we lose control. And eat too much. And feel guilty. And this reaffirms our false belief that we cannot control ourselves around candy. Does this vicious cycle sound familiar?

The great paradox is that we actually feel more in control around food when we give ourselves unconditional permission to eat any food, at any time. It doesn't mean we actually do, but we know we can if we decide it is what we want and need. How can you feel in control around a food you do not normally give yourself permission to eat? You can't. And you definitely can't enjoy any kind of food if you are feeling out of control and guilty while eating it.

So, let's have our candy and eat it too. When my kids come home from trick-or treating, we'll spill all the candy out on the table, pick out the stuff no one likes, and reallocate based on everyone's favorites (parents get paid a finder's fee in our house - in the form of candy!) While we're doing this, everyone will happily eat a few their favorite candies on-the-spot, and then we'll put the rest away to enjoy another day. I hope you do too.