Halloween Candy: Don’t You Dare Buy It Now!

I had to run some errands yesterday. Grocery store, pharmacy, big-box store, office supply store. At every stop along the way—and I mean every stop—I came face to face with a wall of Halloween candy. Miniature models of every conceivable candy treat you can think of, and small bags of many of the salty snacks and even some cookies. The fact that every manufacturer is now trying to get in on the Halloween act says something about how big a holiday Halloween has become. And it says something about the current retail environment that I was being offered giant bags of Halloween candy at the places I go to buy my copier paper and get my prescription filled. And it really says something that we’re still three weeks away from the holiday and already stores are already overflowing with treats.

But here’s the thing you must absolutely remember about all this stuff: Don’t buy your Halloween candy until the morning of Halloween. Why? A bag of mini chocolate bars lurking in the cupboard provides more temptation than any reasonable weight loss program can withstand. Chances are good that you bought the kind of candy you like because, well, you’re the kind of person who likes to share the things she likes with other people. It’s only natural.

But if you buy it now, or any day before you actually need it, you’re putting yourself in harm’s way. It will require a superhuman amount of discipline and restraint to not go to the cabinet and take a piece, even if it is your cheat day. But who among us can eat one little piece of candy? Precious few. Once the gates open, the floodwaters flow.

So here’s your plan. Buy one bag on the morning of October 31. Buy something you don’t like but you know the trick or treaters will. And buy only as much as you need.

From such discipline is weight loss made.