3 Ways to Enjoy Halloween Candy (and not overdo it)

Andrea D'Ambrosio October 28, 2016 Health, Weight Loss

2. YOU SEE IT. YOU EAT IT

Where do you keep your Halloween candy?  Is it in a large bowl on your kitchen counter?  If it’s tucked in your pantry, do you need a stool to reach it?  Is the candy stored in a container that is see-through or in a coloured container?  Most do not realize that where they store their candy has a crucial impact on how much they eat and how tempted they feel. Brian Wansink, Cornell researcher and Slim by Design author said, “In sight, in stomach.”   Wansink found that when candy dishes were moved from on the desks of administrative assistants to inside their desks, the average person ate 74 fewer calories every day than she would otherwise – equivalent to not gaining about a five or six pounds over the next year. Therefore, remember that the tasty (high sugar, high fat) food that is visible is what you will over-eat the most.

When it comes to storing your candy, do two things: make it less convenient and put it out-of-sight.  Research supports storing treats in a container that is not see-through and having a couple obstacles in place to get to it (less convenient).  For example, one of my clients started storing chips in her basement in a blue bin that had textbooks on top of it.  If she wanted a treat, she had to choose her portion in a bowl and go downstairs and remove the books and open the bin to grab a treat.  Not surprisingly, she found herself much less tempted by these treats and ate them less frequently!

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Author

Andrea D'Ambrosio

Andrea is a Registered Dietitian and owner of Dietetic Directions, a nutritional counselling and education company. Andrea's mission is to inspire clients through motivation and guidance to achieve life-long health behaviour changes. She has taken continuing education in the areas of Food Allergy and Food Hypersensitivity, Health Research Literacy, Motivational Interviewing & Coaching for Behaviour Change.