BOO!!!!!!!

That’s the scare I get when I open my kitchen cupboard on 1st November. So much Halloween chocolate and other treats staring me in the face. So much temptation!

I have a sweet tooth – I really wish I didn’t – and having so much chocolate in the house when I am trying to eat healthily is a real problem. Especially when it’s the sort of chocolate gathered at Halloween – lots of little mini chocolates that won’t be missed. The kids in our house each have their own treat box with their own supply of sweets and chocolates in it, which doesn’t usually pose the same threat to my will power. You see, my kids have the sort of brain that won’t allow them to remember what they had for school dinner two hours ago, yet they develop some kind of superhuman photographic memory when it comes to remembering how many chocolates they have in their box, and God forbid a Freddo goes missing!!! However, when there is SO much chocolate after Halloween, the odd missing mini milky way here or there goes unnoticed.

Mini snack-sized treats might seem harmless – after all there isn’t really that many calories in some of these chocolates and sweets. But you are a stronger human than me if you can just have one. It’s never just one is it?! One Halloween Percy Pig leads to another…and another. And before you know it, you have that horrible feeling when you’ve overdone it on the sugar. The sugar crash, dry mouth, headache and berating yourself for giving into “just the one” chocolate.

I’m with you – been there, done it, got the T-shirt, re-designed the T-shirt and now bringing out my own line.

Why do we seem to forget this horrible feeling so easily? Our brains seem pre-programmed to forget certain horrible feelings. After all, if it could properly remember that hangover from hell, perhaps “I’m never drinking again” might actually become a reality. And as much as I dearly love my second born child, if my brain had fully remembered my first birth experience, he may not exist today! But the brain forgets the horrendous parts, and remembers the good bits. The bundle of joy at the end of a 24 hour labour, the fun and giggles you had the night before the morning after…and yes, the pure pleasure of that first taste of chocolate before the sickly, bloated feeling kicks in.

So what to do!!?? Is it just inevitable and we should brace ourselves until it’s over and most of the chocolate is gone (although by then it’s nearly Christmas so….)

Something I’ve read somewhere is to try and shift your focus. What would it take to make the Halloween treats seem less appealing? If you CAN remember that horrible sticky sickly feeling then great. But if not, what else – the environmental toll of the wrappers? Not knowing what is really in the ingredients – how many artificial and disgusting things you are putting in your body?

This may work for some. For others, maybe knowing that all your other healthy habits are being jeopardised by eating all that sugar. Knowing that sugar is playing havoc with our hormones and the more sugar you eat, the more resistant your body becomes to insulin – which can ultimately lead to diabetes and weight gain. Add to that an increased likelihood of tooth decay, weaker bones, greater risk of cardiovascular disease, and if you are a lady of a certain age, it can worsen menopause symptoms and affect your mood (admittedly, one mini curly wurly won’t cause all this, but you know what I’m saying).

Even all this may not deter you…and you know what, if you have a sweet tooth, maybe you do need to have something sweet to satisfy it. Having some treats of your own in the house that will satisfy you enough to prevent those evening craving cupboard raids. Dark chocolate is great if you like it. Using honey to sweeten Greek yoghurt is delicious and doesn’t create the same horrible feeling as the chocolate binge.

But if all else fails and you do go a bit overboard, please don’t be hard on yourself. You are only human and these treats are designed to cause cravings and keep you coming back for more. Remember that and keep up with your other healthy habits.

Stay active, drink loads of water, eat your vegetables and try and get enough sleep.

Above all, be kind to yourself…