Eating a candy or two a day in the days leading up to Halloween can add up, especially if there is a candy bowl in your living room or office.
“If you’re eating two or three candies a day, that could be 200-300 calories. One little Starburst square is 20 calories. In about 12 days, you’d gain a pound if you don’t burn it off,” said Kara Smith, special programs coordinator at Loyola Center for Fitness.
“You need to burn off 3,500 calories to burn off one pound,” said Smith, who has a master’s in health promotion.
Wait to buy candy until the day before or on Halloween, said Smith. And buy candy that you don’t like, so you won't eat too much.
And consider "healthier" Halloween candies and snacks.
“Quaker has a little granola bar and at least has some whole grains in it. Twizzlers are usually pretty low in fat. Halloween-shaped marshmallows: ghosts, orange pumpkins. They come five in a pack and are 100 calories or less,” said Smith.
Or arrange candy-free games like pumpkin bowling or a Halloween pumpkin and gourd hunt.
For more Halloween calorie-cutting tips from Smith, click here.
