How to Have a Healthier Halloween
Halloween means it’s time for tricks and treats, and there might not be anything scarier than your chiropractor convincing you to have a healthy Halloween. It’s true, we love Halloween just as much as the next person. There is something about dressing up in your spookiest costume, carving pumpkins, and trick-or-treating that just can’t be beat. Most people look back on their Halloween traditions with fond memories, but it’s important to remember that life is about balance…and that balance can be particularly challenging to manage during a holiday like Halloween.
With a family of your own, you’ve probably spent much of your time teaching your kids to maintain healthy and balanced habits. And though those habits won’t necessarily be undone with one night of candy and costumes, eating too much candy over a period of time certainly can have a negative impact. The University of Alabama’s School of Public Health found that the average child will collect anywhere between 3,500-7,000 calories worth of candy on Halloween night. Now that’s scary!
We aren’t saying to call off trick-or-treating or replace chocolate bars with broccoli, but we do have some tricks to help balance health and horror this Halloween.
START WITH A SPOOKY GOOD DINNER
Your kids will probably be ready to get their costumes on and rush out the door as quickly as they can, but remember to start with a good meal. Before you take your kids trick-or-treating, have a filling and healthy dinner. This will make it easier for the whole family to resist eating too much candy later. Try to include fiber, lean protein, and complex carbohydrates to give you the energy you need to collect lots of candy!
SET GHASTLY GOALS
Thinking about all the sugar your kids will consume might be scary, but the good news is that you all will be doing lots of walking, which is good exercise. Get your kids extra excited by planning out your route and create goals for how much ground you want to cover. If you all want to keep going, you can always add more neighborhoods at the end.
FREEZING ISN’T FRIGHTENING
Determine how much candy you are going to allow your kids to have on Halloween night, then take away the rest and freeze it. Those chocolate bars and candies take a long longer to eat when they are frozen, and it will help prevent you and your kids from stuffing yourselves after Halloween is over.
Here at Shields Chiropractic, we want to help you reach your fitness and health goals no matter what time of year it is. If you stay on top of your exercise, nutrition, and chiropractic adjustments, you will stay healthy long after Halloween! Contact us for more health tips or to schedule your next adjustment!