Dear Shifters,
The familiar scent of candy corn is hanging heavy in the air which signals to me that it is time to focus on Shifting through this upcoming Halloween season. Do you have a plan for Halloween success?
In my experience as a hypnotherapist and weight release expert I have seen many people head into the Halloween season with the intention to “be good” only to succumb to the massive amounts of treats that one finds everywhere. By the time the Halloween season is over many a person with good intentions to start is found emerging from a lost couple of weeks spent in a sugar induced daze. I know from my own personal experience how tricky this season can be.
TRICKY TREATS
When I struggled with my weight Halloween was always a disaster. I would head into the Halloween season with the firm resolve to be perfect and avoid eating candy altogether. I would hold out for awhile, trying to be “good” on whatever diet I was on at the time, but then somewhere somehow some candy corn (which is one of my top 5 trigger foods) would cross my path and I would eat some and would turn into a sugar sucking vampire both physically and mentally.
Physically I turned sugar sucking vampire because my trigger candy, usually eaten on an empty stomach, triggered me to eat more and more—even when I got physically full. This kind of eating, called “hyper eating” is when we feel compelled to continue eating even when we are full and it is usually triggered by eating foods that are full of sugar, fat. “Hyper eating” is a term coined by Dr. David Kessler in his book “The End of Overeating” is excessive eating “driven by motivational forces that we find difficult to control”—ie. zombie-like behavior.
Mentally I turned into a sugar sucking vampire because I had created the perfect mental storm to fail because I was stuck in the “fat thinking” all or nothing, good or bad, on or off a diet head that took my power away. I had made the decision to be “good” over Halloween and not eat one single piece of candy.
Therefore, once I had been “bad” by eating a bit of candy my Inner Rebel immediately kicked into overeating-disconnecting from self seduction mode with inner speak that sounded something like this, “ah go on, you already blew it you might as well eat the whole bag of candy corn.” Then after I had polished off that bag of candy the inner speak went something like this “now that you did that, you might as well bust into the Whoppers as well. It’s only Halloween once a year—get through the season kid and then you can be good. It’s too hard to diet right now…are you crazy? What were you thinking? Now pass me that Tootsie roll!” This kind of thinking lead to excessive eating, feeling bad about myself, and basically missing any of the fun of Halloween.
MASTERING HALLOWEEN
When I made my own Shift and engaged my Inner Coach in approaching the Halloween season in a loving scientist sort of way—finding a solution and strategy that would allow me to glide through Halloween enjoying some candy and all of the fun of the season without falling into sugar sucking zombie mode-- I realized that success over the Halloween season was not going to be defined by my not eating any candy at all. Instead, success was going to be defined by my setting myself up to win, both mentally and physically, before the season—to have a plan—and to follow through.
I have outlined the key strategies here so that, if you wish to join me in Shifting through the Halloween season together, we can enjoy the treat of showing up for ourselves and truly having fun rather than becoming a victim of it
1) Staying connected with your Inner Coach.
People who have struggled with weight, released weight and kept it off over time have developed a way of communicating with themselves powerfully in the area of managing their weight. This powerful connection to this “Inner Coach” allows them to survey possible problem areas, think the situation through and plan for success. This is what the Shift program gives you—the ability to Shift out of the all or nothing—good or bad thinking that is unconsciously leading us to disconnecting from ourselves, over eating, feeling bad and starting all over again, and again, and again.
You can stay connected with you Inner Coach and stay powerful and conscious by thinking this Halloween season through and asking yourself these leading questions:
a. How do I want to feel in my body the day after Halloween? Do I want to feel healthy , light and vibrant? Or weighed down, heavy, sticky and sugar zombie out? What do I need to do to achieve this light feeling??
b. How much candy do I need to have a good time? What kind of other Halloween treats are important to me? How can I make them work within my calorie budget for weight release and maintenance?
c. How can I track my caloric intake over the season? I know that when I track I can see that even if I ate a handful of sweet tarts I am not “bad” and can still be on track for releasing weight this day so that I don’t have to “jump ship” and start my diet tomorrow or worse yet when Halloween is over (that would be truly ghoulish!!)
d. How can I have fun in ways other than eating sugar this Halloween season? Can I create a fabulous costume? Can I carve an amazing pumpkin? Can I make a point to walk everyday and look at all the fun yard decorations that people have put up?
e. Who can support me this Halloween season in sticking with my vision? What friend or family member can I engage in keeping my trigger candies far away? Can I get others in my neighborhood to think about healthy treats to give the kids this year?? Can I find a walking buddy for Halloween who had a similar goal?
2)Knowing trigger foods and avoiding them while allowing yourself a reasonable amount of non-trigger candy at times and places that do not hook you mentally or physically.
I have developed a “blended” strategy with regards to Halloween candy. This “blended” idea was inspired by my daughter about 5 years ago when she refused to wear a singular Halloween costume. No she did not want to be just a princess, or just a zombie, or just a mermaid—no she wanted to be a mermaid-vampire-zombie-princess! She wanted to blend them together into something authentic to her taste that worked for her.
My blended approach is something similar. I am not setting out to be singlarly good or bad-- all or nothing--on or off—I am thinking Halloween through, staying away from trigger candies that I know will set me into vampire mode but allowing for a few treats that I can savor and enjoy but stay present and on track with my weight maintenance goals. I have listed my “no fly zone” candy list and then the list of treats that I may indulge in within moderation. As a side note I find that any candy for me is best eaten not on an empty stomach when it is more likely to trigger “hyper eating”—but after a meal or small snack that has included some protein.
CANDIES THAT INDUCE SUGAR SUCKING VAMPIRE ZOMBIE ON STEROIDS ME
-Candy corn
-tootsie rolls
-Anything like a jelly bean or gummy
-WHOPPERS
-caramels
APPROVED SHIFT FRIENDLY CANDIES THAT WORK WELL FOR ME
-minature candy bars
-lollp pops
-mints
-Mike and ikes
-Sugar free Gum
3) Stimulus Control, Stimulus Control, Stimulus Control
My son pointed to the pile of bags of candy corn the other day as we were in Target. “Oh look candy corn can we get some??” I immediately dodged the question and diverted his attention to the pile of bagged spider webs and pushed the cart quickly past.
Where does Halloween candy lurk in your life? In your office? In your home? In your friends or families homes? Think ahead to where you might be challenged this season and do your best to remove (or better yet, not even bring home) any tempting treats. It’s easy for the Inner Rebel to say, “it’s for the trick or treaters”. But really do you need to be buying the type of candy that is going to challenge you? Why not buy candy that you dislike or better yet, do everyone a favor and give non-food treats or sugar free gum?
Stimulus control is a huge component of weight management—it is the silver bullet that you can shoot into the heart of the sugar sucking vampire. Win the battle this year. Be your own hero and practice stimulus control.
I hope these ideas and strategies to keep both your mind and body healthy, happy and powerful this Halloween season. Click to see Hungry Girl Halloween candy suggestions
I smell Shift and Candy!!
Oxox Rita
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