How to Make Peace with Halloween Candy

Learn how to make peace with Halloween candy and stop the cycle of guilt, restriction, and overeating

Snickers do not have superpowers or magic wands, and they can’t ruin your health. Pressure to manage food and Halloween“correctly” leads to stress and guilt. We constantly see posts warning us about processed foods, grams of sugar, and food dyes. And the mix of candy, kids, and diet culture often brings on anxiety. Then, there is the fear of losing control, right? The thoughts of, “If I have 1 piece I’ll eat the whole bag!” It can feel stressful to discern the ‘good’ vs. ‘bad’ foods. But what if you didn’t have to?

The Restriction-and-Overeating Cycle

It’s common for Halloween to trigger some restrictions, right? Just like most holidays that involve and revolve around food, we are taught to avoid sweets all together because we will inevitably eat ‘too much’. But this thought process of restricting could be the very thing that starts the restrict and overeating cycle. 

We all know the videos of the kids who have a plate of cookies or candy set in front of them and are told “ok, now wait for mom and dad to come back and then you can eat it ok?” And inevitably, in the few minutes the parents are gone, so is the sweet treat. Or what about “you can eat any color M&M except the red ones” And what color is eaten the most? The red ones obviously. It’s what we call the “forbidden fruit”. Saying you can‘t have something makes you want it so much more. Just like making that candy off limits increases its attraction.

On the flip side, we all remember being that little kid on Halloween that ate way too much candy and felt awful afterwards:exhausted, bloated, and sluggish with sugar filled teeth? This can happen for many reasons, but most commonly because candy like this wasn’t in the house often, and that kid knew this may be their one chance. This is the “Last Chance” effect. Like kids on Halloween, we feel we have to eat all the candy we can now because “I will not be buying more and keeping it around my house.” But then we find ourselves left with guilt, shame, and having reinforced the binge-restrict cycles.

The scarcity creates obsession! When keeping the candy off limits, it becomes more powerful than it should be.

What a Healthy Relationship with Halloween Candy Looks Like

Let’s work to neutralize food and create a healthy relationship with sugar, sweets, and Halloween. Remember, just because social media is scared of ‘excess sugar’ and ‘evil food dyes’, candy is just one kind of food, neither good nor bad. 

Imagine we pulled in some intuitive eating basics into Halloween? 

• Satisfaction: Look at the satisfaction each candy gives you. Maybe Reese’s are your favorite? Or maybe sour patch kids? Those may satisfy you more than the tolerated ‘just ok’ candies, like Milk duds or Gummy bears. When in a scarcity mindset you may eat any and as much candy as you can get your hands on. When really, you probably only wanted the Reese’s. 
• Hunger and Fullness: How hungry are you currently? Have you eaten dinner yet? Maybe you’re only hungry enough for 2 pieces? Maybe 8? If you keep this candy around often, it will likely be more enjoyable to have a few pieces with lunch instead of 30 pieces in place of a balanced dinner. Maybe your kids would like 3 fun sized pieces as a snack when home from school?

Listen to your body. Through intuitive eating, you can learn to trust natural hunger and fullness cues, and find satisfaction in the foods you enjoy. Focusing on a balanced eating mindset can make your relationship with food so much more enjoyable. 

Candy can exist alongside dinner, veggies, and snacks. No need for drama.

Practical Tips for Navigating Halloween Candy

1. Ditch the food police! You do not need to “earn” candy through behavior or exercise. You do not have a moral connection with the food you eat. No foods are “good” or “bad” foods, but just food.
2. Keep candy visible and accessible. When it’s not being restricted, the last chance effect is not a strong. Why eat 20 pieces of candy, and get uncomfortably full, when you know you can have a piece or two now or 2 hours from now. 
3. Use neutral, non-judgmental language, with yourself and your kids. Avoid calling candy “junk” or “bad.” Just call it what it is, candy.
4. Trust you and your kids’ internal cues. It’s normal for kids to eat more at first, just like it is for us, especially when built up in the way Halloween candy is. But over time, many naturally self-regulate when candy isn’t restricted.

You can enjoy Halloween without food guilt. Candy is just another food, nothing special or limited. You may notice you crave it more around Halloween because it’s been restricted previously, it’s constantly being talked about by your kids or online, and we put more pressure on ourselves to ‘be careful’ around it. But candy is not dangerous, you don’t need to be careful, you just need to tune into your hunger, fullness, and satisfaction. 

Candy doesn’t have to come with shame or strict rules. You can implement these practices, enjoy Halloween candy in a mindful way, and model a peaceful relationship with food for your kids. Monsters are scary, candy shouldn’t be. The dietitians at Meant To Eat Nutrition Counseling are here for you in this food-noise heavy season. We see clients in person in Nashville, TN, and virtually country wide. We accept BCBS, Aetna, and private pay. Reach out today to start your food freedom journey.

This blog was written by Madison Adams, Meant To Eat Nutrition Counseling dietitian. She is currently accepting new clients and specializes in treating eating disorders, sports nutrition, hypothalamic amenorrhea and PCOS, gentle nutrition for metabolic concerns like diabetes or high cholesterol.