Non diet professionals top tips for Halloween.

It’s the most candy-filled time of the year!!

I love everything about Halloween. As a child the trick or treating was filled with a magical sense of excitement. The costumes - itchy as they were, wrapping the foil wrappers off milk chocolate eye balls and running round the streets straddling my broom stick and pretending to star in my very own version of the worst witch. As I got older, at university, the excitement of foil wrappers and “flying” transitioned into the joy of “bloody” rum punches stained red with food dye and the fun of make up and costumes for student nights out.

Despite the traditional pumpkin carving, Halloween isn’t typically an occasion we associate with an abundance of fruits and vegetables, unless you count candy “corn” I suppose. Diet gods and wellness gurus will tell us to start taking precautions from the outset. To be extra watchful over the amounts of sugar consumed and to swap all sorts of sugary laden goodness with “pumpkin tangerines” - see pick below. My child self would have most certainly have sent this back!

Image from cookist.com

With all the chat around sugar and other so called “evils” bound up with Halloween, I decided this year to reach out to some of my most favourite, highly regarded and well respected non diet professionals about their top tips this season. I hope you enjoy!

Jenna Daku, a BACP Registered Psychotherapist and Founder of Freedom to be Therapy, a therapy practice specialising in healing from disordered eating advises:

“Write some post-it notes to stick around your house, or save a note on your phone, with a list of your favourite non-diet coping statements.  For example:  “Eating sweets does not make me a ‘bad’ person” and “I do not need to ‘make up for’ the things that I eat”.

Remember that restriction fuels primal hunger which makes it more likely that you’ll eat to the point of discomfort. AND eating past the point of comfortable fullness is not a sin.

Make a list of the things that you find calming and grounding:  Like, listening to your favourite songs; snuggling with a pet; talking to your closest friend; having a bath; getting a hug; having a warm cup of tea etc..  Save that list on your phone or write it out and put it up somewhere that you can see it easily. Every day in the lead up to Halloween, no matter how you’re feeling, practice doing 1-2 things from that list.  Upping your self-care in the lead up to a potentially difficult day can help to feel resilient.”

Dietitian and author of 'Your no nonsense guide to eating well' Maeve Hanan goes on to say:

“Halloween can be a triggering time for those who have an eating disorder or a difficult relationship with food. The response to heightened food anxiety due to having more sweet foods around at this time can vary. For example, this may increase the risk of binging or purging, or in some cases it may lead to increased restriction. On the flip side it can make it easier for some people to try a'fear food' while others are also eating these foods more regularly. 

Helpful strategies for managing this will vary between individuals, but making a plan is important for example:
- Sticking to your meal plan (if you have one) and adding in a daily 'fun food' opportunity to include a Halloween-related food.
- Reframing 'good vs. bad' food thoughts.
- Planning some non-food related Halloween activities.
- Changing your environment if needed e.g. keeping triggers out out of sight.
- A thought experiment of how you might feel while these foods are around and what might be the most helpful response to this?
- Speaking to loved ones about how you are feeling and how they can support you at this time.
- An ongoing regular intake of satisfying meal and snacks.
- Increasing accountability with your care team if there is likely to be a risk of straying from your usual plan.”

Mental Health campaigner and Eating Disorder Recovery advocate Hope Virgo has come up with some tips specifically for those with eating disorders:

“Have a plan a place: Often at Halloween there is this focus on food, which can all feel really terrifying for someone with an eating disorder or someone in recovery. Remember that having a plan in place for the weekend activity will allow you to feel more calm. Within this, work out who you have that you can seek support from if you need, if you have someone you are accountable to and create a "safe" word in case you want to leave an activity.

Organise activities that don't just happen around food: In our society we organise a lot of festivities around food and added to this right now that layer of uncertainty with COVID, it can feel like this is the best option. But remember for people with eating disorders this can make it harder. Have a think about other things you can do from going for a walk, sitting with a cup o tea (social distanced of course) in the park, or organising a Halloween hunt.

Remember you don't have to compensate if you eat chocolates or sweets or a different meal this Halloween!” 

I also loved catching up with Dietitan and founder of Food and Body Image healers Marci Evans for her tips:

This Halloween I really hope you get to enjoy the candy you really, truly, deeply love. Relish it. Find pleasure in it. And don't apologise for it.

When it comes to feeding kiddos, I know there can typically be a lot of anxiety around sugar. I was lucky enough to catch up with the brilliant Nicole Cruz , a dietitian based in the US who’s also a Mum of 3. Nicole is a big advocate of raising Intuitive Eaters and helping children to understand there’s no “good” or “bad” foods. Nicole also runs an online course called, Making sense of sweets: how to help your child have a healthy relationship with sugar. Nicole advises:

“Halloween candy is typically exciting, especially for kids! Your child might want to eat more than you think is ideal or even eat more than feels good. Allow them this experience. They need opportunities to learn how food makes them feel and to learn to self-regulate. This is how they form a healthy relationship with food, by having experiences without us judging or intervening.”

Founder of Nude Nutrition, Registered Dietitian Kat Kimber also has some excellent advise for parents around Halloween:

“Eat the candy, and let your kids eat the candy! A bunch of research has identified that the more a parent restricts their child's eating, the more likely it is to create a backlash effect. Like causing them to eat more of the perceived "bad" food in an act of rebellion, become more disconnected from their bodies, leading to eating in the absence of hunger and eating past comfortable fullness. Being a role model by behaving in a neutral way around these foods, not labelling them as "good" or "bad" is important to keep the peace at home with these fun foods."

Lastly, some wonderful and uplifting take homes that will resonate with us all. 

Kylie Mitchell, dietitian behind one of my all time favourite instagram handles @immaeatthat touches on how we might be able to turn inwards for ‘how much’ feels like a good amount of candy for us in our bodies, rather that rigid rules that may create a sense fo deprivation. Just a reminder, that you’re likely going to crave a lot more Halloween candy if you are feeling hungry or have “cut back” at other times in the day. Kylie advises:

Eat all the Halloween candy you crave! Your job is simply to notice if the candy or sweets feel pleasant, neutral or unpleasant in your body. Your job is not to deprive yourself of any food.

Caroline Dooner, author of The Fuck it diet writes:

Remind yourself that you're allowed to eat candy all year, not just on or around Halloween! This will help a lot with the "all or nothing" mentality we often get into around our Halloween candy. This isn't your one and only last chance to eat Halloween candy!

The brilliant dietitian Emily Fonnes Beck adds: 

"Don't be afraid to buy the candy you really like. Allow yourself to keep Halloween candy on hand that you'd want to eat, so when you want some (which you probably will), you can choose something that will truly hit the spot and be a satisfying experience for you."

I think ending on the importance of satisfaction is a wonderful way to round this off. Eating is supposed to be enjoyable and you have full unconditional permission to fully enjoy all the deliciousness of Halloween candy this year.