One of the scariest things to hear this time of year is your chiropractor telling you to keep your Halloween healthy. At Healthy Life Chiropractic, we love Halloween just as much as everyone else. What’s not to love about dressing up in a spooky costume and loading up on candy?! It is a tradition that most of us look back on fondly, but we also know how important it is to live a balanced life and all the treats on Halloween can make that a challenge.
If you have a family of your own, you probably work hard to create healthy habits for your kids to follow and you don’t want all that undone by one night of costumes and candy. Surely one night won’t do it, but the University of Alabama’s School of Public Health averages that a child will collect between 3,500-7,000 calories worth of candy on Halloween. Now, that is scary.
We aren’t telling you to cancel trick-or-treating or replace your kid’s candy with fruits and veggies, but we do have some tricks for a happy and healthier Halloween.
START THE NIGHT WITH A SCARY GOOD MEAL
Your kids might want to start trick-or-treating the minute they get home from school, but it’s important to start the night with a healthy meal. Before you head out for a night of fright and fun, enjoy a well-rounded meal. This will make it easier for both you and your kids to resist stuffing yourselves full of candy. Include complex carbs, lean protein, and fiber in your meal so your family has plenty of energy while you trick-or-treat.
SET GHASTLY GOALS
Not only is trick-or-treating fun, but all that walking is good exercise. Get your kids even more excited for their big night out by mapping out your route and create goals that cover a lot of ground. When you make a goal of how far you want to walk, you’re making health-conscious decisions.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO FREEZE!
Take the time to have a chat with your kids ahead of time about how much candy they are allowed to have on Halloween night, then take the remainder away and freeze it. Even tiny fun-size candy bars take longer to eat when they are frozen, and it will help you and your family keep from consuming too much candy once Halloween night is done.
Chiropractic care works best when it is supported by a healthy diet and exercise, and that requires some work on your part. When you make an effort to make healthy choices, especially during the holiday season, your body will benefit even more from chiropractic adjustments. For more tips and tricks on living a healthy lifestyle, ask during your next adjustment or contact us. We are here to help you stay in scary good shape!