OK. You did it. You dipped into the Halloween bucket last night. Perhaps you’ve been dipping for a few nights, sampling the candy intended for the trick-or-treaters, unwrapping more than a couple of Tootsie Rolls at a time. Maybe you stayed away from the packaged confections and whipped up a bunch of homemade treats instead. Even that healthier route can lead to eating more sweets than you had expected.
There’s something important to know: It’s OK! We all do it.
(That’s why I devote an entire section in my Stick With It! e-book to pigging out.)
The important part is right now, going forward, from this very moment. It’s a brand new day. It’s the part where you recognize that your over-indulgence might not be serving your best interests. And I’m not talking about weight here (although that might be of consideration as well). I’m talking about the many other ill-effects of sugar intake such as the heightened internal inflammation that can lead to increased risk of chronic disease states such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes as well as the crash-and-burn fatigue that effects our short term energy and our long-term adrenal and hormonal health.
Whoa! It was just a couple of Reese’s you say? And I agree. Really I do. I don’t mean to add to the fright of Halloween night. I just know firsthand that a dip in the candy bowl doesn’t always end with a period. Nope. It can be one of those run on sentences that goes on and on and never seems to end!
That’s why I’m writing you this morning with some Healthy Halloween Hangover Helpers. These are 3 simple e-tips I would like you to consider as Halloween 2011 comes to its end, especially if you’re feeling like the appeal of the candy has taken center stage in your mind.

Healthy Halloween Hangover Helpers

1) extraction

Even if you were a super hero for Halloween (either the kind with high red boots and a gold headband or the kind that went to work, got dinner on the table and had the kids in their costumes by nightfall), you don’t need to be a super hero any longer. Throw down the cape and admit your limitations. Those might be that you cannot leap tall building or they might be that you can’t resist the stash of candy in the plastic halloween pumpkin bucket sitting on the shelf above the washing machine.
If you’ve already started rummaging your hand in that bucket it could now be challenging to ‘just say no’. For many of us that candy will be calling our names from its storage place, beckoning for repeat connection.
It’s OK to get rid of the candy and many families have practices where they do so after the first night. If your kids are still little, then consider having them choose one thing that they want each night for a designated time period and only stash that. You won’t be as tempted to dip into their allotted loot. If there are no kids in the house, its time for pure extraction ~ take it to the office, bring it to a store, drop it at the dentists or throw in in the trash!
Remember, you’re not super human and sugar can have a creepy hold on many of us. Ask for help in your household if you need to!

2) equilibrium

Today is the day to return to your good intentions and the regularity of your good eating patterns. You can do it! This will allow you to find the inner equilibrium that keeps you from looking for balance outside of yourself. . . in the temporary jolt of a piece of candy. Go back to basics. Your #1 food rule is to consider the amount of fat, fiber & proteinyou’re ingesting at every meal.
Don’t go for “lite”, that will leave you stalking the candy bowl at the office. Go for healthy satiety. Aim to have solid meals that allow you to feel pleasantly full and satisfied with your choices. Consider lots of veggies, some quality protein and be sure to include ample good fat such as coconut oil, olive oil or ghee mixed into to your meal.
The dynamic trio of fat, fiber & protein will invite the equilibrium of your blood sugar. That internal composure leaves you more poised to ‘just say no’!

3) empathy

When it comes to empathy, remember to have it first and foremost for yourself. Treat yourself like you might any other who has slipped. Be kind. Be gentle. Be understanding.
Consider the mere importance of empathy. Sometimes the candy bowl dunking begins with a sense of wanting to make things right, to seek solace, to allow indulgence, to just have some fun! It starts with a moment of wanting empathy ~ for your hard day, for the stresses of your life, for not eating a Butterfinger since this time last year! And that makes sense. We each deserve to be heard, held and rewarded for our valiant efforts to truck through the myriad realities of our lives with such accomplishment and aplomb!
Turning to others for empathy is also key. And knowing you have a safe place to go for that soulful rapport is what helps each of us to make change and move forward with our most challenging and our simplest objectives. Take a moment to think where you can reliably turn for compassion and camaraderie, not just in turning away from the candy bowl, but also in contemplating why your hand may have gone routing for the 3 Musketeers in the first place.
Welcome that seasonal shift inward that beckons at this time of year while also staying grounded and connected in the network that supports you. That may be your most important Halloween Hangover Helper! (I’m envisioning making a big pot of stew with your family or your friends. What are you imagining as you get ready to store your Halloween decorations and move into this new month?)
Warmly,

P.S. Empathy is one of the main reasons that Andrea Livingston and I designed ourTrulyFood seasonal cleanses in the way we have. People come together with a shared intention from all over the globe.
We gather on the message board. We help keep each other motivated to gift ourselves one full week of slowing down and considering our food choices and daily routines more carefully; of focusing on ourselves and turning inward to listen to the cues of digestion and our body’s rhythms; of eating nourishing and delicious foods and making new recipes that will become part of our everyday seasonal toolbox; and of inviting a deeper level of healing that allows for that health and vitality that give us a glow inside and out.
Seasonal cleansing embraces the three ‘e’s ~ extraction of the foods that might not be serving us, equilibrium through eating well balanced meals that help us to come back to balance and the empathy of a support team (me and Andrea L and your co-cleaning community!).
1, 2, 3. . .
Be sure to grab a seat to join us for the upcoming seasonal cleanse, Retreat: A TrulyFood Autumn Cleanse.

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Functional Nutrition Alliance provides the comprehensive online Functional Nutrition training in the Science & Art of the Functional Nutrition practice. Learn to address the roots of your clients’ suffering with client education, diet & lifestyle modifications.