I hated my life for so long. The longer I hated my life, the more I loved Halloween.
I think it’s because my life wasn’t what I wanted it to be, and Halloween allowed me to become whoever I wanted to be. Most of my Halloween costumes have been kind of gruesome: a decapitated head, half a face and a shark eating a person. Now that I’ve finally grown into loving my life and the person I’ve become, I still love Halloween. What I don’t like is being surrounded by so many tempting treats. Once you’ve had bariatric surgery, the candy that’s so prevalent this time of year can derail your progress and make you sick. Don’t worry; I’ve got seven tips to say no to the sugary treats this year. Avoid eating Halloween candy to prevent dumping syndrome and stay on track.
1. EAT A HIGH-PROTEIN MEAL
My first tip to avoid eating Halloween candy is to eat a meal that is high in protein and high in fiber. While this tip is suitable for any time of the year, I find it particularly helpful when faced with a circumstance where I feel tempted to sway from the bariatric lifestyle. By eating a meal high in protein and fiber, you will get full quicker and stay full longer. Vegetables high in fiber take longer for your stomach to digest, so satiety stays around for longer. The longer food stays in your stomach and keeps you full, the less tempted you’ll be to consume sugary-Halloween treats.
Slow down and savor the meal. Appreciate that your new stomach gets full quicker than before. Enjoy the food as it hits your mouth. Chew each bite 20 to 30 times. Don’t forget to put down your fork between bites. Eat without distraction. By making an event out of your meal, you’ll be less likely to want to ruin that progress by eating something that will most likely make you sick and not feeling well. Your first tip to avoid eating Halloween candy is to eat a high protein and fiber meal.
2. PLAN A HEALTHY TREAT TO AVOID EATING HALLOWEEN CANDY
Just because we can’t have sugar-rich candy, doesn’t mean we can’t plan a treat for ourselves. My second tip to avoid eating Halloween candy is to prepare a healthy treat. It’s my opinion that we need to find bariatric-friendly alternatives to the foods we once loved. These alternatives allow us to treat ourselves once in a while without fear of dumping syndrome and getting sick. By planning a healthy treat for yourself, you’re going to lessen your desire to want the candy that will do more harm than good to your body.
My favorite healthy treats are black-bean brownies and banana-nice cream. Black-bean brownies use drained black-beans instead of flour as the base for the brownies. I know it sounds odd, but the beans give the brownies a fudgy-texture.
