Managing Your Diabetes This Halloween: How to Celebrate
#SugarBalancedLiving
Halloween is almost among here – bringing with it a lot of autumn fun, gatherings, and whole TON of candy. With all of the temptations of candy, punch and snack tables, it can be a tough time for those with diabetes to resist temptation and/or manage those blood glucose levels; so what should you do about all of that sugar at Halloween? This year we’re gonna “creep it real” with the right planning, mindset, and approach it's totally possible to enjoy your Halloween while keeping your diabetes in check, and here's how to do it!
With Halloween creeping around the corner, it’s time for spook-tacular autumn energy, parties with friends, costumes, family fun, pumpkin carving, a ghost-busters marathon and, well as you’ve been craving it: a whole ton of candy from M&Ms, candy corn, Snickers, to bat cupcakes!
Who else is eek-cited about Halloween!?
Halloween candies and treats likely pop up in every shop and office desk you go to or pass by, BUT this can be kind of tough if you have an iffy relationship with negative sugar and junk foods eating habits, especially if you have diabetes.
How to Have a Diabetes Friendly Halloween
Halloween is a fun event which for many of us mark as the start of the holiday season. I don’t want Halloween to be a miserable time for you just because you have diabetes… I don’t want you to be stressing and worrying about avoiding temptations the whole time.
Living with diabetes shouldn’t stop you from enjoying Halloween. Halloween conjures up so much fun for us, costumes, trick-or-treating, scary ghosts or spooky fun and silliness—especially if you’ll be celebrating with children. With a bit of creativity and planning, those with type 2 and pre-diabetes can worry less about the treat part and enjoy a spooktacular holiday that’s less of a fright for your blood sugar levels. Let’s creep it real peeps!!!
Halloween shouldn’t be all about ‘thrills and chills’ for diabetics, everyone deserves a boo-tifully fun Halloween.
Now before we go any further… don’t get me wrong - I know how incredibly important it is to eat a healthy diet, without sugar and processed carbs esp. when you suffer with type 1, type 2 or pre-diabetes.
The connection between sugar’s effects (and those of bad diets in general) and many health issues including type 2 and pre-diabetes is undeniable. The evidence states clearly that high amounts of sugar, junk food and drinks and most types of processed carbs can affect your blood sugar levels negatively.
And, there’s evidence proving that reducing sugar, most types of sweeteners, and processed carbs, and creating specialized clean diet CAN not only control but may also even help to reverse type 2 and pre-diabetes. While type 1 diabetes is rarely reversed, the right dietary changes can help you see major improvements in blood sugar levels. Don’t believe me? that’s okay… you can read more about how you can naturally control and even reverse diabetes here and here. For now, let’s focus on the temptations of Halloween.
I’m going to share with you how with some focus, adjusting and planning it can be so much easier to enjoy the Halloween period, without all that extra stress, difficulty managing blood glucose levels, or putting yourself at risk of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia.
What do you eating during Halloween when you have diabetes?
To ensure you have a good time without putting yourself I've summarized some helpful tips for navigating Halloween with diabetes, that you can take on board. Let's have some skele-fun!
Plan Ahead
If your child or grandchild has diabetes, before the Halloween celebration starts, sit down with your kids to help plan how they’ll manage their diabetes over the holiday.
Discuss boundaries, general rules and the Halloween plan in advance so they know what to expect. Kids are smarter than adults give them credit for. Explain the importance and how critical it is for them to manage their blood sugar levels, and help work together with them to meet in the middle. There should be diabetes management as priority balanced with enjoyment!
Avoid Temptation
If you’re planning on handing out candy to trick-or-treaters, I recommend only buying the candy the day of Halloween and never purchase your favorite kind. You don’t want your favorite candy hanging around the house for days, willpower can only work for so long.
Also, be sure to take any leftover candy to friends or a food bank, the day after Halloween.
Even better, you could distribute stickers, fake tattoos, erasers or small toys instead. Children get enough candy on Halloween, you’ll not be doing yourself a favor, but the children in your neighborhood.
Eat The Right Foods
Just because summer is gone and the holiday season feels here, it doesn't mean it’s time to go outside of the limits and ruin your positive habits and diet or health eating routines! Especially when you’ve got diabetes, I can express enough the importance of healthier food choices, which includes choosing healthier fats, and being smart about snack choices.
Whether you’re celebrating Halloween only on the day, over a weekend or over multiple parties, whenever you’re going to be celebrating, don’t let it be an excuse to fall off the wagon all day. Keep to your usual breakfast routine, if its a healthy one of course. Make sure you include good fats and protein at breakfast. Healthy protein and fat is an excellent stabilizer of your appetite, helping to keep your energy in check, and reduce cravings throughout the day.
Some good nutrient-rich and balancing food options for breakfast include eggs, yogurt, ricotta, cottage cheese and nuts.
Keeping up your healthy morning routines will also help you help keep your energy in check and your body and metabolism moving. If you need some inspiration for your morning routine, check out my blog on My Favorite Morning Habits for Happy Weight-Loss!
Diabetic and Sugar-Free Candy & Chocolate
Many diabetics will proudly opt for diabetic Halloween candy and treats with thinking that they’re making a smarter choice and easily crushing the temptation dilemma. Well please don’t opt for diabetic candy.
Diabetic candy and chocolate is not any better for the body’s blood glucose, and just as high in fat and calories as ordinary candy. Plus, these labeled diabetic treats in fact not legal. Saying that a food is a ‘diabetic food’ is now against the law, because there isn’t any evidence that those foods will provide any special benefit.
Now… let’s talk about those sugar-free or sugarless Halloween candies.
While these candies are often easily accessible and recommended on health websites… store bought sugar-free Halloween candies and chocolates usually use sugar alcohols, such as maltitol, xylitol, and sorbitol, which actually have a negative impact on blood glucose levels and when eaten in larger quantities, can have the same effects on you as laxatives.
Making Your Own Diabetes-Friendly Halloween Candy & Chocolate
There is nothing better than baking at a holiday, esp. at such a stress free holiday like Halloween. Why not enjoy Halloween goodies that you’ve made yourself this year?
And most importantly you’ll know what you’re putting in your body. Homemade sweets which are made sugar free using pure, natural, and less blood sugar spiking sweeteners and options.
Even if you’re not skilled in the kitchen, honestly you don’t need to feel overwhelmed or stressed about the concept; there are a ton of really simple and tasty recipes which use only fruit or pure natural stevia.
Baking is actually a really great activity to do with your kids or the family kids esp. if they have diabetes… healthy Halloween treats baking time makes for a fantastic bonding activity full of Halloween fun.
The Best Diabetes-Friendly Sweeteners for DIY Halloween Chocolate
When you’re opting for smarter healthy recipes for your Halloween baking be sure to not fall into the trap of so-called healthy sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, and coconut sugar, as these options are still very high on the glycemic index.
Instead, for a healthy blood sugar level stable sweetener opt for 100% pure stevia or 100% monk fruit. Banana puree, whole fruits and dates also make great choices.
Of course, just because something is healthy doesn't you should overdo it. Too much stevia and monk fruit can cause cravings and too many whole fruits like bananas or berries is obviously something you need to be careful with because of blood sugar levels. A moderate amount should be okay, just be careful not to binge eat.
Diabetes: What to Do About Eating Halloween Desserts & Candy?!
Can you even eat sugar and junk food at all on Halloween!?!
You need to be careful here guys.
If you strictly manage blood glucose levels for your diabetes, balance your diet and then go shock your body with a bucket load of chocolates and candies spiking those levels in a major way very quickly, is not a good idea, at ALL.
However, its not all doom and gloom. Some people who have diabetes can tolerate eating small amounts of sugar without having a detrimental effect on themselves.
Yes, you may be working very hard on controlling or even reversing your diabetes using the power of nutrition, but it is okay to moderately ease off. With permission from your doctor or healthcare provider, as long as you focus on heavy moderation and are safe with your choices, a treat at Halloween is okay!
For those of you who can tolerate eating small amounts sugar, your key to success is sugar balance, eating small portions, and make sure you go for the best quality/healthiest stuff.
Dark chocolate over milk or white is your best choice, as dark chocolate contains more cocoa solids, and usually will contain less added sugars, and a lower amount of carbs, meaning it won´t affect your sugar levels as much as your other standard chocolates.
When going out to a Halloween party or celebration, ask the host or bring your own food items and keep the packaging to help with carb and sugar counting. Yes, include carb – every person who has diabetes needs to be careful to include carb in their carbohydrate counts and not to go overboard.
A bit of chocolate is at Halloween, usually fine for most people with diabetes.
But it really depends on your diabetes. Different people’s different diabetes reacts differently and in different ways. Only eat chocolate after being strictly advised that this is OK by your healthcare professional.
You Must Practice Moderation
In know… I've mentioned ‘moderation’ a lot. The thing is I can’t stress the importance enough: MODERATION IS KEY.
An average small candy bar or Halloween candy is usually suitable for an adult who has well-controlled diabetes and has an understanding of their blood sugar levels, but still I advise you to please be careful not to go further. Don’t go binging all Halloween. It can be especially challenging to be disciplined when you’re surrounded by mounds of Halloween candy everywhere from the workplace to your home.
For diabetic children it can be even harder when they watch friends eat candy without thinking twice about how much they can eat. But you gotta keep portions small and be smart about when you can indulge.
Another important note for you is that Halloween doesn’t mean your usual portion control of savory foods should go out of the window!
Many savory foods that’ll you’ll find over at the buffet table won’t be part of a normal diabetes clean eating diet that can control and even reverse diabetes.
For example:
Pizza will be high in processed carbs from the white flour (which can spike your blood sugar levels) and sugar from the sauce.
The meats will be slathered with butter and brown sugar.
Halloween fruit bowls will be glazed with blood sugar level spiking honey or even worse sugar syrups.
Potato chips are fried and starchy.
These foods aren’t clean and can seriously wreck a diabetic friendly diet?
Pay close attention and chose mini options – eat only one slice of pizza and make sure you have a slice with the most veggies toppings, skip the chips and opt for whole grain crackers and guacamole. Focus on keeping your carb (especially processed carb) intake in check.
If you find moderation a struggle, try eating with mindful thinking. Mindfulness is a state of being in which you are focused 100 percent on the present moment and without distraction.
Awareness like this is particularly important when attempting to avoid negative eating patterns, cravings binges and self-medicating.
For example: Try to savor the taste of your candy or treats at Halloween. Don’t just cram down everything you set your eyes on. Whenever you choose to eat or drink something, focus on the flavors, the way it tastes and makes you feel.
If you need help getting started with mindfulness, and don’t know where to even start? No worries, check out my blog post on it here!
A full how-to exercise + workbook for getting started with mindful eating to improve eating habits & health.
If you’re unsure on how to track your blood sugar levels, then carry out blood tests and be sure to ask your health care provider for guidance.
Swap Eating for Creating New Halloween Traditions
‘Carve’ out some time for Halloween fun.
Like with other holidays and celebrations Halloween doesn’t have to be all about candy and snacks. Create traditions and consider focusing on activities you, your family, and/or friends would enjoy. Center this around spending time together.
Take the focus off of candy by encouraging fun, arts, and crafts projects, pumpkin carving and painting, watching a Halloween movie, tell ghost stories with a flashlight, hayrides, spooky scavenger hunts with trinkets to find or have a costumes party without going trick-or-treating and with plenty of dancing.
Having fun and creating memories doesn't have to revolve around food.
For diabetic kids:
👉 start Halloween themed crafting activities and replace candy treats with toys or books, for example.
For diabetic adults:
👉 why not treat yourself or a diabetic friend with a pumpkin picking, card vouchers, flowers, free spa treatment, horror movie night, haunted house tours or Halloween dance party.
Get Active
Just because the season of fun is among us, doesn't mean healthy routines should be put on hold until January… yes I'm talking about exercise!
Exercise and physical activity is not only one of the best tools for keeping your mind clear, fighting off lethargy, increasing calorie burn, boosting energy, but thanks to metabolic activation and blood circulation from the exercise, its especially for diabetics.
You need to keep up physical activity… even if you skip a gym trip, I suggest you choose a type of movement that you enjoy, and that doesn’t seem like an exercise based chore.
It’s a great idea is to plan your Halloween social activities around your movement; perhaps you could get up a bit earlier to go for an autumn walk before breakfast, hula hoop and jump-rope at your kid’s party, dance at your friend’s spooky costume party, do less eating and plenty of walking at a haunted house or get one of your friends to do a 15 minute HIIT workout with you, or go hiking with a group of family and friends.
When you have a child with diabetes, keep the cartoons off the TV, make sure the Xbox is off and get your kid to join in on Halloween themed sporty activities.
That's all, folks.… living with diabetes shouldn’t stop you from enjoying Halloween!
Halloween is just around the corner – many people with diabetes and their friends and family might be unsure about how the candy, punch and snack tables, might affect their diabetes management. This means it can be a tough time for those with diabetes to resist temptation and/or manage those blood glucose levels.
Diabetes shouldn’t mean you or your friend or family member can’t enjoy spooktacular Halloween fun without risking wacky blood glucose levels and putting yourself at risk of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia.
By incorporating my tips, planning, having the right mindset approach and putting a little extra attention, focus and planning on what you eat and what you do over Halloween, it's totally possible to enjoy your Halloween while keeping your diabetes in check, and without the same amount of stress and worry.
Very moderated amounts of some sugar and processed carbs are okay for most people with diabetes, but it depends on your diabetes.
SO, as always, before modifying your diet or insulin intake, you should consult with your nutritionist or a medical professional and ensure that’ll you’ll be able to control your sugar levels at anytime.
Witch-ing you a Happy Halloween, full of wellness and fun… I hope my Halloween puns haven't driven you batty.