(Second time today – I hope you’re happy to see me in your inbox again! When I posted earlier today about the benefits of cleansing, I had forgotten (wishful thinking?) that it was Halloween tonight. I’m hopeful that I can help you enjoy Halloween treats without the usual remorse and self-hatred, so I’m indulging myself by talking to you twice!)

So, does Halloween scare you?
Not the scary costumes or the skeletons hanging on the trees.

All that candy.
In your house.
While everyone else is sleeping.

If I had a dollar for every Halloween candy I stole from my kids while they were asleep…
Well….
I’d be writing this from my yacht on the Caribbean right now.

Fortunately, I found a better way to do Halloween.
Here’s how I get to enjoy every candy that I eat without overindulging:

I tell myself I can have as much Halloween candy as I want.
In public.

Here’s why:

All those years I told myself I couldn’t have it.
Because I would gain weight.
Because I was too fat.
Because they would think I have no self-control.
I ate tons of it.
In secret.
Hiding from my family and myself.
And didn’t even enjoy it.

A few years ago, I remembered being a rebellious teen
And how excited I was to smoke with my friends behind my parents’ back.
When my parents found out, smart people that they are, they didn’t react or forbid me.
As soon as I was allowed to smoke openly
It lost all it’s allure
And I noticed how disgusting smoking felt and tasted to me.

If telling myself I can’t have the candy leads to over-induglence and shame
Then the opposite directive should lead to the opposite result, right?

Right.

As soon as I allowed myself to eat as  much candy as I want
All resistance crumbled.
The war in my head dissolved quicker than the cotton candy.

Without the arguing voices (“no I can’t”, “yes I can”, “I shouldn’t”,”just watch me”)
There is peace.
And in the silence I can hear how much I want, how much is enough, and when it’s just no longer delicious.

Which is usually after three or four.
Because, now that I actually pay attention and truly taste it,
Halloween candy, for me, falls far short of a gastronomic treat.