A Halloween without Sugar?

Back when I first started on this random “give up sugar” kick, one of the things I worried about (way back in February and March of this year) was how I would handle Halloween (and the other holidays, for that matter.) Actually, the fact that my brain went straight to “BUT WHAT ABOUT HALLOWEEN???” was one of the reasons I decided I really needed to kick the sugar habit. When you start coming up with outlandish reasons for why you can’t do something sensible, you know you have a problem.

But anyway, Halloween came at last, just as I knew it would. On Saturday, we went out trick or treating with the kids, and I smelled it.

The smell of candy.

We don’t keep a lot of candy in the house, generally speaking. The kids don’t eat a ton of it, which I suppose means I’ve become one of “those parents,” but I don’t think my kids really miss out that much on not having a truckload of candy on hand all the time. So when we were walking around on Saturday, it was very easy for me to smell the candy. You’d think Snickers and Milky Ways wouldn’t have an odor, but they do. I’m not even sure it’s the smell of the candy. I think it’s the smell of the wrappers, personally.

But smell it I did. And for a bit, it was hard for me to face the fact that I wasn’t going to be taking a huge Dad Tax this year.

Not that I went entirely sugar-free on Halloween. We made sugar cookies and frosting and donuts and had the candy and there was a cake in there somewhere, and I most definitely gave myself a pass for the evening. (Maybe even a bit of a pass on Sunday, too.) I ate a few donuts. I had a slice of cake. I had some cookies.

And I felt pretty sick to my stomach after all was said and done. Interestingly enough, I didn’t eat any of the candy (that I can recall.)

When some people hear I mostly don’t eat sugar, they still look to catch me in the act. Eating illicit candy. I think it’s because they take my personal goal as a personal attack. A declaration that any candy or sugar is bad, and that I must be a hypocrite if I still eat any. I remind them all that I give myself a bit of wiggle room, and I’m much happier for that wiggle.

In the end, I had some sweets on Halloween. I probably will still have a bit here or there, and I’m okay with that. But I had a ton less than I would have had before my goal, and that’s what really matters to me. Here I am, eight months after making the resolution, and I’m still sticking to it very well. I put the goal on pause now and then for special occasions, but I’m at the point now that I’m fairly self-regulating. Eating too many sweets doesn’t make me feel good, so I don’t do it. (I know. What a concept!)

Of course, we still have one very large hurdle to get over.

Christmas is coming, my friends. And with it comes all my favorite foods. Fudge. Egg nog. Cookies. We’ll see what happens then . . .