Four Halloween Survival Tips

Halloween begins the Triple Threat weight gain time of the year.

Halloween

Thanksgiving

Christmas 

Here are four tips to make your Halloween fun while controlling the high calorie tricks.

1. Start the burn early

Workout in the morning. A calorie burn in the morning will boost metabolic rate all day and give some extra calories for nocturnal indulgence.

2. Keep candy calorie counts in mind

Candy is candy, and you will have lots calories, sugar, and fats in any treats you receive. However, not all candy is equal. Some candy choices hit the calorie and fat bottom line much harder than others. Here is a quick guide on Best and Worst Halloween Candy courtesy of Eat this, not that.

Portion on control is key as well. Enjoy only a few of your treats on Halloween and save or share the rest over the next one or two weeks.

3. Watch the alcohol

Adult parties with adult beverages are common on Halloween. The calorie breakdown for common alcoholic drinks includes the following:

• 12 oz beer = 150 calories 
• 5 oz wine = 100 calories 
• 6 oz Margarita = 327 calories 

Moderate your drinking or even skip the alcohol to save yourself some calories.

4. Trick-or-treat on your feet

Walk instead of drive the trick-or-treat route. Besides the extra calorie burn with walking, you'll get some additional benefits including:

• visiting fewer homes which means less candy 
• actually talking to neighbors or meeting new people 
• getting your children active 

I hope these tips help you create new Halloween habits. 

Haloween Biggest Loser Show Recap

I was on the road this week and happy for help from the DVR again.

Ten pieces of Halloween Candy has roughly 750 calories

The theme was Halloween for this show. I want to say again that I really HATE temptation challenges. There is something really wrong about rewarding poor choices. This week's temptation was to eat Halloween candy. I was glad to see that nobody succumbed and ate.

The show format was different as well with everyone's status in jeopardy this week which always shakes things up. I expected that the producers would begin to shake things up with things such as team changes or trainer changes. The trainer change came this week, and I see that team changes are next week.


Drama and Love this Week 

Ramon and Jessica are officially a couple. Being on the Ranch really seems bring out romance, witness Matt and Suzy Hoover.

We also got some personal details on John and his life. He wants to be more emotional and open. I mentioned in that past that he comes off as insincere to me. Maybe, he is being real, and he will drop the facade. We also get a bit more on Vinny's tough childhood.


The Trainers

It was good to see the trainers get a chance to work-out everyone this week. The variety of work-out styles was really showcased. Anna's tennis workout was unique and highlighted that a good workout can come by many different methods.

Bob seems to bring the best in everyone including Bonnie. 

Elimination

Jennifer was eliminated this week. Hints were dropped last week that she didn't fit well in the Black team. Everyone seemed to gang up on her even when Sunny gained 5 lbs. I guess she was a source for a lot of drama at the Ranch that was shown. There no hugs or good-byes at her departure further suggesting

I am glad for her that she has lost 102 lbs, and she is gunning for a win at the marathon.

Remains of the Pumpkin

Home Hack Job

Carving the pumpkin is a fun Halloween tradition. I just finished carving our family pumpkin. I included a photo of the hack job.

The job of pumpkin carving is a messy one. The most obvious reward is a hopefully scary or silly jack-o-lantern for the porch on the 31st.

However, the pumpkin seeds present a hidden reward for those who are willing to invest some extra effort.



Toasting pumpkin seeds from the carved pumpkin makes for a fun and flavorful snack. Cleaning the seeds is relatively easy. They can be washed thoroughly in a colander or boiled briefly to remove the stringy pumpkin flesh.

Here is a basic recipe courtesy of Food Network  for toasted pumpkin seeds. I use this basic recipe, but I add 2 teaspoons of cumin along with 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper.

Pumpkin seeds are relatively high in fat as are all nuts. A cup of toasted seeds has 286 calories. However, enjoyed in small portions, they can be a tasty treat. Give them a try this Halloween Season!