“What’s the best way to burn off all the Halloween candy I ate?”  Honestly, I’ve been asked this question every year since I started training.  Sometimes, I’m asked mid-October!  Realistically, most of us will dip a hand into the treat bowl on Halloween night.  I must say, it’s ridiculous to think about calculating specific amounts of activities to burn off holiday indulgences, and this is NOT the intention for this post!!   The purpose of doing this is to give it all some perspective!  Looking at the calories, fat, or sugar in a Halloween treat and the exercise equivalent of these little indulgences makes me think about what I’m about to eat – or put back in the treat bowl! What’s one little piece?  Well… let’s see.  First, one little piece usually turns to 5 or 10 or more since they are so small.  Second, they take less than half a minute to munch so that little morsel is gone before you’ve even realized you’ve eaten it!   Also, don’t be fooled by words like “fun size” and “snack size.” The next thing you know, one little bite-sized candy bar has become 20, there are tiny wrappers littering your living room, you’re not hungry for the dinner you rushed home to make and you’re starting to get mad at yourself. It’s hard to have just one…Heck – all those little candies and chocolates are right there in a bowl that you have your hands on 50 to 100 times on Halloween night!  How’s that for temptation!   Speaking of temptation, my strategy is to NOT buy Reese Peanut Butter Cups… they are my personal favourite and too hard to pass up.  I also don’t buy the candy until a day or two before the 31^st… because I can’t eat what I don’t have in my house!!    Back to my topic at hand:  What is the cost of indulging in that festive bowl of treats?  Let’s look at the exercise equivalent of some popular treats.  Again, I don’t think of it as “burning off what I ate”, because I know the body doesn’t work like that…. I think of it as “Is this really worth it?” To keep you motivated through this Halloween season, here’s my list of exercise equivalents to some candy favorites.

 EXERCISE EQUIVALENTS FOR YOUR HALLOWEEN FAVOURITES

Note:  Refer back to this list when thinking about raiding your kids’ stash!!