“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 31st… 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!!

BRAND CALs. FAT RUNNING SWIMMING CYCLING LIFTING
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups – 5 miniatures 220 13g 17 mins. 15 mins. 39 mins. 26 mins.
Kit Kat – 2 fun size bars 210 11g 16 mins. 15 mins. 37 mins. 24 mins.
Sour Patch Kids – 1 fun size pack 210 0g 16 mins. 15 mins. 37 mins. 24 mins.
Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Kisses – 9 pieces 200 12g 16 mins. 14 mins. 35 mins. 23 mins.
Butterfinger – 2 fun size bars 170 7g 13 mins. 12 mins. 30 mins. 20 mins.
Snickers – 2 fun size bars 160 8g 12 mins. 11 mins. 28 mins. 19 mins.
Twix – 2 fun size bars 160 8g 12 mins. 11 mins. 28 mins. 19 mins.
Almond Joy – 2 snack size bars 160 9g 12 mins. 11 mins. 28 mins. 19 mins.
Mounds – 2 snack size bars 160 7g 12 mins. 11 mins. 28 mins. 19 mins.
Starbursts – 8 pieces 160 3g 12 mins. 11 mins. 28 mins. 19 mins.
Candy Corn – 19 pieces 140 0g 10 mins. 9 mins. 23 mins. 15 mins.
Gummi Bears – 14 pieces 130 0g 10 mins. 9 mins. 23 mins. 15 mins.
Three Musketeers – 2 fun size bars 127 4g 10 mins. 9 mins. 22 mins. 15 mins.
York Peppermint Pattie – 2 snack size patties 120 2g 9 mins. 8 mins. 21 mins. 14 mins.
Tootsie Rolls – 5 pieces 117 2.5g 9 mins. 8 mins. 20 mins. 14 mins.
Peanut M&Ms – 1 fun size pack 90 5g 8 mins. 6 mins. 16 mins. 11 mins.
Skittles – 1 fun size pack 60 0.5g 5 mins. 4 mins. 11 mins. 7 mins.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! PS. Halloween falls on a Wednesday this year, which means I’ll be teaching – in costume (seriously) and our playlist will include some of my festive faves (Thriller, among others!). See you on the 31st!!