If You Give a Girl a Bag of Halloween Candy…: Avoiding the Candy Binge

First, a Story:

If you give a girl a bag of Halloween candy, she will insist she'll only have one piece.

But that one turns into two, three, four until the wrappers are piled high.

When she realizes how many pieces she's eaten, she'll probably swear that she won't have any more candy, period.

Faced with this self-imposed restriction, she'll think about the candy for the rest of the day. This may only last one day, or might go on for a few days, until she can't take it anymore.

If you give a girl a bag of Halloween candy, and she sets a restriction for herself, she'll end up binging on even more candy.

And when she, once again, realizes how many pieces she's eaten, she'll probably swear that she won't have any more candy, period.

And the cycle continues.

- This story was inspired by “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” and personal experience.

 Halloween: The True Start of the Holiday Season

There are mixed opinions on when the holiday season starts. Many insist it isn't until Thanksgiving, or even after Thanksgiving, but I disagree. As far as I'm concerned, the season starts around mid-October with Halloween festivities. My logic? That's when opportunities to binge and restrict begin.

I'm not saying that the Holiday Season is only about eating, but food plays a large role, both culturally and socially. We gather and feast, we bake for the season, and we (I) eat a LOT of chocolate, beginning in October with spooky bags of assorted candy.

A Brief Look at the Restrict-Binge Cycle

The restrict-binge cycle came up last year around this time, and we'll talk about it more in-depth as we get closer to the feast-centric holidays. For now, here’s a quick breakdown of the cycle.

It often starts with shame, which is a common trigger for disordered eating behavior. This shame can come from the time of year, the way we feel about ourselves, or even the comments we hear from friends and family.

Regardless of its origin, our shame leads us to restriction. We think taking control of our diet or changing our eating habits will eradicate our shame. So we eat less or remove certain foods from our diet, both forms of restriction.

Our restrictions have a stronger biological and psychological effect on us than most people realize, and we find ourselves in the third stage of the cycle: facing intense cravings.

It might be for food in general, or for the things we’re refusing to eat, but these thoughts become obsessions. We think about food at all times, track our meals, and feel unsatisfied even after a meal.

Our cravings eventually get the best of us and we find ourselves binging. This is the final stage of the cycle. We seek out food, specifically the foods we deprive ourselves of, and eat and eat and eat. It doesn’t matter if we’re full, or even tasting the food at all, we want it and can’t stop eating it.

Then comes the shame again. And once again, this shame will lead us to restriction, and the cycle will continue on.

It’s easy to fall into this routine without realizing we’re doing it. This cycle doesn’t always happen as severely, with intense binges and restrictions, but that doesn’t make it any less concerning. Whether we’re more likely to experience the cycle as a subtle repetition or intense ebb and flow, here are some ways to stay away from the cycle.

Avoiding Restriction: The Don’ts

There are plenty of people who have a comfortable, positive relationship with food year-round. However, thanks to a variety of factors (including almond moms,) a large part of the population feels anxious around large amounts of food, especially foods generally deemed “unhealthy.”

Starting with Halloween candy and ending somewhere around a New Year's feast, this anxiety can spike as more situations centering on food arise. Using candy as an example, here are some examples of how we can avoid binge eating.

Don’t Compensate

Compensation can come in different forms. Often, people will “save calories” if they know they’ll be going out or eating more calorie-dense foods later in the day, or perhaps skipping lunch after eating a handful of candy. Don’t do this! Not only will you be hungry and uncomfortable (and hangry!) during the day, but there’s a good chance you’ll eat even more when your hunger gets the best of you.

Another form of compensation comes after the fact when people exercise to “burn off extra calories.” While there’s nothing wrong with exercising, don’t do it for this reason! In addition, the idea of “calories in, calories out” is oversimplified, and the way bodies process, store, and use energy is much more complex. A set of 50 squats is not equal to three kit-kat bars, regardless of what the internet tries to tell you.

Don’t Make Foods Off Limits

As discussed above, creating restrictions is almost guaranteed to lead to cravings. Whether we crave the things we’ve put off limits, or just crave food in general, these urges eventually get the best of us. We start eating these restricted foods and can’t stop ourselves, regardless of how hungry we are or if we’re even tasting the food anymore. Telling yourself you can’t have any candy, even with a whole bowl of it placed somewhere around work or home, is a guarantee that you’ll end up having a lot more candy than you intended.

Don’t Moralize Food

This goes along a little with making foods off-limits. So often, we put labels like “good” and “bad” on food. Food doesn’t have morals! There is no good or bad food. It’s true that some foods nourish our bodies more than others, but plenty of foods are just as nourishing for our spirit! Like chocolate. Chocolate might not have a lot of vitamins, minerals, or necessary nutrients, but it does have soul-nourishing goodness! Dictating foods as good or bad is an easy segue into restriction, and we all know how that goes!

The Dos of Food Enjoyments

Creating and maintaining a healthy relationship with all foods isn’t just about not doing things. There are practices we can and should adopt to help keep us in the right mind space while also enjoying treats.

Do Allow Yourself Enjoyment

Have the kit-kat, and savor the kit-kat! Maybe it’s just cheap supermarket chocolate, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. Allowing yourself to enjoy something like Halloween candy can reduce the specialness of it, making it less exciting and leading to less of a desire to eat large quantities of it. Habituate all foods by allowing them to exist in your space and allowing yourself access to them.

Do Listen to Cravings

Even if you do habituate food, you might still find yourself craving something in particular, possibly sweets or carbs. I’ve seen plenty of posts insisting that “craving x means you actually need Y,” but that just fuels our restriction fire. If you’re craving something, like a Twix bar, let yourself have it! Again, enjoy it. I’m also a big fan of the mindset “add, don’t subtract.” If you’re craving a Twix bar, don’t eat that for your lunch. Use it as a component in a nourishing and satisfying meal. My go-to addition for sweets is often Greek yogurt. It’s high in protein, so half a cup and some chopped-up Twix is the perfect snack to satisfy your sweet tooth and leave you full.

Do Pay Attention to Your Body

It might sound silly, but eating Halloween candy (or other foods) shouldn't be a quick pop-it-in-your-mouth-and-move-along if you struggle with your food relationships. Pay attention to your hunger levels, emotions, and senses before, during, and after eating the candy. Are you hungry or full? Excited, sad, or upset? Is it crunchy or chewy? Take time to experience what you’re eating.

If You Give a Girl a Bag of Halloween Candy…

And she is actively working on developing and maintaining a healthy relationship with food, she won’t insist on only having one piece. She might have a few or none at all and might eat them as a snack or as part of a larger meal.

As the holiday season continues, she won’t avoid parties and other get-togethers where food is involved out of fear of too many “bad” foods.  She’ll listen to her body, enjoy the foods she eats, and exercise because she enjoys it (or at least appreciates the physical and mental health benefits).

It might seem like I’m making a big deal out of nothing, but it’s important to start thinking about how the Holiday Season affects your relationship with food. If the idea of losing control at family dinners and get-togethers with your friends fills you with anxiety, you need to make changes to save yourself from the restrict-binge cycle.

Photo by Tangerine Newt on Unsplash