Six Ways To A Healthy Halloween

And… breathe. It’s October. Which means bikini season is no longer upon us and we can all stop feeling guilty about a missed workout or a “sneaky” pizza evening. We can enjoy pumpkin spice-flavoured everything without totting up the calories every time. We can ceremoniously throw our short shorts to the back of our wardrobes and embrace the fuzzy cover-ups and the stretchy yoga pants, and once again hide our pasty bodies from the world. No worries about cellulite on show or awkward tan lines come October.

“Huzzah!” we cry. “Back into our clothes we shall go!”

… Or maybe—just maybe—you actually don’t want to reverse the hard work you put into your “summer body.” In which case, good for you. But how is it possible to indulge in all the flavours and festivities of fall without adding inches to your waist and numbers on the bathroom scale?

Listen up, health nuts: Halloween can still be healthy, and fall can still mean fabulous (and Amy will never, ever give up her love for alliteration). So, without further ado, here are a few tips and tricks to getting into that festive mood for those who aren’t keen to do a Joey Tribiani and live in maternity pants for the next couple of months.

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1. Sign up for a charity race. Fall is the second race season of the year, so there are plenty of 5k and 10k charity races to choose from—or half-marathons, if you’re really up for feeling the burn. Doing a good deed for charity and achieving a new personal milestone (pun intended) … it’s a win/win situation. Plus, you can always walk them if you’re not quite up to speed (sorry) on your running yet.
2. Not feeling competitive? Then hike, my pretties! Bundle up in a warm jacket, pull some hiking boots on and go for a strenuous walk up a hill or through a forest amongst all the crunchy leaves. Nothing says “fall” like feeling the fresh air pinch your cheeks.
3. Go skinny on your pumpkin spice latte. Better still, try soy milk. Soy milk is just as creamy as full-fat, but it contains a similar amount of calories to skimmed. I’ve been ordering sugar-free soy lattes for ages and I’m astonished that few people have cottoned on to this marvellous calorie-curbing trick (or treat, if you want to look at it that way).
4. I can hear the heckles and boos before I’ve even written this, but seriously: avoid the super-reduced bags of trick-or-treat candy after Halloween. Remember you’re in CVS to buy tampons/shampoo/et cetera, not a food baby. You also know you’re not making a smart investment on candy “to last till Christmas,” because you will eat it in one sitting.
5. Play ball. What could be more perfect than a ball game with your friends or family on a crisp autumn day? Go to the park, take a ball, and kick/throw it to your heart’s content.
6. Have your (pumpkin) pie, and eat it too. As if you needed any more reason why you should love pumpkin even more, guess what: it’s nothing short of a superfood. Packed full of beta-carotene (which your body turns into vitamin A), vitamin K and fibre, it’s low in calories (at less than 50kcal per cup) and high in the good stuff.

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Psst! Stuck for ideas? Here are some of my favourite low-cal fall-flavoured treats to sink your fangs into… yes, darlings, you’re welcome!

• Back To Her Roots’ Lighter Pumpkin Pie.
• Back To Her Roots’ Vegan PSL
• Chocolate Covered Katie’s Pumpkin Brownies
• Fit Fun Delish’s Protein Pumpkin Pancakes
• The Skinny Fork’s Pumpkin Parfait

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How do you stay healthy during Halloween? Tweet us @litdarling.