Happy almost Halloween! With the holiday approaching, I want to talk a bit about how diet culture steals Halloween. Yes, diet culture steals Halloween from us. Let’s go through a few different scenarios that model how this can be true in your own life.
This year, my children, who are teenagers, are not going to be trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. I’m sure there are readers who can relate! So, when I buy candy beforehand, I put it in a bowl and leave it on the counter, so whoever wants to is able to eat it. Thinking back to when they were younger, this is different. And, something I hear from many people is they will not buy candy until actual Halloween Day because they’re going to open it and eat the whole entire bad before the holiday even comes. This cycle of buying candy before Halloween, eating it all, and not having candy for Halloween Day is a cycle fueled by restriction. In fact, all of the ways I mention diet culture steals Halloween is based on restriction.
That’s the first scenario; buying a bag of candy and not being able to put it out or have it in the house without eating it all. So, thinking back on the times when my children would go out to trick-or-treat through the neighborhood, we’d arrive home with their candy. Going through all their candy was always such a fun activity. They’d be able to eat the candy they wanted, it went away before bed, and they’d then be able to have a piece of candy each day following Halloween. I was guilty of following this all too common pattern. They’d be able to have a piece of candy with their lunch and a piece of candy with their dinner. And then, after a couple of days I’d find wrappers all over the house, under the sofa, under their beds, in the couch cushions. In this scenario the children are also being restricted from Halloween candy. And, they’re bingeing on it. When we restrict things from our children, it can be the start of them having a negative relationship with food. You can’t blame yourself because you may have not even realized what was happening. To explain, when your children start to feel like candy is bad and they can only eat it when it is given to them, rather than eating when they feel like they want to, can build this negative relationship towards food. Now, I’m not advocating for letting them eat ten pieces right before dinner, but, let them honor their hunger as well as their satisfaction factor.
Finally, you may find yourself restricting yourself from the candy that is around you. Some things you may have said to yourself are: “I’m on keto, I’m counting my points, I’m on a diet that restricts sugar/carbs/fats…” or, whatever the diet culture voice rationalizing the restriction was for you. But, what happens if you have a bad day? You may find yourself home alone and opening up a million candies and eating them. And, if that happened, you probably started the restriction-binge cycle again.
All of these scenarios involve restriction. They are not allowing yourself, or others, to have the things you want when you want them. Think of the restriction-binge cycle like a bow and arrow. This is an example we call upon frequently because if you are to pull an arrow in a bow really tight in one direction (think restricting), it is going to fly out of the bow and go in the opposite direction (think bingeing). Or, think of the pendulum example. If you hold a ball on a pendulum so high (restriction) and let it swing into the connecting balls, a huge shift in the opposite direction will result (bingeing).
So, think of candy and this year’s Halloween. Allow yourself to not restrict yourself from candy this year. By doing this, you eventually realize what feels good to your body. You may want a Hershey’s chocolate bar at one point in the day but feel another way later in the day. If you go through a period where you are re-habituating to the candy, know that you will also get to the point of not wanting to eat it anymore and you don’t want as much to reach the same level of satisfaction. Check out our blog post to read deeper into these ways of viewing the restriction-binge cycle & food habituation. If you’re not restricting, you can realize that eating that chocolate was good and you are satisfied. Reflect about how you may do things differently this Halloween for you and in your life.
I know I’m going to try a caramel candy from my candy bowl. I haven’t tried it yet but I imagine it will make me feel good. And if it does, I may want another later, or I might not, either is fine. Or, maybe I won’t like it as much as I thought I might. Everything is an opportunity to learn more about yourself and your body!
Happy Halloween, and I hope everyone goes ahead and eats the damn candy!
If this blog post resonated with you, you can hear more by listening to our Facebook video discussing Halloween and how diet culture encourages restricting Halloween candy. You can listen to our Find Food Freedom® Facebook video here!
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