…Give me something healthy to eat?
Is Halloween candy a trick or a treat? With Halloween around the corner, it’s hard to avoid the temptation of that tiny Snickers square or the small bag of bright orange candy corn. Consuming small portions doesn’t feel as bad as eating an entire bag of candy in one sitting, but those small candy package calories do add up.
If you have children, work in an office where people have candy on their desks, or shop at the grocery store, you’re sure to encounter troves of chocolate Tootsie Rolls, chewy Sour Patch Kids and so on. Even I’ve indulged more times than I want to admit, especially this time of year. But the reality is that calories are calories and they add up to weight gain. Just because the portions are smaller doesn’t mean that they are calorie free. Remember: when you consume too much sugar and saturated fat, you will gain weight.
Here is a breakdown of calories, fat and sugar (in that order) in the most popular Halloween candies (“fun size”):
Snickers
72 calories
3.7 grams of fat
7 grams of sugar
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
80
4.5
7
Almond Joy
91
5.1
9.2
Reese’s Nutrageous
95
5.5
7.5
Butterfinger
100
4
10
M&M’s
90
4
11.5
Peanut M&M’s
93
4.7
9.1
Nestle Crunch
51.3
2.7
5.6
Peppermint Pattie
47
1
8.6
Kit Kat
73
3.7
6.7
Dots
70
0
11
Skittles
80
.8
15
Jelly Belly Jellybeans
35
0
7
3 Musketeers
63.3
2
10
Milky Way Dark
81
3
11
Hershey’s Bar
66.7
4
7.7
Take 5
105
5.5
9
100 Grand
95
4
11
Nerds
50
0
12
Whoppers
100
4
13
Mike & Ike
50
0
9
SweeTarts
10
0
2.4
Milk Duds
40
2
6.3
Babe Ruth
85
4
10
Heath Bar
77
4.7
8.7
To see how far you must walk in steps and in miles to burn off the trick or treat calories, check out this Halloween Treats Calorie Calculator: walking.about.com/library/cal/blhalloweencalories.htm
And just remember, to avoid weight gain this holiday season, it’s all about portion control and counting those calories.
Jennifer Adams is a nationally certified personal trainer and exercise instructor who has been in the fitness industry for more than 20 years. She is the owner of Sand N Sea Fitness in Santa Cruz and is a practicing attorney. Contact her at
je******@sa*************.com
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