Many offices and businesses put out candy for their staff and customers the week leading up to Halloween. Studies have shown that if candy is easily accessible and within your reach you will consume 20% more than if you have to get up and walk to it. Remember, the average American gains five pounds from Halloween through New Years.
Most store-bought candy is loaded with saturated fat and processed sugar, both of which as you know are horrible for your health. The fat clogs your arteries and the sugar sends you on an immediate roller-coaster of ups and then crashes you down once your blood sugar levels drop, only leading you to more of a desire to grab your next piece of candy to help get you back up again. It has been said that getting ?off' sugar is almost as hard as kicking heroin because it is so addicting!
So unless you are looking to gain a few pounds and tax your heart with a full day's worth of fat, move the bowl of the sweet stuff to someone else's desk. Better yet, ask everyone in your office if they really want it there. Usually it is put out because "it is always out for Halloween", but in reality most people are trying to watch their sugar and fat intake and even though it tastes good, they actually would welcome not having to resist the urge all day long! (If businesses want to give out something to clients, options can be a simple ghost or bat sticker to pencils and pens decorated in an appropriate theme.
At home, if you have children, you'll be inundated not only with all the loot your kids bring back but also you may have purchased more than you needed to give out to the kids who knocked on your door. What do you do with it all? If possible, the easiest of course is to get rid of it so you're not tempted to eat it! If the bagged candy has not been opened, most stores will let you return what you didn't use. If your ghosts and goblins won't let you throw away their hordes, put most of it in the freezer and only eat ?as needed'! (When I was a child my Mother would freeze our Halloween candy and when we asked for it we would get one piece a day as our desert. On some years there would be so much candy collected, that it would actually last through the year until the next Halloween!)
The last tip for not letting candy get the best of you, is to remember this simple rule: if you bite into a piece thinking it will be really good and it is not as fabulous as you anticipated - spit it out! There is no law that says just because you started it, you have to finish it!
Whether you dipped into the stash while you handed it out at the door, or sneaked some from your own kids trick or treat bags (or just cut to the chase and bought a bag or two for yourself), you overdid it just a bit. Maybe it's the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups that you just can't resist. Or the mini Twix, or Hershey's or Mr. Goodbars. You've created a monster.
Doesn't really matter what it was, if you stepped on the scale and saw a surprise or found your belt a little tight around the middle – you packed on some extra poundage on or around October 31st.
So, what's the easiest way to get rid of that pound or two of candy that's found it's way to your belly, butt or thighs?
A few more hours of mind-numbing cardio? Couple thousand situps or crunches? Maybe starving yourself for a few days is the answer. Truth is, none of these are the best way to drop fat fast.
The real way to beat this post-Halloween curse is to add some interval-type workouts to your routine.
Interval workouts are one of the best ways to burn calories both while you're exercising and long afterward. They can also raise your metabolism and raise the levels of natural fat busting substances in your body. Not only that, the intensity of interval training can actually burn more fat in a shorter period of time than traditional long, slow cardio workouts.
So, how does one go about getting started?
Simply put, interval workouts alternate short bursts of high intensity exercise with longer, slower periods of low intensity or recovery. For example: pedaling as fast as you can on a bicycle for a few seconds, then slowing for a minute or so, then ramping back up to an intense few seconds, bringing it back down, and so on...
And one of the best ways to interval train doesn't take any special kind of equipment – no chrome machines, no heart rate monitors, no fancy digital readouts. All it takes is your own body… and a hill.
Hill training beats other training due to a number of factors. When you do your intervals up hill, you are improving both your strength and speed. You must “lift” or “push” your body up the hill against resistance – just like lifting weights at the health club. The steeper or longer the hill, the more resistance and the more intensity. The higher the intensity, the better your results.
In addition to that, the incline of the hill actually makes it safer for you to train than on flat ground. One way it does this is by protecting your hamstrings. Because your stride is slightly shortened when running up hill, your hamstrings usually do not become over extended – a common cause of pulls. Hill sprints also reduce the impact of running on your lower legs, knees and back. Even a slight grade can decrease the distance your body needs to “fall” with each stride. Less distance means less shock that your body needs to absorb.
And these are just a few of the many advantages of hill sprints.
So, if you hit the candy dish a bit hard over the holiday, give hill training a shot. It's one of the quickest and easiest ways to drop a few of those unwanted pounds – not to mention those few extra inches on certain parts of your bod. Don't let a little slip on Halloween turn into a year-round nightmare.
Besides all that, this training only takes a few minutes to complete. Short workouts, great results. Just the thing to get you into the best shape of your life.
Both Irene Diamond & Tim Kauppinen are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Irene Diamond has sinced written about articles on various topics from Backpackers Guide, Health. . Irene Diamond's top article generates over 1900 views. to your Favourites.
Tim Kauppinen has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Health and Fitness. Tim Alan Kauppinen has over 20 years experience as an athlete and coach. He has developed champion athletes across multiple sports through speed training, strength improvement and conditioning. Coach K is the author of the Uphill Fitness Training, and pub. Tim Kauppinen's top article generates over 110000 views. to your Favourites.