Spooky sweets, healthier treats: Mindfulness for Halloween moderation
Halloween candy marks the beginning of ultra-processed food season: We see you, Thanksgiving’s green bean casseroles and Christmas’s storebought cookies. How do we make sure we’re not mindlessly filling up on all the extra treats that surround us during the fall and winter holiday season?
Samantha Harden, associate professor and exercise specialist in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise at Virginia Tech, encourages us to enjoy the flavors of the season while remaining mindful and prioritizing movement.
“At its core, mindfulness means being present: able to direct your attention and observe, or as we say in a lot of yoga practices, ‘notice what you notice,’” Harden said.
Harden recommends ways to self-regulate, or “tune in to you.” You can press your feet to the ground to come to the present moment, take a big breath in and out in stressful situations, and find a quiet place to focus on your breath.
“You might realize you are angry or hungry,” Harden said. “These are associated as ‘negative’ states, but they’re just signals. Essentially, being mindful is being present with what is, not fighting or judging it.”
It is important to know that being mindful does not necessarily mean you will feel pleasant, and it is not easy. Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, said while people can give up smoking, drinking, or gambling, they can’t stop eating.
“The challenge, and the still open and controversial question, is defining which foods have the most potential for addiction and why,” said DiFeliceantonio, who also is associate director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute's Center for Health Behaviors Research and an assistant professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise. “Once we know which types of processed foods are most likely to lead to addictive behavior, we may be able to improve global health.”
Scientists with the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, in collaboration with an international team of researchers, published an analysis in a special edition of the British Medical Journal that recommends an international shift in the way we think about ultra-processed food.
The co-authors represent international expertise on food addiction, nutrition physiology, gut-brain reward signaling, food policy, behavioral addiction, and eating disorders. They call for more study and science surrounding ultra-processed foods.
“Given how prevalent these foods are — they make up 58 percent of calories consumed in the United States — there is so much we don’t know.” DiFeliceantonio said.
Harden said a healthy lifestyle happens among and with the ebbs and flows of holidays, birthdays, retirements, promotions, weddings, and other events throughout the year. The challenge, she said, is the internal narrative that is directed by societal expectations or personal goals. This is where mindfulness is important.
“Eating Halloween candy? OK. Be present. Enjoy every bite. Slow down. Hear the crinkle, smell the candy. Replay the joy of your own kiddo or the kids in the neighborhood. Seal in the moment and the joy,” Harden said.
Harden added that if you are on a weight management journey, always remember a new moment starts right away. Avoid the “What the heck” phenomenon.
“People often say, ‘I ate poorly for breakfast, so what the heck, I’ll keep indulging,’” Harden said. “A new moment starts right now.”
Being mindful of the food we eat is important, and so is movement. Harden said every movement counts and simple things add up: dance around your kitchen, park farther from the door at the grocery store, even sign up for that Thanksgiving 5k.
“You don’t have to run it all — you don’t even have to finish — but you might find a crisp morning of moving and smiling with family, friends, and strangers brings more memories and delight than you would think,” said Harden.
Harden offers this advice for navigating mindfulness around food and movement: “Food is medicine, nourishment to the body, and deeply personal and cultural. Enjoy food made with love. Love this body that carries you through life.”
