5 ways to Avoid Halloween Temptations

Sometimes it seems as though Halloween is just an excuse to gorge on a whole lot of candy. If you're afraid you won't be able to resist temptation, you don't have to give in without a fight. Here are five strategies to survive the holiday without compromising your diet.

Provide healthy alternatives for you and your kids. Keep a ready supply of nuts, cheese sticks, and fresh fruit on hand throughout the day. By filling up on healthy snacks, you'll feel less of an urge to splurge on sweets.

Donate leftover candy to a children's shelter. If it stays in your house, someone's bound to eat it. Eliminate the danger by giving your leftover candy to someone who needs it more than you do.

Establish a "no leftovers" rule at the office. For all your careful preparation at home, it's sometimes hard to avoid leftover candy at work. Pack South Beach-friendly snacks the night before so you're prepared with alternative munchies.

Don't get taken in by clearance sales. After Halloween is over, stores will try to move as much Halloween merchandise as possible. By avoiding the candy aisle altogether, you won't be tempted to take advantage of the lower prices.

Allow yourself one splurge so you don't feel deprived. No one said you should have no candy at all during Halloween. It is, after all, a holiday that comes but once a year. Treat yourself to one or two small pieces of dark chocolate and move on with your diet.

Add Fitness to your Daily Routine

If you find you can't devote enough time to getting in shape as you would like, there are still plenty of ways you can keep your body active while going about your normal routine.

Try to use stairways instead of elevators whenever possible.

If you can walk there or take a bike, let your body burn energy instead of taking your car.

If you are driving, instead of wasting time looking for a good spot, park further away and walk a couple extra blocks.

Turn your housework into a fitness challenge: Sweep and mop using as much energy as possible, exaggerating your arm movements.

Fold your clothes and do a couple sets of squats at the same time.

Whatever you're doing try and incorporate in some sort of routine that gets your muscles working and heart rate moving. And if you absolutely can't miss your favorite show on TV, try doing some sit-ups and push-ups while you watch or during commercials.

Yoga Break: Desk Yoga for Neck Tension

Often we express stress in our necks and jaws. Without even noticing, we tense in this areas, blocking our breath, decreasing our circulation, and sometimes provoking a headache.

Luckily, we can avoid these symptoms by taking a break to relax the neck. This practice can also help if your headache has already started. Here's how to reduce it:

While seated, interlace your fingers and place your hands on the back of your head. Allow your head and arms to relax forward and your chin to travel toward your chest. The weight of your head and arms, combined with gravity, will begin to release your neck and reduce or eliminate your headache.

Remember that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure-for best results, try this before your headache comes on.

Lunchbox Makeovers

Your school-age child needs a healthy diet just as much as you do. The number of overweight children in the United States has doubled in the last 30 years while parents and doctors struggle to put an end to this growing health crisis. You can start by making over your child's lunch with a few easy changes.

Replace high-fat lunch meats like bologna and honey ham with lower-fat deli meats like roast turkey or lean ham, or even grilled chicken breasts.

Replace white bread with 100% whole wheat bread or multigrain breads.

Replace fried chips and high-fat snacks with plain popcorn, cheese sticks, nuts, or veggies.

Replace fruit in syrup with fresh fruit or fruit packed in its natural juices.

Replace cookies and cakes with yogurt, sugar-free Jell-O, or sugar-free pudding.

Replace sugary fruit drinks and sodas with milk, water, or diet sodas.

An Update and a Joke

I've been a bad blogger as of lately. It's not because I have nothing to say, it's because there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. In any case, I'm still doing good on the South Beach Diet. After Phase I, I lost 13 lbs. Now I'm on Phase II, I weighed myself this morning but haven't lost anything more according to my scale. Which is okay, that happens. When I was on the Jenny Craig diet a few years ago I would loose nothing one week and five pounds the next. So I'm not too worried about it. I was able to wear a pair of jeans that I hadn't been able to comfortably wear just a few weeks ago.

I snagged this from Dick. It's pretty funny. Enjoy!

Q & A on diets/exercise

(Isn't it time to clear the air once and for all?)

Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it...don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body, and you have body fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good.

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: You're not listening. Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO ...... Cocoa beans ... another vegetable!!!It's the best feel good food around.

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!