I received this message today and have attached my response for all to see because this is certainly a major concern for many this time of year!

"I would love some words of wisdom to say to myself every time I walk past the Halloween candy at work.!"

That is NOT FOOD!! Food is fuel. Would you put sugar in the gas-tank of your car?

Automobile gasoline usually comes in 87, 89 and 92 octane. If you could get 25 octane gas

would you put it in your car? Would it be good for your car? Would someone who cares

about his/her car put sub-standard fuel in it?

Care about your BODY at least as much as you care about your car. Fuel it well!

It's not appetizing to me at all anymore...I don't crave it, I don't want it ... looking at LARGE quantities of sugary substances make me sick to my stomach!!! So, I'm "good"

For Halloween, I bought McDonald treat coupons for the kiddies... a win/win all around, IMO

This works for me in the grocery stor: Walk away from the chocolate.

Besides, you could just think of it as bowls of poison set out for the rats.

Sugar has never been a big draw for me. I have always been the one in the office whose desk has the candy bowl. I almost never touched it before weight loss surgery, and I never touch it now. But since I always had it on my desk, I just decided to keep doing that. People have gotten used to it. Other people contribute candy towards it as well. Like I said, for me personally, the candy is not a draw. Now if that bowl contained Cheetos, or potato chips, I'd be doomed.

Edited October 24, 201411 yr by JustWatchMe

I have two good friends at work who keep candy bowls on their desk with the GOOD stuff (Reese's mini cups and Kisses -- my two absolute favorites pre-surgery). They were the only 2 people at work I told about the surgery before I had it. I wanted them to know because I was always their biggest "customer" (big in more than one way) and they would also drop candy off on my desk if they knew I was having a rough day. I wanted them to slap my hand if I unconciously reached for their candy bowls. And I certainly didn't want to come back to work after surgery and find a mound of candy on my desk.

My strategy is -- just walk on by. I try to pat myself on the back everytime for doing it because it is a temptation. However, I know for me personally, chocolate is a slippery slope and I need to stay away because I won't stop when I start.

I do volunteer work at our VFW's Bingo. We have a candy dish on the table with the bingo cards, and it's empty by the time our bingo patrons hit the table. Not a big draw for me except I always loved those little packages of milk chocolate "Whoppers" and had to resist the urge to grab one. I actually enjoy watching the bingo patrons get their sugar fix out of our candy bowl. Halloween is great in that you can get those big bags of candy more reasonable than any other time of the year--I just make sure when I get a bag for Bingo that I don't get one with the Whoppers .

On a side note, I started my pre-op diet two days ago, and doing OK. Had my pre-op surgeon visit yesterday with the lab work and all went smooth. I've lost 11 lbs to date!

How about, "this too shall pass." Candy will be here until the end of time so wait for your time. Or, I know what it taste like and there's nothing new, so I digress. That's what got me here in the first place.

I took the time to find a bunch of Russel Stovers sugar free chocolate candies. They go a long way to curb any craving for sweets I have without blowing my sugar or calorie intake out of the Water. I have also found the Jolly Rancher and a few other hard candy companies also make sugar free versions of their products. You just need to look for them.

I usually do not eat many sweets, but when I feel like I need a little something to combat those cravings, or when it is all around me, I reach for one of these go to options. I can have something a little sweet without blowing my calorie intake for the day.

mind over matter is how i see this

just because its there does not mean we have to eat the whole bowl

have a couple, enjoy and move on..(3500 calories is a pound/ate or drank)

we are stronger than we know or give ourselves credit for

we are not dieting, we are living..