Are chocolate bunnies and candied sweets calling your name? If you're facing a family get-together that you know will be focused on food, use these tips to stay on track:


It's OK to treat yourself to a small amount of chocolate or another sweet. Go ahead and savor it, and then put the craving behind you. Remember, no food is bad—it's all about portion sizes!
Try to eat before you go to a family function where you know healthy food choices will be limited. You won't be as tempted to fill your plate with large portions.
Offer to bring a healthy choice, such as fruit salad or a vegetable tray, to gatherings.
Be aware of old family habits. If someone urges you to, "Oh, go ahead and have some," or pressures you to, "Just finish this off," be ready to politely but firmly decline. Visualize yourself saying, "No," without feeling guilt or offering excuses.

Denise Austin

My only problem with the sweets, especially chocolate, is that I can't just have a 'small' portion. That is what I have to work on. So for now, I am just trying to stay away from those sweets that are not healthy ones. As soon as I get this portion control down I will give it a try again. Having that easter candy around was a disaster, but I am past that now...Thanks for the good advice.

Uh, no, Gina, actually they weren't -- that is, until you brought them up!! Thanks a whole heck of a lot! Just kidding, Gina....great suggestions for those who will face temptation. For those of us not around kids, I'd expect it's a bit easier.

Oooh, it's really hard now because everytime I go into Wal- Mart, they have all of the leftover chocolate eggs -n- bunnies half off!!! Ack, how tempting! But I gotta remember, the price is half off, but not the calories!!! tee hee

Give them to kids, little kids (and, hey, middle schoolers and high-schoolers) feel *so* special when you give them just *one* piece of candy and say "hey, have a great day"

I packaged up all my candy and gave it to my friend who eats anything! (And has the body to prove she has the metabolism to burn it off!)

Thanks Gina!

Today in my speech course, the professor played a game to review for the exam where she gave out easter candy for each correct answer (I instantly panicked-candy?!?! Before lunch?!?!). I took a deep breath and popped a piece of gum in my mouth and gave away all my rewards at the end of the game to other students.

I didn't think I would have to worry about this in college.

As a compulsive overeater, I have the same issue as Tammy: I absolutely cannot eat chocolate in any amounts. It sends me to bingeing faster than anything. We did have it in the house, though. I credit most of my success to the fact that I "detoxed" from chocolate back in December and have absolutely no desire to have it run my life ever again. (I know many of you who don't have an eating disorder think I'm blowing this control issue way out of proportion, but I'm really not. Seriously. It's like an alcoholic trying to take "just one sip.")

My hubby did buy me some sugar free chocolate (which has no real chocolate...just "chocolate flavoring"). Never again. ugh. They tasted good, but I have never been so stinky and gassy in my LIFE. :blech:

Jessica...That does kind of stink for the teacher to do that in college. My daughter is eight and they reward at her school still with candy. It kind of irritates me. Her teacher is not to bad. He rewards quite a bit with crackers or pencils and erasers. But she has more than one teacher and the other one rewards with the candy alot. I don't know if it is just me, but I think this kind of rewarding could lead to some serious eating problems. Maybe I am blowing it out of proportion. I don't know. Just my thoughts.

Kuddos for passing up the temptation Jessica!!!


Jenelle, I sure hope that the cravings calm down some after awhile. It has been one month since I changed my eating patterns. Maybe in the next couple of months it will get better. At the moment I am managing to control it except for the easter candy slip.

There seems to be chocolate everywhere.... Everyone at work has brought in their left overs... For me, if I'm really really craving it... I'll just have 1 or 2 Hershey Kisses.. not too many calories and it totally satisfies the craving...

Jennelle - I understand the total abstinence approach. I am not following an OE anonymous approach, but I did totally cut out chocolate (and other food - crisps/chips/cake/biscuits/nuts etc) for about a year. Quite recently, I have started eating moderate amounts of chocolate and nuts, and I have really enjoyed them and had no cravings at all, and no negative effects on my weightloss - so far this approach has worked for me

Jessica - I am totally against teachers handing out candy in school; let alone professors handing out candy in college! Why does it have to be food incentives, GRRRR? Lots of other things teachers can do..... I have recently started working on a telephone helpline for people with mental health issues....the volunteer co-ordinator is very good to us, and there is an endless supply of biscuits, chocolate and buns...I am planning (very politely) to point out that an organisation which is concerned about health should at least balance all the sugar and fat with fruit!

WOW! Jessica....good for you turning down the reward chocolate! I'm sure that your classmates appreciated your chocolate-generosity.

Jennelle - doesn't sound like you are blowing the chocolate thing out of proportion. Most of us have a "red-light" food that will just send us into binge mode (at least I would have thought that most of us do???). Mine is potato chips. I am unable to have just a small bowl....I seem to eat them until I feel ill, so I just don't eat them anymore. It just isn't worth it.

Tammy - I can't believe that teachers still "reward" students with candy. I'm not sure that I would be thrilled with the message that this send kids, either.

D'oh! I am a teacher and do you know, I never even put the candy = reward thing together until just now! (bangs head against wall...) I am definitely guilty of giving candy as a reward. I don't do it all the time (our class rewards for so many points of good behavior are not food based at all, but are things like 15 minutes of extra recess, "get out of homework free" passes for all the kids, etc.), but I do do it. In fact, right now, we have a daily proofreading contest going on and I've been giving the winning team Tootsie-Roll pops on Fridays. (hangs her head in shame)

Thanks for helping me to see the light! (Can you tell that food was ALWAYS a reward when I was growing up....?)

Jenelle, don't feel bad. I did not put two and two together until I really decided to change my way of eating. I was rewarded with food (and candy) to and then when I got older and had my own job as a teenager I rewarded myself even more!! My mother was a huge fan of candy. She still eats alot of sweets. I don't know what I am going to do when I visit her this summer..She loves to go to Dariy Queen. I will have to have the ultimate control. I have faith I can do it though.

Kids are very receptive to candy rewards and they will usually work pretty hard for them. I guess it did not become an issue until recently when we are learning that our children are becoming more obese as children and into adulthood. I blame some of this to issues such as both parents having to work, video games, and just the tv in general. More and more both parents have to work. There is not an option for one parent to stay at home as the economy won't allow that. I just don't want my children to have to endure everything that I have already.

Whoa..that kind of got deep and off track. Sorry you guys. Sometimes my mind just starts working overtime.

Thanks Tammy! It was hard to give up those M&M's. A friend of mine brought the issue of giving candy as a reward to her child's teacher (her "child" is 13) and it was met with a LOT of grief. Not only was the teacher a jerk about it but he would say things in class about the young lady like, "Everyone BUT Susie can have some candy because Susie's mom thinks it's bad for her." GRRR!

Jennelle, one of my teacher's (in third grade) used to give us a mark on a bulletin board list for every thing she wanted to reward us for. Then, at the end of the month, she gave us each a raffle ticket for every reward point we got. The raffle tickets went into a hat (so, the better you were, the more chances you got). Then, she had a bunch of prizes that we could win. I remember winning a little straw doll that maybe cost a dollar. I kept that doll until I was 22 because it made such an impression on me.

In 8th grade, my english teacher used candy a lot, a lot, a lot as reinforcements/rewards... but I think she got some complaints so she'd also put a roll of saltine crackers up by the candy dish and you could take one of those instead. Kinda crummy (no pun intended) but at least she tried...

My typing teacher this year (high school!) uses those little animal crackers. Not the best -still food- but I'm thinking, better than candy.