6. Choose candy you don't like: You will be less apt to eat out of habit and ?take a piece or two? if you are not surrounded by your favorites

7. Choose alternatives to candy: Give out dried fruits, nuts, raisins, cheese and cracker packets, pretzels, popcorn , or fruit roll-ups for a more healthful ?treats?

8. Choose low-calorie treats: Things like Licorice, popcorn, gummy bears, mints and marshmallows are all lower calorie alternatives

9. Choose small portions: Buy fun-sized chocolates instead of their full sized counterparts. Don?t forget to count out in advance your allotted servings for the day.

10. Choose non-food alternatives: You can still enjoy the holiday festivities and keep the trick or treaters happy. Many stores and holiday shops carry a multitude of Halloween miniature toys, cars, glow-in-the-dark necklaces and other fun little goodies.

11. Be informed and prepared: Many people see the holidays as a time where nutrition labels don?t matter because all ?treats? are bad. During this time of year it is even more important to look at and compare nutrition labels and to be aware of SERVING SIZES. This will allow you to enjoy the holidays without sabotaging your weight loss efforts. Here is some nutrition information for you to consider. Nutrition information may vary from company to company and may vary from this list, please check your individual food labels.

FOOD                    SERVING SIZE      CAL   CARBS   FAT 

Fun Sized StarBurst        1 pkg          40     8       1        

Marshmallows               ? c            45     12      0

Fruit rollups              1 roll         50     12      0

Junior Mints               1 sml box      55     12      1

Raisins                    2 tsp          60     14      0

Fun Sized 3 Musketeers     1 bar          70     12     2.5 

Fun Sized Milky Way        1 bar          90     14     3.5

Hershey?s Kisses           4              100    12      6 

Fun Sized Butter Finger    1 bar          100    15      4 

Fun Sized Kit Kat          1 bar          100    12      5 

Pretzels                   22 pieces      110    22      2 

Dried Apricots             ? c            130    30      0

Fun Sized baby Ruth        1 bar          130    17      7

Goldfish                   55 pieces      150    25      5

Nuts                       ? c            160    6       15  

Cheese & Crackers          1 Pkg          220    44      5

M & M?s                    1 sml bag      220    50      5

Article written by Dianne Villano, President of Custom Bodies Personal Training and Weight Loss Programs. Dianne is a personal fitness instructor certified through the National Academy of Sports Medicine with over 16 years of experience who specializes in weight loss programs and programs for beginners. For more articles or free fitness tools visit www.custombodiestampabay.com.