Halloween Special: Candy Without the Crash
Halloween candy doesn’t have to mean guilt, crashes, or losing control. In this special episode of The Path to Better A1C, Jenny Peña, NBC-HWC, shares how to enjoy sweets intentionally during candy season. Learn why candy is so tempting, how to reframe the way you think about it, and practical strategies for savoring treats without the blood sugar rollercoaster.
This episode also wraps up the October Cravings Series — and sets the stage for Diabetes Awareness Month in November, where Jenny will be sharing new workshops and a free resource designed to help if you’re newly diagnosed with prediabetes.
✨ What you’ll learn in this episode:
Why candy triggers cravings and crashes
How to enjoy candy without the guilt cycle
Practical tips for navigating Halloween season
A teaser for November’s focus on Diabetes Awareness Month
🎁 Free Resources:
Blood Sugar Balancing Snacks List: https://www.subscribepage.io/snacks
Prediabetes Starter Guide (new):https://www.subscribepage.io/starterguide
🔗 Connect with Jenny:
Website: https://www.jennypena.com
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/coachjenp
Episode Transcript
Hello there, welcome to the Pathto Better A1C podcast.
I am super excited that you are joining me on Halloween 2025
episode 46 and we are going to talk about how you can storm
what manage that candy and not the crash, right?
(00:38):
I know that it's, it's tough, but I am your host, Jenny, your
blood sugar bestie. I am here every week, every
Friday morning, bringing awareness, some education, some
simple strategies, and debunkinga lot of things and giving you
just practical things that you can do so that you can regain
(00:59):
your energy, get that brain fog away, balance your blood sugar,
lower your A1C, prevent diabetes, all while living your
full life right and embracing strategies that are sustainable.
Now I know, I know. Since this is Halloween week,
candy is everywhere. Now before we even dig into the
(01:23):
topic, I want you to have a toolthat helps you stay balanced
even when cravings are loud. And that is my free blood sugar
balancing snacks list. Grab it at subscribe page dot IO
forward slash snacks. It's your go to guide for
staying steady when dentation isall around and to have a plan.
(01:43):
And there are some sweet snacks in there too.
Now Halloween is supposed to be fun, but let's be honest, the
candy can feel overwhelming. The office candy bowl, your kids
trick or treat stash, all those mini sneakers that somehow call
(02:04):
your name. They're everywhere.
Now. Today I want to talk about how
you can enjoy candy without thatcrash, without the guilt spiral
or feeling like you need to giveit all up.
Spoiler. It is not really about avoiding
the candy, but it's about being intentional.
I'm huge with balance. I teach my clients a lot about
(02:27):
balance and about being intentional even when you're
having a so-called treat. Now let's let's talk about why
candy hits so hard. So candy is designed to be
irresistible. It's pure sugar.
It spikes your blood sugar very quickly and it lights up your
brain's reward center. It's like, whoa, you're, you
(02:49):
know, when you see those kids and they say like, there's sugar
high. Yes, that is accurate.
You do get high from sugar. Let's just get that out.
These fun size pieces, they can be a bit deceptive because
you're small. We give ourselves permission to
have more and more and more. And before you know it, the
(03:14):
wrappers are piling up next to you.
You didn't realize that you had 10 of them and who knows,
probably the calories are more than if you had a full size bar.
Think about that. So here is the roller coaster
that I always talk about. You get a blood sugar spike,
right? Like your blood sugar levels go
up, You get that quick energy, you get that dopamine hit, you
(03:38):
are happy, you are high in sugar.
And guess what? After the high comes low, here
comes the sugar crash. Cravings are stronger than
before because now your body is thinking, OK, I need fuel, I'm
having a crash. And that cycle is what makes
candy feel like the candy's in control and not you.
(04:02):
This is like a funny story. Like I had a client that tells
me, well, Halloween was her toughest time of the year.
She would sneak from her kids candy bags, right?
Like she will try to like, oh, let me look at this bag like the
kids can't eat all of this and she was eating all of it and
then felt so guilty. But the problem was not the
(04:24):
candy itself. And that was something that we
uncovered through coaching. It was the roller coaster.
So once she understood the pattern, she felt ways to OK,
like I'm going to enjoy the candy, but I am going to be in
control. The candy is not in control of
me. I am in control and this is how
you can actually shift the mindset and I hope this helps
(04:46):
you. Candy is not the enemy per SE,
it's how and when you eat it that makes a difference.
The same way that I keep tellingpeople don't assign this food is
good or bad. I like food is food.
Some are higher in nutrients than others.
Some are higher in protein than others.
(05:07):
They're just an attribute, right?
Like they're just food. Some are more processed than
others, but it doesn't mean thatit's food of bad.
It's more how you are incorporating that.
So let's see how we can pretty much break down the how and when
so that you can eat and make a difference.
(05:30):
So this is the first thing that I'm going to tell you.
Pair it with a meal so that the protein and the fiber can
mitigate the spike a little bit.Portion it with purpose.
Choose a couple of pieces that you actually love.
(05:51):
Put them on the plate and reallysavor them.
I don't want you to rush throughit.
Typically when you eat things out of guilt, you kind of eat it
so fast, right? That doesn't even give your
brain the time to register that you have eaten those things.
So take time to savor them. And that's one thing that I even
follow for my own. If I am going to have a
(06:13):
so-called treat, it's going to be the most delicious treat ever
and I'm going to enjoy it without guilt and then move on.
So if you're going to eat a cookie, make it the best cookie
ever right now. Drop the guilt.
Just because you ate one or two pieces of candy, it's not going
(06:34):
to derail your health. You're not going to have this
amazing set back. Your A1C level is not going to
spike up and never go down. It's just that's not how it
operates. A lot of these conditions, a lot
of these things that we develop in our bodies, they are not
something that you just created overnight.
It took years for your body to get to that point.
(06:57):
So having a couple of pieces of candy, it's not going to
completely derail you. The guilt craving cycle does a
lot more damage than the sugar itself.
But again, remember what I said at the beginning, Pair with a
meal so that you are not gettingthat big spike.
(07:21):
Portion it with purpose. Make that decision and and be
intentional about it. Do it without guilt.
Enjoy it, but notice patterns. And we've been talking about
that for the entire month now. Are you grabbing candy because
you're just hungry? Are you stressed?
(07:44):
Or is it just because it's therebecause that's a problem?
I know a lot of my clients OK candy's everywhere in the
office. Awareness gives you the power to
choose differently. Repeat that with me.
Awareness gives me the power to choose differently.
(08:06):
So here are some additional practical tips for the Halloween
season. Things that I do.
I have a six year old and yes, between school and trick or
treating and all that, I personally have to take over
that candy because if not, he'llbe wanting to eating, wanting to
eat candy the entire week. So I have to do that as well,
(08:29):
but keep candy out of sight. Try not to have this bowl with
all the candy in there. Keep it out of side so that you
can cut it down and and not havethat mindless eating and the
snacking. And before you know it, oops, I
ate ten of those, right? That's that's when you start
eating and you don't even realize how much you're eating.
(08:52):
Only eat the candy you truly enjoy.
Skip those filler please, because there is, those are
empty calories. You don't even like them.
And if you're having a goal of weight loss, that's going to
derail you as well. So like, make sure it's
something that you truly enjoy. Balance your meals.
(09:12):
Focus on having balanced meals, skipping meals so that you can
have the candy. Trust me, it's going to
backfire. That will definitely mess up
your entire day. Make sure you balance your meals
with protein, fiber, and healthyfats so that you can reduce that
desperate candy grab. Like, if you're really hungry,
(09:34):
you're going to devour every single piece of candy that you
can find. Stay hydrated.
Dehydration disguises a lot itself as cravings.
And if you do go overboard, we have all been there.
Show yourself compassion. Halloween candy does not define
(09:57):
your health journey. You can always get a reset
tomorrow. Halloween it should be about
joy, not shame. It should enjoy your candy with
intention. You get to be part of a
celebration, especially if you have kids.
I think like I, I personally have a lot of fun with my son.
Just be part of that without thecrash, without the guilt.
(10:17):
It's not about restriction, it'sabout balance.
Hopefully today, like after we're walking through all of
this, you're able to enjoy candy.
I, I personally don't eat as much candy.
I do have a few that that are favorites and what I do, I plan
for it. I'm going to make sure I do it
(10:39):
after I have a balanced meal. I'm drinking my water and I
enjoy every single piece and it satisfies me without having to
be tons of candy. So give yourself permission to
do that, but make sure that thatday, it's a day that you balance
(11:00):
all of your meals that you're doing all these things.
And even personally, what I do whenever I have some sort of
candy or even something sweet, Imake sure I add some sort of
movement right after just to help my body process that sugar
and avoid the spike. So this episode wraps up our
(11:22):
October Cravings series. We have covered Cravings
explained. We covered sweet versus salty,
we talked about hunger and habit.
We talked about emotional eating, and now we talked about
candy season. At least if you're in the US,
it's all over. So I hope these episodes have
(11:44):
helped you see Cravings in a newand maybe even a compassionate
light. And here's some exciting news,
something that is coming. So November is Diabetes
Awareness Month and November 14th is World Diabetes Day.
And I have tons of workshops, brand new episodes, and I have
(12:09):
created a brand new free resource designed especially for
anyone who is newly diagnosed with prediabetes.
Or even if you are at a high risk of developing diabetes
based on like your family history, maybe your siblings
have diabetes, your grandparents, your parents have
diabetes. Those are typically markers that
(12:30):
there is a likelihood that you could develop diabetes.
So this may be helpful for you as well and it will help you
take the first steps. Focus on three simple things to
do and to start incorporating without feeling overwhelmed with
all the advice and all the bombarding of things that you
(12:53):
can find online with people. This will narrow it down.
It will help you understand whatis happening, how to understand
my lab results and what should Ido to start seeing change.
And you can grab it already. I have it at subscribe page dot
IO forward slash starter guide. I will put it in the show notes.
(13:15):
It's absolutely free. I created this guide in mind
based on what I felt I needed when I first got diagnosed with
pre diabetes. So hopefully this will help your
journey into preventing diabetes.
Stay tuned, next month is going to be very powerful.
(13:37):
And as always, don't forget to share this with someone that
needs it and subscribe so that you can get an alert every
Friday when a brand new episode comes out.
Thank you so much for joining methis October.
I will see you in November wherewe're going to be talking a lot
about diabetes, prediabetes, andwhat you can do to help those
(14:03):
loved ones that maybe were diagnosed to help you prevent it
and to raise awareness. Because remember, one in three
Americans have prediabetes and 80% have absolutely no clue.
We can work together to change that.
Have an amazing rest of your week.
Bye.
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