Help! How Do I Avoid a Halloween Candy Binge?

"There's Halloween candy everywhere! How do I keep from turning into a pumpkin?"

Relax -- you don't have to be the neighborhood spoilsport who doles out fruit. But oodles of M&M's and Snickers and Milky Way bars lurking around your house is a scary prospect. "Wait until the last possible minute -- the morning of October 31 -- to buy candy for trick-or-treaters," suggests Anne M. Fletcher, RD, author of Thin for Life. And don't even think about buying goodies you can't resist (seriously, who can eat just one Reese's Peanut Butter Cup?). Two good bets are Tootsie Pops (60 calories) and 3 Musketeers Fun Size bars (63 calories). If you have any leftovers after the trick-or-treaters are gone, toss them so they won't haunt you.

DAMAGE CONTROL: Had a few too many mini Snickers bars? It's not too late -- cancel out those bite-sized diet disasters in three easy moves.

Originally published in FITNESS magazine, October 2009.