For all you sugar lovers out there, Halloween might be one of the most frightful days of your weight loss plan. Between the overflowing bowls of candy on your co-worker’s desks to the bag of candy your kids will score from trick-or-treating it seems you can’t get away from some of your favorite treats.

Did you know between Thanksgiving and New Year’s the average American gains almost seven pounds! That’s a hefty Christmas gift that you probably don’t want to give yourself this year. But if you keep yourself on track starting with Halloween you’ll be able to keep your weight gain in check and stay on track of your weight loss plan.

The following tips can help you maintain your holiday sanity:

-         if you happen to overindulge put some more time at the gym or bring your kids (or borrow  one) out trick-or-treating on Tuesday

-         buy candy or chocolate that you don’t really like to dish out so you won’t be tempted to give in

-         buy a minimal amount of candy; that way you won’t be left with too much. And be generous when handing out candy so can get rid of all tempting leftovers

-         wear a costume that covers your mouth so you can’t eat anything

Here’s a rundown of the caloric content of some of the most popular Halloween candy treats (taken from About.com):

Halloween Treats:      

25 small jellybeans - 140 calories

20 pieces of candy corn - 100 calories

2 Brachs caramels  - 80 calories

2 Hershey's Kisses  - 50 calories

1 mini Tootsie Roll - 25 calories

1 Fun Size candy bar (Snickers, Milky Way, Butterfingers, etc.)  - 80 calories

1 mini bite-size candy bar (Snickers, Milky Way, Butterfingers, etc.) - 55 calories

1 Fun Size M&M packet - 90 calories

1 mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup - 33 calories

1 full size chocolate candy bar (Snickers, Hershey, etc.) - 275 calories

1 King Size chocolate candy bar (Snickers, Hershey, etc.)  - 500 calories

I love my candy too and sometimes when a Mars bar is calling your name really loud you just got to give in for the sake of your sanity. So let yourself have the odd treat but remember that 5 mini candy bars still packs on a lot of extra calories. And no, sharing a piece of chocolate with a friend does not cancel the calories out.