No Treat Challenge: Cutting the Sweets

It was an innocent, kind gesture.

"I thought baby might need a treat today."

A friend had stopped at DeBrand Fine Chocolates, a favorite gourmet chocolate store in Fort Wayne, and bought the one of confectioner's seasonal treats – a ghost truffle – for me. It was milk chocolate with a raspberry filling and frighteningly tempting. But the truth was that I had already had a sweet finish to my lunch and didn't need it.

Nor did the baby.

There's always the temptation to allow yourself an extra treat here or there, whether it's because food just doesn't sound good or the fear of gaining a pound is gone. Friends and family like to celebrate, too, and I am routinely asked if Baby X needs a (decaf) espresso malt or piece of cake or trip to the ice cream store.

Excess sugar and subsequently weight good for mom or baby. It can lead to the production of a potentially harmful protein, AGE, which can "impair healthy immune function, stiffen blood vessel walls, and even alter gene expression." [source] While there is no direct link, there is the worry of gestational diabetes, which can lead to excessive birth weight, preterm labor and the risk of Type II diabetes later in life. And, to be vain, the more weight I gain while pregnant is more weight I have to take off next summer.

When I ate my ghost on Sunday (I resisted two days), I decided that was it. I needed to take a break from the sweets. I needed a treat hiatus. And what better time? With Halloween 12 days away, candy is everywhere – in the stores, at restaurants, on the community food table in the office where well-meaning co-workers dump bags of Reese's pumpkins.

I'm pledging to forgo the candy, the cake, the pudding, the ice cream in favor of more healthful choices until that frighteningly fun holiday.

And I'm challenging you to do the same.

From now until Halloween, bypass the desserts (anything that looks as such) and enter to win a prize pack filled with satisfying snacks sans sugar. Using the widget below, you can comment daily for entries. I'll unveil the prize next Monday half way into the challenge.

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