Calories in Movie Popcorn & Other Snacks

What do you associate with going to the movies? I bet many of you think of popcorn! How bad can it be … especially if you don’t add butter? I went to the movies last weekend and was rather surprised to see the calories posted next to the popcorn and other snacks. Shocking!

Which “movie food”  do you think has the most amount of calories – small popcorn, hot dog on a bun, or nachos with cheese?  (I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone eating a hot dog in the movies … hmmm). I bet you might have thought the small popcorn. Wrong!

Calories in some movie theater foods*
Small popcorn = 676   (all the values are without added butter)
Medium popcorn = 1035
Large popcorn = 1350
Hot dog on a bun = 330
Nachos and cheese = 454

I noticed that the calorie posting didn’t seem to have an effect on deterringpeople from eating it. I would say that at least 30% of the people in the movie were eating popcorn.

Damage control tips
If you are a frequent movic goer (and popcorn eater), you’ll need to come up with some “damage control” strategies. Try these:

1. Bring in your own snack – discreetly of course! Pop a 100 calorie mini bag of popcorn at home and eat that instead of the movie theater popcorn.

2. If you have a serious  urge for real movie popcorn, get a kid size if they have it – no butter of course! A small size without butter would be your next best choice. (pic of city girl Esther enjoying her own popcorn!)

3. Better yet, share one small popcorn with your girlfriend or date. Sharing with guys is a good idea as they tend to eat  larger amounts of popcorn and at a faster rate … so there is less left for you!

4. If you have the urge for real movie theater popcorn, try to make your next meal lighter … a lot lighter!

* these calories were posted on the menu board at at Clearview Cinema on upper east side, NYC

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