Best and Worst Movie Food Picks

Hello healthy people! How's everything going? Hopefully you all are keeping your bodies moving and your minds on all things positive! Those are always two essentials to achieving success! With Spring officially here and Summer just around the corner, the weather makes it much easier to get moving. I know lately here in Missouri, besides from those rainy days every now and then, it's been great weather for walking, hiking, bike riding, softball and other outdoor activities. During Spring and Summer, there's always a lot more stuff going on indoors as well. One of my favorite things to do during the summer, that isn't an outdoor activity, is going to the movies! Summer time is the best time for new movies! Watching a movie at home just doesn't compare to the big screen. The only negative that comes along with movie watching is the popcorn and other bad for you goodies at the movie concession stand. Now some would argue that those treats don't have to be a problem, you can just as easily bring an apple or some other healthy treat in with you to the movie theater (which I actually have done from time to time), but let's be real, most people aren't going to do that and even if you do, no one is "perfect". Movie popcorn and other snacks play an essential role in the theater-going experience. So the best plan of action is to be well informed before which is why I give you:

Best and Worst Movie Food Picks

AMC's new Smart Movie Snacks Bundle.
The snack pack contains fruit chips,
trail mix, popped corn chips, and a
bottle of water (which can be
substituted for Diet Coke or Coke Zero).

Admittedly, no one goes to the movies expecting a salad bar, but you may be shocked to learn just how fat-loaded typical theater fare is. And although AMC Theatres recently announced its new healthier snack packs with items such as trail mix and bottled water, most movie offerings are decidedly less wholesome.

Get ready to cringe: A medium popcorn and medium regular soda at Regal Theaters can pack as many as 1,600 calories!!! That’s about the amount recommended for an average woman for an entire day! Although many large restaurant chains and other places that sell prepared food will be required to display calorie counts under new federal regulations, movie theaters are exempt — making it even more important to get the facts before you go. Granted, an occasional movie splurge is unlikely to hurt anyone, but frequent theatergoers would be smart to seek out less sinful swaps.

Plain air-popped popcorn is actually a healthy snack: It provides a serving of whole grains and some fiber, with only 31 calories per cup. But enter oil, in which most movie theaters pop their corn, and that “buttery” topping, and the calorie, fat, and sodium content skyrocket. CSPI says that a large container at Regal (20 cups!) provides a whopping 1,200 calories, 60 grams of saturated fat, and 980 milligrams of sodium.

Smarter swap: Get the smallest size of popcorn offered — at Cinemark, the junior bag has 200 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 190 mgs of sodium — and say no to any extra topping. Even better, split the popcorn with your movie date.

You’d never eat that much candy parked in front of your TV at home, but there’s something about those jumbo movie theater offerings, plus eating in the dark, that gives us license to binge. But if you don’t watch serving sizes, your waistline might pay for it. The serving size on candy boxes is usually a modest 1 ½ ounces, typical movie-theater candy boxes contain 3 to 4 ounces. So if you eat the movie-sized 4-oz box of Reese's Pieces, you'll munch away 580 calories, 61 grams of sugar, and 20 grams of saturated fat. Other concession-stand favorites aren't much better: A 3.1-ounce Sno-Caps box has 400 calories, 53 grams of sugar, and 11 grams of saturated fat, while Milk Duds pack 370 calories, 44 grams of sugar, and 8 grams of saturated fat per 3-ounce box.

Smarter swap: If you must satisfy your sweet tooth, pick something like Twizzlers or Sour Patch Kids over chocolate, which contains more fat and calories. But you still need to watch the portion size: Four pieces of Strawberry Twist Twizzlers have just 133 calories, less than 1 gram of fat, and 95 mg of sodium, while 1.5 ounces of Sour Patch Kids contain 140 calories, no fat, and 30 mg of sodium. Share the candy with a friend so you’re guaranteed not to eat the whole box.


If you order a movie theater soda, you'd better be pretty thirsty. In the 1950s, an average-size fountain soda was about 7 ounces; today, a small soda from Regal Cinemas is over four times that amount, at 32 ounces, or 4 cups. A large-size soda from the same chain holds nearly 7 cups —that's 500 calories and 33 teaspoons of sugar!


Smarter swap: Your best option is water or a small diet soda.

Seeking nachos for a more robust bite? At Cinemark, the standard serving of 3 ounces of chips and 3.5 ounces of cheese sauce adds up to 550 calories, nearly 50 percent of which come from fat — and the sodium count is a sky-high 1,060 mg, nearly half the recommended daily limit.

Smarter swap: Believe it or not, a plain hot dog on a bun is a better option. It contains half the calories (242), and also provides 10 grams of filling protein (it does contain 15 grams of fat, so it’s still not exactly a health food). Squirt on some mustard to juice up the flavor while adding a mere 5 calories.

With that irresistible aroma comes major calories and fat. The Cinnapretzel at Regal Theaters contains 754 calories and 6 grams of fat. Use the little tub of icing that accompanies it and you’ll tack on another 200 calories.

Smarter swap: Satisfy your cinnamon cravings with some old-fashioned Red Hots instead — 20 pieces have just 70 calories and no fat or sodium.






Tempted by those gooey pizza pies at the movies? A 7-inch Freschetta pepperoni pizza at Cinemark theaters serves up 530 calories, 22 grams of fat, and 1,270 milligrams of sodium — not horrible if it’s serving as your dinner, but pretty substantive for a matinee snack.

Smarter swap: If you're craving the chewiness and warmth of pizza, soft pretzel bites are a good option. Even with the cheese dipping sauce, they contain about 250 calories and 9 grams of fat. If you're watching your sodium intake, however, skip the sauce — since the bites alone contain 890 mg.

Other helpful info. you might like to know...

Calories of popular movie theater favorites:

• Large Buttered Popcorn (20 cups): 1500 calories, 116g fat, 90g carbs 
• Hot Dog (1 dog with bun): 305 calories, 4.5g fat, 23g carbs 
• Nachos with Cheese (large, 4 oz): 1101 calories, 59g fat, 131.5g carbs 
• Soft Pretzel (large): 483 calories, 4.5g fat, 99g carbs 
• Cotton Candy (2.5 oz): 300 calories, 0g fat, 74g carbs 
• Junior Mints (3 oz): 320 calories, 5g fat, 68g carbs 
• Milk Duds (3 oz): 340 calories, 12g fat, 56g carbs 
• Sno-Caps (3.1 oz): 360 calories, 16g fat, 60g carbs 
• Raisinets (3.5 oz): 380 calories, 16g fat, 64g carbs 
• Gummi Bears (4 oz): 390 calories, 0g fat, 90g carbs 
• Goobers (3.5 oz): 525 calories, 35g fat, 55g carbs 
• Twizzlers (6 oz): 600 calories, 4g fat, 136g carbs 
• M&M's (5.3 oz): 735 calories, 31.5g fat, 105g carbs 
• Skittles (6.75 oz): 765 calories, 9g fat, 166.5g carbs 
• Reese's Pieces (8 oz): 1200 calories, 60g fat, 138g carbs 
• Starburst (24 pieces): 480 calories, 10.5g fat, 99g carbs 
• Coca-Cola with ice (large, 3 pints, 18.9 fl oz): 353 calories, 0g fat, 88.4g carbs

I realize to avid movie theater goers this post may be somewhat of a downer but it's if you're trying to succeed at fitness, I think it's always best to know before ya' go! When you know in advance, even if you do choose to eat a high calorie movie treat, you can plan the rest of your day accordingly, whether that be extra added physical activity/exercise or a smaller amount of calories for the remaining day. So now you know. :)


Talk to you later, fitness peeps!
And as always, keep it healthy!
- Jonelle


Source: http://www.everydayhealth.com