How to enjoy your movie without packing on the pounds

Movies are notorious for the amount of calories consumed by oblivious movie goers. People come to a movie theatre to enjoy a movie, get distracted from their own issues and enjoy adventurous lives of the characters in the movie. The goal is certainly not to consume hundreds to thousand of calories but to enjoy the movie. Frequently it’s also a social event. But even going to restaurants, sometimes people get fewer calories than at a movie.
It is a part of American tradition – to get large buttery popcorn (that has gotten tremendously large over the last 20 years), a sugary drink and candy, right before getting comfortable for about two hours of complete immobility. Then the viewer forgets about their own problems, including weight, and dives into the realm of Hollywood problems. The only connection with the world remains the bucket of popcorn, the candy and the sugary drink to wash the fat and the salt down. The faster the pace of the movie, the faster people chew and get to another fistful of greasy popcorn or Milk Duds. People who buy all three best seller junk-foods at the theatre – popcorn, candy and soda usually consume about 1200-2500 calories, 60 grams of saturated fat, 2000 mg of sodium and 20-35 teaspoons of sugar.
But why put the body through such trauma? “Because when you go to a movie you always get popcorn and an icee!” was my son’s answer when he was ten.
But the main calorie consumers are not ten. Many are adults with already present pot-bellies. If you’re trying to eat healthy yet you go to movies and consume a large portion of calories, even if it is only occasionally, that still could be the cause of the weight not coming down or even growing weight.
Here is the solution – you can’t afford the American movie snack- tradition. Just get a small bottle of water (the large one will force you to spend some of the precious movie time in the bathroom) or chew gum. Why not unbuttered popcorn? Because at the theaters all the popcorn comes from packages, which have some oil, frequently, partially hydrogenated added to it. Buttered only means an additional butter added to it. So, here is a novel thought - just enjoy the movie without adding another task like eating or drinking.