At a movie theater, villains don't lurk solely on the silver screen. You'll also find them at the food concession stand, under the guise of popcorn, soda, candy, and other yummy treats that show no mercy for your waistline. Not only are your choices for eating healthy at the movies extremely limited, but many of the portions have been super sized. So what can you eat, in case you can't bring your own snacks? Here's a list of the worst (they get two thumbs down) offenders, along with their healthier alternatives.
Popcorn is the worst culprit. Air popped popcorn without butter and salt is a healthy, low calorie snack, but the movie industry's overuse of coconut oil and artificial butter and flavoring have turned it into a diet disaster. A large tub with butter (20 cups!) contains 1,238 calories and 78 grams of fat. The smallest size without butter isn't a low cal choice, either: it contains 573 calories and 35 grams of fat and at 9 cups it's more than twice the serving one person should eat.
The better choice: If it's the salt you're craving, opt for a soft pretzel without cheese sauce. It may still be high in calories (483) but it delivers only 4.5 grams of fat.
A large serving of nachos (about 40 chips) with cheese has 1,101 belly busting calories and 59 grams of fat - as much as two Quarter Pounders (which at least contain real cheese.)
The better choice: Believe it or not, you're better off with a hot dog in a bun, which has 305 calories and 19 grams of fat. That's not exactly low in Weight Watchers points, but it has less than one-third of the calories and fat found in nachos, and it contains more protein.
Soda is just full of empty calories; a large Coca-Cola (2 pints) has 594 calories. Yes, you can have a diet soda, but studies say it's addictive and not beneficial as part of a healthy diet in the long run.
The better choice: Try a refreshing 8-ounce cherry Slurpee. Slurpees and similar slushy beverages are made of mostly ice and flavored syrup, which helps keep their sugar and calorie count down. An 8-ounce cherry contains only 80 calories and no fat.
The candy that you'll find at the movies is deceiving because it isn't packaged in single servings, but giant boxes. Eating an entire box of peanut M&Ms, for example, means you just downed 786 calories and 39 grams of fat.
The better choice: Choose a 3.5 ounce bag of Gummi Bears which have only 130 calories and no fat. If chewy little bears aren't your thing, look for candy that doesn't contain chocolate or caramel, such as Twizzlers, Mike and Ikes, Sour Patch Kids and Skittles, and remember to keep your portion under control.If it's a dessert item you're craving, stay away from the ice cream items, which pack the most calories and cholesterol. A chocolate Haagen-Dazs ice cream bar with almonds has 380 calories and 28 grams of fat, three-quarters of it saturated.
A better choice: An ice cream strawberry fruit bar, which contains fruit in addition to ice cream, helping to bring the calorie count down to 200 calories and the fat content to 10 grams. Even better, order a Supersicle Firecracker bar; it's fat-free with only 80 calories.
Of course, the best strategy yet for dealing with movie food is to simply sneak in your own snacks and beverages. Or choose a show time right after lunch or dinner, so you can eat before you go and won't be seeing the movie on an empty stomach (an added bonus is you'll save money by seeing a matinee.) By making smart food choices at the movies, you'll help keep your figure intact after the credits have finished rolling.