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There have been a few threads about cheats and popcorn, but I am curious about the 'best' way to do it. Not so much about alternatives, or the psychology of cheat days.

One of my pleasures when going to the movies is popcorn. I know it is bad for me. I could do something better. I know, I know. Don't care. Movies on the big screen and popcorn are-- to me-- inseparable.

So, on those days where I know I am going to do this, which of the following would be the best approach?

  1. Pretty much fast that day, isolating the metabolic impact
  2. Do some heavy exercise beforehand to blow out my glycogen, so at least some of that popped corn does something useful
  3. Eat a fair amount of meat beforehand so there's some healthy saturated fat to mop it all up
  4. Some combination of the above three
  5. Something else entirely

From a goals perspective: I am still trying to lose weight. I am not obese, but could still stand to lose 30 more pounds. Also, popcorn does mess with my digestion. My old friend acid reflux tends to come back if I eat that popcorn at night. I can live with this if I have to, but it would be nice if it didn't happen.

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 I agree, popcorn and movies are things that go together. I use to eat popcorn with melted cheese on it for meals, now it kills me. I stopped going to the movies because I can't Not have popcorn! Now when i smell it I just breath deeply and enjoy the smell, but not the same. – Kelly Jun 5 at 13:52
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 I say if you know it's bad for you, and it messes you up, and you still want to eat it - then just do it and don't fuss over the details of how to minimize that impact. There is no real way to minimize the impact of something that negatively impacts us. Just be okay with what happens until you're not! – sherilynn Jun 5 at 20:32
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 +1 with what sherilynn said! – latergator Jun 6 at 1:15

7 Answers

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Popcorn has been so hard to give up. I had some at a movie a while ago, and I did a calorie deficit and followed it with a long walk. Was it optimal? Probably not, but the point is to make overall beneficial changes, not torment ourselves.

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 I guess the biggest problem is it's pretty hard to put yourself in a calorie deficit big enough to account for a nice bucket of buttered movie-theater popcorn! I think I will roll with the exercise, too. But, in my case, before I chow down on it. Maybe a nice, modest bike ride with a hard sprint at the end. – karlub Jun 5 at 20:44
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Aside from what you mentioned...

Enjoy it, every bite, and rid yourself of any negative feelings about eating it before you do.

If you're going to eat something for the pleasure of eating it, regardless of if it's bad, make sure to not have lingering negative feeling or worries when you do.

Being worried and obsessed when I eat hampers digestion to a great extent. Stress turns any food into a poison mess.

Just my advice.

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Corn isn't paleo but it's not a gluten grain and I don't think it's that bad once in a while -- it's a whole food. As non-paleo snacks go I think it's pretty innocuous. The Omega 6 load is the worst thing. And being mostly air it's not really as high in carbs as you might imagine. I wouldn't do anything different with your diet for the rest of the day except keep it cleanish and really avoid Omega 6. But what scares me about commercial popcorn is not the corn but the god-knows-what-oil it's cooked in, to say nothing of any topping. I make a modest serving of popcorn popped in coconut oil at home once in a while and enjoy it. I'd make that at home and smuggle it into the movie with me in a baggie if I wanted to eat it there (and yes, I've done so -- even before Paleo I never bought snacks at movies; I refuse to pay those ridiculous inflated prices among other things).

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I eat popcorn with my husband on my days off when I'm extremely active. Otherwise, it's not an everyday thing for me. I would go with the heavy exercise because it's what I'd do LOL. Then again, I don't go to movies and won't eat movie popcorn. My husband makes organic popcorn with canola oil and in the large looming scope of life, I think that's ok.

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 Consider switching to high oleic safflower oil or coconut oil -- delicious. – greymouser Jun 5 at 13:19
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 I love popcorn and make it with ghee/clarified butter and then add melted Kerrigold butter, salt and a little cayenne pepper and watch movies on television. I try to keep it to once a month, however because it does screw up my digestion for a few days. – Doris Jun 5 at 14:40
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 I make popcorn with coconut oil (like the old movie theater popcorn!) and drown it with more coconut oil and butter :) – AmandaLP Jun 5 at 14:53
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 I make it with EVOO. It tastes delicious. – trjones Jun 5 at 19:48
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I have this problem with corn chips. I just can't totally give them up, when I am at a mexican restaurant or at a party.

I haven't tried this recipe, but maybe it will help with your cravings. Maybe melt some ghee and add salt to it. For some reason Ghee to me tastes like popcorn butter.

Cauliflower popcorn recipe

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I feel the same way about movies and popcorn. Fortunately I don't get ill effects from it.

To add to your list, I'd have a calorie deficit for the day. When you're in calorie surplus, dietary fat gets stored (more easily) as fat, but if you're in a deficit it's much less likely to happen AFAIK. People with actual research and citations do chime in if that's incorrect.

I think you're overreacting, though. There are a lot of calories in popcorn, especially if it's buttered. But other than that, popcorn is pretty benign compared to much of the crap that's out there, especially at the movie concession stand.

Incidentally I'm done with my cut today (lost 25kg in the last 70 weeks), and I'll be celebrating with XXL bucket of popcorn :)

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paleo is NOT about calories, it is about healthy food... last i checked, corn of any sort, was not healthy!

just saying

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 And, as I said James, I am aware of that. – karlub Jun 5 at 13:32
why the lecture? – zoomia Jun 5 at 15:54
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 I have been Paleo fo 5 months now, comfortably in the swing, and not everything everyone told me has turned out to be important to me. I just am never going to be a coconut oil gal, for example. Certainly never straight off a spoon or in my coffee. And when I do eat something that is not Paleo, I just make sure it is just the way I love it, and just something I want to do. So - pistachio ice cream, but only from one particular hand-made place. Pizza? Only if it was the super thin-crust from one of only 3 pizzerias in NJ. And popcorn? Haven't had it yet, but I do sooooo know what you mean. – Keto-jen Jun 6 at 2:11

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