From the Inside Out

Thousands of people will head to the movies this weekend. When they arrive, many will head for the concession stand to grab a few snacks. After all, what goes better with a movie than fresh popcorn? But if you’re watching your calories (or just trying to eat healthy), be warned. Mindless snacking during a show can add hundreds of calories to your daily intake.

During a Cornell study, theater patrons with large buckets of popcorn ate nearly twice as much as those with medium buckets. And it gets even worse: some of the large buckets had two-week-old kernels instead of freshly popped corn. Those with the stale popcorn still ate 34 percent more than those with medium buckets. It just goes to further prove that absentminded snacking is your enemy.

To help you make better choices at the movies, the authors of “Eat This, Not That!” developed a guide to movie theater snack survival. The results are interesting. They say the worst snack at the movies is buttered popcorn. The butter used at the theater triples the calories and is full of trans fat (39 g fat total for a medium!). Instead, they recommend a soft pretzel (plain). It has no fat and only 290 calories.

Other choices include:

Junior Mints (1/2 box=170 calories, 3g fat) instead of M&Ms (1 bag=240 calories, 10g fat)

Good & Plenty (33 pieces=130 calories, 0g fat) instead of Twizzlers (1 pkg=480 calories, 2g fat, 64g sugar)

Swedish Fish (2 oz=200 calories, 0g fat, 28g sugar) instead of Dots (22 pieces=260 calories, 0g fat, 42g sugar)

For more great tips, check out the new Eat This, Not That! book.

It has been well documented that eating right can help you lose weight and enhance your health, but does it also boost your mood and ease depression? That’s what respected nutritionist and author, Dr. Susan Keiner, suggests.

Dr. Kleiner’s book, The Good Mood Diet, offers tips for eating to feel good. For example, did you know that:

• Milk raises serotonin levels, helping you relax
• Broccoli and blueberries can increase energy and happy feelings
• Turkey reduces anxiety
• Regular intake of fish oils can lower anger in aggressive adults (no more anger management courses required)
• Egg yolks are high in a substance that enables nutrients into the brain and toxins out of the body
• Bananas reduce blood pressure

 By simply changing how you eat, you can improve your energy level, attitude and mood. Eating the right foods can even impact how you handle stress.

In my own life, this rings true. When I am eating healthy, I have more energy and my digestion issues cease. When I fall back into the dark pit eating junk food and fast food, the issues return — almost immediately. By simply watching what I eat, I can significantly impact my health — and my mood. Amazing, huh?

Never before has the saying been more true…you are what you eat.  I wish I had realized this truth a few years ago.