Addicted to Popcorn

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tink11464
tink11464 Posts: 119 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Okay - so for some people popcorn may be a good choice for a snack - for me, the carbs are terrible - especially in a full bag of PopSecret movie theatre microwave popcorn. I lost 90 lbs before this addiction kicked in, but this recent addiction (about 6-8 weeks) has taken over and the numbers are creeping back up. I LOVVVVE this stuff.

I have tried going cold turkey, didn't have any in the house Thanksgiving day, and with all the tasty foods to choose from - I wanted popcorn. Problem being - all stores were closed until later that night. I literally drove to a "seedy" section of a neighboring town where they had a corner store open and prayed that nothing would happen to me while I was scoring my popcorn.

I have tried to substitute the popcorn with pork rinds (disgusting), celery with salt (no comparison), dried green beans and pea pods (really?). What suggestions do you have for something that would crave the salty crunch I am looking for? Sweets I have covered with fruits and quest bars. Thank youuuuu!!!
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Replies

  • 0xCam
    0xCam Posts: 3 Member
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    Does the rest of your diet have enough sodium, maybe your body is trying to get salt and as a result you have a large craving for salty popcorn.
  • michellemybelll
    michellemybelll Posts: 2,228 Member
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    i eat popcorn every day. it's a great afternoon snack.
  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
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    I lost 50 lbs while eating popcorn almost nightly.. not sure why you'd feel the need to quit. You may want to consider a different brand/type that doesn't have as many calories but popcorn is a good source of fiber and a generally low-cal snack. Carbs are calories. As long as you remain in a deficit, carbs won't make you gain.
  • tink11464
    tink11464 Posts: 119 Member
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    Hmmm - you may be right about sodium. I will have to look into that - I usually eat pretty bland. michellemybell - I am talking 3 bags a day - - crazyyyy - I have NEVER loved any food like this (I am 50 - so we are talking a long time of never craving something this bad before - haha). But def need a replacement. I cannot let the numbers go up.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    why is everything an addiction????????
  • allanakern
    allanakern Posts: 245 Member
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    boom chicka pop. low calorie, AMAZING popcorn.
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    edited December 2014
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    make your own popcorn instead? You can actually put a tsp of oil and 1/4 cup of popcorn in a brown paper bag and microwave it. Cuts out all the chemicals and stuff they add to the bag.

    http://allrecipes.com/recipe/microwave-popcorn/
  • eatmindfully
    eatmindfully Posts: 93 Member
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    Stay away from that microwave stuff-it's got some nasty chemicals in it! You could air pop or even oil pop and it's still a way healthier snack than chips. You can use toppings other than butter and salt as well. Have your ver tried nutritional yeast? That's super yummy! Google around for ideas our local arts theatre has all kinds of shakers to use on popcorn-natural stuff not loaded with salt or chemicals
  • shreddedtrooper
    shreddedtrooper Posts: 107 Member
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    allanakern wrote: »
    boom chicka pop. low calorie, AMAZING popcorn.

    THIS!!!!!!
    yes..best the best from everything. Production/packaging etc and ingredient list is great too and macro friendly for sure...but be careful as they are really too good!
  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
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    enterdanger wrote: »
    make your own popcorn instead? You can actually put a tbsp of oil and 1/4 cup of popcorn in a brown paper bag and microwave it. Cuts out all the chemicals and stuff they add to the bag.

    I don't think you're supposed to add oil to the bag...

    http://www.squawkfox.com/2010/07/27/popcorn-recipe-gourmet-popcorn/
  • tink11464
    tink11464 Posts: 119 Member
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    ndj1979 - the definition of addiction is: the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity. Being that it's something I crave all of the time I felt as if the word addiction suited what I felt. :)
  • jasonmh630
    jasonmh630 Posts: 2,850 Member
    edited December 2014
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    tink11464 wrote: »
    Hmmm - you may be right about sodium. I will have to look into that - I usually eat pretty bland. michellemybell - I am talking 3 bags a day - - crazyyyy - I have NEVER loved any food like this (I am 50 - so we are talking a long time of never craving something this bad before - haha). But def need a replacement. I cannot let the numbers go up.

    This very well may be it. I try to keep my sodium intake between 2500-3000mg (sometimes more, depending on the day) per day and I haven't had any issues with craving salty food items.
  • tink11464
    tink11464 Posts: 119 Member
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    serendipte I watch carbs more than calories due to some medical/health issues.
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
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    Popcorn is usually what I eat when I want a salty crunch but don't have a ton of calories, so I got nothing.

    Pre-bagged microwave popcorn is nasty and unnecessarily calorific, though. And probably gives you cancer. And it's overly expensive. Try buying bulk popcorn and popping a handful at a time in just a brown paper lunch bag in the microwave, no oil or anything. Just fold over the top and listen for the popping to slow down like you normally would. (Some people swear that this method doesn't work well, but I've never had any problem.) Then you can season it however you want. I like a little melted butter mixed with a little Frank's wing sauce, drizzled on with a fork, and then a bit of celery salt. It gets a bit soggy in places if you get too much wing sauce, but the flavor is totally worth it.
  • LianaG1115
    LianaG1115 Posts: 453 Member
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    I was a total popcorn junkie until I found this weird hacking cough started and I researched it. There's something called popcorn lung that develops with continued consumption of microwaved popcorn and it's quite scary. SO I bought an air popper and it just wasn't the same...my frustrations kicked in and dammit, I stopped popcorn altogether until one day at work someone popped a bag of popcorn and I had some...OH the addiction kicked in however, I limit myself to twice a week. That's it!!
  • meganreinsch
    meganreinsch Posts: 30 Member
    edited December 2014
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    I eat about 6-7 cups of air popped popcorn every night. The nice thing about air popped is there is no added sodium, butter, oils etc... Yes it does add carbs but the nutrition facts are nothing to be scared of.

    Nutrition Facts
    Serving Size 6 cups (48 g)
    Calories 186
    Calories from Fat 20
    Total Fat 2.2g
    Saturated Fat 0.2g
    Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
    Monounsaturated Fat 0.6g
    Cholesterol 0mg
    Sodium 4mg
    Potassium 158mg
    Carbohydrates 37.4g
    Dietary Fiber 7g
    Sugars 0.4g
    Protein 6.2g

    I say it might actually be one of the healthier indulgences :smile:
  • knitapeace
    knitapeace Posts: 1,013 Member
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    I love popcorn too, and will try to fit the real, stovetop, oil-and-butter version into my calories about once a week. But after last week's Thanksgiving feasting I'm trying to be a little under calories this week, so I did the brown bag in the microwave last night and realized it's really just as good. I melted a tablespoon of butter and drizzled it over the top. Didn't put any oil in the bag at all. Delish!
  • sriley7682
    sriley7682 Posts: 48 Member
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    I've actually lost over 100 pounds over the past year and I ate popcorn many many nights as a way to satisfy my need for snacking. Although, I chipped a tooth on popcorn last week and saw the dentist yesterday and I have three chipped teeth, not just one. Ugh! So, beware of the hard kernels if you eat a whole lot of it. :)
  • tink11464
    tink11464 Posts: 119 Member
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    Thanks everyone - - will def have try air popped or boom chicka pop. And I don't want popcorn cough!!! I appreciate all of the input

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