General Rant

lalabrucey
lalabrucey Posts: 244 Member
edited November 29 in Food and Nutrition
<rant> why is it so freaking impossible to find movie drink sizes and popcorn serve sizes?!!! Grrr! There is no standard, and a medium can vary between cinemas/countries - when will they figure out consumers are getting smarter and want this information?! Or is it that NZ is yet to catch up! Frustrated doesn't even begin to describe how long I have spent online searching for an answer, Gah! </rant>
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Replies

  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    Email the movie chain you go to. They should be able to help. For now you can just estimate.
  • fireguy262
    fireguy262 Posts: 263 Member
    mmmmmmm....popcorn
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    If I was going to rant about the cinema it would be why do people feel the need to munch mindlessly through a movie ...just watch the film and the price of concessions

    But a diet drink of pre bottled rather than tap, bring your own food
  • Therealobi1
    Therealobi1 Posts: 3,262 Member
    I bring all my own drinks and snacks to the cinema so don't have that problem
    Otherwise would use a generic entry with closest match
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    If I was going to rant about the cinema it would be why do people feel the need to munch mindlessly through a movie ...just watch the film and the price of concessions

    But a diet drink of pre bottled rather than tap, bring your own food

    This. I take my own drink.
  • lalabrucey
    lalabrucey Posts: 244 Member
    Queenmunchy wrote: »
    Email the movie chain you go to. They should be able to help. For now you can just estimate.

    Yep thats what I did in the end, awaiting a reply. Drinks are easy enough to estimate size and its easy to find nutritional info elsewhere but popcorn is really difficult because every cinema and different countries have different sizes.

    To estimate you need to know roughly the volume the box holds. What is a medium here may be a small somewhere else. We don't have the large buckets that overseas have. I thought about taking the box home and popping my own to have a guess but felt a bit weird doing that - don't want to be the weird lady taking the rubbish out in the handbag :p

    Anyone in NZ know what a Reading cinema or Hoyts Medium volume might be?
    I guessed around 5 cups popped?
  • lalabrucey
    lalabrucey Posts: 244 Member
    fireguy262 wrote: »
    mmmmmmm....popcorn


    ...yes it was!
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    I agree, do what my kids do, sneak food and drink in.
  • suziecue20
    suziecue20 Posts: 567 Member
    My local cinemas don't allow taking food and drink in - you have to be sneaky or the snack police nab you lol
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    If I was going to rant about the cinema it would be why do people feel the need to munch mindlessly through a movie ...just watch the film and the price of concessions

    But a diet drink of pre bottled rather than tap, bring your own food

    I never got the appeal of eating during a movie. I can never pay attention if I'm eating. I haven't eaten snacks at the movies since I was like 12.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    If I was going to rant about the cinema it would be why do people feel the need to munch mindlessly through a movie ...just watch the film and the price of concessions

    But a diet drink of pre bottled rather than tap, bring your own food

    I never got the appeal of eating during a movie. I can never pay attention if I'm eating. I haven't eaten snacks at the movies since I was like 12.

    Same.
  • Unknown
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  • hopeandtheabsurd
    hopeandtheabsurd Posts: 265 Member
    lalabrucey wrote: »
    Queenmunchy wrote: »
    Email the movie chain you go to. They should be able to help. For now you can just estimate.

    Yep thats what I did in the end, awaiting a reply. Drinks are easy enough to estimate size and its easy to find nutritional info elsewhere but popcorn is really difficult because every cinema and different countries have different sizes.

    To estimate you need to know roughly the volume the box holds. What is a medium here may be a small somewhere else. We don't have the large buckets that overseas have. I thought about taking the box home and popping my own to have a guess but felt a bit weird doing that - don't want to be the weird lady taking the rubbish out in the handbag :p

    Anyone in NZ know what a Reading cinema or Hoyts Medium volume might be?
    I guessed around 5 cups popped?

    5 cups popped is not very much popcorn. I am thinking that would be more of a kid's pack size in the US.
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
    I don't eat at movie theatres. I know I'm the odd guy out on this but I'm not a snacker. I let my kiddos munch on the popcorn, candy and sodas. They need the extra calories. I don't. If I'm not dieting, I may grab a beer.
  • MarziDeThrall
    MarziDeThrall Posts: 98 Member
    It's harder for men to sneak snacks in...no purse. I guess you could sneak in a pack of sunflower seeds or something, but good luck hiding a bottle of water, lol.
  • trina1049
    trina1049 Posts: 593 Member
    Half the fun of going to the movies is sneaking in food and drinks. Take a BIG purse.
  • tryasimighty
    tryasimighty Posts: 131 Member
    They dont want you to know or you wont buy them.... UK Odeon sight says a "large sweet popcorn" is 4207 calories!!! Having been to America a UK large is considerably smaller than a USA one :)
  • DizzyMissIzzy
    DizzyMissIzzy Posts: 168 Member
    Maybe I'm weird, but I actually love bringing in a baggy of pomegranate seeds! You get the satisfying crunch that satisfies the snacker in you while simultaneously getting a burst of juicy delicious vitamins and antioxidants. What can they sell at a theatre that does that!? :D
  • ForeverSunshine09
    ForeverSunshine09 Posts: 966 Member
    I rarely snack but, my theater nearest my home is an Amc theater and their cals are available online and on mfp. I typically bring in a bottle of water now because I am not paying 3.50 for a 20 oz or 6 for a liter.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    I was concerned the first time I went to a movie after starting MFP. I opted to not get snacks or drinks. I thought it would be difficult because I love popcorn but it really wasn't. I just watched the movie and ate after I left.
    1. Eat before or after the movie and don't buy snacks or a drink. It isn't that long to go without eating or drinking.
    2. Smuggle in your own food or drink.
    3. Make your best guess at the serving sizes and move on.
    4. Ask the theater how much their popcorn or drink containers hold.
    5. Bring a scale or something with you.
    6. Bring home the containers and measure how much fits in them.
  • MommyL2015
    MommyL2015 Posts: 1,411 Member
    I don't go to the movies enough to care how many calories are in the popcorn. I just get it, eat it, log it the best I can and move on.
  • AmazonMayan
    AmazonMayan Posts: 1,168 Member
    suziecue20 wrote: »
    My local cinemas don't allow taking food and drink in - you have to be sneaky or the snack police nab you lol

    I have never been to one that allows it. At our local theater we regularly see people eating entire fast food meals they bought somewhere else LOL. We usually bring our own candy if we want any. Bottled water too. If we buy popcorn it's eaten by the time the movie starts.

    Gotta have a big movie purse.
  • Larissa_NY
    Larissa_NY Posts: 495 Member
    I sometimes buy popcorn at the movies, but I don't even bother tracking the calories. Just take however many calories you had left in the day, multiply them by two, and set your sodium count at infinity.
  • Linzon
    Linzon Posts: 294 Member
    AmazonMayan wrote: »
    suziecue20 wrote: »
    My local cinemas don't allow taking food and drink in - you have to be sneaky or the snack police nab you lol

    I have never been to one that allows it. At our local theater we regularly see people eating entire fast food meals they bought somewhere else LOL. We usually bring our own candy if we want any. Bottled water too. If we buy popcorn it's eaten by the time the movie starts.

    Gotta have a big movie purse.

    I snuck sushi into a theatre once during my wild and crazy youth, this ultimately ended up being a mistake since I accidentally ate the entire glob of wasabi in one go...
  • snarkytravels
    snarkytravels Posts: 4 Member
    If you bring anything other than a tiny purse into my local movie theater they check inside it. Too many shootings...
    I'd just assume anything you get at a theater is way too many calories and endeavor to eat healthily the rest of the week.
  • fishshark
    fishshark Posts: 1,886 Member
    I guess I'm one of the rare that HAS to eat during a movie. Even at home we make a pretty big deal about it with snacks and wine.
  • JordisTSM
    JordisTSM Posts: 359 Member
    lalabrucey wrote: »
    Queenmunchy wrote: »
    Email the movie chain you go to. They should be able to help. For now you can just estimate.

    Yep thats what I did in the end, awaiting a reply. Drinks are easy enough to estimate size and its easy to find nutritional info elsewhere but popcorn is really difficult because every cinema and different countries have different sizes.

    To estimate you need to know roughly the volume the box holds. What is a medium here may be a small somewhere else. We don't have the large buckets that overseas have. I thought about taking the box home and popping my own to have a guess but felt a bit weird doing that - don't want to be the weird lady taking the rubbish out in the handbag :p

    Anyone in NZ know what a Reading cinema or Hoyts Medium volume might be?
    I guessed around 5 cups popped?

    Bit late to the party, but I logged a small at Event Cinema (Taranaki) at 7 cups - worked out to be 670 cals. I'd be guessing a medium would be twice that. So not worth it, next time will sneak in some home popped :smile:
  • lalabrucey
    lalabrucey Posts: 244 Member
    JordisTSM wrote: »
    lalabrucey wrote: »
    Queenmunchy wrote: »
    Email the movie chain you go to. They should be able to help. For now you can just estimate.

    Yep thats what I did in the end, awaiting a reply. Drinks are easy enough to estimate size and its easy to find nutritional info elsewhere but popcorn is really difficult because every cinema and different countries have different sizes.

    To estimate you need to know roughly the volume the box holds. What is a medium here may be a small somewhere else. We don't have the large buckets that overseas have. I thought about taking the box home and popping my own to have a guess but felt a bit weird doing that - don't want to be the weird lady taking the rubbish out in the handbag :p

    Anyone in NZ know what a Reading cinema or Hoyts Medium volume might be?
    I guessed around 5 cups popped?

    Bit late to the party, but I logged a small at Event Cinema (Taranaki) at 7 cups - worked out to be 670 cals. I'd be guessing a medium would be twice that. So not worth it, next time will sneak in some home popped :smile:

    Ah cheers for that. Reading cinema emailed me back (similar sizes to Event/Hoyts/Rialto I think) and they are going to look at putting box sizes on their website ...Yay!

    I think I might go in and ask them for an empty box and risk being labelled the weird lady... I'll post back with my results for anyone interested.

    I dont go often enough to the movies, but when I do dammit I want my chemical coated salty goodness!!

    Seen some really cool tips here though, thanks everyone. I think I am going to have to buy a handbag and get clever at smuggling haha :p

    L.
  • Shells918
    Shells918 Posts: 1,070 Member
    Went to the movies on Saturday. I brought pistachios with me. Husband ordered popcorn with extra butter; it was so salty it was inedible. Then he got some pretzel bites with "cheese" sauce. Pretzel was ok, cheese stuff I didn't even taste. I was very happy to have the nuts with me!
  • lalabrucey
    lalabrucey Posts: 244 Member
    edited February 2016
    Well the cinema were kind enough to weigh it for me and here is the answer:

    For Reading Cinema NZ:

    Junior- 80g
    Medium- 140g
    Large- 295g
    Jumbo- 315g


    - I dont know if this includes the box
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