[ncuneo]

So I use a 1/2 c of SF creamer in my coffee every morning, ridiculous I know. I've tried and tried to use less, or drink less coffee and it's just not happening. It's really not a problem, it's something that I know I have to have and make room for it everyday, but the 120 cals I save for it everyday is really starting to get to me when I think of the other things I could spend it on. I also would love to get that artificial sugar out of my day. Since I've made a bunch of nutritional changes in my diet I've been able to ditch most artificial sugars. The only places I can't seem to kick it is my morning joe and my evening Skinny Cow. Does anyone have any thoughts what I can do to my coffee? Obviously weaning off it all together would be the best, but I'm just not willing to do that at this point. It's my morning comfort and the little bit of caffine allows me to push breakfast to 9 am and feel less hungry throughout the day. Advice?

[sacha]

I will never give up coffee

A couple of ideas:
- Try and find fat-free cream (it does exist, believe it or not). It might take a bit of searching
- Slowly transition towards using milk (cream, then 3%, then 2%, etc. over a period of time)
- Work it into your daily calories (I'll take 120 calories of a good coffee combination over 120 calories of X any day!). Let it be in your calories. Yes, it is a sizeable chunk for just a morning drink, but for me ~ it is essential

[WebRover]

Have you tried Fat Free Half and Half ... slowly reducing the amount.

Medical practitioners have recommended to me Stevia and Agave Nectar instead of other sweeteners. You may want to give them a try.

[Laureedee]

My family knows (well, knew) me as the girl who likes a little coffee with her milk/creamer. I agree with the others, look for something fat free if you can find one, or switch over to milk. I used to think it was impossible for me to get off of coffee too, but it happened (not without a fight, let me tell you, my tastebuds were majorly displeased). I just used less and less creamer/milk, then had less coffee altogether, and so on. I got off of coffee and wound up right back on it so eventually I had to just quit cold turkey but I think the weaning off works better for most. I'm just that all or nothing type of personality. Now I can have a cup or not 99%, and I use just a teaspoon or so of organic fat free milk. And I still use real sugar, just half a teaspoon. I hate adding sugar but I also don't want any artificial sweeteners in my diet so I'd rather take the calorie bang from the sugar anytime.

But if you really love it, maybe you just need to make room for it. Try drinking less coffee again, but reduce it very little by little over a period of time. You won't notice that gradual a shift, and that'll probably allow you to cut your creamer (and calories) a bit more. Sometimes, certain things are just really worth the calories if you really love them. There are still some mornings where I have to have something warm, be it hot chocolate, coffee, whatever, and I don't really care if I have to pull calories out of the rest of my day for it.

[synger]

I actually have the opposite suggestion... try a smaller amount of full-fat cream. Sometimes I find I'm using a LOT of something lower-fat to try to get the mouthfeel of the higher-fat thing. For instance, I use a lot more margarine on a potato or roll than I would of real butter. The butter is more satisfying to me, so I need less of it.

A tablespoon of heavy cream is about 50 calories. That is usually more than enough for my morning cup o' joe. If I use skim milk, I end up with half milk and half coffee.

[Teresa66]

At home I use fat free half & half and it's great. At work I will often use the regular half & half, but I try to just use a little taste.

[ennay]

lowfat vanilla soymilk. Has more richness than skim milk and a bit of sweetness, but not the degree of sweet that SF creamers have. Usually it has about 80 calories for a full cup so about the equivalent of skim milk. Also has more protein than the artificial creamers.

[tryhardforlife]

40 cal cup almond breeze

[bacilli]

My husband switched to fat-free coffee creamer. I use almond milk. We're both very happy with our choices.

[ANewCreation]

I would never suggest that you wean yourself off coffee--how horrible

But, I will share with you how I was able to give up my cream. I was just like you. I used about the same amount and I loved half/half in my coffee. After my coffee pot died I bought a Kurig coffee maker. One morning as I was standing, bleary eyed, waiting for the first cup, I thought to myself 'This is the best smelling coffee ever! I wonder how it would taste black?' So, I tried it black and ta-da from that day forward I now LOVE my coffee black.

So, I guess what I'm saying is, perhaps if you bought the best coffee you could afford, cleaned the dickens out of your current coffee pot or bought a new set up--perhaps even a french press? Or a Kurig? Then you could appreciate a black up of coffee. I think that's what did the trick for me. The Kurig (I'm really not pushing the Kurig--I swear) puts out one perfect individual cup of coffee. The cups are sealed until you put them in the machine so it's always the freshest of the fresh.

Anyway, for what it's worth, that's my experience. Like you I want to spend those calories somewhere else and this is what worked for me. I am shocked to think that for the last 2 months or so I have not missed having cream with my coffee and that's coming from someone who has drank her coffee the same way for 30+ years. I'm loving my freshly made for one cups of coffee these days and I'm drinking it black

[getnslim]

I agree with ANewCreation!!! I haven't given up creamer entirely but switching to a Kurig has helped me switch to only using about a third of the amount of creamer I used to use. The coffee is so much smoother and I really enjoy being able to have a cup of flavored coffee without annoying my husband who hates flavored coffees. Yum! I love my Kurig!!!

[ddc]

How about non-fat dried milk powder? or evaporated milk?

I still use splenda in my coffee. I did drop it down to 2 packets from 3, in a 14 oz cup.

[LiliK]

I used to drink creamer and sugar in hot coffee, but one day at work, neither were available, so I had fresh coffee black with no sugar, and it was fantastic! Who knew? I don't usually drink hot coffee until winter time.

I love my coffee iced (I'm in south Louisiana, and it's just more refreshing). I use fat-free half and half and just plan for the 60 (necessary!) calories. I used to put sugar or flavored syrup in there, but I just use the half and half now and it's delicious.

Three weeks ago, when I switched to this way of eating, my taste buds changed--I don't seem to like super-sweet food any more, so maybe that has made it easier for me to ditch the sweetness in my morning joe--don't know, don't care--I'm just excited that it's tasting good without the bad-for-me stuff. And actually, I think that cream or this fat-free half and half sort of has a very, very mild sweetness to it.

[Gold32]

I used to need a 1/4C of sugar in each cup of coffee I drank. Then I started picking up coffee at McDonalds, and not knowing how many "sugars" I needed, I always went way under. (This was pre-diet, obviously...) Slowly, I learned I really liked the strong coffee with very little sugar and creamer. Then at my new job, I discovered that the horrible coffee at work was actually better black. Now, at home, I use a small drop of SF hazelnut creamer, more for the hazelnut than the creamer. But I can't STAND overly sweet coffee. 1/4C sugar? Ewwww!!!

My point: coffee is definitely an acquired taste, and you can acquire it without creamer. It doesn't have to happen all at once, either. Then you'll be amazed you ever wanted so much to begin with. It's really either that, or just plan on spending the calories there.

[Shannon in ATL]

I also have a Keurig, and over the years have gone from a 1/2 cup cream/ 10 pack sugar habit to a 1 tsp sugar, 1 tbsp creamer habit. I use the International Delight creamers, right now I'm going skinny vanilla latte or skinny caramel macchiatto, or the dark chocolate cream or vanilla caramel cream. 30-35 cals per tbsp. Love them. No artificial sweeteners, taste yummy.

I have also used vanilla soy and it was great, too.