I actually work in a local coffee house and when I first began my dieting, I cut it completely! I've seen first hand what goes into each cup, and the sugar can be unbelievable. If you must have coffee, go for black coffee with out any sugar or a non-fat latte/cappuccino with no whipped cream and no sugar. Please stay away from any blended drinks... even the ones advertised as lite can be loaded with bad carbs and sugars. If you have nutritional information available for the cold drinks and want one after evaluating what's in it, make sure they give you the serving size you saw on the label! We serve all of our cold drinks out of a 16oz cup, but most serving sizes come in an 8oz portion. Also, ask your barista about smoothie options. We have some really healthy smoothies that have only 100 calories per 8ozs and almost no sugar. Good luck!

I'm sure the mochas were horrible, but that doesn't mean the lattes with sugar syrup are good.

I just did a little specific nutritional analysis for you:

A 16-oz latte-with-syrup probably has about 10 oz of milk in it, an ounce or two of espresso, and a couple tablespoons of syrup. I'm assuming you're not having whipped cream on it, too.

Calories: 180 (almost half of the calories come from the sugar syrup)
Fat grams: 0
Carb grams: 33 (of which 32 grams are sugars)
Protein grams: 12

Two of these lattes every day is running you over 350 calories.

-- If you cut one latte out, and still had one latte with sugar syrup every day, you'd cut 180 calories per day / 1260 per week, which is about 1/3 pound weight loss per week. 19 pounds per year.

-- If you kept having both lattes, but used sugar-free syrup instead, you'd cut 150 calories per day / 1050 calories per week, which is again about 1/3 pound weight loss per week. 15 pounds per year.

-- If you cut down to one latte with sugar-free syrup, you'd cut 250 calories per day / 1250 calories per week, which is about 1/2 pound weight loss per week. 26 pounds per year.

It's not always necessary to totally eliminate something from our diets. Especially in this case, nonfat milk is a food with plenty of good stuff in it for you, so maybe getting rid of it isn't the thing to do, if it's a treat you really enjoy.

The sugar, of course, adds absolutely nothing but calories to your diet. And it's more than likely the cause of your post-coffee crashing, which leads to binges.

Ask about sugar-free alternatives! Most places have sugar free syrups to go in your latte, and you can add splenda after it's made.

Moderates amount of caffeine certainly won't do anything as long as you're wary of what you put in your coffee or tea or whatever. Most studies do show that moderates amount of caffeine (like pretty much anything) can actually be good for you. If you consume a lot of caffeine though, (ie: more than 2 or 3 cups of coffee a day) you experience adrenal burnout. Basically caffeine causes your adrenal glands to secrete more hormones like epinephrine and norepinephrine and you can overstimulate your adrenal glands to the point where they actually fail to produce these hormones as effectively. Your body experiences a state of stress and you release cortisol. Whether or not this will have any bearing on your weight is a personal thing. Some people are just accustomed to taking in that much caffeine because they've built up a tolerance over time (it's a drug, remember) and therefore they don't experience this. I know personally if I take in too much caffeine I feel really bloated and exhausted as soon as the effects wear off because I never have more than 1 or 2 caffeinated drinks a day.

Why don't you think about replacing your morning coffee with another drink that will get you energized? I switched to taking a vitamen and drinking either orange juice or Minute Maid Blueberry Pomegranate juice. After I got over my caffine withdrawls, I noticed a big difference. I'd never go back to morning coffee!

What about flavored coffee for that afternoon treat? Many of us only purchase flavored coffees during the holidays, but I have decided I can treat myself daily since I'm not over eating, and haven't had a cocktail in months. (I was a daily happy hour fanatic.) Check labels, but most are calorie free. I absolutely LOVE a flavor made by Door County called "Jamaican me Crazy". It reminds me of vacations at the beach every time I drink it. Since I drink it almost every day, you could say my, "life is a Beach". :)

Actually, lacto-vegan diets mean that the person eats only dairy and veggies and cuts out meat. I'm doing Accu-weight, it combines eastern and western practices involving accupressure. The diet consists of fruits, veggies, and whole milk or whole yogurt. It sounds nuts, I know, but it's amazing. :D

Actually, SoulBliss was right in saying the term lacto-vegetarian. There is no such thing as a lacto-vegan. Vegan means that the person does not eat ANY animal products at all...not just meat, but any eggs, dairy products, fats from animal sources, etc. Nothing related to an animal...

However, there are different types of vegetarians. Some just cut out meat but still might eat dairy or eggs (or both)...and even some might cut out just certain kinds of meat (like someone who only eats fish...).

So, the term lacto-vegan is incorrect. One can only be vegan if there are no animal products consumed at all-dairy included.

:)

I know it sounds silly (for those who might not be vegetarians or vegans) to be so thorough about it, but for those who are vegans it is a very distinct difference.