Okay. One of my true vices in life is drinking copious amounts of coffee ... from Starbucks and in general. I've decided it's finally time (for my wallet and for my health) to cut back. A trip to Starbucks has been daily for a while now and I've tried doing the whole soy-non-fat-low-fat-sugar-free thing and it just doesn't do it for me. I still plan on drinking coffee, limiting myself to 1 cup a day, 2 max (le sigh), but no daily trips to Starbucks. That has to stop! All the coffee intake screws with my calorie count.

Wish me luck!

I completely agree ... I had to take a long hard look at my coffee consumption, too. I started to drink a half a pot of coffee (about 2 good-sized cups) with 1% milk every morning instead. Afternoons and evenings, if I wanted a "treat", I opted for plain tea. I began to view my trips to coffeehouses as social activities, much like a happy hour, instead of a daily maintenance stop. Now, when I go to a coffeehouse I get whatever size I want of a light roast, and add 1% milk (or a skim/half-n-half combination).

You'll save quite a bit of cash, too! Good luck - I know you can do this!

The only coffee they have out here is Nescafe, which tastes like sewer water with a hint of coffee. Nonetheless, without my daily cup of that vile brew I am shaking like an addict. GOOD LUCK!

I have discovered that the more FRUIT I eat (in the morning) the less coffee I want.

....wonder whazzup widdat???

Then again, I only drink coffee upon rising anyway... I never drink it throughout the day.

Kudos!

I used to be a big ol' Diet Coke freak. I mean, I had at least 4-5 a day. I ditched them and I have never felt better - PMS and TOM symptoms are so much milder, no more headaches, much more energy. The caffeine was really doing a number on me.

Here's to more money in your wallet and fewer calories in your count!

Coffee is probably my main vice, too (at least, after sugar!). I know I should cut back, but I kind of use it as a substitute for a snack that I want, but know I don't need. I don't usually buy it out, so it's not so much a $$ issue - I make it at home. But all the cream & sugar add up, even though I kid myself that they're negligible. Right now, I'm just working on being consistent with the food and exercise - I'll slay the coffee dragon a bit later. Right now, it's kind of a crutch, and I think I might "fall down" without it.

I can certainly relate! I've cut back to half a pot each morning and I drink it black, so I'm not concerned there. I used to visit Starbucks a lot and always had a venti SF vanilla latte. Well, even with it sugar free, there is a lot of calories in that thing! I switched to an Americano (black) and was very happy with that. Sure it isn't that sweet candy-like concoction that I used to get, but it was satisfying. I know that will be my order from now on (if I visit). Now if I could just stay away from Jamba Juice!!!

I'm glad there's others that understand this problem! Thanks for the support.

No Starbucks this morning ... on a Monday ... eeeeek. But I'm surviving.

Good for you for identifying something that might be holding you back and doing something about it. And, I agree that you'll save a ton of money!

I'm not a coffee freak but I do drink it most mornings at work. Unfortunately I only like it with a lot of milk. So, when I have it, it's part of my plan. My office provides us with actual Starbucks coffee. I have a large mug (usually about 16 oz) and add 1/3 cup of non-fat dry milk, effectively making a "skinny" cafe au lait. That counts as my morning milk serving.

I to to SB most Sunday mornings to have coffee with friends. There, or at other coffee shops I visit, I have a nonfat venti misto (same as cafe au lait, but you could have a nonfat latte as well). That's 110 calories, and again counts towards my milk allottment for the day. I sweeten it myself with Splenda. You can also get the sugar-free syrups if you like.

Starbucks.com has a great beverage nutrition calculator; it's very informative!

i broke down and bought a nice espresso machine...an francis x 5 made by lilly. It was expensive...but i have saved so much money and calories now. I barely every visit starbucks unless i'm out of town. every morning i make an espresso with one tsp of raw sugar (60 cal) and 1/2 cup of skim milk. that way i'm getting my calcium intake in for the day. Yes its some calories...but really not that much. And i saved huge amount of calories from what i always get at starbucks...last time i looked on line found out what i usually drank was almost 400 cals...yikes...now what i drink is around 100 calories...and for me...well worth the calories...plus gives me my calcium. I could give up my sugar..but i figure 1 tsp is worth the small amount of calories it was.

I hate to sound low brow here, but I DO like coffee, and I've never, ever bought it at Starbucks! Not out of any real dislike for SB (although by the time you get through, I've gotta wonder if you're actually drinking coffee or having dessert, you know? ) But the truth is that there's no Starbuck's on my way to & from work. I drive the Mass Turnpike into Boston every day, and guess what you can get on the 'Pike! McDonalds! Hah! Well, they have Paul Newman's Green Mountain coffee now, and that's actually pretty good. I used to get a medium with one equal and milk. That was when I was ALSO getting two (Count 'em, folks - not ONE, but TWO) sausage McGriddles and munching on them as I drove. NOW, if I stop, I get a medium coffee, black, no sugar (or sweetner), period.
So, I have a cup of coffee at home before I leave, then SOMETIMES, but not always, I stop & grab a coffee at McDonald's on the 'Pike, and then I have another coffee from the coffee maker at work. I used to drink more - like five or six cups a day, easily - but now I'm drinking @ 5 16-oz bottles of water every day, and that seems to fill the need pretty well.
The OTHER thing is that now that I'm eating a healthy breakfast (No more of those *yummy* McGriddles for Ella) I find that I don't WANT all the coffee I used to drink.
Auuurrrrgh. It sure would be nice not to have weight to lose, though. Isure don't want to do THIS again!!!!

Ella

The only time I ever gave up coffee was when I was pregnant - just didn't want it. I LOVE my 5:15 a.m. coffee! Gets me going. Yes, I use 1/4 cup WHOLE milk + 2 tspn. sugar. I alot myself those 75 calories everyday and to me, it is well worth it. It's a 16 oz. cup of coffee -- just one -- and on rare occassions I'll get a cup at the local grocery store. But I'll use sweet and low for that and less milk cause I always get a small. The 2nd cup is rare, but they are putting in a WAWA just down the street from me, and I heard their coffee was good. Uh-oh!!

Jo

I'm not going to worry about coffee. A teaspoon of sugar and a splash of 2% milk (tried 1%, just can't do it) a few times a day won't kill me, and isn't what made me fat.

At SB or any other coffee shop, they sell just plain black coffee - it's not the coffee that's the caloric hit, it's the syrups, sugars and milk! I get coffee from a coffee shop about 2x a week, always a 16 oz ff latte - which I count as a milk serving - about 110 cals. I don't add sugar or syrup. At home I drink 1-2 cups before work, and at work, well, I pour several cups, but I probably only drink 1/3-1/2 of each. It does get expensive to drink SB's fancy drinks - both in $$ and calories! Good for you in breaking the habit.

Oh lordy you might hate me for this... or you might love me! We'll see!

...because I read an article that pointed out one particular person was drinking over 1000 calories that she never even counted! - I wanted to know how many calories I was drinking. It's easy to figure out sodas & so forth... but coffee?? We all know that coffee itself has basically NO calories. And I only drink coffee upon rising, so I figured I probably had about 30-40 calories in my coffee....

Uh.... NO.

What about the cream? The sugar? Etc? And how much REALLY are you drinking? Well, my coffee cups are NOT the standard 8oz cup. No, I have "Friends" size cups! - which is at least 2 cups in actual size!

Then my Fat-Free Half-n-Half says one serving is 15 calories per 2 teaspoons. I can tell you I put a WHOLE LOT MORE than just 2 teaspoons in my coffee! Turns out I was using about 60 calories right there. Then I also use two teaspoons of sugar.... that's 30 calories. Then I ALSO use one serving of French Vanilla creamer.... that's 40 CALORIES PER LITTLE BITTY SERVING! So.... my one cup of coffee is 130 calories!!!! And if I drink TWO cups... it's 260 CALORIES! Then of course weekends are for reading the paper, relaxing & drinking ANOTHER CUP of coffee..... that's 390.... ALMOST 400 CALORIES JUST IN MY COFFEE!!!! OMG!!!! That's practically 1/3 of my daily caloric intake! ..... oh good grief... ... so what am I supposed to do here?

I did what any smart person WOULD do. For one thing, I stopped taking "drinking" calories for granted! I only have ONE cup of coffee now! - and I cut back in how much cream I use! Now my one "friends" sized cup of coffee is right at 80 calories.

Now 80 calories ain't gonna make or break me, right?