Coffee is truly one of those life essentials for many people, as necessary as a daily shower or a mid-morning snack. It’s one of those beverages that seems to be everywhere all the time. That’s what makes it so easy to drink coffee and forget all about it. But the more you drink, the more empty calories you’re adding to your daily intake. If you don’t know how many calories you’re giving up to coffee every day, then you’re probably consuming too many coffee calories already.
The Ubiquitous Bean
Coffee’s everywhere, isn’t it? Fast food chains have it, gas stations have it, just about every office has a pot of it—and let’s not even talk about all the coffee-specific shops you drive past on your way to work (and everywhere else). And where there’s coffee, there’s sugar, creamer, maybe even extra stuff like chocolate syrup, whipped cream and all sorts of little goodies.
A teaspoon here, a sprinkle of that there, a squeeze of that stuff on top—it all adds up. Before you know it, you could be packing an additional 200 calories into your day with a single cup of coffee…or more. That’s a Greek yogurt and a banana, or an entire salad. It’s a plate of two eggs. It’s a lot of extra calories that you might not need.
Calories, Calories Everywhere, and Not a Drop to Drink
Coffee itself is low in calories…as long as you drink it black. Otherwise, the calories are going to add up quickly. Put in two tablespoons of milk, and you’re adding 16 calories or more. Using one tablespoon of creamer instead? That’s about 20 calories. If you include just one tablespoon of sugar, that’s another 50 calories. Cinnamon, nutmeg, chocolate syrup, whipped cream—the calories just keep on coming with every little sprinkle, dash, squirt and shake.
The average cup of coffee with sugar, cream and maybe a little bit of extra spices is over 80 calories. That’s on the low side, and that’s if you make your coffee at home. If you get your coffee when you’re out, you can double that number, triple it or go even higher without even trying.
The average Caffè Vanilla Frappuccino Light from Starbucks claims to be 180 calories. The Mocha Frappuccino Light is 140 calories. A Java Chip Frappuccino can go as low as 470 calories. You can find the calorie count for your Starbucks drinks on Starbucks.com, but we all know it also depends on how your barista makes it. And yikes. You could be intaking those same calories with a healthy fulfilling snack or meal combined with a regular cup of coffee!
You Are What You Drink
How many extra coffee calories are you packing into your day without even realizing it? The total can get out of hand pretty quickly, as you can see. Start paying attention to how many calories you’re drinking with your coffee on a daily basis, and you’ll start finding out that you can cut back on those empty calories. Checking your coffee consumption can help you reduce your diet by hundreds of calories every day, and in time that will add up to pounds of weight loss.