I'll preface this by saying I didn't start drinking coffee till about three years ago, so when I was 27. Hated the taste, thought it was a weird thing people did.
Then, I started dating Chris and I needed a lot more energy than was humanly possible hahaha!
I started getting fancy coffee drinks with lots of milk and syrups and crap. Quickly realized that was a silly waste of calories and started weaning myself down to drinking black coffee (usually hazelnut coffee!) and sometimes adding skim milk. This is the only dairy I consume, and the tablespoon or two doesn't really affect me at all.
Chris is and always has been a black coffee drinker. As a treat, he will sometimes use cream, but it's not the norm.
So, onto my story:
I went down to the Green Mountain coffee kiosk that I love so much, got my coffee and went to add some skim milk. There was a line...
One man was filling an empty cup halfway with half and half. Half and half!!!!! Do you want some coffee with that cream, sir? Good Lord!
A girl about my age was taking up the rest of the counter, taking her time adding SIX sugar packets to her already very light small coffee.
Now, it could have been their weekly treat to themselves, but I'm guessing not.
It just shocked me this morning, is all. Thinking about how many state workers in my building are downing 2 - 300 calories once or more a day for COFFEE. It seems like such a waste. I get all the benefits and pleasure from coffee for about 20 calories.
And I didn't start out on black coffee... I taught my taste buds to enjoy it without cream and sugar because I knew it was better in the long run. It only took about a month to wean down to black coffee from a very light and sweet coffee.
Now, if a sweet coffee is your treat, that's your prerogative! Just something I noticed and thought about today.
Little changes make a big difference!
So true, Jeanette. Liquid calories are way too easily disregarded. At one of my pre-kid jobs, they started having Weight Watchers at Work and everyone in my office joined (I went to one meeting, then I got knocked up and had to quit). One guy who used to use about 6 oz. of milk in his big travel mug of coffee several times a day was floored when he understood how many "points" 18 or so ounces of milk was costing him, not to mention the 9 sugar packets throughout the day.
ReplyDeleteI also suffer from the coffee affliction. I must give you a big 'ol pat on the back because black coffee is just too far for me! I spent a year vegan drinking coffee with soy milk but as soon as I started adding some diary back into my life, the cream came back! My happy medium is the coffee mate creamers. If you read the ingredients, it's almost all sugar and some magic to make the coffee LOOK like you have dairy :) Yes, OK, there is some dairy, but I have to give some and take some. In a small coffee, I have one tablespoon and it's 35 calories. Coconut flavor is to die for...
ReplyDeleteI've been known to indulge in those creamers too... I would say they are my most loved un-clean indulgence. I'll go to Stewart's (an awesome chain near me) and get their awesome coffee and put a tablespoon of creamer in it (I like the pumpkin pie flavor).... I think 35 calories is a very NORMAL indulgence. Half a cup of half-n-half is.... a little overboard :D
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