r drinking sugar-free nonfat lattes bad?

karissastephens

If I get a sugar free nonfat latte daily is this bad to do? Will it be an obstacle on my weightloss goals?

jdramage

Personally I wouldn't say it's bad. If anything, it's definitely good that you're trying to make better choices than getting a full fat and full sugar drink. I would just make sure that you consider it a treat and not necessarily a daily occurance. There's very little nutritional value if any at all in that type of drink. You're better off drinking black or herbal tea or black coffee, although it obviously doesn't taste as good. And make sure water is always your number one choice.

mvl1014

It depends on what they are replacing the sugar with. Your options are:

1) artificial sweeteners
2) more fat
3) more sodium
4) some combination of the above

Find out which one and decide if you would rather have that instead of the sugar.

StarryEyedGirl

how many calories are they? artifical sugar isn't that great for you but when your trying to eat low cal sometimes you gotta give in. I bet you can continue to drink them and still lose weight. everything in moderation or so I hear, LOL.

JayAlexander

When drinking coffee, you need two cups of water to every cup of coffee. Not an actually cup, but if you have a 12oz coffee drink 24oz water to keep from getting dehydrated.

StarryEyedGirl

It depends on what they are replacing the sugar with. Your options are:

1) artificial sweeteners
2) more fat
3) more sodium
4) some combination of the above

Find out which one and decide if you would rather have that instead of the sugar.

YOU ALWAYS HAVE GREAT RECOMMENDATIONS! KUDOS!

MacMadame

It depends...

Just because it's sugar-free and non-fat, doesn't mean it hasn't got calories. If you log those calories and they are "worth it" to you and you can still meet your nutritional goals while drinking them, then it's fine. If the calories are too high to make it worth it or they throw you off on your other nutritional goals for the day, then you probably don't want to drink them very often, but just as a special occasion drink.

Someone is going to chime in any second now and tell you coffee is a diuretic and/or an appetite stimulant. :happy: It turns out, the diuretic capabilities of coffee have been misunderstood and drinking it won't make you more dehydrated vs. drinking something else. (You'll pee more within 2 hours of drinking it but not more often than you would have over a 24 hour period.) It's not really clear if it's an appetite stimulant either -- that seems to vary from person to person. But it's something to watch out for.

taryn_perry

It depends on what they are replacing the sugar with. Your options are:

1) artificial sweeteners
2) more fat
3) more sodium
4) some combination of the above

Find out which one and decide if you would rather have that instead of the sugar.

I would have to agree here. The artificial sweeteners are often more lethal to your health, since they are a chemical. If you have to have a sweetener of sorts to your coffee, head to Whole Foods or a natural grocery store and get liquid Stevia (comes in great flavors) and keep it in your purse. It's natural, has no calories or harmful chemicals that these Sugar Free syrups do. Not to mention, anything artificial (aspartame, Splenda, Equal, etc) will slow your results with weight loss.

mvl1014

...Someone is going to chime in any second now and tell you coffee is a diuretic...

Someone already did ;-) But they didn't come right out and call it that.

StarryEyedGirl, thanks so much for the support!
Choose2BeFit, thank you too. :-) (Also, I didn't even populate the response with my personal feelings on the options, but you make a common point about the artificial sweeteners )

MacMadame

Someone already did ;-) But they didn't come right out and call it that.

Heh, I noticed that ... we were posting at the same time!

Oh and to the "it's a chemical" argument.... EVERYTHING is a chemical. Even water! (Chemical composition: H2O) :laugh: There are good reasons to avoid a lot of artificial sweeteners, but "it's a chemical" isn't one of them.

Anyway, I came back to report that the sugar-free non-fat lattes in the MFP database seem to range in calories from a lowly 50 to a high of 190! So... it depends on where you get it and what else is in it.

mvl1014

...Oh and to the "it's a chemical" argument.... EVERYTHING is a chemical. Even water! (Chemical composition: H2O)...

Having a minor in Chemistry, I give people the benefit of the doubt and assume they mean artificial chemical i.e. one not found readily in nature. To be more accurate, water's not a chemical, it's a molecule. ;-)

katielouhoo

ok- :huh: folks asking about sugars and all are not latte drinkers. a nonfat latte is espresso & skim milk. (mostly skim milk).
i had switched to skinny or nonfat lattes long before i started dieting thinking i was doing a good thing, but it was too much with the rest of what i was eating.

i really love lattes , but the calories are hard for me to justify theses days. i always get a 20oz skinny latte and that is approximately 170 calories.

so for me, it is a sometimes treat. (for 170 calories i can have a sandwich with low-cal bread.) i find i usually want solid food for those calories not just a drink. so, i've come back to black coffee most of the time & rarely i go all the way-
20oz skinny latte, please.:bigsmile: -katie

taryn_perry

...Oh and to the "it's a chemical" argument.... EVERYTHING is a chemical. Even water! (Chemical composition: H2O)...

Having a minor in Chemistry, I give people the benefit of the doubt and assume they mean artificial chemical i.e. one not found readily in nature. To be more accurate, water's not a chemical, it's a molecule. ;-)

Amen, artificial chemical, of course.

caityjean

I have a nonfat vanilla latte, everyday. I'm not a big sugar person (except in fruits) so I don't feel bad avoiding the sugar free choice. Plus it gives me a little extra energy, and I'd rather have the real stuff than artificial sweetener. Moral of the story being, my weight loss hasn't been hindered, so you're definitely fine.

hayleykh2

I think lattes can be good - it's one way to get your dairy/milk for the day, which we all need even if it adds calories!

Nicmc8

Starbucks tall skinny vanilla latte = 90cals.... that is a tall Sugar-Free Vanilla with Non-Fat Milk

I treat myself once a week:)

Tamishumate

I have one every other Sunday when my 16 year old and I go grocery shopping. We stop at starbucks and I have a venti skinni vanilla latte. 160 calories and worth every single one.

karissastephens

Thak you everyone for your advice and input! It helped me a lot! I was really debating on getting any this week. But today i didnt get one I ordered a tea instead and it was great!