Low Calorie Caffeine Drinks

I wanted to try using caffeine for weight loss (essentially what diet pills are made of, anyway) and was looking for cheap, caffeniated drinks to no avail. To that end, I picked up a bottle of caffeine pills for about $7 for 100 100mg tablets. You can get them at any drug store, usually on the bottom shelf, covered in shame. They've had a stigma in our culture ever since Jessy Spano got addicted to them.

Used responsibly, they work great. Just don't go crazy, I would recommend no more than 400mg spread out over a day, maximum, probably less. Also, be aware that when you stop taking them you should wean yourself down 50g a week until you're off, otherwise you'll get terrible withdrawal.

Tea! I typically make a cup of tea every afternoon between 2 and 3pm. I add a little sugar (or you could sub Splenda or whatever you like). You could even add a splash of milk for some added nutrients.

black coffee, <5 calories a cup.
green tea, 0 calories a cup

green tea, it's also a metabolism booster. bonus!

Are you sure its a caffeine boost your needing or is your blood sugar low? For the longest time I thought it was caffeine I needed around 3pm every day so I would drink a coke because I too hate diet soda. The amount of calories and sugar in one soda is shocking!!! A friend mentioned that my blood sugar was probably low so I should try a high energy snack. To my surprise swapping my coke for a snack had the exact same result (energy) and 1/3 of the calories/sugars. It also kept my energy level up longer as the sugar coma didn't set in at 5pm.


Here is a link for snack ideas. http://www.examiner.com/article/top-18-high-energy-snacks-to-eat-on-the-go

If I need a little boost, I drink Crystal Light Energy (wild strawberry flavored) mixed in sparkling water - it has caffeine, B vitamins & fizz!

My husband likes caffeine pills. I just make good coffee at home and take it in a thermos and only put Stevia in it (I love the English Toffee flavored Stevia) Yum. I only have half and half in it as a treat on occasion. Oh and the starbucks instant coffee packets are AWESOME. My husband puts them in his protein shakes (which are more like healthy milkshakes and not necessarily low in calories but he can afford the calories since he's a tall guys).

When I need a pick me up, I drink Monster Rehab with rojo tea. It's about ten calories per serving. Usually Monster makes me sick to my stomach, but the one with rojo tea does not.

Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea.

black coffee.

you will start to really appreciate good coffees vs bad too.

Forgive me for necro'ing an old thread. I found this through a google search so I thought I'd take a shot at asking a few questions instead of creating a new one on this subject.

I'm in the same boat as the OP. My pick me up needs to be in the morning as I'm not a morning person and kiddos are going back to school in the next week.

I'm a reformed tea addict and have nothing but Lemon, Cucumber water for 3 months +. I do need that OOMPH from caffeine but unsure what do take due to trying to stay clean 5-6 days of the week.

The answers here have given me an idea but what is best?

I just posted this on the other thread about new low calorie finds but it applies to this post too.....try Lipton Tea & Honey packets in your water. Only 5-10 cals with as much caffenine as a cup of coffee.

This wouldn't be too bad and with the packets I wouldn't have to fix a big pitcher of tea and be tempted to drink it through out the day instead of water.

I don't like coffee at all.

If your looking for a drink, I like rockstars once in a while. I get the no sugar no carbs one, its only 10 calories and 60 mg of sodium and gives me a good boost when I need it.

This seems great. DH loves the lemonade one and drinks it most often instead of 5 hr energy, Monster & Red Bull. I'm just wondering if the "other" ingredients in it is a healthy way to go.?

V8 Fusion + Energy has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. Also counts as a serving of fruit/vegetable. Yum.
(and it's only 50 calories)

This also seems like a good viable solution. But is 50 cal better than 10 from Rockstars? Would the veggies from this negate the extra calories and be worth it?

OR should I just stick with B12 vitamins with Methylocobalamin? Would that be better since there's 0 calories?

Thank you for any advise!

~Ash

careful of the sodium in typical energy drinks

Coffee of course

I work in a coffee shop and spend a lot of time customizing people's drinks so that they can get the caffeine (and flavor) they want for the caloric budget they have. If you want the caffeine of coffee (lighter roasts have more caffeine than darker roasts, by the way, contrary to popular belief) but can't drink it black, almond milk is a good alternative to dairy milk and creamer. The unsweetened varieties can have as low as 20-30 calories/8oz. If you like flavors like vanilla, chocolate, etc, there are sugar free syrups available. Many can be bought at common stores like Walmart. (If you're looking for something different than a small bottle of Davinci, you might have to go somewhere a little more specialized).

I have a 16oz almond milk latte or two on a lot of my shifts, and they cost me about 75-90 calories each, depending on whether I add honey.

Coffee. I now sweeten mine with 12 drops of hazelnut flavored liquid stevia, plus about 1/4 cup almond milk.

I do not recommend caffeine pills. I got very addicted to energy supplements I got from GNC; if I didn't take them I got awful headaches, and sometimes I got headaches even when I had them. I went cold turkey without them 2 years ago, and the withdrawal sucked! Now I just have coffee (mainly on weekends) or occasionally soda as a pick-me-up.