Caffeine fix without a ton of sugar/calories

meganlorance
meganlorance Posts: 6 Member
edited November 21 in Food and Nutrition
I'm a new mom of a 2 month old, I work 10 hour days, and my husband is deployed so I don't have help. I NEED caffeine to fibrin on normal human level. My problem is I don't like coffee unless it's 90% cream, energy drinks have way too much caffeine, and right now my caffeine fix is soda which just packs on calories and sugar. I am up to try something different with coffee it just can't contain dairy (my son gets sick when I eat it) but I'm okay using soy or almond milk.
«1

Replies

  • cabwj
    cabwj Posts: 843 Member
    What about tea?
  • Paul_Collyer
    Paul_Collyer Posts: 160 Member
    Tea, milk, stevia. Lovely.
  • br3adman
    br3adman Posts: 284 Member
    Guarana its a natural plant in the maple family. Might be pricey. Instant coffee with caffine sprinkle it over yogurt or berries or something
  • spilledmilk
    spilledmilk Posts: 83 Member
    Black tea
    Diet soda
    Black coffee with sugar free syrup- 5 calories and no sugar.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    coffee, black...or maybe just a splash of milk or cream
  • sethwdyer
    sethwdyer Posts: 19 Member
    You could buy some caffeine pills and cut them into 4ths. That would be about 50mg of caffeine, which is about as much as a small cup of coffee.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    studies have shown that most energy drinks have considerable less caffeine than an equal sized coffee.


    personally, i love coffee. try a skinny/light latte made with skim milk. it's 120 calories, and only as much sugar as you like (i put in one splenda).
  • cmaksimik
    cmaksimik Posts: 13 Member
    Use Powdered Creamer. No fat no Carbs. Truvia for sweetner
  • cat_lady77
    cat_lady77 Posts: 203 Member
    I second the caffeine pills, just be careful. I got whatever Walmart has & I used to take 1 whole tablet every morning (200mg...yeah not good). I cut back & I really don't take them anymore, but they worked! & like @sethwdyer said you can always cut them into smaller parts.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    Over time, I have weaned myself down from 90% milk, 10% coffee to now drinking almost black coffee.

    What helps me is to pre-measure the milk. I put it in jars that are designed for salad dressing--they have measurements and lids with pour spouts. When my budgeted milk (I generally use almond) for the day is gone, I am done.

    Black tea with sweetener might work for you too.
  • meganlorance
    meganlorance Posts: 6 Member
    I don't like tea unless it's 90% sugar. Coffee and tea are to bitter. I can't do any cream or regular milk. Any time I do my son gets sick,I'm breastfeeding.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    Diet pop or caffeine pills, I suppose.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    Trader Joe's almond milk seems to be the best, both on nutrition and price.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    diet soda
    coffee
    tea
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    meganlorance wrote: »
    I don't like tea unless it's 90% sugar. Coffee and tea are to bitter. I can't do any cream or regular milk. Any time I do my son gets sick,I'm breastfeeding.

    jeez, there aren't a lot of options then. figure out how to cut caffeine from your diet, keep drinking sodas, or learn to like coffee or tea.
  • chriscolh
    chriscolh Posts: 127 Member
    I love the crystal light energy drink packets. (Actually, to be honest, I like Walmart's great value generic brand even more!) One packet is 10 calories, 120 mg caffeine. The packets are made to be poured into a 16.9 oz water bottle, but I use them in my 32 oz water bottle. Keeps me hydrated, gives me a little bit of an extra kick, and satisfies my sweet tooth without going overboard.
    Good luck!
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    You can take No-Doz. just make sure ur stomach isn't empty when u do.
  • kk_inprogress
    kk_inprogress Posts: 3,077 Member
    Sleep and B12
  • skinnyheather
    skinnyheather Posts: 38 Member
    V8 VFusion Energy. I drank them while I was pregnant and breastfeeding with no adverse reactions from the baby. It has 80mg of caffeine from green tea. Plus you get extra vitamins from the fruits and veggies in it. The peach mango is my favorite!
  • meganlorance
    meganlorance Posts: 6 Member
    chriscolh wrote: »
    I love the crystal light energy drink packets. (Actually, to be honest, I like Walmart's great value generic brand even more!) One packet is 10 calories, 120 mg caffeine. The packets are made to be poured into a 16.9 oz water bottle, but I use them in my 32 oz water bottle. Keeps me hydrated, gives me a little bit of an extra kick, and satisfies my sweet tooth without going overboard.
    Good luck!

    Thank you I'll look for them when I go grocery shopping.
  • IILikeToMoveItMoveIt
    IILikeToMoveItMoveIt Posts: 1,172 Member
    I'd be worried of the baby getting too much caffeine...I took magnesium and b-12 and when I needed energy when I was pregnant and when I breastfed...
  • adriaticsea
    adriaticsea Posts: 20 Member
    I'm a big fan of any sort of frappuccino but the sugar/calorie intake from most are just killer. I've started making my own at home and it's been working really well as an afternoon pick-me-up.

    Here's what I'm working with:

    1 cup unsweetened almond milk
    1-2 tablespoons of instant coffee (currently using africafe)
    2 1/2 stevias
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1 teaspoon hershey's chocolate syrup

    Comes out to about 60 calories and less than 5 grams of sugar :)
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • sunburntgalaxy
    sunburntgalaxy Posts: 455 Member
    I hate coffee (and most coffee drinks unless they are basically milk, sugar and flavor with a drop of coffee), and I gave up cola for the most part (I would rather save those calories for ice cream and I can't stand the taste of any diet cola), and to me tea never really had any sort of caffeine kick, so I ended up getting some penguin mints (cinnamints actually) - three are equal to a can of cola's worth of caffeine, and they are yummy, and like 5 calories for 1 serving (or for 1 mint - I have seen it both ways, and honestly 10 calories off a day I can live with). I just have to make sure to put them away after 3 (sometimes 6) because they are very tasty. I ordered mine on amazon (because I bought them in bulk since it is cheaper) but you can do a search for penguin mints to find them (they have mint, chocolate mint (not as good as you would hope) and cinnamon, and I think I remember there being another flavor but it sounding weird - it has been a while since I ordered). I like them because 1) they taste good and 2) since 3 = 1 can of cola I can space them out, kind of like drinking the cola through the day.

    I will admit to having a cola once in a while, but I do try to fit it into my calories (and it is usually on weekends, I save the mints for weekdays).
  • 6502programmer
    6502programmer Posts: 515 Member
    I don't know if you're breastfeeding or not (caffeine will go to the baby), but if you are, be mindful of the levels you take in. One option not discussed yet is caffeine powder and, among other things, hand sanitizer. Mixed into a bottle of hand sanitizer, a few squirts can give just the right pick me up.
  • SweetDesiderata
    SweetDesiderata Posts: 22 Member
    chriscolh wrote: »
    I love the crystal light energy drink packets. (Actually, to be honest, I like Walmart's great value generic brand even more!) One packet is 10 calories, 120 mg caffeine. The packets are made to be poured into a 16.9 oz water bottle, but I use them in my 32 oz water bottle. Keeps me hydrated, gives me a little bit of an extra kick, and satisfies my sweet tooth without going overboard.
    Good luck!

    I do this exact same thing, but with the Winn-Dixie brand. 1 packet in a big 32 ounce cup of water. Works great for me!
  • jaqcan
    jaqcan Posts: 498 Member
    Coffee with unsweetened almond milk and splenda, for me! It takes some adjustment, but you can acquire a taste for coffee without all the sugar and cream.
    And I don't need/want any lectures about using splenda. I've done the research and I've read all the articles. I still use it in my coffee, and I'm not eating it by the pound. :smiley:
  • seekingbetterme
    seekingbetterme Posts: 39 Member
    I use the Folgers Iced Café Vanilla Latte Flavored Coffee Drink Concentrate (kind of like the Crystal Light liquid stuff, only it's coffee) with 8oz of unsweetened almond milk! The milk is only 30 calories and the concentrate only adds another 5-10 calories. Sometimes I'll double the milk/concentrate and have a "medium" size vanilla latte for only 80 calories :smile:
  • cristical
    cristical Posts: 126 Member
    The only thing that helped me pull away from sodas with a strong caffiene and sugar addiction was this. Somehow..I made it haha 450.jpg
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
    Coffee is:
    1) An acquired taste
    2) Requires good coffee to drink black at first

    Good coffee, when black, is comparable to dark chocolate. The swill you get in grocery stores is barely palatable black, after acquiring the taste.

    So, choke it down for a while. You'll start to appreciate it on it's own :)
This discussion has been closed.

Categories