I need help with coffee ...

mizhawk85
mizhawk85 Posts: 12 Member
edited December 2 in Health and Weight Loss
My kryptonite is a medium caramel swirl iced latte. No matter how great I'm doing with my diet, I get that thought of my iced lattes and usually I lose that battle. I'm looking for a sweet alternative if anyone has any ideas. I can't do plain coffee, it doesn't do it for me.
I'm going from a flavored iced latte 1-3 times a day (I work tons) to going without it, to one occasionally, to now like 3-4 times a week. I really need a better alternative. One I can make at home and possibly one I can order from a place when I'm on the go.
Thanks for reading!
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Replies

  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,185 Member
    edited May 2016
    I drink my coffee with 2 tsp sugar and 2 tbsp regular half and half. It has 70 calories and I drink 2 cups every morning. It is plenty sweet for me and it fits into my goal. How many calories are in your latte? Maybe you could fit in one latte per day. I'm not willing to give up my coffee so I just plan it into my day.
  • mizhawk85
    mizhawk85 Posts: 12 Member
    Oh my goodness, that sounds really good. I am definitely going to give this a try! Thank you
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
    melissa6771 wrote: »
    This should be easy. Buy some sugar free caramel flavored syrup. Brew iced coffee at home and keep in the fridge in a pitcher. Mix skim milk, syrup and coffee with whatever sweetener you like. Shake. Lattes are usually a high milk to coffee ratio, 1/2 & 1/2. Davinci and Torani make sugar free syrups.

    Personally, my coffee mix is this... 4 oz 1% simply Smart milk, 1.5 scoop vanilla protein powder (22g) , 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder (8g), 1 T Splenda, blended in my ninja, pour over ice, top off with iced coffee that I brew strong. I use either the zavida vanilla hazelnut, or the New England coffee malt shoppe mocha which is only available in the summer starting in June. Delish and 21 grams of protein. I use a 26 oz insulated tumbler.

    This is a miraculous and delicious sounding solution. I normally prefer black but I'll tell ya what, I'm going to try this!
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Coffee with cream and sugar seems like a pretty sweet treat to me. I use protein powder in my coffee when I'm cutting though too.
  • augustremulous
    augustremulous Posts: 378 Member
    Sounds to me like you're on the right path. Cut down to 3 times a week for a couple of weeks, then 2 times a week for a few weeks, and then only 1x a week. Then make it an occasional treat.

    The only substitutes for a sweet sugary caffeinated drink are equally sugary caffeinated drinks.


  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
    Espresso
  • 42firm03
    42firm03 Posts: 115 Member
    Ridiculous as it sounds the protein powder trick is too sweet for me. The coffee can't be strong enough to mask the too sweet.

    I stick with a bit of real sugar (2 dots) and two tablespoons of half and half. The creamy is apparently more important than the sweet. And I agree, coffee that's not worth drinking isn't going to cut it!
  • KetoneKaren
    KetoneKaren Posts: 6,412 Member
    I had to give up coffee for this reason. I drink peppermint tea which has a strong pleasant taste and smells good. I don't need sugar in it. It was not an easy transition, but now I don't even like coffee.
  • dmariet116
    dmariet116 Posts: 530 Member
    I went from drinking iced coffees all day to one large hot mug of strong fresh ground coffee with 2 T heavy cream and 1 T organic butter in the morning. It's my version of bulletproof coffee. I can't do the coconut oil... About 230 calories with only 1-2 carbs depending on the cream. It really keeps me full til lunch and jump starts my morning. I don't even miss the sugar although splenda or sugarfree syrups as mentioned could be added. I never was a big fan of breakfast so this works perfectly for me.
  • melissa6771
    melissa6771 Posts: 894 Member
    @mizhawk85 @missusmoon

    This almost serves as a meal for me. I drink it from about 9am-1pm. I eat my first real food meal around noontime. No reason to have to cut coffee out or ween off of it, just make it work in your favor.
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
    melissa6771 wrote: »
    @mizhawk85 @missusmoon

    This almost serves as a meal for me. I drink it from about 9am-1pm. I eat my first real food meal around noontime. No reason to have to cut coffee out or ween off of it, just make it work in your favor.

    I could easily replace my breakfast (which I drink anyway, because I am not a real breakfast person) with this. Thanks so much. Coffee is my life!
  • pebble4321
    pebble4321 Posts: 1,132 Member
    I think this needs a bit of a mindshift - I don't know how many calories you would be using for each of those fancy flavoured coffees, but I would stop thinking of it as a drink and starting thinking of it as a treat or dessert rather than a caffeine boost to get you through the day.

    Then you can fit it into your diary as a treat, whenever that works for you, and try some other things when you are out and about, especially if coffee is a social occasion. Green tea, herbal teas, macchiato (espresso with a spot of milk froth), skinny latte etc. If you really can't do without the sweetness, try using sweetener instead of sugar.
    Then you can keep enjoying your treat from time to time, but you have another go-to when you are at a coffee shop with friends.
  • maggieeric1
    maggieeric1 Posts: 55 Member
    Figure out why you crave it at all and that is going to tell you a lot. Staying on a plan or diet requires months of commitment. It's very difficult to do if cravings take over. I bet you can modify it and still make it good & satiating and make it fit in your plan/macros. And fit your lifestyle as well.

    For me.. I'm trying to cut out sugar to see if that helps me beat unrelenting cravings for sweets. I drink decaf and I can only enjoy the expensive coffee so I go with that plus a small amount of stevia if needed and half n half. I have begun to add butter and coconut oil bulletproof style for about five days and I'm totally not hungry until lunchtime.

    Maybe I can beat all the cravings this time.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    Have you tried the International Delight creamers? Add them to a little black coffee and you have a sweet luscious, and cholesterol free treat.
    What pebble4321 said, too, about making this a treat that you have once in a while is smart. I have my two cups of coffee with International Delight creamer every morning, but once a month or so, I go to my favorite coffee shop (oh, Eon, how I love you!) for a mocha.
    The other thing you can do, and it takes willpower, is figure out how many calories that caramel latte is and plan how much exercise you have to do to burn it off. :) I'm not usually willing to throw down 600 calories worth of treadmill time for a coffee, but it's something to think about.
  • KareninLux
    KareninLux Posts: 1,413 Member
    Wow, it is true coffee is a whole 'nother world. Sitting with my french press and 7% cream cuppa right now, as I do every morning, while reading through some of these forums.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    mizhawk85 wrote: »
    My kryptonite is a medium caramel swirl iced latte. No matter how great I'm doing with my diet, I get that thought of my iced lattes and usually I lose that battle. I'm looking for a sweet alternative if anyone has any ideas. I can't do plain coffee, it doesn't do it for me.
    I'm going from a flavored iced latte 1-3 times a day (I work tons) to going without it, to one occasionally, to now like 3-4 times a week. I really need a better alternative. One I can make at home and possibly one I can order from a place when I'm on the go.
    Thanks for reading!

    I work My cafe aulait two to three times a week into my calorie goals. Why not just work one each day into your calorie goals, per log that drink, and stick with the plan?
  • bellabonbons
    bellabonbons Posts: 705 Member
    I LOVE coffee. I keep a pitcher of unsweetened organic fresh brewed coffee in my refrigerator. I drink it plain with ice, or add some hazelnut creamer with ice. I vary it from strong to mild. I prefer a more mild for summer. Stronger for winter. I also make my own coffee ice cream. This is the beauty of my fitness pal. All of the foods we love we can enjoy. I am not a fan of artificial sweetener's or sugar-free coffee syrups but many people use them. If you are okay with sugar free syrups, they have caramel and other flavors. This way you could enjoy 3 to 4 per day.
  • megomerrett
    megomerrett Posts: 442 Member
    Are you buying them rather than making them? You could save a fortune by putting your coffee money in a pot and at the end of the month treat yourself to an item of clothing or books or music!
  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
    It's a bit of a change but may do the trick... supermarkets sell flavoured instant coffee sachets which are really tasty and while will never be as nice as the high-calorie cafe-latte, it may tide you over :)
  • mathiseasy
    mathiseasy Posts: 165 Member
    OP if you end up brewing your own, I like to put coffee in ice cube trays and use that for iced coffee instead of ice. I can't ever get a brew just right to withstand ice!
  • nixxthirteen
    nixxthirteen Posts: 280 Member
    I take sweetener and cashew milk in an insulated coffee canteen, and then get a black iced coffee from Starbucks or McDonalds or Tim Hortons, and mix. 10 cals per coffee, though not as sweet as a big sugary latte I suppose.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    zamphir66 wrote: »
    pebble4321 wrote: »
    I think this needs a bit of a mindshift - I don't know how many calories you would be using for each of those fancy flavoured coffees, but I would stop thinking of it as a drink and starting thinking of it as a treat or dessert rather than a caffeine boost to get you through the day.

    That's what I was thinking. OP isn't describing coffee, in my opinion, she's describing a liquid desert that happens to have caffeine.

    Kids these days.

    Because there's only one way to do things. Right. :yawn:
  • obpyum
    obpyum Posts: 9 Member
    I find that buying GOOD quality flavored coffee really helped me. Go to a Dunkin, Peet's etc and buy the coffee from them and have them grind it fresh when you get it. The taste is so much better than older frozen coffee from the grocery store. I use half and half so I get the richness I crave. Good luck from a coffee addict!
  • MalcolmX1983
    MalcolmX1983 Posts: 214 Member
    zamphir66 wrote: »
    pebble4321 wrote: »
    I think this needs a bit of a mindshift - I don't know how many calories you would be using for each of those fancy flavoured coffees, but I would stop thinking of it as a drink and starting thinking of it as a treat or dessert rather than a caffeine boost to get you through the day.

    That's what I was thinking. OP isn't describing coffee, in my opinion, she's describing a liquid desert that happens to have caffeine.

    Kids these days.

    I'm kinda guilty of this as well, I have coffee with my sugar-_-

    Op, I was on 10 cups a day with three spoons of sugar in each.
    I did what another poster mentioned, cut down the coffee to 2 cups a day and use the sugar free syrups to get that sweetness.

    I decided to cut down cause of my teeth, my dentist wasn't too pleased with me this time around.
    I like keeping her happy.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited May 2016
    Invest in many flavors of Skinny Syrup. 0 calories. I can change up flavors to vaniila, salted caramel, reg caramel, etc.. I use 1/2 regular coffee and 1/2 Teceenio (herb coffee).

    Add sugar free creamer if you want creaminess or perhaps skim or 2% milk. I use truvia.

    Or I just do the coffee black.
  • Yourkindagirl
    Yourkindagirl Posts: 100 Member
    I drink flavored coffees. Right now, I'm loving Caramel Macchioto by the 8 o'clock brand. I add some Caramel Macchioto by International Delight, sweeten it with Splenda, and I am one happy child. Start experimenting with some of the flavored coffees and creamers. I don't like regular coffee, but they are heavenly. Another one of my favorites is Cinnamon Hazelnut with the Kroger Cinnamon flavored creamer. Delish!
  • tommytorpedo
    tommytorpedo Posts: 53 Member
    I like it sweet with sugar and cream, but am staying away from added sugar. Realistically, Coffee is just a kick start to get me going in the morning. It's a drug. I buy the best and strongest that I can afford and drink it black. If I need a treat I have some Chocolate, Peanut Butter ice cream.
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