Cant skip my coffee

melmelvansmith
melmelvansmith Posts: 11 Member
edited November 20 in Food and Nutrition
Hi all, i wanted your advice... in an attempt to lose a little bit of weight, i have been trying to watch what i eat. I do not take snacks to work, but work in a hotel so food is always very discoverable, so to avoid my snacking, i drink a lot of coffee, well 4 or 5 cups in my 9 hour shift. I do not take sugar but cannot stand my coffee without milk, low-fat milk.

My question is, am i shooting myself in the foot by drinking so much milk? Is it a lot of milk? I try justify it and amount it to between 1 and 2 cups maybe...

I tried to change it to black rooibos but felt so sad missing my coffee... can i carry on or am i being naive?

Replies

  • melmelvansmith
    melmelvansmith Posts: 11 Member
    Ps, im holding thumbs that you tell me what i wanna hear... i've just had two cups back to back
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    I usually drink my coffee black...however, on the days that I'm craving some dairy in my coffee I find that using half and half or heavy cream in my coffee means that I use far less of it than in I'm using some lighter form of dairy.

    1-2T of half and half is better, to me, than 4-6 oz of milk, and I find it to be every bit as satisfying

  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    Milk in your coffee is fine. Just include the calories in your budget.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    MFP can tell you how many calories are in this and that food, MFP can tell you how many calories you need to reach your goal, lots of different sources (that don't always agree) can tell you how much you need of any macro- and micronutrient every day, a food scale can tell you how much of each food you eat, MFP can help you log your intake. But YOU have to decide for yourself what to spend your calories on, and YOU are the one who chooses to stick to your calorie allowance or not.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    If your logging the milk, it's not making you go over your calories, and it's not crowding out other foods you need in your diet to be healthy, happy or feel satiated, then it's fine.

    If you are concerned, you can try slowly cutting back little by little over the course of weeks. And see if you can get used to a smaller amount.
  • amtyrell
    amtyrell Posts: 1,447 Member
    Log it. If it fits the calories goal it is fine.
    That said have you tried cold brew it is so smooth even without dairy
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,420 Member
    I've cut back to two cups a day, one with just 4 ounces 1% milk, and one black (espresso shot.)

    Some things had to change and coffee was one of those things. I used to use full fat cream and chocolate syrup in my coffee. *lesigh* Those were the days.
  • goalpeace
    goalpeace Posts: 272 Member
    I'm logging my coffee.
  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
    Account for the calories.
  • MommaGem2017
    MommaGem2017 Posts: 405 Member
    I still drink my 3 cups of coffee a day. I use 1/4 Vanilla soy milk for each cup and log it. It's about 75kcal. There's no need to cut out things you enjoy as long as you can keep it within your calorie budget
  • colors_fade
    colors_fade Posts: 464 Member
    I don't log my coffee because I drink it black. On the rare occasion that I do have some kind of creamer or milk, I log it.

    Only you can decide what is right for you. But if, at the end of the day, you notice you're devoting 300 calories to milk for coffee, you might decide those calories are better spent on food.

    Honestly... I know it sounds tough, but you can go black. I used to have cream in my coffee every day. It only took a couple days to adjust to full black.
  • Sunna_W
    Sunna_W Posts: 744 Member
    I am addicted to coffee. I roast my own and I cannot do without it. I liked it very strong with a lot of half and half. The half and half added a lot of calories and I was unwilling to give them up -- I thought.

    Over time, I compromised. I gradually reduced the amount of ground beans (I use a 12 "cup" Mokka Pot on the stove, which produces about 24 oz of American coffee -- more if you fill it up to the brim and pour some of it into the reservoir), which meant that I could reduce, theoretically, the amount of half and half.

    I am down to 2 oz half and half for my 32 oz of coffee during the week. It's worth the 87 calories to me.

    On the weekends, I sometimes throw caution to the wind and often make it stronger and add more half and half.

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  • Sunna_W
    Sunna_W Posts: 744 Member
    ... also, invest in a good thermos and bring your own coffee - that's what I do.
  • Will_Run_for_Food
    Will_Run_for_Food Posts: 561 Member
    Have you tried using unsweetened almond milk? Only 30-45 calories/cup depending on the brand.

    I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,238 Member
    I drink a cup & a half minimum of skim in my coffee daily, and often more. I did so all through weight loss (third of my body weight in under a year), and now in maintenance (midway through 2nd year).

    Your lowfat milk has more fat in it than my skim, so it's a bit more calorific, but not crazy much (bodies need fat). There's also protein, calcium, and some micronutrients, so it's contributing to nutrition.

    Account for the calories; you'll be fine.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    edited August 2017
    I've learnt to drink my coffee black, i have to add flavdrops though. But i add full cream milk (cant stand skim/low fat) to my cups of tea, around 300ml all up, i log those 204 milk calories under breakfast everyday.
  • Treece68
    Treece68 Posts: 780 Member
    edited August 2017
    How much do you use for each cup of coffee? I would assume about a tablespoon 1 Cup of whole milk is about 150 calories. There are 4 tablespoons in a 1/4 cup so it is not that much. As long as you log it I don't see an issue.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    I put 1/4 cup of skim milk in my coffee. That'd only be about 100 calories for 5 cups, right?
  • scarlett_k
    scarlett_k Posts: 812 Member
    I have roasted almond milk in my cold brew at the moment and it's amazing. I imagine it would work for hot coffee too. Skimmed milk is just gross :{
  • theritestuff
    theritestuff Posts: 101 Member
    Try moving to aeropress or v60. V60 is my personal preference - look it up on YouTube to see how to make the perfect cup. Once you get hooked on that, you won't want milk!
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    The place I'm working now supplies individual tubs of "creamer" in a small variety of flavors. You can probably find these at a Sam's Club or Costco, maybe even at Staples. The Half-N-Half 11 mg tub is 15 calories. I have one of them each day to ceremonially conclude my daily 36 oz of workplace coffee. The Hazelnut flavor is 30 calories. The other 2 flavors available are 20 and 25 calories.
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