Coffee Lovers..Any Luck on this one?

I'm sure you know that it's no particular calories that prevent loss . . . it's about total calories.

Where the easy cuts are varies individually. I review my diary, look for things that are adding calories disproportionate to their value to me personally. "Value" can be from being filling, contributing useful nutrition, being especially affordable or practical for what they deliver, or just for keeping me happy within reason.

Because I don't find fats filling, cutting those was easier for me: Frying less, experimenting with roasting things without added oil, using vinegar (which I like unusually much compared to other people) instead of oil-containing vinaigrette on salads (usually I do add some fats in the form of pumpkin seeds or something in order to benefit from the fat-soluble vitamins in the veg, so that may not be calorie savings), etc.

Also compared to others, I'm not a big bread person, so I cut way back on sandwiches and just eat more of the filling ingredients, especially the veg. Similar for pasta dishes: Less or even no pasta, lots of veggies/sauce, plus making it a point to use higher-protein pastas so there was a better nutritional contribution for the calories. "No pasta" in it is of course choosing to eat stew or hearty soup instead of pasta. 😉

I'm not saying that's what you should do, I'm just giving examples that worked for me, trying to make it concrete that it IS very individual.

Only you know whether that 100 or so calories of milk is more important to you than 100 calories of . . . something else currently in your regular routine.

Again, I'm not saying this next applies to you, just that it's a thing I've seen over my years here sometimes: It seems like some people try to omit foods because the foods have been criticized as "bad for weight loss", without really taking a critical look at the calories/nutrients and thinking about how those fit into that person's eating style, and whether that person can successfully eat them in moderation.

People giving up "white foods" is an example. Potatoes are reasonably nutrient dense, and in research surveys widely found to be filling. (The calorie problem is the butter, sour cream, cheese we put on them, or the frying oil.) White rice is only super-slightly less nutrient dense than brown rice, but some people sub brown for white even though they prefer white. The junior cheeseburger can deliver some decent nutrients and lower calories compared to a Whopper or some such, but some people think they need to give up fast food forever. Reducing portions or frequency of some foods is an option, rather than putting them off limits, assuming that person can successfully eat them in moderation.

I've had people here be surprised (choosing a kind word there) that I still eat ketchup - in certain contexts, I love it and eat a lot of it. Ooo, but "added sugar"! Even the mainstream commercial brands are around 20 calories per tablespoon (17g), though it's true that most of the calories are from added sugar. If not diabetic or insulin resistant - I'm not - that's not a health threat now and then. At home, I prefer an unsweetened brand, mainly because I think they use better-tasting tomatoes; it has half the calories at a 16g per tablespoon serving size. I can afford 40 calories of ketchup (a full quarter cup of ketchup - quite a lot) now and then.

I've looked at diaries of other people who've worried about that kind of thing, and seen hundreds of calories of bread, or pasta, or other things that wouldn't remotely be worth those calories to me. I'm not saying they shouldn't eat those things - I don't know what's important to them in the big picture. But when it comes from people who don't think I should eat ketchup, or sweet corn, or whatever . . . it seems weird to me.

I do think nutrition - not just protein - is really important. But nutrition is about the overall way of eating, not about "all superfoods, no junk/fast/treat food".

Apologies: This probably doesn't apply to you at all. I'm just ranting. 😉🤣