I was in Starbucks over the weekend with my daughter Grace and the line WAS NOT MOVING.
You know the deal right?
If you are a real coffee drinker like me, you like it black, which means it takes about two second for the barista to get together for you...when the line is moving.
And you know why the line wasn't moving right? You may have even been the reason.
It's winter. And that means "seasonal drinks".
Yep, the ones that take 10min to make and hold up the honest coffee drinkers in line. But...I digress.
So I couldn't help but notice how many people had ordered the foofy (yes foofy) drinks.
Now there is no problem with this...other than no on realizes just how harmful these are to our health...
I am the first to admit that I dig on some fancy coffee and dessert...once in a while. Ok...once a week.
You should too. And you should ENJOY it. With good people and good conversation.
The casual Saturday (or everyday) morning dessert isn't the best idea. Especially when you have your eyes on summer and you want to look and feel your best.
Here is the absolute kicker.
The venti mocha frappuccino from Starbucks has...wait for it.....wait for it....
500 calories.
That is 180 more than the breakfast of protein oatmeal I ate this morning.
This is a full meal's worth of calories hiding in plain sight that will sabotage your nutrition, your weight, and leave you feeling confused and frustrated when the scale keeps going up.
So...
I rounded up the 3 Biggest Places for Hidden Calories
1. Coffee
A large or venti (if you’re pseudo fancy), black coffee contains less than 10 calories. Some of the other concoctions at Starbucks (see above) have as many calories as a Big Mac. You wouldn’t touch the Big Mac with a ten foot pole so why are you having the Frappuccino with extra whip. It’s all sugar. Period.
2. Juice
So you’re going with the healthy option, right? Juice. Hopefully it’s not the 16oz bottle of apple juice that has 58g of sugar compared to the 40g in a can of Coke. That’s right, the sugar in juice is on the level of soda. You won’t drink the soda (we hope) so why are you funneling juice? Oh but it’s natural you say. Nice try. Sugar is sugar. Once that hits home, ask why we give it to our children. And if you are screaming about how many vitamins are in the juice, eat the real fruit please.
3. Smoothies
What does this even mean? You see smoothies all over the place now, even at McDonald’s. No really, they have them at McDonalds. Just for fun, let your smoothie from McDonald’s “melt” and see what it resembles. You may get your smoothies from a juice bar or a “healthy” food bar, or even a “health” club. Check what’s in that thing next time. Most are made with juice (see above) and have MASSIVE amounts of calories and zero fiber. Remember, there is a reason that foods taste uber sweet…they are full of SUGAR and calories. Even “Green Smoothies”, the king of all marketing tricks, are mostly apple or even pineapple juice.
So now that you’ve digested these three big mistakes in liquid nutrition, how can you simplify them?
Easy…They are all calories you DRINK!!
Take note. We can eliminate all of this heartache and hassle by remembering one easy rule.
Drink water and black coffee. As much as possible. Period.
Do that and you’ll have the potential to cut HUNDREDS of calories from your daily diet.
Ok, you can have an occasional beer or glass of wine or an Old Fashioned (only with a big ice cube though). Other than that…Water and coffee and off to the races.
Pay attention and as always…
Carry on.
