The thing you are drinking every day that is causing your weight gain
The worst drink that you could be drinking every day causing your weight gain is your morning and afternoon coffee. It seems so innocent, you need a “pick me up” in the morning and the afternoons, so you saunter over to the office Keurig, or go on over to your local Starbucks or other specialty coffee shop. You order your mocha latte or pour your favorite flavored creamer into your cup of joe and get the perk you need to make it through the day. As a nutrition coach and trainer, I have experienced the fact that most people, even when asked to track their calories, tend to “forget” about that morning, afternoon, and even evening coffee. But this can add a significant amount of carbs and calories to your daily nutrition, thus packing on those pounds.
Let’s take just one common drink at Starbucks for example, the medium mocha is 370 calories and 43 grams of carbs (35 grams of those being straight up sugar)! That is about twice the amount of carbs that I get in a day as a low-carb nutrition coach. That is just one drink! Now, in a past life, I was a Barista, so I am very familiar with the common drink orders at a coffee shop, and I can guarantee you, 99.9 percent of the time, the order was one of the sugar-packed drinks, not just black coffee. We would have customers come through the drive-through on their way to work in the morning, hit us up on the way home from work, and then we would see them at least once on the weekends. If you are averaging just 2 sugary coffees a day 5 days a week, you would pack on a whopping extra 3,700 calories and 430 carbohydrates a week.
Most people look at their daily coffees as a necessity and never give a thought as to the health harm these extra calories and sugars are causing. When I am working with my clients, this is the very first thing that I look at, how much sugar they are drinking. Most tend to say, “Well, I eat healthily, but I don’t understand why I can’t lose weight.” It’s because they never considered their daily liquid intake as something that could be sabotaging their health.
I am a coffee lover, so I would never ask someone to give this up. Coffee is a source of contention in the nutrition world. Some nutritionists would say avoid it at all costs, it’s addictive and can cause harm by creating disruptions in sleep and cortisol levels. I agree with that, and if you have a desire to wean off coffee, I encourage you to go for it. In my opinion, the people consuming those sugary coffee drinks don’t even like the taste of coffee. A coffee house sugary drink covers up the taste of coffee with sugary flavorings. If you are one of those people, and you just don’t like the taste of black coffee but feel like you need the caffeine boost, there are lots of sweet-tasting teas out there. Teas like pomegranate, citrus, and passion taste sweet but contain no sugar and have caffeine. If you are craving a cold caffeine boost, there are lots of sparkling water brands out there that have flavored, sugar-free, caffeinated versions of their drinks. But, if you are like me and are really a true coffee lover, you can always replace your favorite sugary coffee drink with a non-sugary version. Use flavored stevia drops, they come in tons of flavors like caramel, mocha, and peppermint, and they are sugar-free. Have regular coffee with just a couple of tablespoons of heavy whipping cream or milk. Don’t use flavored creamers, those are packed with sugar and even the sugar-free ones have vegetable oils in them. This strategy will allow for you to enjoy your coffee with some flavoring, but not pack on the calories from milk-heavy lattes and sugar-packed flavored syrups and creamers.
