Are coffee drinks derailing your diet?

Coffee doesn't have any calories, right? Well, that depends on what you put in your coffee.

There has been an explosion of coffee beverages, and most of them are packed with calories. The names seem innocent enough: How much damage can 12 ounces of cappuccino do? A cappuccino made with nonfat milk has only 80 calories and 2 grams of fat, about the same as an 8-ounce glass of milk. Substitute whole milk for that same cappuccino, and you now have 140 calories and 7 grams of fat.

But what if your favorite morning beverage is a Starbucks caffe mocha with whipped cream? If you choose the nonfat-milk version, you get 260 calories and 12 grams of fat; go for the whole-milk drink and you have a whopping 340 calories and 21 grams of fat. Do this every workday, and in a month you've drunk enough calories to put two pounds on your hips. Makes you want to order espresso instead, doesn't it? Espresso will only add 21 calories and 0.4 grams fat per cup to your daily total.

Read 'em and weep

It's amazing the number of calories and grams of fat that are packed into delicious coffee drinks. Take a look at the following:

Dunkin' Donuts Coffee Coolatta, 16 oz

With skim milk, 230 calories,0 fat grams
With low-fat milk, 240 calories, 2 fat grams
With whole milk, 280 calories, 4 fat grams

Dunkin' Donuts Mango Fruit Coolatta, 16 oz
350 calories, 0 fat grams

Dunkin' Donuts Coffee Cream Coolatta, 16 oz
410 calories, 22 fat grams

Starbucks Frappuccino, 9.5 oz 190 calories, 3 fat grams

Put into perspective...

Say you have an Orange Mango Fruit Coolatta and a Boston Kreme donut for your morning break. Do you really need 590 calories and 9 grams of fat, plus enough sugar to make your teeth hurt? For those same 590 calories you could eat all of the following:

1 oat bran bagel
1.5 tablespoons cream cheese
A cup of orange juice
1 medium banana

Slimmer Choices in Your Cup

If you just have to have a jolt of java in the morning, choose espresso or even a flavored coffee (typically no more than 60 calories and 0.5 grams fat) instead of high-calorie choices that go straight to your waist. If a summertime iced coffee hits the spot, instead of a milkshake-like beverage such as a frappuccino or coolatta at up to 280 calories and 4 grams of fat, go for a plain iced cappuccino at only 130 calories and 1.5 grams of fat.

If you shave just 100 calories from your daily cup of joe each workday, you'll lose about one pound per month. In this case, less is definitely more.

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