I am writing this, because one, I have an addiction; and two, I kind of want to see if my husband really reads what I write, because this post would probably thrill him, since he rolls his eyes every time I step foot in Starbucks.
I admit, I have become addicted, like seriously (what do they put in this stuff?)...and I don't even drink coffee. Actually it would probably be better if I did since it has much less calories. I just love having the warm goodness of a chai tea latte in the mornings. I have gotten into this daily routine of going for a nice 4-mile morning walk, taking a pit-stop after 2 miles for a favorite chai. There is just something so warm and fuzzy about holding it in my hands as it warms my body on an early morning walk with friends. It seems to make everything all good, and give a jump start to the day.
And as it seems I could walk 10 miles a morning, and it would still not change the arrow on the scale, last night I had an a-ha moment.....so I looked up the calorie count of Starbuck drinks and think I found at least one of the obstacles in my way....my grande chai latte is 262 calories a cup!! (So if hypothetically one would drink one daily during the week that is an extra 1300 calories! Not to mention $20 a week.) What horrified me even more was when I looked up the hot chocolate, and the salted caramel hot chocolate is 360 calories, and a white hot chocolate is 420 calories!! If only I could like coffee!
Usually I feel like I am realistic about what I eat, but with my Starbucks crack, I guess I was just in denial. I guess for some reason it is easier to overlook calories when it is in a glass and in liquid form.
It was a definite eye opener, and no matter how much M would tell me I was spending too much money indulging in this habit, it was the calorie count that has really hit me hard.
I guess the next time I feel an urge to go to Starbucks, it will be for a shaken iced green tea lemonade at 45 calories (and cheaper with free refills if you have a gold card, which I must embarrassingly admit that I do), or maybe I should just stick to plain H..2..0.
So M, if you are reading this, and let's hope you are.....I am going to try and steer clear from my addiction, save some money and calories. I need to make water and lemon slices my best friend.
I would love to hear of the indulgent addiction of others, anyone?
I can definitely identify with your need for warm tasty drinks. They are my favorite thing, even in the summer. There is also something so nice about going to a coffee shop and having someone prepare one for you. I was thinking, you could get a tea latte and that would save you on calories. I love "London Fogs"... Earl Grey tea topped off with steamed milk. You could get Starbuck's Chai teabag and have them top it off with milk?
ReplyDeleteYes, I love to start the day with a warm drink. The ironic thing is, is that I am married to an Englishman, who makes English black tea (PG Tips) with milk several times a day, so I have very easy access...there is just something about Starbucks that called my name. Or at least, it did.
ReplyDeleteLOL - I never drank coffee. I was a tea girl (like my dad). And then I worked at a Starbucks counter in college and fell in love with Frappachinos - specifically, Mocha Frappachinos. And then they came out with the hot CocoChinos! And THEN I was told I about a year ago I needed to cut out caffeine, in addition to everything else (gluten/wheat, dairy, yeast, casein, soy, nightshades, etc...)
ReplyDeleteGuess what I crave and crack over about once a month?
Totally worth the pain/upset/migrain/etc....
I'm with you. Not every single day, but there is a coffee shop on campus and their chai teas call my name too. I am sure they are loaded with sugar and calories as well. Trying to cut back, but it's HARD! I too, love that warm cup in my hands, as I trek around campus for work all day. I did start making them at home recently with brewed chai tea and skim milk and a little honey. When you use the Aerolatte, it feels like a coffee house drink. :) Good luck with refraining!
ReplyDeleteI swear to you, they put crack in their drinks. Okay, maybe not...but for whatever reason (the high sugar content, maybe?) they are horribly addictive. I go through cycles of being totally hooked on them and then breaking free and inevitably, I lose weight without even trying when I stop going there. I'm on a kick right now (what can I say, I'm a sucker for holiday flavors!) and I've definitely gained a few lbs. :/ Time to break free again!
ReplyDeleteIf you go with a tall skim latte, the calorie count is about 130, I think. So that's at least an in between the chai latte grande and coffee. Also, I like to treat myself to a tall soy latte on Fridays. It's my "Treat Day!"
ReplyDelete