If you can't start your day without a morning caffeine fix and are such a regular at your local coffee shop that you're on first-name terms with the barista, you may benefit from cutting out - or at least cutting down on - your coffee consumption. Not only does a daily coffee stack up moneywise by the end of the month, but it can also mean you're adding unnecessary calories into your diet – sometimes as many as 400 calories per drink if you go large, the equivalent of almost two bars of chocolate.
So by eliminating that daily latte (or two) from your diet, you may soon find that you're saving the pounds in more ways than one, with your bank balance and waistline benefiting as a result. But exactly how much weight could you lose? Or what tweaks should you be making to your regular coffee order to make it healthier? We've looked at some of the most popular drinks from the UK's favourite coffee chains…
© Photo: iStockStarbucks:
Starbucks makes its Caffé Lattes with semi-skimmed milk as standard, clocking in at 143 calories for a regular tall drink, with 4.8g fat and 12.7g sugar. Changing your milk selection to almond milk could reduce the number of calories to 74, while the sugar content would also almost halve to 6.6g per tall drink.
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Alternatively, if you cut out the drink entirely, you could save a whopping 37,180 calories a year, assuming you drink five tall lattes a week throughout the year. That could equate to as much as a 10lb weight loss in a year, following the theory that you need to burn around 3,500 calories to lose 1lb.
Costa:
Costa's best-selling product is its latte, which contains 70 calories when served in a primo size with skimmed milk. However, as soon as you switch your milk or order a bigger size, the calories can soon increase to as many as 283 (for a Massimo latte made with whole milk). You can also expect a higher calorie count as soon as you add any syrups or try one of the speciality lattes; it may be tasty, but a medium vanilla latte equates to 150 calories a time, even with skimmed milk. Over the course of a year this could add up to as much as 39,000 calories (based on five lattes a week), or up to 11lbs lost.
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Pret-a-Manger:
Love your daily Pret latte? Each milky coffee contains 118 calories and 11.3g sugar, plus an additional 49 calories and 12g sugar if you add a shot of vanilla syrup. And while you might assume it is the lighter option, switching to the chain's rice-coconut milk alternative contains 150 calories per serving and 16.3g of sugar. So cutting out your five times a week vanilla latte habit will not only save an amazing amount of money, but will also reduce your calorie intake by over 800 a week, and over 43,000 calories a year!
Caffé Nero:
Caffé Nero also offer a selection of lattes, using your choice of semi-skimmed, skimmed, soya, coconut and oat milks. The lightest choice is a latte with coconut milk, which contains 59 calories and 4.3g sugar per regular drink. Meanwhile, the most calorific option is the brand's caramelatte, which is topped with whipped cream and caramel sauce. As you might expect, this drink can be quite rich even when you select skimmed milk, at around 388 calories and 40.1g sugar – but this is more of a treat, and not one you'd order every day. Cutting out your daily fix of Caffé Nero's regular lattes with semi-skimmed milk will cut out 78 calories a day – or as much as 20,000 calories a year.
