coffee allowed between meals???

[rhi]

Hi all, I am new to the No S plan, and have a question. Are non-sugary beverages allowed between meals? They are not a snack technically, or sweets, or seconds, but are something you're having in between meals. What I mean by non sugary beverages is coffee with a little creamer, or 1 or two glasses of wine.

Thanks!

[wosnes]

Yes, coffee and tea, even with sugar added, milk, and juice are allowed between meals. Sugary drinks like sodas, most coffee drinks from Starbucks and similar places are not allowed.

[MarieDe]

For what it's worth, my opinion is non-sugary beverages are fine (still trying to kick the sugary beverage habit myself).

[laura corin]

Yes, coffee and tea, even with sugar added, milk, and juice are allowed between meals. Sugary drinks like sodas, most coffee drinks from Starbucks and similar places are not allowed.

My small skimmed milk decaff cappucino from Starbucks isn't very different from a coffee that I'd make at home. Does it not fall into the 'most' category?

Laura

[wosnes]

Yes, coffee and tea, even with sugar added, milk, and juice are allowed between meals. Sugary drinks like sodas, most coffee drinks from Starbucks and similar places are not allowed.

My small skimmed milk decaff cappucino from Starbucks isn't very different from a coffee that I'd make at home. Does it not fall into the 'most' category?

Laura

That would be okay, but most of their drinks are very high in calories. Some have nearly as many calories as most of us need in a meal or even for the whole day!

[kccc]

Yup - there's a big difference between a coffee or even a latte/cappuchino and a double frappahappamochalicious (or whatever) with whipped cream on top!

[Cassie]

I usually have one medium latte with skimmed milk from Starbucks everyday to tide me over between meals. I wonder now if that's too much? Maybe I should make it a small latte?

[kccc]

Cassie, I wouldn't worry about it - especially if you're only having one. It's like coffee and milk, both of which are completely okay.

The "Starbucks" issue really is the specialty drinks - and the temptation to add a scone or something! Look up the calories on the Starbucks site, and I think you'll be shocked at how much some of those drinks are. But they are NOT the kind of thing you'd make at home.

Disclosure: I make cafe au lait at home, and have TWO every morning - and you can't pry it away from me! But... it works out to about a full glass of milk and coffee, and 2 tsp (total) of sugar (about 16 cal ea, if I recall correctly). Perhaps not insignificant, but certainly not extreme... and coffee gives me so much pleasure that I'd rather adjust in other areas.

[wosnes]

I usually have one medium latte with skimmed milk from Starbucks everyday to tide me over between meals. I wonder now if that's too much? Maybe I should make it a small latte?

I started to say "don't worry about it" but decided to check out the calories:

Short (8 ounces) -- 70
Tall (12 ounces) -- 100
Grande (16 ounces) -- 130
Venti (20 ounces) -- 170

I'd say that a short or tall is no problem -- especially if you're just drinking one. Two or more could be a problem if you don't need many calories.

For me, two talls would be over 10% of my daily calorie need. Now and again it wouldn't be an issue. Daily, it could be an issue.

A cup of skim milk has about 90 calories.

[paulawylma]

Since rhi is new, IMHO it's not a good idea to bring up extra rules like calorie counting--thought it is apparently helpful to some. I still do plain vanilla No S and that's probably what new people should do. I haven't had a lot of experience with lattes so it's probably the sweet rule that counts. On a S day go get a latte and slip it slowly thinking " Does this taste like a sweet?" If the answer is yes, then only have them on S days. If no, then enjoy until your taste buds change -- heh, heh. . .

[kccc]

Paula, VERY good point! Rhi - listen to what she said!

But to Wosnes - I was surprised by those numbers, enough to calculate my "at home" coffee. I use a half-cup of milk and 1 tsp sugar per cup, which means my 2 20-oz cups work out to about 130-135 calories total (I use 1% milk, which is 100 cals/cup). A little research turned up what I think is the reason... I'm making my cafe au lait with regular coffee, which has a lot of water in it. A latte is made with expresso, which doesn't, and the difference in volume is milk, which has more calories.

I still wouldn't worry about it if it's not something I'm guzzling all day long. And especially for new folks - it's like having milk to tide you over, which is certainly okay. Just watch out for the "drinkable sweets."

[JohnSnow]

I'd say one (non-sweet) coffee beverage of any kind is totally fine.

Generally, less milk = less calories (i.e. less fattening), so drip beats cafe au lait, cafe au lait beats cappuccino, and cappuccino beats latte. Some people will tell you to opt for lower-fat milk options, but in my experience, most people just like what they like, and if you like whole milk, it's hardly the worst thing you can drink.

I seriously doubt anyone ever got fat JUST from drinking whole milk lattes.

[wosnes]

Well, I thought rhi opened the door for the calorie counts of the various drinks. I also don't see it as a rule, but information.

I think maybe we need to be a little more aware of calories and/or portion sizes, though., especially us ladies. A lot of us are either losing slowly, aren't losing or are gaining.