Everyday Systems

I'm sure this is addressed somewhere, but I just can't find it

I'm a college student (senior, woo hoo!) so needless to stay I study a lot...
I'm quite fond of going to the local coffee shop a few days a week and having a sugar free latte. Is this considered a snack?? Want to make sure I'm doing this right...
I can avoid food snacks, but MAN do I love my coffee!!

Thanks!

No, it's not a snack. You're allowed to have coffee, tea, milk or juice between meals and they don't need to be sugar free. However, you don't want them to have a tablespoon or more of sugar, either.

I've been using sugar-free or stevia-sweetened mocha on No S for years. I might be thinner if I didn't, but I enjoy it too much at this point to find out. Enjoy your latte (as long as it's not more than a cup or two a day). If you decide to drop it months down the line, so be it.

I buy low sugar Swiss Miss and add some instant coffee to it. It isn't Starbucks, but it isn't $8 either.

I don't get coffee out that often, but I often carry a cocoa mix packet with me and sneak that in when I do. Cheaper and usually better, IMHO.

People have different practices when it comes to drinks. Some people consider all beverages to not be food, and therefore OK for N days. Others consider any sweet-tasting beverage to be a sweet, even if it doesn't have any sugar in it. You'll have to figure out what works for you.

Bear in mind that even if a drink is sugar-free, it can still have calories. A 20-oz sugar-free vanilla latte at Peet's can have up to 260 calories:

http://www.peets.com/popu/nutrition_van ... arfree.asp

I'd try not restricting the coffee drinks at first, and see if that works. If it doesn't, you can try restricting them until you find something that does work for you.