Easy Tips for Ordering Low-Calorie and Low-Sugar Holiday Drinks
Easy Tips for Ordering Low-Calorie Holiday Drinks
It’s that time of year! Scrumptious, delicious festive drinks at your favorite coffee shop?! It’s easy to be tempted by those yummy holiday beverages like Pumpkin Spice, ☕ Caramel Brulée Latte, Gingerbread Latte…the list goes on. However, the bad news is that these joyous drinks of end-of-year cheer are clocking up 300 + calories a cup - yikes!
Though they taste amazing, the reality is that you are drinking up all your calories, and before you’ve even taken a bite of food.
But here’s the thing. I LOVE my yummy coffee shop holiday drinks (toasted white chocolate mocha anyone?), but, year after year, I was hitting the same huge problem summed up by two dreaded words: weight and gain.
I would literally add 8 to 10 lbs. before the holiday season was out simply because of my obsession with festive beverages.
I hit a dilemma. I obviously didn’t want to gain weight, but I did still want to enjoy one of my favourite cozy holiday traditions...
THE QUESTION IS: DO WE HAVE TO GIVE UP OUR FAVORITE FESTIVE DRINKS?
So, what are we supposed to do? Just stop enjoying these drinks all together! (It’s a tradition, and they’re super tasty!!)
The answer?! Thankfully, no! We can have our latte and drink it too !
I’ve always loved cooking, so with a combination of my experience with flavor profiles and deep dive into web research I’ve figured out how you can drink smart and knock-off 800+ empty calories a day. This’ll leave you to have fun with this festive drink tradition and still keep the same pant size during the holidays!
If want to go a step further to keep your holiday weight gain under control, I’ve also put together a free, totally doable, smart 17 Weight-loss Boosting Holiday Hacks Guide to stay healthy & keep that pant size at bay. Check it out by clicking here!
So, below are my totally exciting, yummy holiday drink swap-out alternatives that will make you feel festive, pampered and happy this season!
4 Golden Rules for Ordering Your Festive Brew:
Get back to basics choose straight-up coffee, tea, espresso, and cappuccino… then work a little magic!
1. Avoid The Sweeteners
Avoid sweeteners at all costs. Okay, so we all know that any refined sugar isn’t healthy for you, but the problem with artificial sweeteners is that they are actually far worse for you because of the way they react with and metabolize in your body.
Instead, carry with you your own natural sweetener.
I swear by Stevia as my sugar substitute because it has zero calories, supports healthy blood sugar levels and promotes weight loss. Yep! You read that correctly it - promotes weight loss! Great news right?! Quick heads up. It is super sweet, so you only need to use a tiny bit. 👍
You can also go ahead and order your favorite drink just as it comes and NOT SUGAR FREE.
This is because the sugar free alternatives tend to use the sweeteners that you need to avoid, so sometimes it’s best to choose the best of the worst and go with real sugar.
Quick tip: just ask! 😃 Don’t be afraid to ask your server (politely of course!) what’s in what, or do your research ahead of time.
2. Halt The Clocking-Up of Calories
Stick to the 60-150 calorie range.
No need to skip your favorite festive drink, simply make a tiny adjustment and order a small or medium. This way you can enjoy every sip of your favourite flavour without clocking-up the extra empty calories.
You can also go a step further and change out your milk with unsweetened almond milk, which is RIDICULOUSLY good for you, and again like Stevia, supports healthy blood sugar levels and promotes weight loss.
Ready to go another step further? If you’re craving a Mocha or Pumpkin Spice, simply order a black coffee or a Cafe Americano (espresso + hot water) and ask them to sprinkle pumpkin spice powder, or cocoa in the bottom and top of the cup (it’s easy to skip the sugary pumpkin spice or chocolate syrup they have without losing the flavor).
3. Use the Spice Station
Your favorite coffee spot usually has a spice station, along with napkins, sugar and so on. Get those heavenly, festive flavors but with zero calories by adding cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla powder, and chocolate powder.
And here’s the really good news: you can actually slim down with the traditional flavors of Autumn like pumpkin pie spice this fall and winter!
Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves have properties to help you lose weight, increase your metabolism and burn fat.
4. Ask for a Half Pump of Syrup
Ask for a half pump of regular syrup and remember rule one: avoid sugar-free syrups that are swamped full of artificial sweeteners which super-charge your sugar cravings.
So say “YES” to your festive treat! There’s no need to miss out on your favorite holiday drink #NoDeprivation
I’m proof of that! By making small changes and tweaks to my diet I’m free of the yo-yo festive weight gain, and instead I can sip, relax and make awesome memories. 😊