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There’s nothing wrong with your Starbucks addiction. Seriously, nothing. You have every right to enjoy a delicious drink while you people watch for an hour or so, even though you promised yourself you’d finish your chem homework.
However, Starbs could be killing your diet.
Did you know that there’s 537 cals in a Grande hot chocolate with whipped cream? And 59 g sugar in a white chocolate mocha with whipped cream. Might as well just spend any time you’re not sipping your Starbucks at the gym.
Luckily, you don’t have to give up your Starbucks habit just yet – you just need to change up your order to something that won’t pack on the pounds like a Mocha Frappuccino.
Check out the healthiest drink options at Starbucks, in terms of Grande serving size.
1. Hot brewed teas (0 calories, 0g fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g sugars)
Okay, so it’s not the funnest option on the Starbucks menu, but the fact that you can join your friends on a Starbucks run without downing a single calories (not counting added sugar or milk) is pretty wonderful. In fact, you might want to convince your coffee-loving companions to change their ways. Tea gives you your caffiene fix while being hydrating and healthy!
2. Caffe Americano (17 calories, 0g fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g)
It’s essentially brewed espresso and water, but it delivers the caffeine you need without the calorie count. Maybe treat yourself on especially hard to get out of bed days, but stick to this reliable option on other days.
3. Cool lime Refresha (71 calories, 0g fat, 0g saturated fat, 17.3g sugar)
Your summer options at Starbucks aren’t limited to iced coffees thanks to the Refresha drinks. The yummy flavored water is still a bit sugary, but it’s nothing compared to the rest of the menu.
4. The new standard Cappuccino (115 calories, 4.1g fat, 2.6g saturated fat, 9.7g sugar)
I definitely am surprised by this one, especially with that chocolate powder on top. It feels like a treat, but it’s only a little over 100 calories.
5. Caffe latte (188 calories, 7g fat, 4.4g saturated fat, 16.5g sugar)
Surely one of the most common coffee shop orders, a latte is what most of us blurt out when we get to the front of the queue and haven’t remembered to actually read the menu… yet it looks like our go-to isn’t actually doing us too much harm anyway. 200 calories in exercise terms is 37 minutes of dancing, 23 minutes of cycling, or 40 minutes of reasonably paced walking, so you can enjoy your latte safe in the knowledge that it’s not too challenging to burn off.
If you favorite isn’t on the list, fear not. There’s plenty of ways you can keep the calorie count down on whatever you order.