Top 5 Tips for Healthier Coffee Habits
If you're anything like me you love a good cup of coffee. But what a lot of us don't realize is how much the extra, fat, sugar and calories can add up from our coffee choices. Here are five tips you can use to help you make you coffee a little healthier.
1. Substitute the sugar for stevia
Organic stevia is not mixed with any other artificial sweetener. Check the box label to make sure, otherwise you may as well get Sweet and Low or Splenda, and those aren't as healthy.
2. Try an unsweetened nut, oat or rice milk
Make sure you read your labels. Check for unsweetened vs sweetened. If you decide to go with sweetened, check to see how much sugar is on one serving.
If you love your creamer and you don't want to part ways with it, that's ok. Just be mindful of where you're getting other fats in your diet so you can make room for the creamer. See macro video to help you understand how macros work if you don't already know.
3. Look up your favorite coffee's nutrition facts and see how you can make it healthier
For example, in this Starbucks iced caramel macchiato I can cut the calories and sugar by asking for less caramel sauce, substituting my cream or milk for non-dairy milk and requesting for "no vanilla syrup."
4. Have your coffee with some protein
Mix your coffee (especially if it's high in carbs) with protein. This can help prevent an insuline spike especially if you're not about to get active right after having if.
Here are two great mixers:
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5. Wean off the Caffeine or go Decaff-
I know that sounds like a sin to some, but seriously... hear me out. Try getting a smaller sized coffee than your usual to help you keep your caffeine intake in check. Why? ...
... because higher caffeine intake means higher chances of a crash, and guess what crashes cause... spikes in cravings and overeating. Caffeine also takes a jab at your hormone balance, so be mindful about how much caffeine you're drinking.
Getting decaffeinated coffee is one way to help you still get your regular coffee size but cut the caffeine intake. Keep in mind that decaff- coffee is NOT completely caffeine free. There are still about 7-8mg of caffeine per 8oz of decaff- coffee.
Last thing... caffeine in coffee has about a 6 hour half life, meaning that if you drink coffee at 12pm, half of that caffeine is still going to stay in your system come 6pm. So when your body starts preparing for sleep, it could affect your body's internal shut down system.
Implement some of these tips into your daily coffee habits to help fuel your healthy lifestyle.
If you need help creating a plan just for you to reach your healthy lifestyle goals click here to set up a free consultation with Chrys.
