Your Cup Of Coffee May Be Costing You Hundreds Of Calories
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Many of us start our day with a cup of coffee, but that cup of joe could pack more calories than an entire meal.
Freshly brewed and full of flavor, coffee in every form accessorizes the morning commute and it usually takes more than one cup to satisfy.
"Probably three -- large," one coffee drinker said.
"This is actually my second one for the day," said another.
But nutritionist Lauren Slayton says flavored coffee comes at a hefty cost in calories.
"The coffee, before we put anything into it, is not the problem," Slayton told CBS 2's Alex Denis.
When you add frills like whip and syrup, you end up drinking hundreds of calories before you ever take a bite of breakfast.
Here's a break down of some popular 16-oz medium-sized coffees from favorite stops:
The beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte with whole milk and whip from Starbucks weighs in at 420 calories, 17 grams of fat and 49 grams of sugar.
"A Pumpkin Spice Latte, which is going to have 38 to 50 grams of sugar. That's double the sugar in a piece of pumpkin pie," said Slayton.
Burger King's Mocha Frappe clocks in at 510 calories, 22 grams of fat and 49 grams of sugar.
McDonald's Chocolate Chip Frappe will cost you 620 calories, 26 grams of fat and 81 grams of sugar.
Dunkin Donuts' Frozen Caramel Coffee Coolatta with cream packs 740 calories, 35 grams of fat and 97 grams of sugar.
"You look at not only, the calories, the sugar, the additives and all of a sudden it's a meal all onto itself," said Slayton.
But it doesn't have to be that way. By making a few simple changes to your order, you can save hundreds of calories.
"A latte has 200-plus calories and it's going to have over a cup of milk. You switch that out to a cappuccino and you'll save a least 80 calories which will add up to 500 calories in a week," said Slayton.
But that won't stop many from letting go of their favorite cup of joe.
"Yes, it's hundreds of calories but I drink it anyway," one coffee drinker said.
You don't have to lose the flavor all together. Depending on the brand, a regular latte is roughly 120 calories and a cappuccino will cost you around 80 calories.
If you want to fully commit to cut out the calories, just have brewed black coffee for only two calories.
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