Practical Tips To Lessen Your Starbucks Calories

Recently, I went into our pantry with a cup of Starbucks and it was automatically assumed that the cup that I was holding had calories enough to break my diet. No one is to be blamed, and it is after all the holiday season where a Grande Peppermint Mocha could easily give you 470 calories.

So all the screenshots that I will use will be from the official Starbucks website. Yes, these would be from the US stores but Starbucks here in the country would have more or less the same number of calories. Being a former Barista and someone who sometimes think of the number of calories, I'll be sharing tips on how to lower your caloric intake while still enjoying Starbucks. Because you just can't get rid of the habit and you have a sticker card to fill.

Let's use the Peppermint Mocha as an example for a bit more here. Let's set the size to Grande. With Grande, you get two Espresso shots with the least amount of milk, giving you, at least psychologically, more Starbucks in your cup. Venti would also give you two Espresso shots but it, of course, would have more milk.

Speaking of milk, it is a great contributor of calories. Choosing Soy would lower the calories to 440 but choosing nonfat would lower it further to 400.

Yes, it is true, it is the whipped cream that kills you. Tell your Barista to hold the whipped and you get to lose 80 calories more.

From 470 to 320 might just be a big difference if done daily. You may not be able to save money with the saved 150 calories but you get to save yourself that much excess energy that might get stored in your body.

Let's say you're done with the holiday stickers, or just want to get something that you would enjoy for the rest of the year. Your lowest calorie Espresso-based drink is the Americano. An Espresso shot is only 5 calories a pop. You get one shot and an additional shot for every size increase. That's 1 for a Short, 2 for a Tall, 3 for a Grande, and 4 for a Venti. This is only true for Americanos. So a Grande would give you only 15 calories.

If you want to have milk in your daily Starbucks cup, get a Latte. Make it nonfat. From 220, the calories become 130 only for this option.

The general rule is be mindful of what is in your coffee. A Latte is simply Espresso shot(s) + milk. Anything added to that would add calories to your drink. Mocha adds chocolate and whipped cream. Caramel Macchiato adds vanilla syrup and caramel drizzle. The more ingredients added...you already know where this is heading to. To avoid those, always ask for nonfat, no whipped.

You made it to the end! Here, have a Frappuccino-drinking cat!