After a great workout this morning I decided to stop by Starbucks to grab my regular cup of joe aka a tall bold cup of black coffee. As always, I activated my ‘see-no-evil’ glasses that mentally shield me from the ever-tempting goodies (cookies, cake, scones etc) on display whenever my eyeballs go a wandering.

While waiting in line I idly schemed through the drinks menu and (mistake #1 ) decided to switch the cup of black coffee for a double white chocolate mocha minus the whip cream with non fat milk. Feeling great about my workout and coffee treat, I strolled out the store sipping on my little piece of heaven.

Five minutes later I was home and couldn’t get over how great this coffee tasted. Hmm…it probably was only about 150 calories…right? I should have probably stopped thinking at this point…..but (mistake # 2) my brain kept ticking and the need for a finite answer got the best of me. With that, I reached out to my good friend Google and the findings knocked the socks off my feet!!

The answer: My little indulgence was a ludicrous 370 calories containing 15 grams of fat which is about 130 calories of fat, 48 grams of carbs, and 12 grams of protein….and oh yeah how about 60 grams of sugar….JESUS CHRIST!! I might as well have ordered “A cup of heart attack topped with diabetes”! Who ever knew this much damage could be contained in a tall 12 oz cupful! It’s times like these that make me wish we had a real life “undo” button because I would have gladly puked that garbage out!! I don’t even want to think what the nutritional value of a Venti (20oz) looks like…wait for it… 501 calories! And this my friends is the epitome of insanity! Have 2 of those babies (ventis) and you’ve consumed almost a day’s worth of calories!! I feel horrible for those that consume such every single day as a way of life.
First reaction – I trashed the almost empty cup and chugged some water…not sure why…but I felt as though that was the best way to atone for my ‘irresponsible behavior’. It’s one thing to indulge in a slice of cake that I KNOW is 300 calories but drinking a cup of ‘fancy’ coffee that’s cruising incognitocalorie-wise made me feel bamboozled!
I have nothing against star bucks, great brand, great products (black coffee) but my experience this morning called for reiteration on a couple of things….

– Thou shall make better decisions – Bad nutrition choices are like booby traps ready to go off and mess us up when we least expect it. The responsibility has and always will be shifted on us, the consumer to have better judgment and make better nutrition choices. No one looks out for you better than you look out for yourself. Take time to read nutritional info!
– Thou shall follow the blueprint – Always stick to the plan – My Tall cup of bold coffee would have been 5 calories….max 25 with a bit of skim milk and splenda…but I chose to veer off the plan and now I feel as though I reversed the calories burned at this morning’s workout….Say it with me “ZERO WORK” *Smdh*
– Thou shall pay attention – Calories camouflage themselves in EVERYTHING so it helps to pay attention and do some research about what you’re eating. Drinking calories from fancy lattes, mochas sodas, fruit juices etc
– Thou shall not drink thy meal – Drinking calories is not the way to go! 370 calories is more than one of the 5 to 6 meals that I consume in a day which range between 250 – 300 calories each. Smdh!
– Curiosity killed thee cat – I shouldn’t have Googled the damn coffee….I should have simply enjoyed it! *I’m joking* My encounter this morning exemplifies self sabotage by lack of knowledge. I’m glad that I took the time to look the info up because it put things in perspective and now I know better and will hopefully do better.

– Not all cups of Joe are made equal – Black coffee Keep it basic/simple…a bit of cream, a bit of sugar and keep it moving. A skinny vanilla latte is a better cheat option with only about 150-180 calories 🙂
*Lifting zero calorie drink aka bottle of water for a toast* “Above the knees, below the belt, sweet things only…. Arriba, abajo, al centro, pa’ dentro…(pick your favorite toast) here is to making better NUTRITION decisions for 2013”