I can't seem to kick the Starbucks!!

I have become addicted to Starbucks!! I have to have it every morning and it's not only ruining my diet but my budget too!! I need to quit this like now; but everytime I try I get sucked into going because "I'm tired" ,"I have a long day today at work", "it will be my breakfast and all my snacks"

I really need some help to kick this habit and get on the right track!! Anyone have and ideas? I'm open for ANYTHING!!!!

How do you mean by addicted? The coffee, or making the trip? x: You could try ordering a black coffee at first instead of anything heavier, and then switching up to green tea - green tea has a lot more health benefits, and still contains a smaller amount of caffiene so you won't be faced with withdrawl symptoms. Cheaper, too! After that, try switching to taking a thermos to work instead?

OR. Put that money towards something else. Put it in a jar instead of towards a coffee, and you'll likely find that in a week or two you'll be able to afford a good pair of shoes instead. :B Hope this helps.

well if you have a soul you won't drink starbucks. None of their coffee is fair trade, at one point they claimed to be fair trade brewers and only ONE type of their coffee was fair trade. Now none of them are. Do you know what CHILDREN in other countries go through to bring you your delicious coffee every morning? Go to trader joes or whole foods, buy a couple of bags of fair trade coffee and call it a day. It will save money and calories, and you're a better person for it. 

 

As far as calories go try the skinny lattes, no whipped topping a Tall is only 90 calories. Wallet wise you'd have to start making your own or drinking whatever your office supplies <- I do that but I bring my own cream and I use splenda 65 calories.

If it's the lattes / cappuccinos you're addicted to, and you're really looking to save $$, invest in a decent cappucino maker, and you can make your own. - it will save money in the long run.  And as mentioned above, you can use better coffee, and be sure of all the ingredients you're using.

If you're looking to get off the coffee/caffiene addiction, I suggest you stick with regular coffee instead of caps or lattes, and wean yourself off starting with a 50/50 decaf blend.

Good luck!

Going black on your coffee is a good start! It's still not the best thing in the world for you, but the cream, frothed milk, etc that goes into all those fancy lattes is the part that has all the calories in it.

I used to stop in Starbucks quite a bit until I realied how much money I was dumping into that place. Now I just drink whatever generic stuff they provide here at work.

I'm a fan of starbucks myself, but the price tag is no fun.

Figure out how much you spend on your habit--then multiply that number by how many times a day/week you buy it, then multiply it by 52.

Then, figure out what you'd rather spend your money on, and start to kick the habit.

 

...easier said than done, though.

It's certainly not *as* tasty as Starbucks, but if you're really looking for the caffeine hit to get through your day and you want the coffee/milk/sweet combination (as I often do), there are some other options that are lower calorie items and really aren't bad.

Personally, I've started drinking the Java Monster Lo-Ball drinks (50 cal per serving/ 100 cal per 16 oz. can).  They aren't as good as Starbucks, but they do satisfy the craving on a rough morning so I can stay away from the Starbucks.

Amonaco: Judgemental much?

personally i am addicted to the frappuchino's, but the tall caramel light frap with no whipcream only has 140 calories which fits perfectly into my diet day :)

why would you kick starbucks out of your lifeee!!! are u crazy! hahaaaa yea some of the drinks are bad but if you get anything just get nonfat or soy. and you cant go wrong with just there regular coffee..all you need is a little bit of skim milk in it...cant be more then like 30 caloriessss

If you want to save calories (and some money) try an iced Americano (hot espresso poured over ice with water added ) with 1 ounce of half and half. I usually put sugar free vanilla or coconut in it (I work at an independant coffee shop) but it only has 40 calories and I think it tastes like an iced latte. It is my favorite drink :)

I am the same way. I meet my husband after work and we sort of unwind and caught up on the day while we sip Chai Tea Latte. One thing that helped me is that instead of my regular Chia tea Latte I get a Chia tea Meso which is much better for me. It is regular tea bags of CHai Tea which gives me that taste I love without the calories and the Meso is justed skim milk steamed. It has really cut my calories and I don't feel so bad about stopping now.

maybe you could take a thermos to work?

I'm the same way.. At some point I need to kick it but I really like the boost coffee gives me. I figure hey, I'm counting into my calorie intake..

I stay away from Starbucks by reminding myself that coffee stains your teeth. LOL Well, it works for me, anyway. I'll drink coffee every now and then, but wanting to keep my teeth white keeps me pretty free of it.

I also switched to decaf years ago. I did it because I have a caffeine allergy, but it was also nice to finally kill my caffeine addiction so coffee no longer called to me.

You don't have to cut it out entirely, just make smart choices.

• Only order tall sized drinks
• use non-fat or soy milk
• ask for 2 pumps of syrup instead of the standard 3 in a tall
• if you don't mind artificial sweeteners, get their as for sugar-free syrup
• check the nutritional info for the items you love
• skip whipped cream, extra syrup, etc to save calories
• Avoid the baked goods! They look good but I've looked up the nutritional info... they have MEGA calories.

I go to Starbucks almost every day too but I order either tall half-sweet iced coffee or a tall half-sweet Starbucks double shot on ice. Once or twice a week, I'll get a tall, half-sweet vanilla soy latte as my mid-morning snack (plus some fruit).

It helps to know what's actually added to your drink. When you know, you can customize it to make it lower cal.

loary, the drink you're describing is actually called a misto, not meso.

Original Post by ledgehanger:

Amonaco: Judgemental much?

You know, not to get into the whole accuracy of the statement, it's actually a solid plan. It's "making sausages" theory. If you were to believe, for instance, that all Starbucks coffee was made with the souls of tortured kittens, you would (most likely) be inclined to stop.

Why not leverage (a possibly misguided) social awareness into weight loss?

But, as a practical answer, you're not adicted to Starbucks. You're addicted to the sugar in the coffee you're drinking there. I'd suggest translating it into other terms (pick up a regular cup of coffee, then buy a candy bar) and you'll find it easier to crack.

Honestly, I don't even think it's the sugar that leads to a "Starbucks addiction". The whole place is designed to make you feel special. I would blame the marketing.

You didn't say what you order at Starbucks! So everyone is assuming you order some sweet full of calories little nasty.

Coffee in of itself is not that bad for you-- in fact I'm tempted to post my link to "health myths about coffee" even though my similar thread about water wasn't too well received. Coffee in fact has been shown to be beneficial (always in moderation though as with anything).

Anyway, my suggestion is to try a cappuccino. It has less milk than a latte and is topped with foamed milk. I shake a little vanilla on top and the texture seems almost like whip cream. Or perhaps that's just my vivid imagination.

Original Post by cellophane_star:

Honestly, I don't even think it's the sugar that leads to a "Starbucks addiction". The whole place is designed to make you feel special. I would blame the marketing.

Point taken, and very astute. And not only the marketing, but the ritual.

However, if that's the case, then there's not much of a diet issue, because coffee-coffee isn't going to count for breakfast and snack calorie-wise. Ergo I suspect jamberlee is buying whatever they're calling the milky sugar conconction that the waitstaff made while thinking really, really hard about coffee.

Second Cup (Canadian) is FAR better than Starbucks. All of the coffee is fair trade, and the coffee doesn't taste like something you could make by heating up water from your garden hose and stirring in mud.