SHAPING UP: How special autumn seasonal coffees could sabotage your weight loss goals

When the weather gets colder and days get shorter there’s nothing more satisfying than a hot cup of coffee to lift your mood.

But, be careful! While they are very tasty, they are also really high in calories and packed full of sugary syrups.

I’m not saying you can’t enjoy a nice coffee, but if you’re trying to lose weight, these sugar laden specials can easily tip your calorie and sugar intake over your limit and bring your weight loss efforts to a halt.

Check out the nutritional content of the popular coffee drinks below:

Note: the recommended daily sugar intake for adults is six teaspoons per day, and too much sugar results in storing body fat.

A grande Pumpkin Spiced Latte made with semi-skimmed milk, from Starbucks, contains 320 calories and 39.5 grams (about 9.5 teaspoons) of sugar. Nearly double the recommended daily amount for adults.

A grande Salted Maple & Caramel Latte made with semi-skimmed milk, from Starbucks, contains 275 calories and 41 grams (about 10 teaspoons) of sugar. That’s over the daily recommended amount (six grams) for an adult.

A medium Maple Hazel Latte made with semi-skimmed milk, from Costa, contains 320 calories and 35.1g grams (about 8.5 teaspoons) of sugar. That’s nearly the daily recommended amount for adults in one cup of coffee!

A medium Hazel Frappe made with semi-skimmed milk, from Costa, contains 345 calories and 39g (about nine teaspoons) of sugar. Again, over the adults daily ere recommended allowance for sugar.

So, if you’re a bit of a coffee junkie and you have 3 Pumpkin Spiced Lattes per week, that’s your recommended weekly sugar intake taken up with just 3 coffees! That’s without all of the other food and drinks that your consuming that week too. So, you can see how easy it is to go over your recommended sugar and calorie allowance!

What can you have instead?

Coffee can actually be very helpful with weight loss if you use it in the right way (in small amounts).

Caffeine is a stimulant and can help improve your focus. It makes you feel more alert and can spur you on to be more active.

On the other hand, too much coffee has the opposite effect. It will make you feel sluggish and tired.

My advice is:

Limit Your Coffee Intake To One Per Day

If you’re having more than one per day then try to cut down so that you avoid sugar cravings.

Drink Black Coffee

Espressos and Americanos are great because they are low in calories and don’t contain and sugary syrups or milk. Meaning you can enjoy a nice hot cup of coffee without tipping you over your calorie allowance.

Ask For A Substitute

If you really can’t resist a flavoured latte, then you can ask for it to be made with soya, coconut or almond milk (which has less calories that cows milk) and ask for half the amount of syrup, so that it lowers the amount of calories that you’re consuming.

Time Your Caffeine

The best time to have a coffee is about half an hour before your workout to make you more alert and focused. You’re more likely to push yourself harder during the workout if you’re alert. On days that you don’t have a workout scheduled, mid-morning is the best time to get a caffeine hit as this is usually when most people have a dip in concentration.

Avoid Caffeine Close To Bed Time

Personally, I don’t drink coffee after 4pm because I’m wide awake come bed time. If you find it hard to get to sleep on a night try reducing your caffeine intake, especially in the afternoon.

RECIPE – IMMUNITY JUICEHeading into the colder months it’s really important to boost your immune system to help fight off colds and viruses. Adding fresh juices full of vitamins and minerals to your diet can have a big impact on your immune system.SERVES: 1

TOTAL TIME: 10 minutes

CALORIES PER PORTION: 161

INGREDIENTS:

2 large carrots

2 stalks celery

1 orange

1 x 2cm piece ginger1/4 tsp ground turmeric1/4 tsp black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Add all ingredients to a juicer, transfer to a glass and serve with ice.

If you don’t have a juicer, add all ingredients to a blender. Once blended, strain through a mesh cloth to remove the foamy/chunky bits.

WORKOUT – UPPER BODY DUMBBELL WORKOUT FOR BEGINNERS

In this upper body dumbbell workout for beginners we focus on some basic exercises to strengthen the main muscles in your upper body - core, back, arms, shoulders and chest. Perform 3 rounds of the exercises below. Before you start the workout head over to the East Coast Fitness Facebook page to watch the short demo video. www.facebook.com/eastcoastfitnessseaham

30 seconds BICEP CURLS

30 seconds BENT OVER TRICEP EXT

30 seconds SHOULDER PRESS

30 seconds BENT OVER REVERSE FLYES

30 seconds PLANK ROWS

30 seconds CHEST PRESS

20 seconds rest