Coffee Details

In keeping with his character, Will has demonstrated his non-persnickety-ness yet again this week. This time, it’s about the coffee.

Around mid-February, one of my friends challenged me to start tracking my calories. I’ve been on a weight-loss run since late October, but I’ve hit a proverbial plateau—dropped 22 pounds by New Year’s and hardly any since. I know I should be delighted by my progress so far—and I am glad…feel better, more energy, and all that. But, I’d really like to drop another 15-20, which would take me back to wedding weight. That’s not my all-time adult low—that happened when I was training for the Bayshore Marathon. Even if I do lose an extra 18 pounds, I’ll still be “overweight” by government standards, but I’m OK with that. Going much lower seems unrealistic and unreasonable, considering my personal and family history, including the fact that I’ve birthed three 9-pound babies!

But getting back to the coffee… My friend asked me to track calories along with her so we could encourage each other in the art of eating healthy (and getting sexy—tee-hee). For the first few days, I tried the Weight Watchers online tracking tools. Then I remembered that SparkPeople.com has a nutrition section, too—and, unlike WW, which charges $20+ per month, SparkPeople is free! In both trackers, something stood out: the half and half I added to my coffee, added up. If I were a more moderate coffee drinker—1 or 2 cups a day—it might not matter. But the truth is, especially in winter, I down 4 to 5…sometimes 6 or 7…java mugs daily. (It’s online confession time.)

Half and half creamer contains 20 calories per tablespoon. If I add 1 T. to each cup and drink 5, that’s an extra 100 calories every day. It might sound like a modest amount, but math-wiz Will points out that’s about 7 percent of my daily caloric goal (1,500). I asked myself: Do I really want to blow 7 percent of my dietary budget on a beverage additive? I decided I didn’t. So I started drinking my coffee black. (I’ve tried skim milk in coffee, and it tastes awful. Whole milk, I like, but it’s inconvenient to keep—it spoils sooner than half and half.)

I tried telling myself that black coffee is honest. It allows me to more fully enjoy the flavor of the actual coffee. To bolster my resolve, I even noted my new drinking habit as a Facebook status update (and couldn’t believe the uproar—a dozen remarks in protest or support of black coffee, of all things). But alas, after just two days of “honest” coffee-drinking, I wimped out. I won’t go back to half and half—too rich for my caloric allowance. But after this experiment, the bother of stocking whole milk in the fridge seems worthwhile. At 9 calories per tablespoon (45 per day), it’s a luxury I’ll accommodate.

The funny thing with Will is, about a day and a half into the trial, I asked him whether he minded the switch to black. He hadn’t complained about it—hadn’t even inquired about creamer. He shrugged and said it didn’t matter. Typical! But, easygoing as Will is about many things, including hot beverages (which he’ll drink lukewarm), even he has his limits—on this point, we agree: Church potluck coffee? Unpalatable.