Thursday, December 02, 2010

Cold Turkey

Remember when I ran that half-marathon, and I was running a shit-ton of miles each week training?

Well, apparently, training does not exactly melt the pounds away.

My weight is actually creeping back up... Five pounds up from my lowest point, to be specific. Unacceptable, guys. I have these really soft, supple, tailored designer jeans that I saw myself squeezing into again before 2011.

And now, ain't no way that's gonna happen. (I'll stop you right there: I don't think this is muscle-gain. Nothing is fitting better, and mah face! With the puffiness!)

I have made no secret of my ridiculous sweet-tooth... which only seems to intensify as the days grow shorter and the temperature cooler. Lately, however, I have been having a love affair with Starbucks.

Oh, Starbucks. I love everything about you. The aroma of fresh-brewed, overpriced espresso drinks. Your seasonal fare (the peppermint mocha! The peppermint white chocolate mocha! The caramel brulee!); your morning buns. Your decadent cranberry bliss bar, that is, in fact, blissful.

I love the atmosphere in our local Starbucks: the indie music playing softly above the din, the hipsters and business people alike typing furiously on their laptops, or perhaps just perusing a novel. It's so inviting - so relaxing - that I can't help but drift there when Hendrik and I are out for a morning walk, thereby negating our exercise, upping my caloric and sugar intake significantly, and denting our bank account.

Relaxing, indeed.

Even a tall, nonfat, decaf caramel brulee with no whip contains 240 calories, plus a whopping 38 grams of sugar. Combine that with a morning bun (350 calories and 19 grams of sugar) or a cranberry bliss bar (about 280 calories), and I've added nearly 600 calories and 60 grams of sugar to my diet before the day has even begun.

And if I spring for the nonfat peppermint white chocolate mocha with light whip and the iced lemon pound cake? 990 CALORIES and 124 GRAMS OF SUGAR.

If I visit an average of three times per week, I'm looking at an additional 1800 - 2970 calories per week - nearly one to two day's worth of calories!

I think we can all agree that Starbucks is making me chubby.

Monetarily, I probably spend an average of $7 per visit. That's $21 per week, $84 dollars per month, and $1008 per year.

Screw you, Starbucks, you diet-busting dark overlord of mocha-espresso goodness.

So here's the deal: I'm going to avoid Starbucks completely for the next two weeks, and see what it does to my waistline. I'm betting I'll lose a few L-Bs without doing anything else, and then I'll have to agree to get the unsweetened green tea on my infrequent visits. Sounds delicious, eh?

But imagine all of the mani-pedis a girl can get with an extra grand annually...

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

A tall Skinny Vanilla Latte will do the trick for about 120 calories...not quite the Spiced Pumpkin Latte I'd prefer, but it works. And Ooo Mmm Ggg! The White Chocolate Mocha is pretty ridiculous, but I act like it's not there.

Skinny Cow...awesome, low cal ice cream treats.

Homevalley said...

Anon - I love Skinny Cow; but they do have HFCS in them and a host of other additives... So I try to do Coconut Milk Minis. The Choco-almonds ones are 170 calories. Not too bad for a great-tasting dessert!

And word - will have to pretend the WCM does not exist anymore. The peppermint is ridic...

In This Style said...

I was going to recommend you switch to tea! There are a lot of really great kinds that are healthy for you & taste great. Mighty Leaf & Yogi are my two favorite brands.

Also, I am a victim of the sweet tooth as well. I've started eating more fruit (granny smith apples do the trick for me) and when I can't resist my sugar urges I have a small bowl of some slightly sugary cereal. I don't know why, but cereal at night is better than a bowl of ice cream to me. I recommend Bear River Valley Natural Cereals if you can find them near you. Anyway, that's what I do to curb my sweet tooth! Hope it helps!

Good luck!

Homevalley said...

Thanks, ITS - I used to be much more into tea, and I need to get back to it! I will pick up a new kind this week.

I have been trying the fruit route... bought myself some clementines and they take the edge off. I think Michael Pollan (author of Food Rules, etc.) says you can have all the junk you want as long as you make it yourself. I am going to start looking for some healthy cupcake/cookie recipes as well.

Sarah Kurpel said...

Did you forget to donate blood? You burn 10,000 calories to remake that pint!

In This Style said...

In that case, I highly recommend Joy the Baker's blog! As you can see, I have no life!

Belle said...

Do you have the shakes yet?? I hear Starbucks is more addicting than heroin.

Homevalley said...

Sarah K - what the what?!

Belle - No shakes (yet), but I think it might be... something they put in the sweet, sweet mocha.

Isrut said...

Try the flu- 5 pounds gone!

Mama_Bear_Sarah said...

first of all, i'm totally donating blood ...like several times a week (okay, i know they don't let you but it sounds like a great idea in theory).

secondly, the white chocolate mocha is totally my kryptonite. can't even talk about it.

thirdly, i'm more of a caribou kinda girl. dunno why. it just tastes better there.