A lighter roast, cold brew, a bit of vanilla and or almond extract, frothed almond milk for me.
Many years ago I moved away from sweetened tea by very gradually cutting the sugar I was using which, thankfully, was not a lot anyways. I switched to Constsnt for a while because that has a sweetness to it. But in the end, I was drinking unsweetened tea. To this day, I prefer my drinks unsweetened.
I did the similar wean going from milk to almond milk in my coffee. I use the 30calorie kind with vanilla. I also bought a steamer/frother. Starbucks doesn’t get much of my money!
It’s negligible, but when you take the fat out, what’s left is more concentrated. However, there are brands like Fairilfe, which has 50% MORE protein and 50% LESS sugar than your typical milk.
Unless you are drinking 20 cups of sweetened coffee every day, the sugar and milk you use in your coffee aren’t a problem. Most likely, it’s the pastries, ice cream, chips, canned soup, frozen dinners, white carbs, chips, diet soda, restaurant portions, and lack of fresh produce.
I am astonished at the way people agonize over small dietary matters, but completely ignore the fact that their whole diet needs an overhaul.
If you want to start small, start by tossing your highly processed foods, but go ahead and pour the cream and stir the sugar in your coffee.
It adds up. Some of us are on sort of strict diets for whatever reasons. Occasionally, I do splurge on calories, fats, carbs, sweets, etc. But I can afford to do so because I watch my intake most of the time.
So, I don’t take sugar in my coffee or my tea. I drink green tea which I now truly prefer to black tea, and unsweetened. I use almond milk instead of regular milk in it. That frees up some constraints for me.
I think the adding up of calories also depends on your coffee consumption. One cup per day? Not such a biggie adding a splash of half and half and sweetener. Drink 5 cups? That’s another story.