Coffee is extremely popular, and people love to have this refreshing drink as a wake-up shot or a pick me up remedy during the day. But if you’re trying to stay healthy by watching your weight, you’ve probably asked yourself about the calories in your cup of coffee. So, does coffee have calories?
Coffee drinkers are at a lower risk of several health issues. However, watching your calorie intake is a good way to stay in excellent shape.
Are There Any Calories in Black Coffee?
No matter how you like your coffee, it’s a potent way to help kick start your day. It’s easy and quick to prepare, and you can always pick your favorite coffee beans for a custom-made cup of coffee (How many coffee beans per cup?).
A cup of black coffee contains very few calories, and still offers a lot of health benefits. One 8 ounce cup of regular black coffee contains 2 calories, where a single espresso shot contains 1 calorie. So, there are calories in coffee but if you don’t add sugar or milk you’ll have a truly low-calorie beverage to enjoy!
Nevertheless, most people will add extras to their black coffee (Is Black or White Coffee better?), increasing the calorie content. Any sweetener like sugar or honey will add more calories to your coffee. If you add milk or an extra tasty flavor to your coffee, you’ll add more calories.
How Many Calories Are in An Average Cup of Coffee?
A plain coffee made of your favorite ground beans will have as few as 5 calories per cup. However, every little addition you add to your coffee mug will increase the number of calories in coffee.
If you’re trying to watch or decrease your weight, black coffee can be an excellent drink because it’s healthy and contains very few calories. Moreover, coffee contains no fat, so it will go well with most weight reduction plans.
Every little addition you make your coffee to make it tastier will alter the calorie content. If you add honey, sugar, or cream, your coffee can become less healthy and you significantly increase the calories in coffee. Even fat-free or low-fat milk will add more calories to your daily cup of coffee – Does Soy Milk in Coffee add calories?
Why are there No Calories in Coffee?
Coffee is made of coffee beans and water. The coffee beans need a little energy and very few calories to push the sprout through the soil. Therefore, the amount of energy and calories from coffee beans is very low.
Although coffee beans contain some oils, there’s a small amount of oil that actually gets strained when you’re preparing your coffee. At the same time, water is neutral and has zero calories, so drinking plain coffee means that you’ll be consuming practically no calories.
However, most people don’t drink plain coffee and will add a few things to their coffee mug to make it taste better. Sugar and cream added to your coffee mug will increase the calorie content. Nevertheless, if you choose to enjoy plain coffee, it will be an excellent low-calorie drink that you can drink throughout the day.
How Many Calories Are in a Cup of Coffee with Milk?
Coffee is full of interesting nutrients and antioxidants, so it’s actually healthy to drink. However, when you add full cream to your black coffee, you’re increasing your daily calorie intake. Since most coffee lovers will drink at least 2 cups a day, you might end up consuming a lot of calories that can eventually affect your weight and overall health.
If you choose to add 2 ounces of cream to your coffee mug, you’ll add 120 calories per serving and 12 grams of fat to your coffee mug. However, you don’t have to drink black coffee all the time if you want to stay in shape. You can substitute full cream with whole milk, and the addition will only add 38 calories and 2 grams of fat to your coffee mug.
People who want to watch or decrease their weight should switch to 2% milk, which adds 30 calories and 1.2 grams of fat to your black coffee. Non-fat milk will add 22 calories and 0.1 grams of fat to your daily black coffee.
How Many Calories Are in a Cup of Coffee with Milk and Sugar?
Depending on the amount and type of milk in your coffee, there might be around 100 calories in coffee with milk. If you drink coffee more than once per day, you can end up consuming too many calories that will eventually mess up with your diet plan.
One serving of sugar has 16 calories, and some people need more than one to enjoy their coffee drinks. However, you can always use a calorie-free sweetener and low-fat milk for your coffee drinks to keep the calorie count under control.
Is Coffee Good for Weight Loss?
When it comes to weight loss, coffee has some pros and cons. Coffee is full of antioxidants, and it suppresses your appetite, so it will help you eat less if you’re trying to lose weight.
A cup of coffee with no sugar or milk has almost no calories. Black coffee is very low in calories at only 2 to 5 calories in a cup. If you use an artificial sweetener and low-fat milk, your brewed coffee would still be suitable for a weight loss program. Such a cup won’t be as low in calories as a cup of black coffee but overall it will not be detrimental to your weight reduction efforts.
Brewed coffee also improves your metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories, which helps you lose some weight faster, especially if you’re working out. Moreover, it gives you an energy boost, which will allow you to work out and engage in more activities that help you stay in shape.
The caffeine in your coffee is responsible for both effects. However, large amounts of caffeine are needed to boost metabolism enough to burn calories.
Nevertheless, the caffeine in the coffee can have an adverse effect on your weight. It affects your sleep pattern, so you’re likely to face difficulty sleeping, which can make you eat more at night. Poor sleep is highly associated with unhealthy cravings and increased appetite for processed foods.
Moreover, most people will have their coffee with a dessert or a snack that contains carbs and fats, which will increase their weight. If you add a few extras to your coffee-based drink, you’ll be increasing your calorie intake significantly.
Does Honey Add Fewer Calories than Sugar to Coffee?
Honey has a lot of therapeutic benefits and has been used since ancient times as a sweetener added to various beverages and snacks. A lot of people prefer to use honey in their coffee instead of sugar.
Honey has anti-inflammatory properties and is full of enzymes, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. It’s also less processed than sugar, so it’s considered to be a healthier option.
However, when it comes to weight loss, honey is not going to help you lose weight if this is your goal. As a matter of fact, one tablespoon of honey contains 64 calories, while one tablespoon of sugar contains 49 calories. So, if you’re trying to lose weight then stick with black coffee or add calorie-free sweetener to your coffee drinks.
Nevertheless, if you choose to add honey, you might end up consuming fewer calories. Honey is sweeter than sugar, so you don’t need to add as much to get rid of the bitter taste.
How Many Calories Are in a Latte?
A latte is probably one of the most popular coffee-based drinks. But if you’re an avid latte drinker, you want to keep an eye on the number of calories you’re consuming every time you have one.
A latte is made of one or two espresso shots, steamed milk, and you can add sugar if you want to. A small latte contains about 200 calories, while a large one contains about 340 calories. If you drink more than one latte per day, you’ll end up with a lot of extra calories that can make you gain weight.
However, you don’t have to give up your favorite drink. If you like a latte, you can switch to skimmed milk, which will decrease the calorie intake to 160 calories per drink.
Does a Latte Have More Calories than a Cappuccino?
A latte has more calories than a cappuccino (Do Cappuccinos have Caffeine in them?) of the same size, given that you don’t add sugar to any of them. The espresso shot contains about 1 or 2 calories, but a latte has a bigger amount of milk’
However, the actual number of calories that you will consume depends on the type of milk you use. Adding any flavor or syrup will also increase the number of calories in your beverage.
Final Thoughts
Drinking brewed coffee provides you with healthy antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins. Black coffee has almost no calories, so it’s quite healthy to consume if you drink it in moderation. However, adding milk and sugar to your black coffee can increase the calorie content significantly.
Nevertheless, you don’t have to stick to black coffee all the time if you’re trying to manage your weight. You can alter the amount and type of milk you’re adding to your coffee drinks to help keep it healthy.
