The coffee swap that can help you shed half a kilo

Your morning brew of choice can help - or hinder - your weight loss goals. See how changing the type of coffee you drink can make a huge difference on the scales.

A simple switch in your daily coffee habit could be the key to shedding almost half a kilo in a week.

One in three Aussies down three or more coffees a day and by swapping their regular latte for a piccolo they could cut their calorie intake from 155 calories per coffee to just 18.6 calories.

Making that swap on three coffees per day would cut 409 calories from their daily intake, just shy of the 478 calorie reduction an average person needs to lose half a kilo in a week.

If you are a fan of larger size lattes you are consuming 210 calories per coffee.

Switching to a regular size skim milk coffee would save you even more — 122 calories per coffee.

Every teaspoon of sugar you add to your coffee increases your energy intake by 16 calories so think about reducing that.

If you are an iced coffee fan the swap is even easier.

Swapping your coffee order can help you lose weight. Picture: iStock

The average packaged iced coffee drink is so laden with sugar it contains more than 421 calories.

Just cutting out one carton a day would be enough to help you lose almost half a kilo a week.

The Cancer Council’s obesity action group LiveLighter analysed flavoured milks and found some contain more than 10g sugar per 100ml, almost a day’s sugar allowance in one hit.

Ice Break Regular Strength Iced coffee 750ml has 9 teaspoons of sugar or the equivalent of 22 red frog lollies.

Dare Double Espresso 750ml has 7.5 teaspoons or the equivalent of 18 red frog lollies, the LiveLighter analysis showed.

In a cafe, an iced coffee might contain ice cream and or cream which further boosts the calorie content.

Looking for pre-packaged ice coffee with no added sugar and checking your portion size is another way of reducing the calorie intake from iced coffee, Live Lighter dietitian Alison McAleese suggests.

Rather than cutting out coffee altogether Ms McAleese suggests swapping whole milk for skim milk.

Live Lighter dietitian Alison McAleese. Picture: Supplied

Nine in 10 Australian adults don’t eat enough dairy or calcium needed for bone health.

“Dairy is definitely our biggest source of calcium so if you’re cutting back on the size of the coffee that’s reducing the amount of milk that’s in there, it would be really important to make sure that you’re having some calcium containing foods elsewhere in the day,” she said.

The type of milk you have in your coffee can also make a big difference.

With more and more Aussies opting for plant based options they may now know there can be a big difference in calorie content between them.

Soy and oat milk contain around 150 calories per 250ml, almost the same as full cream cow’s milk.

Macadamia milk has around half as many calories – 75- and almond milk around 90 calories per 250ml.

However, these milk alternatives may not have as much calcium as cow’s milk.

There is another big coffee break swap that could help shed even more kilos.

“The big question for me is, is it just a coffee or are there snacks, are you getting something to eat with it because that’s definitely where the significant kilojoules are going to come from,” said Ms McAleese.

A slice of banana bread could be around 480 calories and a plain croissant about 240 calories, she said.

Originally published as The coffee swap that can help you shed half a kilo