The Pumpkin Spice Problem

I'm going to start this off with a bang...are you ready?

If you walk into Starbucks and ask for a grande Pumpkin Spice Latte, this is what they're going to hand you:

(and say you are even a little bit health conscious...one measly little Starbucks drink couldn't do that much damage, right?)

Starbucks Grande (Medium) Pumpkin Spice Latte 
380 calories
13 grams of fat
51 grams of carbohydrates- 49 of them come from sugar (FORTY-NINE?!)
14 grams of protein (woohoo!)

Perspective?
A Snickers bar: 270 cals, 12g fat, 33g carbs (27g sugar), 4g protein
Chocolate chip cookie: 110 cals, 7g fat, 14g carbs (10g sugar), 2g protein
Krispy Kreme glazed: 190 cals, 11g fat, 21g carbs (10g sugar), 2g protein
Sara Lee Cheesecake: 320 cals, 17g fat, 32g carbs (25g sugar), 7g protein
16 oz Coke: 182 cals, 0.1g fat, 46g carbs (44 sugar), 0.3g protein


"Bu-bu-but they make skinny versions of their drinks. I can just get that!"
2 problems for ya...
1) They don't (yet) make a sugar-free version of this pumpkin spice syrup. (Yeah...that flavor you love so much? It's a syrup, aka: pretty much straight sugar.)
2) Even those sugar-free syrups you think are the healthy way to order your fave concoction aren't a good option.

Whaaaaat?

There are toooooooooons of nasty chemicals in those artificial sweeteners they use to still give you that sweet fix without the actual sugar. Aspartame & sucralose are SABOTAGING your "diet" or "healthy" eating. Why you ask? They actually increase you appetite. So those calories you think you're saving by going the sugar-free route? You're probably going to eat them anyway. Oh, and there are some other lovely side effects like headaches, depression, uh cancer (studies have shown links...yikes), mood swings, anxiety, wheezing, palpitations...okay, I'll stop.

Oh and here are a few other lovely facts about what they throw into this cup for you: caramel color made with ammonia, NO real pumpkin, artificial flavors made from stuff like petroleum, natural flavor that can be made from anything--anything on earth...like sometimes. bugs.

Okay, I'm done, for real this time. 

So. I'm not saying don't enjoy yourself a lovely cup of this special joe. But, please, oh please, don't go have one every day because they're "only here for a limited time!"

Oh, and on that special day when you decide it's time to treat yourself, eat FRESH and go a little lighter on the carbs/sugar the rest of the day so you can fully enjoy that sweet, sweet slice of heaven with no guilt. 

As always, feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about getting your healthy lifestyle on track. I'd love to help you really enjoy that seasonal specialty. :)