Hi, I'm new to the board. I'm on an extended induction phase, trying to find a way to do this and still satisfy certain cravings (coffee in the morning, something fruity, chocolate, etc.)

I thought I had found the solution to my morning when I learned that any good coffee place can make me a "breve latte" which means it's made with half and half, which according to the carton has only about one carb per serving. I've been literally ordering "venti" breves with sugarfree vanilla syrup every morning, thinking it was more or less a free food, and they keep me going until lunchtime when I can have a salad.

Problem is, I heard y'all talking about "fitday," and according to fitday (which doesn't have an entry for "breve"), half and half has about 10 grams of carbohydrate per cup! (http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/FoodFa...100&OwnerID=100) Which means that "venti" puts me right over the induction carbs for the entire day.

Is a breve, or is it not, a low-carb beverage? And have you run into any other conflicts between packaging and fitday's data? Thanks so much for your feedback.

No, it is not a lowcarb beverage. A serving of half and half is a TBLS!!! A cup has about 14-16 grams of carbs (16 TBLS in a cup).

The reason we use cream or half and half, especially for things like protein shakes, is because you only need about 1/3 of a cup of cream to 2/3 of a cup water for a shake. Denser flavors mean you are not using as much for your coffee/tea either.

Oh . . . my . . . . . . goodness, I guess the moral is don't just look at the carbs on the label, look at the serving size. Well I just threw away the rest of my breve and won't be ordering another. Maybe now I'll get those little strips back to purple!

i discovered a cure for my morning latte cravings....

i order an americano, then have them put SF syrup and a splash of cream. it took me a couple before i got used to the change in flavor, but now that is what i crave in the mornings instead of latte's.

good luck to you

I use unsweetened soy milk for my latte. It only has 1 carb per cup. I love them.

I make my own DECAF espresso and I used full fat whipping cream with a little stevia. I don't go overboard on the stevia because it can get bitter if overdone.

My hubby & I are going to Brazil this Christmas (our winter is their summer) and I plan to bring back truckloads of Decaf Brazilian espresso - well - at least 4 big bags!!!

For me it's hard to fins soy that has less than 8 grams of sugar per cup - and I also love the flavor of real cream much more!!!

I tell ya after adding protein back into my diet (from eating all raw fruits, veggies, nuts only) I'm feeling alot better!!!

A short breve with SF vanilla is still a much better "treat" on occassion then indulging in a high carb item. If had by itself... most of us can easily handle a 13 to 15 gram carb intake without significantly spiking our blood sugar levels. That is the name of the game. If you have it WITH something else - then yes you will likely spike your blood sugar levels.

When I have one - it is when on a big "shopping" day with my girl friends... as a treat. I have nothing else with it. (couple hours after eating and a don't eat for a few hours afterwards). I usually give up "losing" weight that day ... but I have never gained or kicked myself out of ketosis.

Just my experience.

A Starbucks "tall" (which is the smallest one--ironic, huh? ) would be a better option. I THINK the carb count for a tall breve with SF vanilla would be about 8 carbs, as it only includes about a cup of half and half due to steaming, plus the space the espresso takes up. I don't think it's that bad of an option, especially if you're the type who can't bring themselves to have breakfast. How it would affect you weight loss is another story; I'm not the best person to give advice on that, as my insulin resistance is very low (I can eat 100 g a day and not gain weight...I could probably go higher, but it makes me feel crappy).

But, Lawyer, I think if you're really craving something "fruity" you might want to add that 5 gram increment into your diet. Strawberries and cream, yum! You might find, like I did during OWL, that I didn't lose any less weight at slightly higher carb counts than induction.

Thanks everyone; yes I get so busy during the days that often I don't eat. For example, today I had two cups of coffee for breakfast and lunch (lunch was decaf) with powdered creamer and equal. Then a spinach salad with bacon egg tomato and mushrooms at dinnertime, plus I'm sure I'll have something later.

For fruitiness I have crystal light pink lemonade or sugarfree jell-o strawberry banana. M

I work at starbucks and I usually make my breve lattes with heavy cream instead of half n half. All the stores should have heavy whipping cream now because we make our whipped cream with it.

I'm not sure how many carbs a tall heavy cream latte has, but definitely less than one made with half n half. I'll check the cartons for nutrition facts when I'm at work tomorrow and update!

Also what you can do if you like the taste of a latte but want less carbs is ask for a breve misto. That's half coffee and half steamed half n half. A tall would have half the carbs as a regular breve (4 instead of 8).

Starbucks does have a short, you just have to ask for it.

I have them mix 2 ounces of half and half with hot water and steam it...then Add the espresso and sf syrup...not quite as creamy as a full cup of H&H but I can taste the espresso and flavorings better and I don't get all the calories from the milk product...They never give me any problem ordering this way...frothing the water and H&H makes it foamy and oh so rich.