just get water on your breaks

Water, black coffee, plain iced tea, plain shaken espresso for drinks

Protein boxes for snacks 👍 will help a lot!

I had the same transition from Lattes and Pastries to the healthier alternatives and it was a mood booster for sure! Don't sleep on the protein boxes! Haha

Instead of getting and eating the free food on my breaks I usually bring my own healthier snacks from home and take stuff like bagels, croissants, perfect bars, etc that I’ll eat as a part of my normal breakfast/snacks at home. That way I’m using my benefits but not eating a brownie every day during my break lol

the free drinks make it so easy to go overboard, just restrict yourself. i only get one drink per shift, either before i start or my first break, and it's just a blonde shaken espresso. i never get a drink when my shift is over, i just go home


first couple weeks i was drinking way too much for sure

use stevia instead of sugar and use almond milk over other milks (oat milk has the most empty calories of all the plant-based milks)

for mochas, psls, etc., get them in talls and ratio the syrups one pump of the mocha/pumpkin/etc syrup to two pumps of sf vanilla, it tastes about the same and gets rid of extra calories

So first, I get my food markouts the first day I work on any given week. I pull mine from the store's freezer, take them home, and put them right back in my freezer. That way I don't have to eat them before they spoil- I can eat them whenever I am actually hungry for it, and it's literally maybe twice a week if that. The rest of them just accumulate and I'll (probably) eat them eventually. I bring food to work with me, usually half a turkey and cheese sandwich (dijon mustard, lettuce, sprouts, pickles), with celery and carrot sticks on the side daily, and I keep a big canister of lightly salted cashews in my locker and eat those when I want a snack.

I get whatever I want to drink, I just try to go light with the oatmilk because the only time I noticed myself gaining weight was when we started carrying oatmilk. I found about 7 extra pounds that took a couple months to get rid of (I'm older, the metabolism ain't what it used to be). What I was doing was getting my usual shaken espressos but I found myself using less and less ice and more and more oatmilk, until I was becoming one of THEM. And I kept doing it until my pants were unzipping themselves if I laughed, sneezed, exhaled, or any sudden and unplanned move that impacted my core. Once that started happening, I stopped doing the excess oatmilk and went back to extra ice. What's scary is, that excess weight came on FAST, like over a few **weeks**, but took a couple **months** to eliminate.

i always get a small, cut the syrup amount in half of drinks (ex white mocha), i put sugarfree vanilla in my iced teas, frappes on the weekends or my day off

Starbucks is the reason i’ve gained almost 90 pounds since 2019… and maybe quarantine too

get water and get protein boxes/paninis. ik it’s tempting to wanna make starbucks drinks a lot but maybe if you realllly want one get a short/tall. or just make drinks to sample with coworkers if you want a small amount of sweetness

I sub agave for at least half the syrup if I'm making it myself, it's helped a bit! Plus limiting myself to one then water only.

Hello fellow gym rat barista! I found myself in a similar situation. What i did was switched to plain black cold brew as a drink & I’m a lot more careful about my markouts. I usually opt for a protein box or I’ll bring my own food. I try to prioritize gym too along with working 32-38+ hours a week. Even if I have to drag myself there, I still go. Just avoid the temptation of all the sugary crap we sell & try not to beat yourself up too much about it. It happens, but you can snap it back! You got this!!

EDIT: ALSO THE PROTEIN BARS ARE A GOD SEND & YOU CAN MARK THEM OUT AS A FOOD!! 😊😊

Loved iced teas! In the mornings I would do a quad shot with a pump of sugarfree vanilla, cold brew with sugarfree vanilla is good, I also only drank talls or grandes with extra ice unless it was a zero calorie tea, I loved the kale or the egg white egg bites with a bit of hot sauce, a great way to get you through the day, and would finish off my shift with a light pastry (plain croissant, or the fruit or veggies in a protein box,). Sometimes I would treat myself to a cake pop. It’s all about finding moderation again.

Sugar free vanilla, soy milk is healthy, nonfat milk is healthy, tea lattes aren’t bad with nonfat or soy/almond. Yeh water is good but everyone is ignoring the fact you’re still working out which means you still need some calories. Cut back on sugar first, if you’re still struggling then cut back on some milks.

I bring my own snacks - grapes and cheese (cause I don’t like the quality of the protein boxes), a salad, protein bar, etc. I drink water on my breaks, and when I want caffeine I do nitro bombs (blonde ristretto shots, a pump or two of a syrup, topped with nitro in a short or tall cup. Sometimes I do flavored cold foam instead of syrup)

Sugar free vanilla spenda stevia really do help if you’ve started craving some sweet drinks as a byproduct. I also follow themacrobarista on Instagram and use his drinks sometimes if I want something tasty and low cal

Felt but more with the food. It makes me feel like shit, gain weight, gives me heart burn. But it’s free! It’s so hard to resist. Plus we don’t have a microwave. Typing this made me wanna start taking sandwiches.

So I lost 45 pounds doing 75 hard whiles working at Starbucks
On my shifts I would eat the egg white bites and the like but melody packets (they are 100 calories)
And then for a drink water and a modified low calorie shaken espresso drink with almond milk, sugar free vanilla, cinnamon powder, and stevia.

Cut back on your syrups/sugars. You can still enjoy you beverages, but instead of 4 pumps of syrup, try two, maybe one in your drinks. Cut the whip, switch to alternative milks/ water based beverages. Cut back the carbs- if I eat a sandwich, I typically throw the top bun away. Less bread=less bloating for me.

Count the calories that go into the drinks you’re having, I reduced it to sugar free vanilla for sweetness and alternative milks for creaminess. As for the food, I limited myself to one sandwich (breakfast or panini) on my breaks but only for lunch breaks or if I’m like starving then sometimes my 10s. It’s greasy but eating is better than not eating. Or just pack your lunch! Some of my coworkers would bring their own lunch or breakfast

Never got a size larger than grande at meal breaks and water on 10s, if you add extra flavors make it equal the standard pumps the drink usually would get, limit coffee to one a day; also found that for me black tea without sugar helped reset my sugar intake and craving and opting for water and a sweet or savory food keeps me on track personally. Hope this helped trust me it will get easier the more strict you are with yourself! Good luck!

Also one pump of syrup is typically around 20 calories, almond milk has the fewest calories, turkey bacon wnd egg white bites are not horrendous they just need some salt and pepper and they’re just fine

black drip coffees/americanos with a splash of almond milk and some artificial sweetener (stevia/spenda or sf vanilla, or even cinnamon) or iced teas with some stevia or honey.

If you still want a sweet drink like a mocha or something I try to limit to a short or a tall size and with half pumps and almond milk!

edit: i forgot to mention that I don’t normally eat starbucks food unless I forget to pack a lunch because for me it feels so addictive and i want to keep eating it and it’s not like their food is known for being healthy lmao so i’ll pack myself a light lunch and drink water for my breaks

You’ll honestly get tired of the real sugary drinks eventually. But preventing weight gain is all down to a calorie deficit. Working out is just a bonus. But you can’t workout a bad diet. You can drink whatever you want as long as you keep track of calories.

Don’t drink sugar. Liquid sugar is like the one of the worst attributes of the average diet. I don’t really know what advice you want. If doing something makes you feel bad you either gotta figure out how to not feel bad or stop. There’s no magic trick to either. It’s all mentality.

waters on your 10s, a low cal sweet drink for your 30!

grande iced chais w/ almond milk is not only sweet and yummy, but low cal and easy to make

almond milk OR coconut milk > every other milk

stop getting ventis for your drinks! get a tall/grande and also get a grande/venti water with it

protein boxes are ur friend! as well as turkey bacons! lesser in cals but just as filling as other food items

iced teas sweetened with splendas or apple juice

For about a decade, I’ve always weighed anywhere between 80-95 pounds…. I’m almost on my 5th month at Starbucks and I weigh 115 now which im not complaining about 😌

My brother also works at Starbucks but he’s a gym rat so he will only drink Starbucks once a week which I love lol.

So I advise to drink more water and try to limit your drinks. And try getting back to your old gym habit as well 💌

When I worked at Starbucks I had the same issue. I would limit my intake to just water and then treat myself occasionally with a latte with about half the syrup and maybe a smidge of cinnamon!

I only get tall drinks

I mainly drank a lot of water and unsweetened green or black tea with a splash of lemonade or the other fruit juices. Also started the shift with coffee by doing iced espresso, the shots melt the ice a little so it is more of a drink than just hot espresso alone, then I'd add a splash of any milk, and if I felt like it that day, almost a full pump of a flavor (that ratio is fine since you don't need a lot since it isn't a full on drink). For food, I loved the spinach feta wrap with a siracha packet! Less calories than the breakfast sandwiches and love the taste! Or the egg white bites!!

Stevia and almond milk, ice water, egg bites

I always had an espresso in the morning to get my caffeine intake over with quickly so that I wasn’t inclined to have something fancier later. Water or passion tea afterwards, and lunch would be a protein box or panini. A chicken bacon with sriracha, and if you don’t mind a bit of sugar you can put on a bit of honey before cooking and do it open-faced. That was my lunch for ages when I still worked there

Try to cut back on sugar. You can do half the number of pumps for your drinks if you really want to still get them, or use sugar free vanilla when you can. If you don't like how strong the coffee flavor is and that's why you feel compelled to get as much syrup as normal still, try switching to blonde espresso.

For the food, maybe skip the sugary pastries or greasy sandwiches and opt for things like the croissant, bagels, egg bites, the Impossible sandwich, tomato mozzarella, or spinach feta wrap? Also the lunch boxes seem pretty healthy. Our oatmeal seems healthy as well (skip the brown sugar topping).

It's good you've stopped calorie counting in my opinion.


Always remember your body needs nutrition for energy and health! It sounds like you're very active, hopefully these changes will help you stay active like that and look how you are used to in a healthy way.

I feel you. I was in the same boat. Still kinda am but now about to start the gym again and regain my schedule of work, gym, and school

yeah it’s so tempting to just get a quick drink anytime u feel hungry etc i remember gaining 20 lbs working at starbucks bc almost everything u eat/ drink literally has sugar. i suggest bringing ur own lunch and water bottle from home or protein boxes and small drinks only one time a shift

I try to be pretty aware of how much sugar/carbs I eat and really struggled with this exact same issue when I started too. I usually stick to the egg bites, 3 Trent's waters a day, and I get a shaken espresso with blonde shots, ex cinnamon, sf vanilla, and oat milk.

I'd say just try to be more aware, look at nutrition info on the Starbucks app, but don't be afraid to treat yourself every now and then. You got this girlie pop ❤️❤️❤️

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I cut the amount of sugar by reducing pumps to half and supplementing with the stevia. Our stevia is good, and when you add half pumps syrup and the remaining pumps in stevia packets, it tastes like full pumps. I would avoid the whole milk and the soy milk (endocrine disruptor). Almond milk reduces calories significantly, but you can always double the shots and do oatmilk. Doing our drip coffee is better than a latte, and you can always do a tradmisto style blonde americano with the sugar adjustments. It's less milk, has less sugar, tastes great, and still has the same caffine kick. Also, double-check the sugar in the nonfat. In some starbucks its sugar free, others it's loaded with sugar.

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Self control