A wake-up call about the calories in coffee

Chances are, you'll indulge in some high-calorie, special foods on Thanksgiving. But you probably don't think of the coffee you sip at the end of your meal as one of them. Maybe you should. While coffee can be good for you, there can be quite a few calories in coffee. Two cups with two ounces of cream and two teaspoons of sugar each will give you about 300 calories and 24 grams of fat—about the same calories and twice the fat as in a slice of pumpkin pie.

And for most of us, coffee is a daily habit. Simply adding cream to two cups a day adds up to 87,600 calories and 8,760 grams of fat in a year. Add sugar, and you tack on another 23,360 calories. Whole milk is a little better; pour it in two cups of coffee a day and you'll add 27,740 calories and 1,460 grams of fat to your diet over the course of a year. Realize that the usual rule of thumb is that 3,500 calories equals about a pound of body fat. 

Discover more ways to stay healthy over the holidays, along with great gift and money saving ideas, in our holiday guide.

Does all this mean you have to drink your coffee black? Not at all. But a few simple adjustments, such as switching to 2 percent or nonfat milk or weaning yourself off sugar, can make a big difference. To figure out exactly how many extra calories and grams of fat you're pouring into your coffee mug, keep these numbers in mind.       

—Adam Kaplan