To use Hot Chocolate as my main drink instead of coffee?

[DayInTheLifeOfaMum]

For background I don’t like coffee, I can’t stand the taste of it unfortunately, I wish I liked coffee but I just don’t. Since being a mum I’ve ended up drinking Hot Chocolate in the same way that some people drink Coffee, multiple times a day, at both home and work. I feel like my hot chocolates make me more awake and more alert in the same way that coffee does that for some people, I just can’t stand the taste of coffee though. DH reckons I should stop drinking hot chocolate like this, but he drinks multiple coffees a day which is not much different as I’m using hot chocolate to feel more alert and more awake which is the same thing that he uses coffees for! AIBU to use hot chocolates as my main drink instead of coffees?

I don’t like hot chocolate but is it not much more calorific than coffee?

As other people have said, the only problem is the fat and sugar.Though maybe you would be an ideal person to have a velvetiser for Christmas!🤶

It might be perking you up, but that'll be the blood sugar spikes. Exceptionally bad for you.

I sometimes make instant coffee with hot skimmed or semi skimmed milk, with sugar free caramel syrup instead of sugar. For those with a sweet tooth, its low calorie and lovely!

Everyone really piling in here but as my username suggests I love hot chocolate and think it's fine as an alternative if you don't like tea or coffee (which I don't).

That said, I make my own recipe which actually does have a fair amount of caffeine from the cocoa, and a lot less sugar than the cafe ones. But I'd still have a costa or Starbucks etc if I wanted. And I do limit to mostly one a day - two if I was really hungry/craving it - otherwise it feels like too much sugar in my system!

I'm also a size 8. So basically I don't think having a daily hot choc instead of a daily coffee is going to be bad for you. But having four a day might be killer for your blood sugar and teeth as others have said!

Tell DH to wind his neck in - what you drink is none of his business.

Drinking lots of coffee throughout the day 'to keep you awake' really isn't a great idea.

Calorie/sugar wise, hot chocolate would be similar to drinking that many sugared lattes.

While either many coffees or hot chocolates through the day may not be a great idea it's up to adults to decide for themself what they want to drink and there's nothing weird about you preferring hot chocolate,

Not enough info. What’re the ingredients? What’s your bmi and daily calorie intake?

Surely your "main drink" should be water?

FWIW it isn't healthy to have many coffees a day either.

Coffee shop hot chocolates are 300-500 calories - that's a lot extra each day if you drink a few.

What is the rest of your diet like? Maybe you're not having enough to sustain your energy levels

hotchocfiend you’re having it mostly once a day. OP says multiple times a day. Very different!

Sugar free cola ?
contains caffeine but no sugar or calories.

Unless you’re one of those people with high metabolism who never seem to put on weight.
Of course, you can also get low calorie/ low sugar hot chocolate too.

I lost half a stone in 6 weeks from replacing milky coffees( latte/ flat white) with Americanos. From approx 350 calories each or more, to 10. So certain types of coffee are also not exactly a healthy option

My husband wouldn’t dare comment on what I eat or drink. I would just say thank you for your concern, but I do not need your advice. It is not a man’s place to tell a woman what to consume.

Well it’s not the same as having a caffeinated drink which I think is what they’re getting at.

OP I am the same, don't like tea or coffee, love a hot chocolate and drink at least one daily in the winter months!

A lot more sugary than tea and coffee (assuming no sugar) so I wouldn’t be having multiple cups a day. I hate coffee, and I wish I didn’t as it gives people a boost, but I love tea and drink too much of it

I wouldn’t. SO much sugar, not to mention the high calorie and fat content.

None of those things are bad in moderation, but having several a day is absolutely not healthy.

Sounds like it perks you up because you are addicted to sugar, and need to keep topping yourself up throughout the day to function.

I don't drink coffee or tea. Have never drunk coffee. I stopped drinking tea about twenty years ago. Since then, if I want something hot, I drink freshly boiled water, sometimes with fresh mint, but mostly without. I don't have lemon.

I do have hot chocolate. I can go for months never drinking it. In the winter, I tend to have it twice a week, made with 'proper' chocolate rather than powder, and lactose-free milk. The former makes it too expensive to drink more often. I also don't want it to become a habit.

Hey OP I also love hot chocolate and would drink it all day if I could
However let’s be real - as other posters have said - hot choc from coffee shop/ Costa etc has got the same amount of calories as a dessert or a chocolate bar and the blood sugar spike will be even worse because comes with no fibre or other redeeming qualities - and is therefore terrible for you and a recipe for obesity and diabetes if you’re drinking it all day!

I have found the following solutions -

Try the evening elixir from Elle macpherson’s welleco range. It’s got 13 calories and you drink it before bed and it’s got magnesium and other vitamins in it - expensive but delicious and sends me straight to sleep.

Choc shot - this makes a very quick hot choc with under 20 calories - and all natural ingredients. Can get from Amazon or Ocado

Making your own proper healthy hot choc with cacao powder - try the Hensley and Hensley Mexican hot chocolate recipe - full of antioxidants and you can control the amount of sugar if you add your own. I use 1tsp of maple syrup which at 17 calories I think is acceptable. Other ingredients like cacao, cinnamon are really good for you and contribute to your 30 plants a week (in the same way coffee does)

Mix it up with homemade chai latte or turmeric latte - again I’m talking about spices plus milk plus approx one tsp of honey or maple syrup per serving. Delicious and also full of anti oxidants.

After a while of weaning yourself off the very sugary versions you taste the natural sweetness in milk anyway and you might find you need even less sweetener than that.

Happy drinking!

With the hot chocolate you're drinking, the main thing that will be keeping you awake is the sugar or glucose syrup that's in it.

Cocoa powder does contain Theobromine, which is a stimulant.

Cocoa or hot chocolate used to be the coffee equivalent in regency periods and earlier.
You're just in the wrong time period. However, it was made from cocoa beans not cocoa butter, so lower in fat.

I agree with other posters, multiple hot chocolates are going to be a lot more calories, fat and sugar than coffee (even with a spoonful.of sugar in, i think, though tou might want to look into that yourself). But it is also your life, your choice, and your risk of developing Type II diabetes.

How often are you having it?

I usually have a coffee in the morning, a coffee midway through the day and then a cup of tea in the evening.

The hot chocolate doesn’t act in the same way as coffee as it doesn’t have caffeine but if you enjoy it and you’re not having too many then it’s absolutely fine.

I would be wary of the calories and my bank balance, especially if they are takeout ones.

Are you having them at home or whilst you’re out regularly?
It comes across as you’re only having it because DH drinks coffee and so you think you need something too.

Ultimately, you are an adult and can drink whatever you want whenever you want.

If you swapped to options or highlights hot chocolate that's only about 40 calories a cup so you could have a few of those a day if you wanted to..

Coffee isn't sugary unless sugar is being added.

Hot chocolate typically has far more sugar & calories.