One of the questions I recommend people ask themselves before they indulge is, "is it worth the calories?". It's a simple question, and then so's the follow up to a yes - "how much do I need to be happy?".

So I couldn't help but ask myself that when looking at the advertisement for Starbuck's new "Petites".

What are "Petites"?

Think donut holes on a stick.

Really high calorie, single-bite, donut holes.

A single bite that'll buy most women 10% of their total daily calories, and just a bit less than that for men.

The most amazing part for me?

The fact that they advertise their under 200 calorie status as something brag worthy.

10% of your total daily calories in one teeny, tiny, bite isn't brag worthy!

What else is just under 200 calories?

Well in the junk food realm you could choose:

- 1.3 cans of Coca Cola
- 4 Chicken McNuggets
- 1.75 cups of Froot Loops
- 3/4 of an actual whole donut
- Almost an entire Hershey Bar

Just goes to show you that people truly don't have a clue about calories, because if they did, a sign suggesting a cloyingly sweet, bite on a stick, was under 200 calories, wouldn't help with sales.

Ok, I'm not a math maven, but here's what I figure.

Their new "Trenta" size is 7oz more than their Venti.

Based off the caloric information for a Venti, if you order a, "Trenta 2% iced peppermint white chocolate mocha with whip", you'll be hauling in 904 calories.

What else has 904 calories?

2.2L of Coca Cola.

[Anyone out there still think mandatory calorie menu labeling's a bad idea?]

(image via the National Post)

Who would have thunk it?

Starbucks has gone and created a fancy coffee that's not the caloric equivalent of a quarter-pounder.

It's called the "Skinny Latte" and it's made with skim milk and sugar-free syrup. They come in multiple flavours including cinnamon dolce, mocha, vanilla, hazelnut and caramel.

A tall version of any will run you about 90 calories.

Nice to have a lower calorie fancy option.

[Interesting side note:

CalorieLab reported on a Starbucks blog where a barista complained about the use of the term "skinny" and how she felt it was a politically incorrect term to use as it might be upsetting to folks who work at Starbucks who aren't skinny.

I wonder if she also worries about the use of the Starbucks cup-size terms short and tall?]

Two days ago Starbucks launched two new drinks - the Dulce de Leche Latte and Dulce de Leche Frappuccino.

Starbucks describes the Latte as,

"Topped with whipped cream and a dusting of toffee sprinkles, Starbucks' version of this traditional delicacy is a luxurious tasty treat."

I bet it does taste good....but in classic Starbucks' fancy drink style, it isn't exactly low-cal.

How not low-cal?

Think like drinking two standard sized chocolate bars (440 Calories) and costing like buying four standard sized chocolate bars ($4.50 US).

Mmmmmm

Ok, I admit I took some blogger license with the post title. I've got nothing against Starbucks and in fact enjoy their coffee very much.

I am however going to use them to illustrate why the visible posting of calories on food items would be helpful.

Let's take a hypothetical 45 year old 150lb woman who like most North Americans, is inactive. According to the metabolism calculator I've referred to in a prior post, she likely burns 1800 calories daily.

Like most days, she decides she's going to hit Starbucks for coffee and breakfast. Having read about the health benefits of whole grain oats she chooses the Island Oat Bar and a Caramel Frappucino (hold the whip cream).

The Island Oat Bar has 760 calories including a heart busting 8 grams of saturated fat while her frappucino has 390 calories for a grand total of 1150 calories (more calories than 2 Big Macs or 4 McDonald's Cheeseburgers) or 65% of her total daily burned calories. Small wonder she's gaining weight and small wonder when she goes to her doctor to complain, she reports, "But I really don't eat very much". The fact is, not very much of high calorie food can still lead people to high calorie intakes.

As far as I'm concerned, it's only a matter of time until there is legislation to have calories on menuboards. Until that time, the onus is on each of us to find the calories ourselves.

A great website to look up calories is www.calorieking.com.

Remember you can gain weight on an all-salad diet if you eat enough salad and you can lose weight on an all ice-cream diet so long as you don't eat too much.

At the end of the day, it's the calories that count.