Are Coffee and Ketchup Making Us Broke and Fat?

Posted On 9 November 2021

Last updated on April 9th, 2024

A few years ago I came across an article that talked about how only a few extra calories consumed every day leads to the average adult gaining 30 pounds by the age of 50. In the Personal finance community online, there is a lot of talk about not drinking coffee from coffee shops. Is there a connection between coffee and ketchup?

How can it be that two common and innocent items cause us problems? Before any of you get upset with me and want to call me a heretic, I must tell you that I enjoy BOTH these items. Let’s take a look and see if these two things are problematic.

It’s More Than That, Right?

When I first read the article based on the findings of Dr. Giles Yeo, I found it quite surprising. Ketchup is what’s making us fat? I thought it was the third helping of food I took that was making me fat! Ketchup. Really?

Apparently, the answer is, “Yes”! Our bodies are designed to store extra, unneeded calories we consume for use some day. Unfortunately for most of us, that some day never rolls around. And we keep eating (or spending) more.

After reading that article about ketchup making us fat, I started to pay attention to my ketchup usage. At McDonald’s I don’t use those little sample cups for ketchup. I just load up a napkin with enough ketchup to fill probably 10 of those little cups!

I also started to look at and questioning the other things I ate. Do I really need to get that bacon cheeseburger, or would a cheeseburger do the trick? My superpower is the ability to transform a healthy food into something not healthy.

Salads are a great example. In my opinion, a garden salad is the best when it has plenty of Thousand Island dressing, bacon bits, shredded cheese, and croutons. A large pizza might have less calories, but I really don’t know because I don’t count calories!

I Don’t Want to Count Anything!

I don’t know about you, but counting calories is not on my to-do list – and it never has been! Sitting down and writing up a budget, or putting money into envelopes, is right there with counting calories.

Instead of calculating a budget, I prefer to track my expenses, and then I can make adjustments from there. Fixed expenses are easy because they don’t change. It’s the money spent on our discretionary expenses that can add up and get out of control. Like with eating, we can easily justify that, “It’s not that much.”

Ketchup is great on burgers. Even better is BBQ sauce. Mayonnaise is another great addition to a burger. The point is to first be aware of what we are doing that may be causing us problems. We need to become aware that there are empty calories in ketchup, and that coffee is more expensive from a café than it is when it is brewed at home.

It’s Not the Coffee or Ketchup

Coffee and ketchup are not the problem. It’s what they each represent in our lives that is the problem. As humans we are great at justifying the things we do. We make excuses to ourselves regularly.

We say things like, “Oh, it’s just some ketchup.” Another thing we can find ourselves saying, “The cup of coffee is just a couple dollars.” While it is true that individually, they do not amount to much. When these actions are repeated regularly over time, the results can add up.

If we were to brew our coffee at home and use the difference to pay down debt or invest, we can change our finances. There is a choice that we have in life. We can either cut back our spending (or calories), or we can increase our income (or burn more calories).

Change Our Habits, Change Our Lives

It is our habit that determine our path. Coffee does not make us broke, and ketchup does not make us fat. Both items represent that little bit that can add up over time. I find it encouraging that we can make minor changes in our life, and those little changes can alter the path we are on.

I have made a conscious effort to not dip my fries in ketchup. Yes, I will still dip fries in ketchup, but now as a general rule I eat my fries without ketchup. My coffee, I brew that at home when I can. When I am travelling, I will buy coffee by the cup (at a place that offers rewards!).

My hope is that this post gets you thinking about things differently. I am not a dietician or a financial advisor. As strange as these opinions are they are mine. Leave a comment about some crazy, little thing you were able to change that ended up having a big difference in your life.