The last two weeks, on weds & thursdays actually, I have been craving dairy products. So I have had yogurt, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, and string cheese, probably 3-6 servings in a day, two days a week, for the last two weeks. And guess what? Both Fridays I have been down 2 pounds. Previous weeks I have been having a horrible time taking off the weight?

Its not added calories, because I use the same calorie 'budget' regardless of eating good stuff or crap. I am just wondering if anyone else has better results when they up the dairy? I recall when I first started losing I was eating cereal at night, with milk of course, and lost good then.......

anyone else, or am I the freak of nature that I assume I am?

Well... i heard its good to always change up your diet all the time. So maybe thats all it needed?

Hmmm --- I am one of those lactose intolerant folks, so I usually automatically avoid dairy. However, you might be on to something according to this article: http://weightloss.about.com/cs/eatsmart/a/aa051603.htm. Part of the reason might be that dairy is a protein, since the article talks about maintaining lean muscle.

I may have to look back into lactose-free dairy again!

Cool that you discovered your very own secret weapon, too, Redflame!

Dairy has been shown to increase weight loss - when done exactly as you have, by keeping your calories the same but replacing other foods with natural dairy products

One study showed high calcium diets have been shown to increase fat loss by more than 30%.

Calcium supplements have not been shown to have the same effect, so they believe the result is from something more than just the calcium in dairy.

I had this experience recently...
My weight was stalled for 2.5 months after a pretty steady and consistent decline. I started craving dairy like MAD and actually added a quart of plain yogurt per day to my intake, I'd sweeten it with sugar free sweeteners or add to my protein shakes - voila! I hit goal just like that, in one week. Thanks Stonyfield Farm and Dannon!

When I was going to Weight Watchers our leader told us that diary items increase weight loss.

I think you are right! I usually have quite a few dairy servings a day and I`m losing awesomely

Gosh, that's a new one on me and very interesting. I've always thought of dairy as something of a bad guy, clogging the tubes and so on. Guess it goes back to the old 'Fit for life by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond' days.
This weightloss thing is interesting.

This thread got me to thinking. I have heard about the connection to dairy and weight loss for years but have not really use the concept because I do not like milk and have some lactose intolerance problems. Here is a good article about it from WebMD - Dairy Foods Help Burn Fat, Speed Weight Loss. One reason I liked this article is because it gives milligrams information.

Summarizing the article - a study took a group of people who reduced their caloric intake 500 calories a day. They were divided into three groups,
* High-dairy. Total calcium intake of 1,200-1,300 milligrams per day from three to four servings of dairy foods, specifically milk, hard cheese, and yogurt.
* High-calcium supplemented/low-dairy. Total calcium intake of 1,200-1,300 milligrams per day made up of no more than one serving of dairy per day plus an 800-milligram calcium supplement.
* Low-calcium/low-dairy. Total calcium intake of 400-500 milligrams per day with no more than one serving of dairy per day and a placebo supplement.

The study showed that all of the groups lost weight, but those who ate the dairy-rich diet lost the most with an average of 24 pounds compared with 19 pounds in the calcium supplement group and 15 pounds in the low-calcium/low-dairy group.

Now, I need to research how to handle that lactose intolerance thing!

ok, now I'm starting to feel like I truly know squat about nutrition/my body. So how do you eat dairy but not eat too much fat?

Low and no fat dairy products. All the calcium goodness - none of the fat and calories. Cottage cheese, cheese, yogurt, skim milk.....

I personally eat about 3 non-fat yogurts a day, sometimes four.

Thank you for this. I'm just starting and am trying to construct a workable eating plan. I hadn't been concentrating on dairy -- but now I will!

Hello - I peeked in on this thread as the Dairy Title had me curious. I love dairy, but don't eat alot as I didn't want to gain weight, but heck, after reading this I WILL consume more. Thank you!!

but but (and I'm not arguing, just curious) the research says it's not just the calcium in dairy that does the trick: people who just took calcium supplements didn't lose as much weight. So, do we know for definite that low-fat dairy has the additional benefits that regular dairy does?

I personally choose not to rock the low or nonfat dairy, the calorie difference isn't that considerable, but the flavor is. I do and have always allowed a calorie range rather than a redline number - so it's offered me room to play. I'm not pouring heavy whipping cream into a glass and chugging or anything - but definitely not shying away from dairy fats (or other sources of fat for that matter. Fat helps keep me satiated. Mmmm.)