How bad is milk for weight loss, NOT nutrition. If a cup of skim milk fits into your macronutrients every day then is there anything wrong with it? Good added protein, low fat, and studies have shown that dairy can help promote increased weight loss. Granted, it does have some sugar in it, but isn't lactase different from bad, white, refined sugar?

What's so bad about a bit of milk each day?

How bad is milk for weight loss, NOT nutrition. If a cup of skim milk fits into your macronutrients every day then is there anything wrong with it? Good added protein, low fat, and studies have shown that dairy can help promote increased weight loss. Granted, it does have some sugar in it, but isn't lactase different from bad, white, refined sugar?

What's so bad about a bit of milk each day?

Nothing is "so bad" about a bit of milk every day.

Some people, however, can have major issues with it. First, lactose can be worse than refined sugar because more people are allergic to lactose than realize it. Most people feel that lactose intolerance means horrible stomach pains or something along those lines, and don't realize that something like a puffy face or stuffy nose can be a sign of a mild allergic reaction to lactose. That "mild allergic reaction" means your immune system is being stressed, and when you do that daily, it can create a cascade of problems.

Again ... let's focus on this ... I never tell people to eliminate dairy permanently. I tell them to eliminate it for 4 weeks to see if there is an impact. A lot of people find they have more energy, lean out in the face (lose some puffiness and bloat), and possibly even drop weight. A few find there is no difference and go back to drinking milk. The issue with milk is NOT milk, it's whether your body tolerates milk, and that varies from person to person. There is also a lot of research that suggests the modern processes of homogenization and pastuerization might make milk less safe than old-fashioned, raw milk.

Finally, for people looking to lose fat, it is tougher to lose fat when drinking calories. There is no need to point out calories or look for studies, it's just my experience working with tons of clients who wanted to lose fat. The ones who argued incessantly about how they "need" their milk and orange juice, etc, are the ones who struggled the most. Liquid calories don't satiate and are often easy to overconsume ... if you are integrating milk into a plan and losing weight, GREAT! If you are like some people who use it as a crutch and drink it on occassion and feel the calories don't count, then - surprise! - the calories do count.

I drink juices, I have soy milks, etc, and if I weren't intolerant to milk, I'd have that too ... except when I'm trying to lose fat. When losing fat, every calorie counts. So when I have an option to take in 100 calories, I know I'll be more satisfied consuming 100 calories of vegetables and fruit, rather than drinking 100 calories of millk. That's just personal preference, though - some people may do fine.

I find the more people resist and argue about certain things, the more they are addicted to them and using them as a crutch. You should be able to take ANYTHING in your diet and cut it completely out for 12 weeks. If you find yourself getting angry, irritable, or just plain resisting that, then it is probably a psychological trigger food and that food is owning you. If it really isn't a big deal, you can cut it out for 4 - 12 weeks and see how your body adapts, and if there are no issues, add it back in. A lot of people use this experiment and are surprised at how simple foods like pretzels or milk or corn chips or protein bars, etc, were really trigger foods that they were leaning on as crutches and sneaking extra calories in that were sabotaging their fat loss plan. Not everyone, but a few people have run into that.

Jeremy

i've always considered cutting out milk, but just wondering if just cutting milk would be ok?
i dont know if i can live without my cottage cheese, its the only other dairy i take, but its soooo convienient! i eat about 320g of it a day! and with 6g of carbs per 100g, would the lactose in that be bad enough to effect this experiment?

Thanks for the info Jeremy! I ask the question because I normally like to use a little bit of skim milk in my oatmeal or in my kashi/fiber one/bran cereal mixture each day. I also like to use a little skim milk in my protein shakes too.

As far as calories go, I cut back on my calories somewhat this past month and my weight loss has slowed. Compared to last month, where I had a somewhat higher calorie intake, I am losing much less fat. So, I have increased the calories slighly again making them more similar to my first month and the fat has started to come off again. Anyway, the point I'm getting at is that I always factor in my milk calories into my total intake. Also, the only time I have them is breakfast or in my shake - otherwise, it's only water throughout the day.

Regardless of what I'm saying here, I am going to experiment like you recommend and eliminate milk from my diet for a month when I'm at school. I should be able to easily live off of oatmeal w/o milk for a month for my breakfast.