HCB's Journal, 14 September 2012

Dr. Oz says, for whatever it is worth, that dairy is composed of protein, fat and sugars. Your body knows how to handle that. But when you take away the fat, you are only left with protein and sugar. He believes you should eat the whole form, just less of it.  

How about "none of the above"? After discovering my sensitivity to milk proteins, I avoid dairy as much as possible. And, from the research I've done on the subject, most people have at least some sensitivity to milk. Almond milk is my new calcium source - more calcium than milk and less than half the calories plus it tastes great. I have heard arguments on both sides of whether dairy helps with weight loss. But, considering I lost 8 lbs in one week after eliminating dairy from my diet, I think that everyone should try eliminating it from their diet for one week and see if they don't lose more weight.  

I tend to agree with BuffyBear. DH won't drink anything but whole milk, and he drinks a LOT of it...he has only developed a tiny bit of overweightness in the last few years, but is by no means obese...I drink 2%, which I hear doesn't really cut the fat by 1/2...it's habit for me, what can I say :) but I use real butter, because I believe it's better for us than the alternative...I believe that because fat is satiating, a bit of it helps keep down hunger for other things. As always, moderation is the key :) 

After years of sinus and tummy problems, I now don't do dairy in any form - I drink oat milk which is full of fibre. I was the same as evelyn64 I dropped 6 pounds in the first weekend of giving up dairy from my diet.... 

And PS: Remember that you NEED calcium, though not as much as a child needs it, and dairy is the most natural place to get it. If you forego it, you must replace it in some other form....leafy greens, oranges are two examples off the top of my head. 

I wouldn't say dairy is the most natural, maybe the most convenient. I have heard that milk helps with weight loss and then I have heard that this is a myth, proliferated by the dairy industry to increase sales. There are plenty of vegetables that have high amounts of calcium and do not have the cholesterol or fat of dairy products. I like Evelyn's choice of almond milk. I think it even tastes better. I do have a hard time letting go of cheese, though. That's still on my to do list. 

I'm similar to you HCB! I use I believe it is 2% cottage cheese, babybel light & low fat string cheese. I use whey protein powder which I believe is from dairy. I couldn't live without my dairy. Been using low fat and non fat for so long that when I drink the whole milk or eat the whole fat cheese or sour cream it tastes "oily" to me so I stick with what I love. After my salad for lunch a Babybel light is almost like dessert to me. Love my cow stuff in moderation and hopefully I will never have to give it up. :) 

For what it's worth, I'm with HCB and Neptunebch. I like the 2% stuff too. Laughing Cow makes Light Creamy Swiss which is a great replacement and/or way to flavor some of my old recipes. Babybel light is delightful, isn't it? It's almost sinfully so! 

Dairy's my friend. My diet is mainly meat and cheese. I love it. I'll send you some links from MDA. Pretty good reads.  

Well - I just came home from grocery with 2% cottage cheese and low-fat yogurt instead of the non-fat versions. And I got some vanilla unsweetened almond milk to try with my protein powder - it tastes good to me. I have been so ingrained into thinking FAT of any type is not good...but I understand healthy fats and healthy amounts of fats. I use olive oil, and started eating some nuts, too. I use very little grain type carbs - just fruits and veggies, so a little more fat hopefully will NOT cause gains. It's another one of HCB's experiments! 

Yes they add sugar to all the nonfat foods...all you have to do is read on the package and it tells you how many carbs and sugars on in them...no wonder every one eating nonfat foods was getting larger..Your doing awesome..:O) 

Well I have strong opinions about this. I, like you, HCB, use low fat or non fat dairy. I eat non fat Greek yogurt, I drink 1% milk because I don't like skim, I eat some reduced fat cheeses, I eat lowfat sugar free puddings, I drink fat free cottage cheeses. My triglycerides were 466 8 months ago and I believe by reducing the fat in my dairy that may have helped bring them down to 155 where they are today. Now conversely, sometimes I have full fat dairy. Mostly in the form of cheese - I had "real" cheddar cheese on a salad for dinner tonight. When I go out for a coffee, if the half and half is full fat, I by all means use it and don't freak out. When I make a sugar free cheesecake, mostly I use full fat cream cheese. Now this may make me rare, in that I go back and forth and I probably use 80% reduced fat dairy and 20% full fat dairy. SO BE IT. There's no way I'm giving up dairy. NO WAY. I have given up alcohol, sugar, caffeine and nicotine this year and I don't feel I have health problems from dairy so I won't be giving it up. On the other hand, I can't judge people who do give up dairy - maybe it's right for them and for what's going on in their individual bodies. But for people that do give things up, don't get on a soapbox. There's a soapbox for everything you can possibly give up. And if you are seeking to convince others to give up what you have, then by all means lead by example and don't expect others to embrace what you have embraced by guilt, finger pointing and self-righteousness. Amen. 

One note: I drink the "original" or sweetened almond milk that comes in at 60 calories per cup. This is the option that tastes closest to cow's milk (since cow's milk is naturally sweet from lactose). The unsweetened almond milk is 20 calories less per cup but is not as palatable on its own. It is okay mixed with something, though. The sweetened vanilla is not for me because it is limited in its uses and is also 90 calories per cup.  

I agree with Evelyn, I love original almond milk. Lots of vitamins and calcium, less calories naturally, great taste. 

It is unikely I would give up dairy - but just trying to tweak my intake to see of nonfat options vs. lowfat options make any difference.I got the UNsweetened vanilla almond mik that is 30 calories a cup - healthy (I assume) fat - but not as much protein as milk. I think it will taste great with my protein powder! 

I use non-fat milk, non-fat yogurt and low-fat string cheese, but regular block cheese. I have drank skim milk for years and the others seem really sweet to me. However since last year when I had my gall bladder out too much fat in anything hurts my stomach so although low-fat would probably be better it's non-fat for me. Good luck with your experiment and let us know how it turns out. 

Yummy yummy - I just had 1/2 cup organic lowfat strawberry yogurt over fruit and it TASTED great! I also tasted the 2% cottage cheese and it also tasted richer...um um um. So, even the lowfat versions taste so much better than the nonfat ones...so we will see if my weight loss slows down as a result. 

My advice, no dairy and if you cannot do without, only yogurt and matured cheese. Normal, not low fat. If you like it so much, eat one small yogurt (natural) after each meal. For coffee absolutely no milk (only soy drink, natural). The milk you put in your coffee leaves it undigested. Cheers! 

The only dairy I consume now is butter....grass fed butter. It is high in Omega-3, CLA, and butyrates; which help fight inflammation, boost immune response, and helps raise HDL (the "good" cholesterol). Inflammation has been linked to many of the health problems we experience; heart disease, cancer, diabetes. I used to have fat phobia. The more I have read, and my personal health experience is that the fear of many fats is misplaced. I avoid most vegetable oils. I am careful about consuming high quality olive oil, the only vegetable oil I eat now. And, as I said, I only eat the grass fed butter now. (Kerrygold is great, and is available at Trader Joe's). When I was eating yogurt I switched from fat free to whole milk. It is yummier and more satisfying. I no longer eat yogurt because of the sugars. Eliminating it helped my weight loss. This is not a way of eating most people would readily embrace, and that is fine. I didn't get here overnight. It was a gradual transition, with lots of study, and careful experimentation and observation. I feel healthier, I am healthier (bloodwork), and it is easy for me to eat this way. 

Yay HCB! Did that link get you thinking? I have to agree with yduj57 all the way on this. I use organic valley pasture (grass-fed) butter. I've had Kerrygold also, I prefer OV. But all the stuff about Omega-3, CLA, inflammation, etc....this is all the stuff I have been reading and researching lately. My olive oil is from a local family with their own trees in Greece. No heat or chemical processing! I also use virgin coconut oil. These are my 3 leading fats...and perhaps only...that I cook with and eat. Back to the dairy....these full fats combined with protein leave you satiated and stay with you longer. Your body takes more time to burn them which also helps keep insulin levels in check after eating because you don't have insulin spikes like you do with the fat-free or low-fat that have higher, processed sugars. If you want something sweet in you greek yogurt, put your own fruit in and get some local (to you) raw honey or use a couple drops of liquid stevia. The thing with sweets, whether it be natural like in fruit, stevia leaf, honey, etc or processed white sugar, HFCS (chemically processed...a whole other problem)...when you eat it, your body sees it all as something sweet that it has to clean out of your blood. BUT the natural sugars in fruit are far more beneficial in that you are still getting fiber and nutrients from it. The raw honey, contains nutrients, is anti-bacterial, helps the immune system, an expectorant, anti-inflammatory. Added sugar is a guaranteed dump on your system and eventual crash. I am so excited to see someone else who know what I've learned and that you are learning too!!!!