Milk Drinkers May Lose More Weight

Milk Drinkers May Lose More Weight

 

 

This blog was inspired by a client who told me that she had seen more weight loss once she started having more dairy in her diet. I decided to research into this and found the following information quite interesting.

Milk and milk products provide a number of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients essential to building strong teeth, bones and muscles as well as maintaining a healthy blood pressure. Studies are now showing that dairy products may also have an added benefit for your weight. The same nutrients responsible for preventing bone loss could help encourage better weight management!

Misconceptions

It's a common misconception that you should avoid dairy when trying to lose weight. Though certain dairy products can get in the way of weight loss goals, especially those high in fat. Sticking with low-fat or fat-free varieties can help lower your caloric intake while still providing enough calcium, protein and other nutrients to strengthen bones and build muscle.

 

Effects

The calcium from milk and other dairy products regulates your energy metabolism. Diets high in calcium not only help reduce weight gain associated with high-calorie diets by inhibiting the conversion of calories into fat, but it may also stimulate an increased thermogenesis.

 

Recommendation

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends getting at least 2 to 3 cups of low-fat or fat-free milk or equivalent dairy products each day for an average diet. Even if you're trying to lose weight, you should consume this amount of dairy daily.

 

Below are general calcium recommendations based on the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI):
 

Age (Years)	Calcium (mg/day)	Dairy Servings
1-3	500	3 servings
4-8	800	3 servings
9-18	1,300	4 servings
19-50	1,000	3 servings
51+	1,200	4 servings

Tips to increase the calcium in your diet:

• Use skim or 1-percent milk instead of water when cooking your oatmeal.
• Try string cheese (part-skim milk mozzarella) as a snack.
• Use Greek yogurt (non-fat or low fat)
• If you are lactose-intolerant, try Lactaid milk or calcium-fortified low-fat soy milk, or use the Lactaid pill when eating dairy to break down the indigestible milk sugar.
• Keep your maximum dosage of calcium for one sitting to approximately 600 mg, since our bodies can't absorb much more than this at one time.
• Avoid taking calcium with your multivitamin or iron supplement because they compete for absorption.

Weight Loss

Simply consuming more dairy products won't lead to weight loss on its own. Reducing calories is the key to any successful weight-loss plan. You must burn more calories than you consume to lose weight. Any calories not converted into energy are stored as fat, which contributes to weight gain. By reducing caloric intake or increasing physical activity, you can prevent the conversion of calories into fat and promote weight loss.

Calories

Because 1 lb. of fat is equivalent to 3,500 calories, you need to create a 3,500-calorie deficit to lose weight. So, to lose 1 lb. of weight each week, you need to cut out 500 calories from your daily diet, burn 500 calories through exercise each day, or combine the two to produce the 500-calorie daily deficit.

Stay Fit. Stay Classy. Stay True,

Jenna

References:

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/weightloss/got-milk-weight-loss

 http://www.livestrong.com/article/282986-dairy-weight-loss/#ixzz24wPwMnBb