Cut out the dairy?

[CarbonCandy]

Love milk. Love it, love it, love it, especially chocolate. Rumor has it, and I've heard quite a few rumors, that cutting milk out of your diet can help with losing weight. In addition to this, I've also heard drinking milk dairy is good and can aid in weight loss.

So ladies, I ask you this. What have you heard? And what have you personally done/achieved/accomplished, with or with out the cow juice?

[grey]

Ok this is just me.
I started playing around with my diet about a year ago. I have ALWAYS, always loved milk. I used to drink a gallon every two days.

Then I tried being vegetarian. I found I felt more energetic, and had also heard that when people go vegan, they feel even better. So I tried it for a month... and I haven't looked back.

Cutting out milk and cheese did a LOT for me. I used to have AWFUL, I mean horrid horrid periods (vomiting, chills, lots of pain down my back and legs, bad bad bad). No more pain. I had my first 'accident' because none of the signs were there, and I'm 31!

More, I used to have 3 headaches a week. Now I get about three per month, and I usually know WHY I have a headache now.

More? I was starting to feel arthritic. My hands were losing their grip, and it hurt to grab anything heavy like a pot full of food. My hips and ankles were feeling it a little too, especially in the mornings.

No more dairy, no more problems. My theory is, there are SO MANY hormones in dairy these days, that it interferes with our own hormones. RBgH, anyone?

I have also noticed that if I cheat (I still love cheese, and if we go out to eat, it's virtually impossible to get a vegan meal) I have less endurance the next day. Could be in my head, but I don't think so. I can have 2-3 cheats per month and not incur any painful penalties at the end of the month.

So, experiment, see what works for you. Some people NEED meat - my husband loves how he feels on our vegan diet at home (he says he feels sharper mentally, wakes up easier in the morning, and has more endurance at tennis) but if there's a chance for a meaty meal, he jumps on it. That's his cheat, cheese is mine.

Oh and we have both lost weight. Not sure that it has anything to do with losing milk, though.

[CarbonCandy]

That sounds fantastic. I would love to go vegetarian, but if I did, I would probably DIE. Maybe because I don't really eat veggies. Yes, this is the part where you smack me upside the head and say "what the @#$^??" So, it's really not an option, and my whole anti-veggies thing is a topic im working on, trust me. Its because I really dont like any. Seriously. Ignore this. Its a work in progress. The vegetable thing I take one day at a time.

Anywaysss.....as for milk, I've been drinking organic since I was 6. My mother has always been a big believer in coops and organics.

So congrats on going vegan. It sounds like an awesome plan

[alpinerabbit]

naaah... this may do something for some, but I had plenty of dairy in my diet this spring. Milk, yoghurt, cheese, cottage cheese, you name it. I believe it is a sane source of protein and it keeps your stomach satisfied longer.

For me, weight loss boils down to the garbage in-garbage out balance. Maybe by cutting dairy some people experience a psychological effect - focusing on WHAT you eat leads to monitoring how much, and hence, weight loss.

I see it might be at the root of some health troubles but since I don't have any (knock on wood), I see no reason cutting things out of my diet altogether.

[OakLeaf]

Lots and lots of people have mild food allergies and don't know it, because the symptoms are subtle, often delayed and last up to four days after you ingest the food.

Milk allergy is different from lactose intolerance. Most people of northern European heritage are not lactose intolerant. Most people with other genetic backgrounds are. But it's definitely possible to be allergic to milk but not have the digestive issues of lactose intolerance (I am).

Most allergies develop via repeated exposure to the allergen, so you're most likely to be allergic to foods that you eat most days, or grew up eating. It can be really hard to break the habit. Your body will also have physical cravings for the allergenic substance, besides the psychological hurdle of eliminating a staple from your diet.

What I tell everyone is, just try it.

The best way to do it is with a challenge diet where you eliminate all common food allergens for four days, then re-introduce them one by one. But there are a lot of them (dairy; eggs; all grains except rice, including ANYTHING made from corn which is just about every processed food on the market [and noting that buckwheat, quinoa and amaranth are broadleaf plant seeds and not grains, so they are okay]; yeast including ALL mold products, vinegars, alcoholic beverages, mushrooms, miso, tempeh, soy sauce and processed fruits; soy; chocolate; shellfish; peanuts; tree nuts - and that's just what I can think of off the top of my head) so doing it the right way takes a lot of commitment and a hypoallergenic cookbook.

Less accurate but much less hassle is to just eliminate the one substance you most suspect, like dairy in your case. Four days without it, check how you feel, then reintroduce it and note any symptoms. Repeat the challenge if you're not sure. Of course if you're allergic to other things too, the results will be cloudy, but you can usually tell when the allergic load on your body is reduced.

Just FYI, this is all information from my MD allergist. I know there are people whose heads explode if something seems "new age-y" to them. But this is sanitized, dualistic, symptom/body system-limited American medicine all the way

[han-grrl]

I think its already been said

but some people react to milk - and weight gain is a symptom - basically water gain and bloating, because of an immune response...

[KnottedYet]

I have trouble with lactose, which I finally made a real effort to eliminate from my diet a couple years ago.

I've gained 30 lbs since then.

Bummer....

[doggrrl]

I was having inflamation issues in my foot from running. A wellness doctor suggested I give up dairy for 3 months because it might be contributing to my inflamation. Dairy is the #1 cause for allergic reactions, people think it's nuts or soy, but it's really dairy products, specifically cow dairy.

Yeah I know, it's sort of "out there hippie" finding a cure for my plantar faciitis by changing my eating, but the doctor had a point about the food we ingest. Think of it as clean fuel vs. not so clean fuel, both will still work, but your body will definitely function better with cleaner fuels.

Once I gave up dairy I dropped 15 lbs in 6 weeks. I have to say, it wasn't just dairy that did it. I switched out my proteins to be more fish oriented, ate more veggies, etc. I seriously felt physically better. However, to me it was probable that dairy did bad things to my body that I didn't even notice--minor inflamation, minor aches and pains. My body just didn't like dairy on a large level. (I will still have a slice of pizza or ice cream on occassion)
However to be fair, the weight loss could have made it easier on my joints and now my aches and pains are less. Who knows? I just think it's dairy.

Then I started to look into epigenetics--the thought being, our body genetics are driven by the diet of our ancestors. They ate what was available in their area and then genetics followed to adapt to those foods (through the generations) Since I am of Asian desent, I should eat more foods from the sea and more rice and typically Asians are lactose intollerant, so cutting out dairy made even more sense.

Anyhow, my 2 cents worth about weight loss.

[Natural Beauty]

well....if 8oz of plain no fun chocolate included 2% milk has 121 calories....and if i were to drink 29.75 of those that would be 1lb worth of calories.
So...allergens and steroids/hormones aside....I guess between a 20oz mocha, milk on my oatmeal and any cheese or other dairy.....I could kill a pound in 2 weeks??? sigh.
mocha vs. more pushups.

[kjay]

You might try low-fat chocolate soy milk, which is fabulous, in my opinion. I quit drinking cow's milk many years ago, but I have no clue what it does or does not do for weight loss. Chocolate milk (soy milk, in my case) is so darn refreshing.

Somewhere I read and found it interesting that we're the only species that drinks milk from another species. Cows drink cow's milk, goats drink goat milk, camels drink camel milk, and on and on. Not that this is of any significance, I just thought it interesting.

[alpinerabbit]

We are also the only species that has left natural selection behind. We are the only species that farms food. So you can't really compare us with other animals.

I still hold that while some individuals may get some benefit from not consuming dairy, some won't, and you can't blame dairy for everything. I have a suspicion that eliminating certain types of food has a beneficial effect because you start watching what you eat overall.

Weight gain, weight loss, for me it's junk in-junk out.

[TahoeDirtGirl]

I don't know where I got the idea from but about 2 years ago I stopped drinking 'regular' milk and started drinking hormone free milk as well as switched to eating little to no meat. I eat fish most of the time, or chicken that is as close to free range as I can get.

The reason I did was because I just noticed that I didn't feel right around my period, and somehow I made a connection with hormones in milk. I can't really remember the how and why.

I also started drinking soy milk more and noticed I feel better. I can't put my finger on it, but I just feel less agitated?

As for weight loss, everyone is different. I do find that if I drink more milk or I hit starbucks for a latte instead of making it myself, that I am more apt to either gain or not lose. I count calories like crazy so I think as far as going to starbucks or another coffee place, they might use more milk than what I am accounting for.

[LBTC]

Then I started to look into epigenetics--the thought being, our body genetics are driven by the diet of our ancestors. They ate what was available in their area and then genetics followed to adapt to those foods (through the generations) Since I am of Asian desent, I should eat more foods from the sea and more rice and typically Asians are lactose intollerant, so cutting out dairy made even more sense.

Interesting concept. I like the idea, but I've found that I don't do well with wheat and other gluten producing grains, and my family is of European descent - with the strongest link with the Ukraine- the bread basket of Europe. Not quite a fit with the theory.

Back to dairy, though. I can't tolerate dairy (found this out in the last two years), and feel so much better without it in my diet. I do miss it: cheese, ice cream, cream sauces....but when I think about it - the way I was adding dairy to my fuel, it was just that - added. Something was always better with cheese on it. Fruit or pie was always better with ice cream. The lovely salad was better with a creamy dressing. I'm sure that some of the weight I've lost has to do with not adding those extra calories from dairy.

And, I've actually invented the solution I would like to have. I'd love to have a pill that would allow me to eat dairy with no consequences - no bloating, pain, etc - whenever I want. Take a pill, eat dairy in the next few hours. But I want it to be expensive. I would need the motivation of not wanting to spend an extra $10 just so could eat dairy that day....so I saved it only for special occasions. I just know that if I could eat more dairy, I would, and I'd have to ride and exercise that much more to make up for it!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[KnottedYet]

LBTC - is it the casein or the lactose that bugs you? There is a pill for the lactose available here in the US (Lactaid). I could mail you some if you want to try it. I don't bother myself, just because it's easier for me to have soy or rice milk. (every espresso stand and every grocery around here has soy and/or rice)

Gluten and various dairy intolerances seem to go hand-in-hand. So far, I think my only dairy problem is the lactose, but I've been avoiding most dairy anyway due to my crazy damm cholesterol levels.

[LBTC]

Thanks for the offer, Knot. I don't think it's lactose as Lactaid pills did nothing for me years ago....I doubt they would work now. Besides, I don't want a *cheap* pill! I don't have enough time to exercise that much!!

H&B
~T~