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5 Reasons A Dairy Free Diet May Help Your Weight Loss

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One of the hardest decisions for many people to make when it comes to losing weight is whether to cut out dairy or not.

Questions arise such as:

  • Is the dairy contributing to my slow progress?
  • Why should I cut out dairy?
  • Don’t I need dairy for calcium?
  • I don’t have a dairy intolerance so maybe it’s okay for me?
  • Could dairy be the reason why I’m not losing weight?

I mean, let’s face it we all LOVE dairy don’t we? I mean who wouldn’t. It’s creamy, cheese is tasty, and it makes cooking a whole lot easier, right?

BUT…the truth is, dairy doesn’t work well for many people trying to lose weight, especially women. The reason for this comes down to the list below plus dairy may possibly contribute to hormone havoc, and unfortunately with us women, we often have to regulate hormones in order to get significant weight loss.

I know for me, any time I want to cut back a few kilos/pounds, the dairy is off the list. Personally I find it makes a huge difference. When I’m in maintenance mode, I can tolerate a little dairy and might include yogurt, hard cheeses, and a bit of cottage cheese.

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Anyway for now let’s explore why following a dairy free diet may help your weight loss.

5 Reasons A Dairy Free Diet May Help Your Weight Loss

1. Dairy is quite high in sugar

Lactose is found in all dairy products and it is a form of sugar. The sugar content in dairy is not off the air high but it’s enough to elevate your insulin levels.

Being that you want the opposite to occur when you’re trying to lose weight, you want to normalize and regulate insulin, then maybe dairy is the only thing contributing to keeping you at a flat rate or on a weight loss plateau.

Regular milk has approximately 4.7% sugar content. And believe it or not reduced fat milk has 5.3% and low fat milk has 6.5%. That means you are better off eating full fat dairy because fat doesn’t make you fat, sugar does. It is a common misconception that we should eat low fat, but often low fat means the product is full of more sugar.

2. Dairy is NOT as nutritional as we may believe

Many things we read claim that dairy is one of the most nutritious foods, and that we ‘need’ it for essential nutrients such as calcium, but look at this breakdown of milk.

  • Water 87.6%
  • Carbohydrates 4.7%
  • Fat 12%
  • Protein 8g
  • Vitamin A 4%
  • Calcium 28%
  • Iron 0%

Now let’s look at canned salmon with bones

  • Carbohydrate 0%
  • Fat 31% – the good kind, EPA & DHA that we all need more of
  • Protein 79g
  • Vitamin A 4%
  • Vitamin C 0%
  • Calcium 92%
  • Iron 14%

Source

Clearly canned salmon can give us more calcium than milk, along with other valuable nutrients.

Do we need milk for calcium? No. Many people who have a diary allergy or intolerance can’t eat dairy and their bones are just fine!

And whether dairy really delivers enough nutritional value on other levels is debateable.

3. Possible lactose intolerance

Some of us go along completely unaware that dairy is causing unneccesary gut irritations that may prevent weight loss. Having a full blown lactose intolerance is one thing, but it is not uncommon to have a mild intolerance and even that can slow progress. Many people do not produce enough of the enzyme lactase, which is responsible for effectively digesting lactose. We can develop a lactase deficiency when our gut and intestinal health are damaged.

There are many reasons this can occur. Most of them related to eating bad foods for a prolonged period of time. The best way to tell if you have a lactose intolerane is to cut dairy out for a few weeks, then try eating it again a few days in a row. After that if you experience any kind of digestive symptoms such as bloating, gas, upset stomach, constipation, diarrhea or other digestive or intestinal issues, it could be the dairy causing it. Therefore it’s probably best for you to avoid it.

4. Casein gut  irritation

Casein is the main protein that is found in dairy products and can also be a problem for the digestive system. Improving gut health and digestion is essential to speed up weight loss so eliminating any irritants could significantly improve results.

5. May disturb acid/alkaline balance

Dairy products are an acid forming food. Essentially with our diet we want to work to get a balance between acid and alkaline foods. Having a more alkaline quality improves digestion and overall health. Acid overload also increases inflammation throughout the body and can contribute to disease.

When it comes to weight loss, it’s all about effective digestion, absorbtion, and utilization since it’s all intricately connected to the foods we eat. The first point of call is digestion and if there are things such as dairy that may interfere it can slow down function and effectiveness. So working to improve that could provide a better outcome for you.

The two types of dairy that are usually tolerated best are yogurt and cottage cheese because the cultures and processing is different to other dairy products.

Hope you find this helpful :)

Jedha

Nutritionist & Health Counselor

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Jedha-D-circle-smallHi I'm Jedha, resident nutritionist (MNutr.BSSc.). My motto is: “YOUR HEALTH IS YOUR WEALTH” because there is nothing in this world that makes us more wealthy than having good health. I truly believe that good food is the key to a happy, healthy life and I'm on a mission to inspire you to get back inside your kitchen, eat real food, and as a result, improve your health dramatically. Trust me, there is great power in the food we eat! So here you'll find easy and practical info to help you eat well, and feel your best everyday. I look forward to getting to know you :)

Comments

  1. Hi – I am 5′ 4″ and weigh 166 pounds. I have a somewhat large belly – this is where I gain weight the most. Please help me find some type of diet that excludes dairy products, as I am lactose intolerant, except to yellow cheese. I would like a diet that shows what I can eat and what I should buy at the grocery store – I am not much into tofu and things of that nature or organics since I live in a limited area where we can’t get organics anyway. Please let me know if you can help me in my quest to lose at least 25 pounds. Thank you for your help.

    Marlene

    • Hi Marlene,

      Belly fat is often due to hormonal imbalances or the types of food you’re eating. Helping people specifically work out what to eat is exactly what I do with cleints every day. I can definitely help you with a personalised plan too. My coaching services look at giving you a specific plan to work from. Find out about that here http://goodfoodeating.org/personal-nutritionist/

      Or you might like to join the next round of my 6 week Best You Bootcamp, more info here http://goodfoodeating.org/best-you-bootcamp/

    • Try kosher, I am going to! Just had my second daughter a month and a half ago. She pukes a lot, I am going to cut dairy to help. I love it, but I suspect she doesn’t. It might help me get off this plateau too…tired of being short and fat, ha!

  2. Hi, I recently noticed I have a high addiction to greek yogurt. I eat probably on average 2 cups a day, maybe a pinch more. I started a new workout program at the gym, and I have been pushing myself hard. I eat about 1200 – 1400 calories a day. In two weeks I gained 8lbs. Crazy! Anyway, for a week I cut out stevia thinking it was that, but after a week I gained 4lbs. so it can’t be the stevia. Now I am going to try to cut dairy out. Ever since last week I had a half a cup of ice cream and I got gassy. I noticed it a lot this week. My stomach has blown up and I see no definition in my stomach anymore. I am thinking it’s the yogurt. I really have gone overboard with it. I don’t eat much other dairy besides a 1/2 cup of non-fat milk daily in my coffee. So starting tomorrow, I am cutting dairy. My only question is besides milk and yogurt, which are my main sources of dairy, is it ok to eat egg whites? I would hate to give up eggs. :) Any input you have would be wonderful!! I need to get this weight under control before I end up over weight.

    • Hi Jennifer, thanks for stopping by.

      In answer to your question, eggs are not dairy and whole eggs are fine, don’t just eat the white, you need the whole egg for its nutrition value.

      It may be the dairy but there’s also 2 other key issues here that I can see. 1. The hard workouts, 2. The low calorie intake. This might sound counter intuitive but you need more food. Loads of clients I work with use exactly the same method that you’re going down and gain weight, not lose. Hard workouts push up cortisol, cortisol pushes up blood sugar, blood sugar increases insulin, then you have more fat storage not fat loss. On top of this the low calorie intake means you won’t burn fat but keep it tightly stored.

      If you need additional help I do have nutrition and weight loss support services available here http://goodfoodeating.org/services/

      • Thank you so much for the reply! I have been dairy free since Sunday and I already feel better. My stomach shrunk down, I lost a half inch and 2lbs. Yah, I can start to see abs again! I’m trying to eat a little more, slowly. I have started back up with the gym and meet with my trainer this week. Hopefully I can get back on track. This whole weight loss thing is a pain in the behind! :) I’m going to check out your weight loss program. Thank you again.

  3. Hi I’ve just been told to stay away from all dairy,chicken,spices ,bananas. My belly would swell to near 3 sizes bigger than normal I would carry fat in my belly after 2 children. I can’t understand how your suppose to loose weight when dairy free has so much calories and sugar in there products ? Please help.

    • I’m not sure what your condition is or whom has given you this dietary advice so I can’t personally help you in any way. If you need personal help see my services here http://goodfoodeating.org/personal-nutritionist/.

      However, as for the dairy free diet I think you may be getting it all wrong in the first place. The best way to get healthier or lose weight is to avoid as many ‘products’ as possible and focus on eating fresh, natural food. Everybody should avoid any products with bad oils and excess sugars whether they are dairy free or not. I don’t see why chicken, spices and bananas would be bad for you to eat because it sounds like you need to clean a few other things up before you even consider them as a culprit :) Try cutting ALL ‘products’ first and then you can re-evaluate what really needs to change. Hope that gives you some food for thought :)

  4. Hi my name is Christina. And ive been struggling to lose more baby weight:( i had my baby girl a year ago and when i was pregnant was at 150 being 5’9 it was ok for me. So i gained up to 183 after baby was only able to breast feed 2-3 months didnt start working out til 6 months after at that point i was just 173 i Started t25 program workout at home and i ve done it for 4 months now. Recently i started going to gym to use cardio equitment and so an hour, 3-4 times a week additionally to my workout at home. I eat well, in the last I was on south beach diet in 2007 and lost 35 pounds and kept them off all these years with healthy eating, good carbs good fats. Anyway now I’m struggling that the SB isn’t even helping. Someone suggested to try dairy free diet for a month and I should see results. I also think is hormonal issues I may be having. I have to say though I started to see a difference in my clothes after I started working out and still do some fit me better and better but the darn number has gone to 165-170 still 170! So annoying. What am I doing wrong!?! I even got to a point that want to try some weight loss drug out of the counter but I held myself back thinking and thinking that that is not the best solution. Now with the recommendation of dairy free I hope hope and pray it work! Do u think I will see and should I do it for a whole months or just stay dairy free til I reach my goal which is to go down to 140. Previously I was even down to 135-140 low range and I felt great I want to feel that way again. Please help!

    • Hi Christina,

      It’s really hard to say what you are doing wrong without looking at a detailed food log and having a bit more of your background history. If I had those I could identify some possible issues. I do work with difficult weight loss cases and ALL of them lose weight.

      I’d say dairy could be a good line of enquiry and all you can do without getting some professional help is go by trial and error. Eliminate certain things and give it about a month to assess results. Given that dairy can be an irritating factor for many, it’s a good place to start. If you find it helps it may be best to stick to it until you reach your goal.

      If you need some help in putting a successful strategy in place, you might like to consider my personal nutrition services http://goodfoodeating.org/personal-nutritionist/

  5. I have been both dairy and gluten free for a week. I am very obese ( 5″2″ 223 lbs) and already can see and feel my wrist bones for the first time in years! The downside is the withdrawal I am foggy brained, dizzy a lot and feel like I could sleep for a year straight!

    However, everything from the neck down is much happier. How long does withdrawal from Dairy last?
    ( Gluten is not the issue as my husband is Celiac so all our baking is done for him and I was about 80% gluten free anyway.)

    • Any type of detox creates some withdrawal symptoms and the brain fog is a common one. It should only last a couple of weeks maximum. Make sure to drink plenty of water. Good luck with it Christina :)

  6. I can’t understand why I’m not shedding the 15lbs I need to lose to feel normal again. I was close to my ideal weight in November, and then I somehow gained 15lbs and can’t seem to lose it. I’m the most disciplined person I know—I haven’t eaten sugar, processed food, bad oils, or gluten/heavy starches (like corn) in almost a year. At first, I thought I was eating too much, so I scaled that back (I don’t count calories because doing so makes me obsessive), and then I thought I might be eating too much protein, so I became vegetarian. I have been eating a ton of cheese lately, so I’m thinking about adding fish back to my diet and eliminating the dairy altogether, especially after reading your terrific article.

    I should also mention that I work out 6x a week: I practice yoga 6x a week, and I go for a 30-min run 2x a week.

    I am 5’3″ and weigh 140 lbs.

    Thank you for the advice…I have to be missing some piece of the puzzle here, so I’m crossing my fingers that dairy is the culprit!

    • I have struggled with keeping my weight normal. I was eating like a child and my weight either went up or struggled to stay the same. I was tired, ridiculously, and bloated. I had gas, which was odourless! My symptoms were relieved on occasional days and my face felt swollen often too. I suffered for years and GP never questioned allergy to foods. I am type 1 diabetic and have been for 21 years. 3 months ago I cut out everything from my diet. I became vegan. luckily I am a home chef! My diet is amazingly tasty and mainly Japanese/chinese. I found out the allergy was Dairy and yesterday, by mistake, I had a drink that costa coffee said was dairy free. Well I since found out it wasn’t. Immediately the tiredness hit and so did the bloating, I woke during the night with awful pain in my urethra like it was Cystitis and a bladder like infection. This morning as I awoke my face was very swollen too!

      I am a new woman without dairy and I eat so healthy now too!

      I have lost 2 pounds a month so far cutting out Dairy and I am eating more than I ever dared before! Give it ago by eating Vegan for 2 weeks and introduce foods one at a time that are typical of allergies. I now include fish in my diet but kept away from meat! Good Luck!

      • Thanks for sahring your story Ellie and great to hear about your success with giving up dairy.

        Increasing vegetable intake is very important for everyone but for most people I wouldn’t recommend a vegan diet as it is difficult to get protein and some essential nutrients. Cutting out the dairy alone may have produced the same results for you as it seems you have quite and intolerance.

        All the best :)

  7. I decided to cut out dairy from my diet altogether a few months back when I realised it was bloating my stomach. I worked at a health food store so I could make an informed choice in what best to replace it and I haven’t looked back. In the last few months, I’ve lost 11kg which is astonishing. I’m noticing that I can fit into smaller size t-shirts. On the occasion that I do have even a tiny bit of dairy, I immediately suffer a reaction so I know that there’s no turning back.

    • Hey David ~ Can you remember if your 11KG loss was in 2 months flat, or was it nearer 2.5 or 1.5 months, for example?

      And with that amazing weight loss, was the loss pretty even over the ‘few’ months, or was it much quicker to start off with, then taper off?

      I have just started being Dairy Free myself, and having gained 18KG on top on top of my normal 65KG, I have just lost 1.8KG in a mere 4 days!

      • Good for your James!

        When we have a food intolerance or allergy it can mess with our whole metabolism. Hopefully you’ve hit the jackpot and will lose the weight again pretty fast. Good luck :)

        • Thanks Jedha :)

          I was/am a tad concerned at the degree of weight loss so quickly. I am a keep fit / health fanatic, and even with strict healthy balanced diet, jogging and weights over previous years, it would take months to shift what I have lost in 4 days. Hence my questions to Dave.

          I have Lyme, which of course messes up the entire Endocrine system, and can cause so many intolerances, mast cell issues, etc … Hence my crazy weight gain (yet Muscle wastage)

          I did experiment today with some Cheese, which normally I love, and, today, tasted sickly sweet, was gross ~ Obviously my body is getting more tuned in to what is nourishing and what is poison :)

          • Well at least you’re working it out James. It can be tough to identify food intolerances but once we do it’s amazing how quickly things can change :)

  8. Food allergies or sensitivities create a stress response in the body which releases cortisol, not helpful at all in trying to lose weight. Not mention cortisol triggers carb cravings and the release of adrenaline which can excite all other glands from over secreting other hormones causing a huge imbalance in the endoctrine system. I am convinced this is why so many people, women have the toughest time losing weight and also having female issues. More and more I hear of youg women having to have hysterectemies and other procedures because of abnormal menses. I just wonder with all the dairy that is slammed in us to eat, could it be a big problem that docs are ignoring. I was milk sensitive as a baby but put back on it when I was three after the doc “cleared me” of having the allergy. I grew up with ear infections, sinus issues, having a constant tummy ache and craving sugar. The only times that stopped, ashamed to say was when I was a teen. I had begun dieting and cut out all milk and cheese and eggs ebcause I was afraid of the fat content and I lost too much weight. My doctor afraid of my wieght loss put me on milk shakes and I gained 15 lbs in one month and even when I stoppped with the milk shajkes, I began eating cheese, no milk,my weight gain halted but, I had horrible side pains on my right side and anxiety. Before I got pregnant with my first daughter, I cut out dairy again and lost weight but attributed it to cutting out fat. Now after the yo-yo’s I am losing pregnancy weight from my 2 year old. Actually I gained it all after I lost it after delivery,. I increased my milk consumption while breatfeeding again on doc’s orders. i gained back all the 20 lbs I lost in the 7th week post partum. Began having painful, heavy irregular menses. Thinning hair and although, I can run for miles and miles, up to 15-20 a week, my weight will not go down, until, I had this experience. I craved yogurt for a week straight. It was all I wanted to eat. I quit coffee, went to tea and milk and ate yogurt and bloated up to 6 months prego, had intense stomach pain andwell, IBS symptoms roared. I have been a week off of milk prodcuts, all milk products and I feel calm. I already feel more focused, I have lost 2 pant sizes, woe my size 9’s yesterday after not being able to pur myself into anything smaller than an 11. After learning about the hormal systemof the body in psychology, I realized that in fact all these years, in eating milk products, my body has been reacting to milk as a stressor. Now, I am on a type of cleanse eating lots of greens, good fats, green teas. i am drinking coffee with almond milk and honey with Pumpkin Spice and no IBS symptoms at all. Yay i get my coffee back. Also oddly enough I don;t have the constant urgency to urinate. Just though I would share. .

    • Thanks for sharing your story Heather :)

      You’re right. Dairy is a big allergenic food for many people and this allergy is never identified by doctors and such, which often leaves people with all sorts of symptoms. Allergies cause not only hormonal changes but an inflammatory response and immune reaction. That’s why going dairy free can drastically help people lose weight and get healthier, as you yourself have experienced.

      Thanks again for sharing and wishing you all the wellness in the world :)

  9. Dr mcdougall has the best and healthiest lifestyle diet out there. Easy to follow and will improve your health. I lost 16 pounds in 5 weeks and continue to lose. Never felt better and yes you must cut out dairy!!!!

  10. Just wanted to say thanks for the article and the comments. I’ve known for a while that I’m lactose intolerant. When your stomach is in pain immediately upon ingesting anything with milk, it’s kind of an alarm bell. But I think it’s really starting to hit me that I need to cut it out to 1) lose the bloat and 2) not be in pain! I love milk and cheese and milk. Did I mention milk? And I absolutely detest any fake “milks” out there. I’m looking at you soy and almond milk! So this will be a rocky road, but I’m certain that it will help. Thanks for giving me the boost :-)

  11. I’ve been veggie all my life. Not sure what the problem is but the doc says I get too much fibre. I get bloated and constipated and I can look 5 months pregnant some days. Just switched to soya milk and already feel less bloated,just wondering if it’s dairy intolerance or the fibre/gluten. I get my protein from quorn and I eat eggs. No way I could cut cheese out haha,although I don’t go mad when I have it on things. I’ve tried to cut out high fibre cereals and I’ve been peeling my fruit for the last fortnight. Just concearned I will miss out on essential nutrients.

    • Hi Shez. I eat TONS of veggies, much more than most people and don’t have those issues. So rather than fiber being the problem I’d say it would be more likely to be a food intolerance of some kind. It is not common for fiber to cause those symptoms. Dairy and gluten are a good place to start. If you really want to test if it’s dairy, you will have to cut the cheese and see because when there is an intolerance, even a small amount can cause a reaction.

      Also, how is your water intake?

      You might also find these tips on constipation helpful to ge things moving :) http://goodfoodeating.org/6361/fastest-cure-for-constipation/

  12. I started the Green Smoothie Cleanse just to see if I could even do it. It recommends from JJ Smith, a nutritionist and best selling author that for 10 days you follow her plan of green smoothies, mostly made of fresh greens (spinach, kale, arugula, natural water and some fruit) She recommends mixing up greens weekly. I did drop 12 lbs in the first 10 days and now I’m on a modified version of the cleanse. I do eat non-salted nuts and seeds and can snack on apples, and the occasional tablespoon of unsweetened peanut butter and hard-boiled eggs in between smoothies (amped with veggie based protein powder and ground flaxseeds.) I was curious why dairy (from cow’s milk) was omitted from this eating plan. Thanks to YOUR article it now makes more sense! Do you think this is healthy or a fad? Just curious. I’ve literally eaten basket fulls of fresh fruit but I REALLY miss bread. Is there a high-fiber variety that tastes good without all the sugar that would go well with my new eating habits?

    • Hi Lea, I think this is a short term weight loss strategy because it’s not healthy to sustain a ‘juicing’ routine long term. Personally I prefer an eat food method. You could just as easily lose loads of weight eating the fresh vegetables, having some protein, and drinking lots of water. If it’s worked for you then that’s great but I find my clients prefer to learn a method they can sustain long term!

      As for bread, honestly it’s not the best food to eat in general. It’s high calorie, low nutrients, and high carb. If you want the best results, and it sounds like you do, I’d keep avoiding it.

      All the best :)

  13. Thank you fortis article. I wish I had known this years ago. I found out about my dairy issues about 1 month ago. I weighed myself every day, just because the scale was there. That is how I found out that cheese and dairy caused immediate weight gain. If I ate 2 slices of pizza I would be 3-5 lbs heavier the next day. Same with ice cream, I had just started using whey protein powder which caused a huge gain by the time I was done with the can.

    After cutting out all dairy (even so called non dairy creamer which has milk powder) I lost 1 pound a day for the first week. People noticed a difference after 2 weeks. It’s a shame that they push yogurt as a healthy food for women, but it could be the cause of weight gain!

    • Hi Marilyn, Apologies for the belated reply.

      Thanks for sharing and it’s great to hear you’ve seen great results with cutting dairy. It’s not a problem for everyone but it’s definitely something worth a try. Carbohydrates and sugars can cause inflammation that make the scales rise too, so that’s another area most people need a bit of cutting back.

      All the best :)

  14. Hi, I’m 17 years old and have been recovering from an eating disorder which was very restrictive for about 5 months and made me lose about 40lbs, and then turned into an appetite-overrdrive (which I believe is called reactive eating) for about a year and a half after which I gained most of it back to about 110lbs.
    I started seeing a dietician because I was worried about the continuous weight gain despite my gradual decline in overreating. She goes by a low-GI, very low-fat diet. Her theory is that carbs do not make you fat unless eaten in excess of 4400 calories. And it is the fat one must avoid to lose weight.
    I’ve been following this for about 4 months and have only seen weight gain. I’m so frustrated obviously. I consume about 1400 calories max everyday, which I’m not sure is enough, and I exercise for about 1/2 an hour everyday doing a light strength training, running and walking.
    I’d really appreciate any help you have. Thanks so much.

  15. Hi

    Just would like to add to the dairy free diet is other key hidden dairy givaways
    terms in the ingredients is

    Whey/Whwy protein
    Whey Sugar
    Hydrolysed whey
    casien/caseinates
    hydrolysed casein
    buttermilk
    ghee
    curds
    cre’me fraise
    quark
    rennet
    lactalbumin
    lactose
    milk solidas
    lactic acid (E270)
    lactobacilluys
    lactoglobulin

    I was taking the lactobacillus and could’t understand why I was still bloated so look for the hidden ones as well.

  16. Isnt lactobactillyus an enzyme used to break down milk sugars, so not considered dairy? What about Lactaid?

    I discovered just last year that dairy was a culprit for me. I lost some weight and was shocked, but thrilled. Ive come to a standstill though. Not ‘thrilled’ about that! I still have about 15 lbs to go.
    And what about Dark chocolate? The ones with cocoa butter. Bad, not bad?

  17. I have been reading all of your comments and wanted to post findings. I am 5’3″ and weighed 140. I know it doesn’t sound all that bad to some but it was enough to make me perpetually tired and uncomfortable in my skin. I asked a friend what she was doing to loose weight because I was working out and eating low cal (so I thought) with no results. She said measure everything, somewhere there are hidden calories. Sooo it didn’t take too long to find the first problem. I like light coffee. Without realizing it I was using almost 600 calories a day in the 3-4 cups of coffee I drank. Now I have 1 cup 3 tbs creamer and tea with lemon after. I really couldn’t believe how very little cream a Tbs is. I also heard dairy can cause inflamation and cut the two Greek yogurts out (even though they are 80cal each). I have always been careful about bread products, potatoes and sugar so not much tweaking there. oatmeal plain with cinnamon, no milk and 8 lbs in 4 weeks is what happened. Still eat lots of eggs, chicken and fish. Workouts are the same no other major changes. I feel much much better. Who knew dairy could do that.

    • Dairy is one of the biggest known allergens. Funny though because as you see here with many people it doesn’t cause a huge allergic reaction but it does contribute to many things you wouldn’t think it would.

      It’s great that you started measuring things, that was good advice from your friend. As a nutritionist keeping a food diary is one of the very first things I get clients to do, it’s amazing what is revealed when we actually write stuff down. :)

  18. Hi Jedha, love your site. After years of tummy issues and various tests, i told my dr i didn’t want to take more meds for IBS. She ran a few breath tests and found i was lactose intolerant. I am hoping this explains why a whole foods, gluten free and mostly healthy diet hasn’t helped me lose the 15 lbs i have gained over the past 6 months. I look like i am 6 months pregnant. So, i am now avoiding all milk sugars and also started bone broth a few times a week. My question is: how long after going lactose free should I expect to feel better and lose my bubba belly? Thank you for all you do!

    • Hi Julie, Give it at least 3 weeks to notice a difference, then if it is starting to help, weight should start shifting. Best of luck :)

  19. Hello,

    I love milk and can’t live a day without it. My personal trainer recently introduced Lactose-free milk to me and I love it. I was wondering if its fine if I had more than a cup a day? or go for seconds. she said if it’s lactose-free you can drink the whole litre. (I’m not sure if she was joking there) Anyway I’m trying to lose weight and I’m wondering if taking seconds would make me gain weight more than lose it.. Can nyou please advise.

    • It’s hard to say Sal, milk is just one food in your whole diet so the answer is it depends on everything you consume. However I don’t think I’d be drinking the whole litre! Stick to one cup, water is better as a beverage.

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