Can Dairy Really Help You Lose Weight?

While you work to keep that New Year’s resolution for weight loss, remember that losing weight is not only about eating fewer calories than you use; what you eat can have an effect on weight loss, too.

Studies have shown that low-fat dairy products can help you shed pounds faster. The calcium in dairy helps regulate metabolism, the process your body uses to turn food into energy. Your body will naturally adjust your metabolism to the number of calories you consume. If you eat fewer calories, your metabolism will slow down.

Calcium, however, helps keep your metabolism at a more regular rate, even when you are decreasing the number of calories you eat. This helps you maintain a good rate of weight loss over a longer period of time. 

Taking a calcium supplement is not enough to help you with the benefits of weight loss. Though reasons are still unknown, studies have shown that consuming calcium through dairy products instead of supplements resulted in twice as much weight loss.

Low-fat dairy products can give you all the benefits of dairy for fewer calories, so they can still fit into your diet plan. Though more studies are underway to better determine the benefits of dairy, eating a diet with dishes from each food group is always a good idea. Fit three to four servings of dairy into your diet plan to help you work toward a healthy weight.