Drink Milk to Lose Weight

There have been many studies that show milk as being a weight loss miracle. The different studies, which I have outlined below, have shown that drinking milk has been attibuted to a higher percentage of weight loss and body fat reduction. The studies compared milk drinkers with non-milk drinkers and a high amount of weight loss and body fat reduction was found in the milk drinkers.



Drinking milk has also been linked with reducing belly fat, which is an area that I know I often struggle to lose weight at. It has also been proven to increase and maintain muscle mass and decrease the risk of gaining weight back once it is lost!

A recent study showed that a dieter who drank 3 8oz. glasses of FAT FREE milk a day lost more weight than that of a dieter who drank little to no milk. This study has proved that drinking 3 8oz. servings of FAT FREE milk a day can increase weight loss up to 70%!! and increase their loss of body fat up to 47%!! I don't know about you, but those odds are enough to make me try out this AMAZING phenomenon!

This study also showed an increased loss of tummy fat, which is definitely one of my trouble areas, as it is with most women these days. Now, not only is this loss of tummy fat great for bikini season, but belly fat has also been linked to conditions such as metabolic syndrome (this syndrome has many risk factors, including tummy fat, that increase a person's risk of heart disease), heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. This new and innovative diet may also bless the dieter with a decreased chance of gaining the lost weight back! Now that's Exciting!!!

I recently watched a news story on CBS that talked about a study conducted at the University of Tennessee that 54 overweight people were involved in. The study cut these testers diets by 500 calories a day. Then the 1st group of people were told to consume 3 to 4 servings of dairy a day, the 2nd group was told to conserve this amount in a supplement form, and the 3rd group was told to eat little to no dairy at all. At the end of the study, the results showed that the people who had the most dairy intake lost the most weight. Now I am not telling you that all dairy is good, because it can also be extremely fattening, but I think in the case of non-fat or low-fat milk, 3 to 4 servings of it would definitely benefit someone trying to lose weight.

An article in Medical News Today has conducted an ongoing study of the effects of drinking milk after exercising. The study was conducted at McMaster University and then published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and took three groups of men ages 18 to 30 and had them go through an extremely demanding five day a week weight lifting program which took place over a 12 week period. After each workout the 1st group drank 2 cups of skim milk, the 2nd group drank a soy beverage that had the equivalent amount of protein and as the milk, and the 3rd group drank a carbohydrate drink that had the equivalent amount of energy as a sports drink. The results of this study showed that the group drinking milk had lost nearly TWICE as much as the carbohydrate beverage drinkers ex. 2 pounds to 1 pound and the soy drinkers lost no fat at all. Also, the gain in muscle was much higher among the milk drinkers than either the carbohydrate or soy beverage drinkers.

When people cut dairy products out of their diet their bodies begin to conserve the calcium that it is being deprived of. This calcium depletion causes the body to produce high levels of the hormone calcitriol, which triggers an increase in the productions of fat cells. High levels of this hormone tell the fat cells to expand and store themselves in the body. Extra amounds of calcium in a person's diet reduces this hormone significantly.


While counting calories does still count, and just drinking milk may not make you actually lose weight in pounds, it will change the composition of your body and it's fat cells so you will see an overall reduction in body fat. While you might not weigh less, you will look leaner. Which is what the point of losing weight is anyway, right?!

  An increased level of high density lipoprotein or HDL cholesterol, which is the  good kind of cholesterol that is believed to decrease the risk of heart disease.

  Obviously it has been proven to increase bone mass.

  Reducing the occurrence and reoccurence of kidney stones.

  Reduced symptoms of PMS! Now that's what I'm talking about!

           Here I will be measuring the "pooch" area of my belly, NOT my waist. I am measuring the part of my belly that pooches out, which is the area about an inch below my belly button (and yes this is embarrassing to share, but if I am going to prove this Milk diet theory I have to see it for myself) and that I have been desperately trying to get rid of for years! While I am currently upholding a strict exercise regiment no matter what I do, I can't seem to get rid of that pooch. Here I will measure my "pooch" area weekly, while I continue to drink 3 8oz. glasses of 1% milk everyday (I know some of the diets recommend fat free, but I am not a big fan of skim milk, so I am going to try 1% first, and see how that goes).

Week 1: 3/26/09 - Pooch measures 35" around.

Week 2: 4/2/09 - Pooch measures 33" around!

        Yay, its shrunk! My insight: While I know that this shrinkage could be a result of several factors including water weight and bloating, etc. etc. However, I did have an epiphany while traveling down this road to pooch shrinkage. I realized that I had never had a pooch problem growing up, and milk was always available in my house. I was actually a very religious milk drinker. This got me thinking...after my first year of college I gained a little weight, including my little pooch. However, after spending a summer at home, with my MILK filled fridge I came back to college the next year with my old flat stomach. Of course, again, after being at college and living my MILK free life, the pooch returned. I never brought these two facts together, but I think that MILK may be a common denominator in this story. We shall see. I will continue to keep you updated.

Week 3: 4/9/09 - Pooch measures 32.5" around!