ahhh, i was in the same boat!

i was vegetarian for almost 15 years. finally gave up on that craziness after yet another sinus infection. (never had sinus issues until i went veg.)

in march, for weight loss, i started following a LC food plan (with dairy) for 2 weeks and the weight loss was fabulous! and i was eating cheese!!

then, i started gaining weight! the next 2 weeks, i gained back almost all the weight i had lost, even though i hadn't changed a thing!

after reading a few Paleo blogs, i decided to cut out the cheese. the weight has been flying off (15 pounds in 3 weeks.) plus, i'm eating more than i was before, and i have zero cheese cravings. seriously. during this month's PMS and TOM, no cravings for anything, no bloating.

i eat fruit once in awhile. the other day i ate a few bites of my daughter's leftover cantaloupe. last week, when we went to the drive-in movies, i brought along some organic strawberries.



~stephy

Awesome! congratulations on that weight loss!

I am such a slooooow loser...The weight is coming off but slowly...Oh well at least is healthier. In order to lose I have to do everything, I mean not like some people who can just cut one things and get some exercise and lose everything...I have to cut out ALL problem foods, including dairy and the majority of fruit (I have it veeeeery sparingly and something like berries) and do IF and exercise very regularly. *Sigh* But I'm so proud of myself.

The biggest accomplishment for me is getting rid of the things that cause me addiction and be able to be FREE from food. The weight loss is really secondary now that I feel what is like not to be controlled by food and have a social life that isnt influenced by it. And my confidence has gone way up.

thanks!

but you know, i have a lot of weight to lose, compared to you. from what i've read/heard, those with more weight to lose will lose close to the same percentage of weight, but it just looks like more because there is so much to lose.

eliminating dairy is what did it for me. now that i look back, when i was vegetarian, i had some nasty asthma/lung issues. whenever i would go off dairy, the issues resolved themselves, and i would drop a few pounds. funny, i never noticed that, until now.

i am being cautious with fruit, too. eating mostly just melon and berries. and since we buy organic fruit, we can't afford to buy it by the truckload like we used to. 2 cartons of organic strawberries and a cantaloupe will last us a week (there are 3 of us, in our household.) and we always keep a bag of frozen berries for smoothies, for my daughter.

i totally hear ya, on the being FREE from food!! food used to consume my every thought! i was always wondering what to eat, how much, and when. and honestly, for me, the food just didn't taste good! i was on a low-fat vegetarian diet and gaining weight. i was quite unhappy. now, food is so enjoyable. and i think of how it nourishes my body, rather than "oh, it's noon, must be time to make potatoes and corn for lunch."

~stephy

I wanted to also say that I found out on another board that dairy can cause residual inflammation in your body for several weeks. So you can't just come off dairy for a week, not lose any weight, and give up saying "That's not it." It still very well could be it. You have to cut it out for a month I would say to do an appropriate test.

That's really interesting...I haven't been able to go 100% dairy free because my mother is currently living with me and she freaks out every time I eliminate something from my diet. In 2 weeks she will be gone and I will buy ghee instead of butter and coconut milk instead of cream. I think that change, PLUS trying 24 hours fasting twice a week will really make a difference. Again, I can't do the fast until she's gone or she'll think I have an eating disorder and I don't wanna go into that with her. But for the first time in my life, I am in NO hurry to lose weight and get fit. I feel at peace with myself to go slowly and be as healthy as possible with minimum psychological obsession.

I actually had no problem losing w dairy.

I didn't overdo cheese, ever, though.
I think cheese is problematic because peop tend to add it to everything and it becomes a diet w too concentrated items. For me it would mean too much protein.

I've pretty much alway consumed yogurt and just enough milk for a latte, then some other dairy such as cheese and sour cream thrown in whenever.
I probably lost the last excess weight when I started eating yogurt daily.

BUT, I can start eating a pretty dairy heavy diet and am not sure about the inflammation so decided to do a Whole30 challenge which started 4/11.

It's been a good thing so far and though I may never give up dairy totally, I may just use the 80/20 rule.
OR, who knows, I may use it less. I just don't want to put it in the BAD category and make it a cheat/binge food.

There was another poster here who had her asthma clear up going off dairy. It's remarkable that doctors never think to suggest some of these issues might be related to diet.

I completely agree there. I've had allergies and sinuses problems my entire life. You know what the doctors recommended when I was 14? Surgery. And we went for it, but they said I had to take pills and nasal sprays pretty much for my ENTIRE LIFE in order to avoid cysts and all that again. How is that for a nice life? Now that I'm gluten and mostly dairy free, my sinuses are cleared and my allergies reduced to nada. And even now, the doctor told me to use the spray often and take more allergy pills. This time I'm putting my foot down. No more pills or sprays. Same goes for the lipitor he's trying to get me to take.

And I think people are just more sensitive to dairy than others. And I don't think putting them in the "bad" category is fair, they are wonderful ad good for you, but I think they have to be limited for some people. I still want to eat butter and cream and cheese and yogurt. Just not as often and not as much.

I am not sure if it's actually ever affected my weight, but dairy sure has caused me a lot of digestive issues when I have too much. I stay bloated and have slight constipation. My digestive system just gets out of whack. If I cut dairy out for a while, I feel much better and everything begins functioning as it should. However, I love my cheese and I go back to small amounts but over time begin having too much (cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc) and it happens all over again. Right now, I'm at that point in time where I've had to completely cut it out for a while. I so miss having the cheese added to my salads!

I think eating dairy depends on whether or not it suits you. I eat dairy and I am fine with it. I can't eat breads or sugary things. I know someone who cannot eat bread or dairy and fruit doesn't suit her either. Although I am quite low carb, I am not strictly Paleo or Atkins. I lost a lot of weight, but unfortunately, I gained it back again because I tried to join in with what others were eating. I also wanted to be one of those people who can eat anything in small portions and be slim. Unfortunately, I can't because too much carb, especially bread, makes me fat and unwell. I think you should be your own detective and see what suits you and what doesn't. If you write everything down a pattern will emerge. Then your pattern of eating will be by you for you and not what someone else says you should eat. No-one knows your body like you do.