Newcomer to dairy free

[Jayne]

Hi everyone,

I've just started a dairy-free regime in the last few days and am really pleased to have found this site for support and hopefully recipe ideas too. I put on lots of weight after chemotherapy a couple of years ago and haven't been able to shift it, so going dairy free is an attempt to achieve that weight loss - I don't have an intolerance or allergy to dairy as far as I am aware. But I have thought for a long time that dairy produce is not a natural food for humans to eat - it's designed for calves, not us - so perhaps it's not surprising that so many people have a problem with it. So far, I've replaced milk and yogurt with soya versions, which is just about ok except that I can't bear soya milk in my tea, so I'm switching to herbal teas without milk. I'm considering still having the occasional bit of feta cheese (sheep's milk), but no more than once a week or so. I'd love to hear about any advice for new starters and especially from anyone who's in a similar situation to me and wants to lose weight (I have about 5 stone to lose)

[Copper]

Hi and welcome to the site. Hmm I don't have any weight to lose yet. A couple of the members here do talk about diets and losing weight but they have not mentioned this lately :)

I have lactose intolerance. I agree that soya milk is just awful in coffee so I do allow myself a small amount of lactose reduced milk. There are other milk substitutes out there such as Tiger White which I thought was much nicer. It does not freeze that well though. My local Tesco sell it on the organic and free from shelves.

I don't think that I can help with losing weight. We can all come up with ideas for milk alternatives. Lactose and other milk derivatives pop up in foods all the time - we have to be very careful but I guess it is not so crucial for you. Lactose is used to bulk up cooked meats and is used in many tablets to bind the ingredients together :(

How strict do you intend to be about non-dairy?

[Pam]

Hi Jayne, welcome to the site. You are just down the road from me, so if you need to know where to buy things just ask. I like Half Moon Wholefoods in Huddersfield and the Green Health Shop in Cleckheaton but I do most of my shopping in Morrisons at Waterloo.

I lost a lot of weight when I first went dairy free, but that was because I cut so much out of my diet. Once I discovered a liking for dark chocolate etc I soon put it back on again. I don't have a particular intolerance but my daughter suffers badly with stomach cramps. However, I noticed that I no longer suffer from hives in the evenings and my hayfever became a lot less troublesome. If I have a lapse I usually get a cold within a week but rarely get colds otherwise.

I hope you feel better on your new diet and I look forward to hearing from you more.

[rebecca c]

Hi Jayne welcome to the site, I have a restrictive diet not just dairy free and I have lost weight and could do with being a stone heavier. Not sure how much that is the diet and how much is being ill though. There is a lot of fat in dairy so it may be a good way to lose weight if your being sensible about the rest of your diet too I guess. I have found this site really helpful and supportive - hope you do too. I agree with you about dairy not being a really natural foodstuff for humans.

[cnc]

Again, I'm not sure about dairy helping you lose weight (I'm pretty sure that I've got heavier, but that may be to do with the amount of sports training I'm doing...), but if cutting out dairy helps you consider what else you're eating then it should work. Go for it and see what happens.

[Broxine]

Hi and welcome!

Hope you get on well with the diet. The only thing I would say is don't presume that just eating dairy free alternatives will make you lose weight if you still are eating the same sorts of things in the same quantities. For example a fair few dairy free cakes are available that doesn't mean they are fat / calorie free. Just make sure you eat lots of fresh food made from fresh healthy ingredients without lots of additives and that should do the trick.

Let us know how you get on!

[ellsie]

Hi! Welcome!

I lost weight when I first started but as I found more substitutes it went back on, and after 3 children I am heavier than ever! I have to be very strict as I have an allergy. I think you may lose weight initially but keeping it off maybe not. Smaller portions and healthy eating is my advice to myself. We bought new crockery when we moved here and the plates are larger! I fill the plate up so in theory I should buy smaller plates and fool myself into losing a few pounds!:eat:

[Broxine]

I should buy smaller plates and fool myself into losing a few pounds!

I know it sounds silly but it actually works! A lot of how much u need to eat to feel full is psychological and if your brain sees a small plate overflowing with food it will think you have eaten a lot more than if you have the same amount of food on a huge plate so that it lots half empty! Another trick is to eat really slowly so your stomach has time to register when it has had enough. (Not that I'm really in a position to offer advise as I'm still a stone and a half over my goal weight!)

[cnc]

Contary to my previous post in this matter I apparently have lost about 4 kgs (I've no idea what that actually is, because I work in stones, but the scales didnt!!) since I started this month of training. I've also eaten lots as well, so I'm happy (apart from being unwell)! I think my point may be, that exercise is also important not just the amount and type of food you eat. :eat: