Lose Weight WITHOUT Dieting: Tip #71 – Swap Whole Milk for Skim Milk

I mentioned this trade a few weeks ago when I started discussing food swaps but this one deserves its own tip.  Whole milk contains 150 calories per eight ounce glass.  This includes about 8 grams of fat (5 saturated) and 12 grams of sugar.  Conversely, an eight ounce glass of skim milk contains 90 calories and is fat-free (it does contain the same amount of sugar).  That saves you 60 calories and 5 grams of saturated fat per glass.  If you drink two glasses of milk per day, that’s a 120 calorie reduction or a 43,800 calorie reduction per year, which amounts to 12.5 lbs.

Now I know what you’re thinking.  You don’t like the taste of skim milk.  Fair enough. The good news is you have other options like 1% milk, which contains 100 calories and about 2.5 grams of fat.  At two glasses per day, you save 36,500 calories per year or about 10.5 lbs.  Unfortunately, if you are like some of my lifestyle coaching clients, you may not like 1% milk either.  There is always 2% milk, which contains 130 calories and 5 grams of fat per eight ounce serving; however, I have a better idea.  

It can be very difficult to make a sudden change from whole milk to skim or 1% milk. There is a significantly different taste between these beverages.  So make a gradual change.  Start with 2% milk and drink that for 30 days.  Then shift to 1 % milk.  It will make the transition much easier.  Alternatively, you can continue to use whole milk and add skim milk to it in small increments.  For example, you can start with six ounces of whole milk mixed with two ounces of skim milk.  Slowly increase the amount of skim milk and decrease the amount of whole milk until you are just drinking skim milk.  Once again, this makes the transition more palatable.

NEXT POST – July 15, 2012                      

Cycle Log: Competition Phase Week 13