Keto-ers: How much dairy?

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macchiatto
macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
I know this is going to vary for everyone but for those who follow keto/VLC guidelines, I'm curious how much dairy you eat and whether you limit it. Since going from more moderate low-carb back to keto, I am eating a LOT of dairy (along with a ton of meat, some veggies). So far so good but it just made me curious what others do and if I should consider limiting myself. ;)

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  • anglyn1
    anglyn1 Posts: 1,803 Member
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    I would say I probably eat a good bit of dairy. I drink several coffees with cream each day. Lunch and/or dinner usually contains cheese and butter somewhere in the mix. I will often snack on cheese or plain yogurt. As far as I know it's not causing any problems. I've not experimented with eliminating it because I love it too much! :)
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 6,952 Member
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    Back when I was able to do keto, I had HWC or H&H in the coffee every day, 3 or 4 tbsp or so of sour cream, and less than 3oz of cheese daily. Occasional yogurt, cottage cheese, or cream cheese.
    So I didn't really have a limit. It was mostly an IIFYC (If It Fits Your Carbs) thing. But the cheese was a hard limit. Which I did for calorie reasons and no other. I can eat a lot of cheese. :blush:
  • ceceblackstock327
    ceceblackstock327 Posts: 40 Member
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    Personally, I can't seem to do cheese without seeing the scale creep up. I do butter/coconut oil and or cacao butter in my coffee. Sometimes I'll have some heavy cream or kefir, these things don't seem to bother me at all :)
  • McShorty7
    McShorty7 Posts: 69 Member
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    I use dairy in the form of cheese (I put that *kitten* on everything) and cream for my coffee ranging from 10%-35%. Sometimes I eat plain yogurt with stevia...I did so today and a 3/4 cup serving was 12 carbs. :'( I think I'll be avoiding that from now on. I prefer my carbs in the form of salad veggies.
  • RalfLott
    RalfLott Posts: 5,036 Member
    edited July 2016
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    macchiatto wrote: »
    I know this is going to vary for everyone but for those who follow keto/VLC guidelines, I'm curious how much dairy you eat and whether you limit it. Since going from more moderate low-carb back to keto, I am eating a LOT of dairy (along with a ton of meat, some veggies). So far so good but it just made me curious what others do and if I should consider limiting myself. ;)

    Good question - many others in the same boat, I'm sure.

    My sense is that there is quite a bit of difference in individual responses to dairy, often depending on factors to which we may be oblivious (like the personalities of our gut populations).

    Butter and hard, aged cheeses do seem preferable to skim milk (esp. for diabetics) on most people's rankings.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
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    Goat cheese, whole milk mozzarella, and swiss cheeses are pretty much my go to. Other than hard cheeses, I'm not a huge fan of dairy, honestly. I'll use HWC in cooking and BPC, but that's pretty much it. Dairy milk has been wholly replaced in my life by unsweetened almond milk. Not because I think dairy milk is bad or some weirdness, but because I can't stand the snotty feeling one gets in the mouth and throat from it.
  • RowdysLady
    RowdysLady Posts: 1,370 Member
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    For me...not much; I seem to stop losing when I eat cheese. I don't drink milk, will use some HWC on occasion, and refuse to waste my calories and carbs on yogurt which I've never really liked that much anyway.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    Cheese is my dairy splurge. I do have some whipping cream of heavy cream in my coffee most days. Butter if I'm out. but it is not a lot. Cheese is hard to control. Especially when I can buy it presliced at Costco. Mmm That swiss or provolone disappears within a day or three.

    I like veggies but really, they are the cheese delivery vehicle. If I am eating a veggie, chances are that cheese is involved as a dip, a sauce, or mixed in some sort of eggie casserole. Same for sour cream. Veggies are involved somewhere.
  • SuesNewImage
    SuesNewImage Posts: 743 Member
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    Milk - no I won't be in Ketosis. But cheese and HWC yep, but don't over indulge. LC (to 50g) I can have more, but Keto (to25g) I treat them as a treat.
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
    edited July 2016
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    Thanks for all the responses. I tend to have 1-3 servings of cheese a day and HWC in my coffees (morning and noon) both days. Some times I do canned coconut milk instead.

    Then there's sour cream or cream cheese sporadically. My goodness, I love cheese. (I mostly eat sharp cheddar, pepper jack or mozzarella.)
  • carlsoda
    carlsoda Posts: 3,412 Member
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    None for me due to allergies, but I do use ghee to fry up my eggs :)
  • bametels
    bametels Posts: 950 Member
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    I eat at least three to five servings of dairy a day, often more. I eat Greek yogurt and lots of different types of hard and soft cheeses daily, sometimes HWC or half and half in coffee, sometimes butter or ghee for cooking, occasionally milk, sour cream, or kefir, and once in a while as a treat some ice cream. I'm losing consistently. It doesn't seem to have a negative impact on weight loss for me which makes me happy because I love my dairy!
  • kirkor
    kirkor Posts: 2,530 Member
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    I'm dairy free for the most part. This is a good read: http://whole9life.com/2013/03/the-dairy-manifesto/

    I use clarified butter/ghee, but then that has had the milk proteins & sugars removed so it's less potentially problematic. (and dat smoke point!!)

    Although I will be incorporating HWC temporarily as i try a liquid diet as an experiment. Probably after ghee this would be considered the "least bad" dairy product.
  • bjwoodzy
    bjwoodzy Posts: 593 Member
    edited July 2016
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    I don't think I could even keto without cheese. Love of my life <3<3<3

    Echoing what a few other said...hwc in coffee once a day, whip it for a treat, add it to sauces once or twice a week, enjoy cheese with almost every meal (small portions, probably no more than 3 oz a day), butter in my veggies. Love love love! I quit half and half, barely even touch any kind of yogurt or "ice cream", and pretty much quit cottage cheese, since I can't find full fat and pretty sure I'd hate it (I enjoyed the 2% kind pre-LC, with more liquid, aka whey). So I thought it wouldn't be much, but I guess now that I write it all down, I'm still all about dat dairy!
  • LowCarbInScotland
    LowCarbInScotland Posts: 1,027 Member
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    I have to eat a lot of cheese before it gives me any digestive issues, so I don't have any intolerances prohibiting me. but I do restrict it to 1-2 ounces a day, with most days being 1 oz just for the sake of controlling my calories. I have it on my salad at lunch. I also have 1 tbsp double cream in my morning coffee and 2 tbsp total of whole milk, 1 each in my two cups of tea each day, cream just doesn't taste right in tea, so I take the tiny carb hit.

    I've tried cutting dairy all together, it doesn't seem to affect my weight loss or digestive health either way, so I'm comfortable with my dairy intake choices.