Experimenting

ftsolk
ftsolk Posts: 202 Member
edited December 3 in Health and Weight Loss
Things have been pretty stressful for me lately- there's too much going on that I would rather not get into detail about, but I can say that it has affected my "diet" significantly.

And there's part of me that just doesn't care enough to buckle down and start tracking again... though, I MAY decide to start up with writing down foods (not necessarily amounts or calories- just that I ate, say, "Kodiak Cake Flapjacks with butter and syrup" for breakfast).

Instead, to keep myself from going too far overboard, I've been doing an experiment.

I went out to PA on Saturday and bought 2 gallons of raw milk. Since Sunday, I've been filling a 12 oz Thermos (that I store in the freezer) with milk and drinking it with each meal. Even meals out of my house... if I know I may be out for a while, I'll fill all 3 Thermoses with milk and pack it with an ice pack JUST for added security.

That's it. No other major changes... aside from bringing my own smaller, divided plate to Wednesday night pot-luck style dinners at church (but, while that does get me into eating half a plate of produce, the main reason is to keep certain foods from touching since we're not allowed to serve ourselves.

I'm finding that without trying to change my eating habits, I'm eating less food even if I start out feeling just as hungry. Before, I'd eat two slices of whole grain toast with half an avocado, 2 eggs, and arugula (plus a side of fruit- maybe an orange). Now, I think I'd actually be ok with half the amount of avocado toast... well, physically. Mentally, a quarter of an avocado makes me a little sad).

Yes, I'm aware that there are risks with drinking raw milk (but there are also risks with eating spinach, tomatoes, and cantaloupe). I am also aware that a cup of whole milk has around 150 calories (and I'm drinking closer to 10-11 ounces since I only fill the thermos up to where I can put the lid on- 12 oz is up to the rim). However, if my next step is to start adding in more fruits and veggies, then maybe I'm onto something here. After all, if by drinking under 200 calories of milk, I can cut 232 calories of something else from my avocado toast breakfast, then maybe I'm onto something. The savings right now aren't significant, but it does add up, and if I start replacing more high calorie foods with more vegetables, this could at LEAST help keep me from going insane while I try to sort through things on a personal level.
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Replies

  • I'm unsure of what your trying to accomplish by this experiment.

    That makes two of us :neutral:

    Are you trying to make yourself feel fuller by having milk with your meals?
  • JeanLaw131
    JeanLaw131 Posts: 78 Member
    edited August 2016
    Huh?
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    Maybe it would help us understand if you explained more about what your hoping to accomplish by adding in extra servings of milk?
  • MagicalGiraffe
    MagicalGiraffe Posts: 102 Member
    Wow, someone said if we said your name 3 times in a row you would appear. I shouldnt have doubted them!
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    I'm a little confused too?

    But in general, a typical strategy for eating less calories is to fill up on lower cal items that replace calorie dense stuff. Like increase the amount of veggies in your dinner while decreasing the amount of heavier stuff.

    Having said that, drinking 10 oz of whole milk a day would make me nauseous. And I don't understand why you would replace the avocado part of your breakfast with milk? Nothing wrong with avocado.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I'm a little confused too?

    But in general, a typical strategy for eating less calories is to fill up on lower cal items that replace calorie dense stuff. Like increase the amount of veggies in your dinner while decreasing the amount of heavier stuff.

    Having said that, drinking 10 oz of whole milk a day would make me nauseous. And I don't understand why you would replace the avocado part of your breakfast with milk? Nothing wrong with avocado.

    And it sounds like they are drinking 30oz per day... That's a lot of milk.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    Hornsby wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I'm a little confused too?

    But in general, a typical strategy for eating less calories is to fill up on lower cal items that replace calorie dense stuff. Like increase the amount of veggies in your dinner while decreasing the amount of heavier stuff.

    Having said that, drinking 10 oz of whole milk a day would make me nauseous. And I don't understand why you would replace the avocado part of your breakfast with milk? Nothing wrong with avocado.

    And it sounds like they are drinking 30oz per day... That's a lot of milk.

    Oh man, yeah.
    OP, that's like 400 calories of milk! I can't imagine you will be able to keep doing that for very long without getting sick of it.
    If you don't want to log, focus on eating more of higher volume, low cal options like veggies, and eating reasonable portions of everything. But restricting yourself too much, either by eating too little or trying to eat a lot of one specific item, is a recipe for burnout IMHO.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    mark me down as someone who is also massively confused by this "experiment"....

    OP - do you think that drinking raw milk is somehow going to speed up fat loss????
  • cross2bear
    cross2bear Posts: 1,106 Member
    my take on this is that she is suggesting that all the milk drinking has caused her to cut down on actual food, because the milk fills her up, and she hopes to lose weight like this - well of course milk will fill her up as it has calories too!! I choose not to drink my calories - I would prefer a bowl of cracker chips to a glass of milk any day.

    And BTW, my dad told the brown cow/chocolate milk thing to me and my sister too!!
  • Nikion901
    Nikion901 Posts: 2,467 Member
    ftsolk wrote: »
    Things have been pretty stressful for me lately- there's too much going on that I would rather not get into detail about, but I can say that it has affected my "diet" significantly.

    And there's part of me that just doesn't care enough to buckle down and start tracking again... though, I MAY decide to start up with writing down foods (not necessarily amounts or calories- just that I ate, say, "Kodiak Cake Flapjacks with butter and syrup" for breakfast).

    Instead, to keep myself from going too far overboard, I've been doing an experiment.

    I went out to PA on Saturday and bought 2 gallons of raw milk. Since Sunday, I've been filling a 12 oz Thermos (that I store in the freezer) with milk and drinking it with each meal. Even meals out of my house... if I know I may be out for a while, I'll fill all 3 Thermoses with milk and pack it with an ice pack JUST for added security.

    That's it. No other major changes... aside from bringing my own smaller, divided plate to Wednesday night pot-luck style dinners at church (but, while that does get me into eating half a plate of produce, the main reason is to keep certain foods from touching since we're not allowed to serve ourselves.

    I'm finding that without trying to change my eating habits, I'm eating less food even if I start out feeling just as hungry. Before, I'd eat two slices of whole grain toast with half an avocado, 2 eggs, and arugula (plus a side of fruit- maybe an orange). Now, I think I'd actually be ok with half the amount of avocado toast... well, physically. Mentally, a quarter of an avocado makes me a little sad).

    Yes, I'm aware that there are risks with drinking raw milk (but there are also risks with eating spinach, tomatoes, and cantaloupe). I am also aware that a cup of whole milk has around 150 calories (and I'm drinking closer to 10-11 ounces since I only fill the thermos up to where I can put the lid on- 12 oz is up to the rim). However, if my next step is to start adding in more fruits and veggies, then maybe I'm onto something here. After all, if by drinking under 200 calories of milk, I can cut 232 calories of something else from my avocado toast breakfast, then maybe I'm onto something. The savings right now aren't significant, but it does add up, and if I start replacing more high calorie foods with more vegetables, this could at LEAST help keep me from going insane while I try to sort through things on a personal level.

    First off, let me say I wish I could easily get my hands on some raw milk! We used to get a coupld of gallons every week when I was a girl and my mom made the most wonderful yogurt, Kefir, and pot cheese from it. Of course, she ended up pasteurising it by baking it in the oven before letting it cool to the correct temp to start the ferment. However, the only one in the family who drank milk raw was my dad, and he didn't get much opportunity for that cause my mom would use it right away to make her dairy dishes. I have tasted it, and like it's flavor, but it's color put me off it (I was a picky eater child).

    Secondly, many, if not most, of us who have been on the 'losing train' for a long time have had periods where we slacked off and done experiements as a means of fostering some interest is our food intake or activity; if that works for you, then no one else's opinion except perhaps your doctors should matter. Although, many might not call their new plans as experiements.

    The only concern for your health that I have from your drinking so much milk in a day is the amount of calcium you are getting. An 8-ounce glass of milk has about 300 mg of calcium, and someone between 19 and 59 needs to get between 1000 and 2000 mg a day ... but, don't forget that calcium also exists in other foods besides just milk. Too much calcium can be problematic down the road for you, as you age. Also, your raw milk is not fortified with Vitamin-D, like processed milk is, so you might not be getting enough of that element.

    Otherwise, good luck and I hope you get your groove on soon so you can continue feeling successful in your weight-loss journey.


  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,213 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    "Getting sick from raw milk can mean many days of diarrhea, stomach cramping, and vomiting. Less commonly, it can mean kidney failure, paralysis, chronic disorders, and even death."
    http://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/rawmilk/raw-milk-questions-and-answers.html#risks

    Pasteurization is definitely a good idea when milk comes from unsanitary dairies. But in our n=5 for 10 years, none of us got sick from raw milk.

    I grew up drinking unpasteurized milk from a nearby farm too. It was delicious, and back then, when my siblings and I were skinny twigs, we would fight for the cream that rose to the top. Yum. I remember feeling indignant when I heard they were shut down for selling raw milk. But how would we really know how sanitary their operation was? That same CDC website I quoted also says that raw milk is the riskiest of all foods. Why take a chance?

  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Why take a chance? Cause it's yummy :)

    Seriously though, I drink raw milk all the time. I know the farmer, see the operations, no what the cows see fed and not fed, so it doesn't seem all that risky to me. YRMV
  • ftsolk
    ftsolk Posts: 202 Member
    Right now, I'm in a "let's see what happens" stage of my experiment. I used to drink a lot more milk when I was younger than I do now, and I also used to be a LOT slimmer. It may be related; it might not be.

    Somewhere around the time I gained my weight, I stopped having milk with dinner at my grandparent's house (we moved out of state). For a few years, I switched to non-dairy milk, and then, I gradually transitioned from soy and almond milks to non-organic, pasteurized whole milk which I drake sporadically- mainly if I had something like pancakes or cookies. A few months back, I tried some raw milk at a friend's house (I had always been intrigued, and my friend has health issues where she can only drink raw milk from specific cows). I absolutely LOVED it.

    So, I decided to see what would happen if I tried drinking more. I'm finding that even with the calories, I'm eating a LOT less food than I was before, so it's balancing itself out... and it will continue to do so when I start incorporating more changes (simply replacing food with fruits and veggies NEVER worked for me (it always left me hungry), but since the milk is so satiating, I'm considering cutting down my portions of more calorie dense foods and replacing them with produce.

    In regards to the divided plates, I suppose I should expand on that. I have dinner at church on Wednesday nights during the summer. Now, I'm not incredibly picky about my food, but there are certain foods I don't really like touching. For example, if I have mashed potatoes with gray, I really don't want the gravy to touch my cranberry sauce. When I serve myself or cook at home, I arrange my plate in a way to keep foods touching only if I want them t touch. (I'm also a fan of having "islands" of food... not because I can't eat the food if they touch- it's just a personal preference). However, at church, they just slop food on the plate- often not paying attention to the fact that they're putting the baked ziti on top of a dinner roll. So, to make things easy, I am bringing a little divided plate. I'll get 2 items and a side salad on each trip. (I used to eat at least 2 full plates of food each trip- no salads; yesterday, I still ate 2 plates, but the plates were much smaller).

  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    edited August 2016
    ftsolk wrote: »
    Right now, I'm in a "let's see what happens" stage of my experiment. I used to drink a lot more milk when I was younger than I do now, and I also used to be a LOT slimmer. It may be related; it might not be.

    Somewhere around the time I gained my weight, I stopped having milk with dinner at my grandparent's house (we moved out of state). For a few years, I switched to non-dairy milk, and then, I gradually transitioned from soy and almond milks to non-organic, pasteurized whole milk which I drake sporadically- mainly if I had something like pancakes or cookies. A few months back, I tried some raw milk at a friend's house (I had always been intrigued, and my friend has health issues where she can only drink raw milk from specific cows). I absolutely LOVED it.

    So, I decided to see what would happen if I tried drinking more. I'm finding that even with the calories, I'm eating a LOT less food than I was before, so it's balancing itself out... and it will continue to do so when I start incorporating more changes (simply replacing food with fruits and veggies NEVER worked for me (it always left me hungry), but since the milk is so satiating, I'm considering cutting down my portions of more calorie dense foods and replacing them with produce.

    So, it sounds like you feel that drinking milk will keep you satiated, hence you will decrease your calorie intake and hopefully be in a deficit?
    In regards to the divided plates, I suppose I should expand on that. I have dinner at church on Wednesday nights during the summer. Now, I'm not incredibly picky about my food, but there are certain foods I don't really like touching. For example, if I have mashed potatoes with gray, I really don't want the gravy to touch my cranberry sauce. When I serve myself or cook at home, I arrange my plate in a way to keep foods touching only if I want them t touch. (I'm also a fan of having "islands" of food... not because I can't eat the food if they touch- it's just a personal preference). However, at church, they just slop food on the plate- often not paying attention to the fact that they're putting the baked ziti on top of a dinner roll. So, to make things easy, I am bringing a little divided plate. I'll get 2 items and a side salad on each trip. (I used to eat at least 2 full plates of food each trip- no salads; yesterday, I still ate 2 plates, but the plates were much smaller).

    I don't like my food on the plate touching either, unless it's supposed to touch. The latter would be salad or a food that has some kind of sauce and/or other ingredients.

    I like the idea of smaller plates.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    ftsolk wrote: »
    Right now, I'm in a "let's see what happens" stage of my experiment. I used to drink a lot more milk when I was younger than I do now, and I also used to be a LOT slimmer. It may be related; it might not be.

    Somewhere around the time I gained my weight, I stopped having milk with dinner at my grandparent's house (we moved out of state). For a few years, I switched to non-dairy milk, and then, I gradually transitioned from soy and almond milks to non-organic, pasteurized whole milk which I drake sporadically- mainly if I had something like pancakes or cookies. A few months back, I tried some raw milk at a friend's house (I had always been intrigued, and my friend has health issues where she can only drink raw milk from specific cows). I absolutely LOVED it.

    So, I decided to see what would happen if I tried drinking more. I'm finding that even with the calories, I'm eating a LOT less food than I was before, so it's balancing itself out... and it will continue to do so when I start incorporating more changes (simply replacing food with fruits and veggies NEVER worked for me (it always left me hungry), but since the milk is so satiating, I'm considering cutting down my portions of more calorie dense foods and replacing them with produce.

    In regards to the divided plates, I suppose I should expand on that. I have dinner at church on Wednesday nights during the summer. Now, I'm not incredibly picky about my food, but there are certain foods I don't really like touching. For example, if I have mashed potatoes with gray, I really don't want the gravy to touch my cranberry sauce. When I serve myself or cook at home, I arrange my plate in a way to keep foods touching only if I want them t touch. (I'm also a fan of having "islands" of food... not because I can't eat the food if they touch- it's just a personal preference). However, at church, they just slop food on the plate- often not paying attention to the fact that they're putting the baked ziti on top of a dinner roll. So, to make things easy, I am bringing a little divided plate. I'll get 2 items and a side salad on each trip. (I used to eat at least 2 full plates of food each trip- no salads; yesterday, I still ate 2 plates, but the plates were much smaller).

    drinking that high volume of milk to replace food does not sound to me like it is going to be a long term, sustainable, approach....

  • ftsolk
    ftsolk Posts: 202 Member
    I'm basically just having a glass of milk with each meal. If I decide to try some form of IF again (16:8/14:10), I'll probably only drink it twice a day on those days where I only eat 2 meals). I hardly think pouring myself a glass of milk when I prepare dinner is completely impractical. I also made sure to get thermoses for meals out. Do I bring my thermos into the restaurant? Heck no. I will, however, drink my milk in the car on the way there. How is that any different than the advice to eat an apple or other snack before eating out?
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    ftsolk wrote: »
    I'm basically just having a glass of milk with each meal. If I decide to try some form of IF again (16:8/14:10), I'll probably only drink it twice a day on those days where I only eat 2 meals). I hardly think pouring myself a glass of milk when I prepare dinner is completely impractical. I also made sure to get thermoses for meals out. Do I bring my thermos into the restaurant? Heck no. I will, however, drink my milk in the car on the way there. How is that any different than the advice to eat an apple or other snack before eating out?

    not sure if you are responding to me or not...but my point is that do you think that substituting milk is a long term solution that will allow you to keep the weight off for one, two, five, etc years?

    instead of trying "experiments" why not just learn sustainable habits now that will benefit you for the long-term?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited August 2016
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    ftsolk wrote: »
    Right now, I'm in a "let's see what happens" stage of my experiment. I used to drink a lot more milk when I was younger than I do now, and I also used to be a LOT slimmer. It may be related; it might not be.

    Somewhere around the time I gained my weight, I stopped having milk with dinner at my grandparent's house (we moved out of state). For a few years, I switched to non-dairy milk, and then, I gradually transitioned from soy and almond milks to non-organic, pasteurized whole milk which I drake sporadically- mainly if I had something like pancakes or cookies. A few months back, I tried some raw milk at a friend's house (I had always been intrigued, and my friend has health issues where she can only drink raw milk from specific cows). I absolutely LOVED it.

    So, I decided to see what would happen if I tried drinking more. I'm finding that even with the calories, I'm eating a LOT less food than I was before, so it's balancing itself out... and it will continue to do so when I start incorporating more changes (simply replacing food with fruits and veggies NEVER worked for me (it always left me hungry), but since the milk is so satiating, I'm considering cutting down my portions of more calorie dense foods and replacing them with produce.

    In regards to the divided plates, I suppose I should expand on that. I have dinner at church on Wednesday nights during the summer. Now, I'm not incredibly picky about my food, but there are certain foods I don't really like touching. For example, if I have mashed potatoes with gray, I really don't want the gravy to touch my cranberry sauce. When I serve myself or cook at home, I arrange my plate in a way to keep foods touching only if I want them t touch. (I'm also a fan of having "islands" of food... not because I can't eat the food if they touch- it's just a personal preference). However, at church, they just slop food on the plate- often not paying attention to the fact that they're putting the baked ziti on top of a dinner roll. So, to make things easy, I am bringing a little divided plate. I'll get 2 items and a side salad on each trip. (I used to eat at least 2 full plates of food each trip- no salads; yesterday, I still ate 2 plates, but the plates were much smaller).

    drinking that high volume of milk to replace food does not sound to me like it is going to be a long term, sustainable, approach....

    I'm no longer a milk drinker but a glass of milk per meal doesn't sound like 'high volume' to me. She bought 2 gallons, but is only drinking three 10 ounces servings per day. It's satiating her, and she's not eating other, higher calorie food.

    @ftsolk - good luck and keep us posted!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    ftsolk wrote: »
    Right now, I'm in a "let's see what happens" stage of my experiment. I used to drink a lot more milk when I was younger than I do now, and I also used to be a LOT slimmer. It may be related; it might not be.

    Somewhere around the time I gained my weight, I stopped having milk with dinner at my grandparent's house (we moved out of state). For a few years, I switched to non-dairy milk, and then, I gradually transitioned from soy and almond milks to non-organic, pasteurized whole milk which I drake sporadically- mainly if I had something like pancakes or cookies. A few months back, I tried some raw milk at a friend's house (I had always been intrigued, and my friend has health issues where she can only drink raw milk from specific cows). I absolutely LOVED it.

    So, I decided to see what would happen if I tried drinking more. I'm finding that even with the calories, I'm eating a LOT less food than I was before, so it's balancing itself out... and it will continue to do so when I start incorporating more changes (simply replacing food with fruits and veggies NEVER worked for me (it always left me hungry), but since the milk is so satiating, I'm considering cutting down my portions of more calorie dense foods and replacing them with produce.

    In regards to the divided plates, I suppose I should expand on that. I have dinner at church on Wednesday nights during the summer. Now, I'm not incredibly picky about my food, but there are certain foods I don't really like touching. For example, if I have mashed potatoes with gray, I really don't want the gravy to touch my cranberry sauce. When I serve myself or cook at home, I arrange my plate in a way to keep foods touching only if I want them t touch. (I'm also a fan of having "islands" of food... not because I can't eat the food if they touch- it's just a personal preference). However, at church, they just slop food on the plate- often not paying attention to the fact that they're putting the baked ziti on top of a dinner roll. So, to make things easy, I am bringing a little divided plate. I'll get 2 items and a side salad on each trip. (I used to eat at least 2 full plates of food each trip- no salads; yesterday, I still ate 2 plates, but the plates were much smaller).

    drinking that high volume of milk to replace food does not sound to me like it is going to be a long term, sustainable, approach....

    I'm no longer a milk drinker but a glass of milk per meal doesn't sound like 'high volume' to me. She bought 2 gallons, but is only drinking three 10 ounces servings per day. It's satiating her, and she's not eating other, higher calorie food.

    @ftsolk - good luck and keep us posted!

    my point is that subbing milk for real foods is not a long term approach that is going to result in sustained weight loss...and 36 ounces a day of milk is 700 calories a day...
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    ftsolk wrote: »
    Right now, I'm in a "let's see what happens" stage of my experiment. I used to drink a lot more milk when I was younger than I do now, and I also used to be a LOT slimmer. It may be related; it might not be.

    Somewhere around the time I gained my weight, I stopped having milk with dinner at my grandparent's house (we moved out of state). For a few years, I switched to non-dairy milk, and then, I gradually transitioned from soy and almond milks to non-organic, pasteurized whole milk which I drake sporadically- mainly if I had something like pancakes or cookies. A few months back, I tried some raw milk at a friend's house (I had always been intrigued, and my friend has health issues where she can only drink raw milk from specific cows). I absolutely LOVED it.

    So, I decided to see what would happen if I tried drinking more. I'm finding that even with the calories, I'm eating a LOT less food than I was before, so it's balancing itself out... and it will continue to do so when I start incorporating more changes (simply replacing food with fruits and veggies NEVER worked for me (it always left me hungry), but since the milk is so satiating, I'm considering cutting down my portions of more calorie dense foods and replacing them with produce.

    In regards to the divided plates, I suppose I should expand on that. I have dinner at church on Wednesday nights during the summer. Now, I'm not incredibly picky about my food, but there are certain foods I don't really like touching. For example, if I have mashed potatoes with gray, I really don't want the gravy to touch my cranberry sauce. When I serve myself or cook at home, I arrange my plate in a way to keep foods touching only if I want them t touch. (I'm also a fan of having "islands" of food... not because I can't eat the food if they touch- it's just a personal preference). However, at church, they just slop food on the plate- often not paying attention to the fact that they're putting the baked ziti on top of a dinner roll. So, to make things easy, I am bringing a little divided plate. I'll get 2 items and a side salad on each trip. (I used to eat at least 2 full plates of food each trip- no salads; yesterday, I still ate 2 plates, but the plates were much smaller).

    drinking that high volume of milk to replace food does not sound to me like it is going to be a long term, sustainable, approach....

    I'm no longer a milk drinker but a glass of milk per meal doesn't sound like 'high volume' to me. She bought 2 gallons, but is only drinking three 10 ounces servings per day. It's satiating her, and she's not eating other, higher calorie food.

    @ftsolk - good luck and keep us posted!

    my point is that subbing milk for real foods is not a long term approach that is going to result in sustained weight loss...and 36 ounces a day of milk is 700 calories a day...

    This is what I am thinking as well. It seems to me drinking that much milk a day is not moderation, even if it were nonfat milk.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    ftsolk wrote: »
    Right now, I'm in a "let's see what happens" stage of my experiment. I used to drink a lot more milk when I was younger than I do now, and I also used to be a LOT slimmer. It may be related; it might not be.

    Somewhere around the time I gained my weight, I stopped having milk with dinner at my grandparent's house (we moved out of state). For a few years, I switched to non-dairy milk, and then, I gradually transitioned from soy and almond milks to non-organic, pasteurized whole milk which I drake sporadically- mainly if I had something like pancakes or cookies. A few months back, I tried some raw milk at a friend's house (I had always been intrigued, and my friend has health issues where she can only drink raw milk from specific cows). I absolutely LOVED it.

    So, I decided to see what would happen if I tried drinking more. I'm finding that even with the calories, I'm eating a LOT less food than I was before, so it's balancing itself out... and it will continue to do so when I start incorporating more changes (simply replacing food with fruits and veggies NEVER worked for me (it always left me hungry), but since the milk is so satiating, I'm considering cutting down my portions of more calorie dense foods and replacing them with produce.

    In regards to the divided plates, I suppose I should expand on that. I have dinner at church on Wednesday nights during the summer. Now, I'm not incredibly picky about my food, but there are certain foods I don't really like touching. For example, if I have mashed potatoes with gray, I really don't want the gravy to touch my cranberry sauce. When I serve myself or cook at home, I arrange my plate in a way to keep foods touching only if I want them t touch. (I'm also a fan of having "islands" of food... not because I can't eat the food if they touch- it's just a personal preference). However, at church, they just slop food on the plate- often not paying attention to the fact that they're putting the baked ziti on top of a dinner roll. So, to make things easy, I am bringing a little divided plate. I'll get 2 items and a side salad on each trip. (I used to eat at least 2 full plates of food each trip- no salads; yesterday, I still ate 2 plates, but the plates were much smaller).

    drinking that high volume of milk to replace food does not sound to me like it is going to be a long term, sustainable, approach....

    I'm no longer a milk drinker but a glass of milk per meal doesn't sound like 'high volume' to me. She bought 2 gallons, but is only drinking three 10 ounces servings per day. It's satiating her, and she's not eating other, higher calorie food.

    She said she fills a 12 oz thermos and it's 10-11 oz. Using a measure of 32 oz and 4% fat (raw whole milk could be higher), I get 600 calories, 48 g of sugar, and 20 g of sat fat. Sure, if you cut back on other things you can fit that in, but it's that's a LOT of calories, etc. for just milk (or would be at my current calorie level of 1650 for weight loss), and depending on overall calories could be nutritionally questionable.

    All up to the OP, her overall diet, and her preferences, though.

    I'd be curious whether she IS cutting back -- I see her saying that she COULD cut back on an already pretty high cal breakfast (and specifically cutting back on foods that provide fiber and healthy fats, although again she may get plenty of that in her overall diet, which she knows and I don't), not that she has.

    Years ago I decided to start the day with a cup of skim milk, and I found that that plus a light breakfast kept me full, so I'm not anti milk at all. (I don't do that now since I found breakfasts that are for me more pleasurable uses of calories.)
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