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What Counts As A Dairy Serving?

In the dairy weight management studies, people ate 2000 kilojoules a day less than their current diet and included calcium from dairy (3-4 servings of milk, yogurt or cheese).  Other people ate 2000 kilojoules a day less than their current diet, with little or no dairy.  Each serving of dairy provided about 300 mg (30% of the daily value of calcium).  People who ate 3-4 servings of dairy every day as part of a reduced kilojoule diet lost more weight than those who reduced their kilojoules alone.  The chart below summarizes what counted as a dairy serving in these studies.
Food Item Serving Size
Milk Products
Skimmed, semi-skimmed, whole milk 240ml
Evaporated skimmed milk 120ml

Yoghurt Products
Plain or lowfat yoghurt 240ml
lowfat sugar sweetened flavoured yoghurt 240ml
lowfat artificially sweetened flavoured yoghurt 240ml
Whole plain yoghurt 240ml
Whole sugar-sweetened flavoured yoghurt 240ml

Cheese Products
Low fat or whole-fat natural cheeses (such as cheddar) 45g
Low fat or whole-fat processed cheeses 55g
If you wish to use any full-fat dairy products, be sure to account for the extra kilojoules and fat, as well.  Feel free to mix-up how you get your recommended amount of calcium from dairy.  For example, try 225ml milk at breakfast, 225g yoghurt at lunch and 35g of natural cheese for a snack.  Remember, you can increase your kilojoules by adding dairy and expect to lose weight.  Taking in fewer kilojoules than your body burns is the only way to lose weight.  Your rate of weight loss will depend on your overall kilojoule intake, diet and exercise plan.

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What Counts As A Dairy Serving?