Cheese is a very good food to have as part of your weight loss diet. Due to its highly beneficial nutritional balance and its versatility in meals, cheese can make weight loss both easy and very effective.
In the rest of the article, we’re going to look at the details behind why cheese is good for weight loss and also understand the fundamentals of weight loss.
Why is Cheese Good for Weight Loss?
Cheese is a great food to have in your kitchen if you’re trying to lose weight primarily because of its nutritional value. Namely, cheese is very high in protein while being very low in carbohydrates, with some cheeses even containing effectively zero carbs! Cheese is also a useful ingredient to cook with as it enhances the tastes of so many other foods.
Cheese is High in Protein
Cheeses tend to be very high in protein. Most cheeses will give you your daily recommended intake of protein in only 8 ounces. Mozzarella is among the most protein-rich cheeses and can fulfil your daily protein needs in only 6 ounces.
Protein is very useful to weight loss because it makes your brain feel that you’re sated – or to put in in simplest terms, full – with significantly smaller quantities. This means that you will be naturally content with eating smaller meals as you’ll be finishing them sooner, and less meals as you’ll feel less hungry. The lower caloric intake will be the biggest driver in your weight loss.
Protein also takes a lot more energy to metabolize than carbs and fat. You can look at this as increasing your calorie burning without having to do exercises, or you can look at it as only a portion of the calories you’re eating with protein going to your intake, but in both instances, less calories will be going to potential fat reserves.
Cheese Has Little to No Carbs
Most cheeses have only very small levels of carbohydrates, usually amounting to a negligible portion of your daily carb allowance, even in big portions. Some cheeses have such tiny proportions of the compound – such as goat cheese, with about 0.1% of its total mass being carbs – that they are, for all practical purposes, zero carb foods.
Carbohydrates, more than any other food, cause your pancreas to release more insulin, which aids in the absorption of the glucose that the carbs were broken down into. Insulin is, however, also associated with your body’s tendency to store energy as fat, with higher levels of insulin in your blood commonly resulting in more frequent hunger and weight gain.
Cheese Tastes Great With Other Foods
If you’re going to be eating one type of food a lot while on your diet, cheese is a great one because of its immense versatility. You can eat it on its own or have as a meze on the table, but you can also prepare it with so many other foods without clashing with their tastes.
You can mix various cheeses with fruits and crackers to make cheese boards, which are themselves a decent weight loss food. If you’re feeling a bit ravenous, a nice, homemade cheeseburger can give you a double dose of protein when the cheese meets the beef, while also combining to make an incredible taste.
Human consumption of cheese predates recorded history, and throughout the millennia, civilizations have prepared cheeses for meals that are sweet, savory, salty, and everything in between. What this means for you is that having cheese as part of your diet will ensure you never get bored of the taste of your meals.
Should I Stop Eating Cheese to Lose Weight?
You do not need to stop eating cheese if you’re trying to lose weight. On the contrary, as we’ve seen, cheese is one of the best foods to have as a part of your diet while you’re losing weight, and it’s far more likely to aid your weight loss with its beneficial nutritional balance than hinder it.
Is Cheese Necessary for Losing Weight?
Cheese is great for losing weight, but it’s not necessary for it. The most direct way to lose weight is simply to ensure a calorie deficit, regardless of what you eat. A calorie deficit is achieved when you have more calories burned than calories consumed.
Increase Calories Out
Your body will burn calories throughout the day to provide energy to your organs and your muscles as they move you around. This can be increased significantly through exercise. About one fifth of an average daily calorie intake can be burned by jogging for an hour, but if you want something even more intense, an hour of swimming can burn over a third!
If you’re looking for something considerably less intense, you can look at rejigging your daily routine. If you normally drive to work or take the bus, consider walking. An hour of walking burns between about one tenth and one sixth of your average daily calorie intake, so for example, if your walking commute is 3 miles away, the 2 hours of daily walking will make a huge difference.
Limit Calories In
We discussed earlier that a high protein intake makes you feel more sated, which in turn makes you feel the need to eat less. This clever life hack is an easy way to reduce your calorie intake, but protein-rich foods like cheese aren’t the only way to do this.
Eating habits are often exactly that, habits. While it is easy to get carried away with frequent large meals, getting yourself used to smaller meals, less frequent meals, or both will eventually reduce your desire for overeating. Once you’re within a healthy daily calorie intake and have achieved a healthy weight, you won’t even need to worry about things like special diets or exercises.
Conclusion
We’ve learned that cheese is good for weight loss due to its balance of high protein and very low or zero carbs, but also that it can be eaten in many different ways, allowing you to keep meals interesting within your diet. We’ve also determined that the most straightforward way of losing weight is by maintaining a calorie deficit, which can be done with or without cheese.
