One food group that far too many people unnecessarily cut from their diet plan is dairy rich foods.  Think you must avoid these if you want to see fat loss results?

Think again!  Dairy products have been shown to help you reduce the body fat specifically around your abdominal region, so if one of your goals is a lean midsection, dairy must be included in.

Plus, diary rich foods are going to provide you with a great dose of calcium as well as protein, both of which are an important part of any sound diet plan.

This said, it is important that you are choosing your dairy products wisely because if you aren’t, they may provide you with more saturated fat and calories than you bargained for.

Let’s have a look at what you should know about choosing smart dairy products.

Choose Skim or 1% Milk

The very first thing that you should be doing is selecting skim or 1% milk for your milk of choice.  Milk can be an excellent source of protein with up to 9 grams per cup, plus it’s easy to incorporate into your diet.

Add it to oatmeal, a protein shake, or just drink it plain.

Opt For Cottage Cheese

Second, another terrific source of dairy to include in your diet is lower fat cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is a form of ‘casein protein’, which breaks down and digests more slowly in the body compared to other protein sources.

This makes it an ideal option for before you turn in for the evening.

Combine it with a peanut butter for healthy fats and you’ll be all set.

Go For Greek Yogurt

Moving along, Greek yogurt is yet another fantastic option for dairy rich foods to consider.  Greek yogurt is great because it’s higher in protein than any other yogurt variety and is also very low in fat- if not fat free depending on the variety that you’re getting.

Greek yogurt works well in smoothies, served up with some fresh fruit, or incorporated into dishes such as protein pancakes or sauces.

Eat Only Reduced Fat Hard Cheese

Finally, when it comes to hard cheese, you can include some of these in your diet from time to time, but really do your best to include only low fat varieties.

Hard cheese are higher in saturated fat content if you’re eating the regular variety and the calories will really add up quickly.

Most people who are cheese lovers and start dining on cheese will find it difficult to stop as well, so this can make them quite problematic as far as maintaining a healthy diet goes.

So there you have the most important points to remember as you go about choosing the dairy products to include in your diet.  Try and get at least two servings, if not three, in per day and you’ll be meeting your calcium needs and taking a step towards meeting your protein needs as well.