High-satiety dairy – the best and the worst

What's the best and the worst dairy for weight loss? These same options are also good for improving body composition and metabolic health.

This is controversial. It's often claimed that dairy is bad for weight loss and people are thus often recommended to avoid it. However, this may depend on the exact dairy we're talking about.

Dairy

Some forms of dairy are extremely low in protein and highly energy-dense, making them problematic, e.g. butter at 10 or heavy whipping cream at 20.

These can still be used in cooking, but keep the amounts of these low if you're looking to lose excess body fat. Do not overdo them unless you need all the extra energy (let's face it, most people do not).

Worst case, dairy products can be so hedonic that they become addictive in their nature, like cheesecake (duh, 3) and ice cream (12).

Other forms of dairy start to be more balanced in their satiety, making them less of a concern. It's worth noting that most full-fat cheese scores in the 30s, so you may not want to overdo regular cheese.

Regular full-fat milk or yogurt gets balanced scores around 50. Low-fat cheese generally scores balanced or high.

On the other end of the scale, there are dairy products that are very high in satiety scoring and, therefore, helpful for getting nutrients and protein and feeling full for longer with far fewer calories.

Extra popular examples include cottage cheese and Greek yogurt. Regular full-fat versions are fine, but if you really want to push it, low-fat versions score even higher.

Non-fat Greek yogurt comes in at a spectacular 89. This is a cheat code if you're looking to lose body fat and improve metabolic health. The only dairy-related thing scoring higher may be a whey protein shake.

Personally, I eat tons of cottage cheese and non-fat Greek yogurt, often with berries or chopped fruit.

Milk

What's the best milk for weight loss, body composition, and metabolic health? More protein and less sugar and fat generally result in higher satiety scores, as it's predicted to lead to spontaneously consuming less.

Very high-fat milk, like heavy cream, half-and-half, and coconut milk, score low. For most people, these may not even be ideal for coffee.

Oat milk (38) and chocolate milk (40) score a bit low, too. For context, oat milk contains refined carbohydrates and is low in protein—not what most people need. Even if you want plant-based milk, there are better options.

Regular full-fat milk (51) or 2% milk (61) get balanced scores.

Decent plant-based options include almond milk (54) and soy milk at 68.

Note that unsweetened brands of almond milk may score even higher, sometimes up to the 90s.

At the top, you find ultrafiltered milk, especially fat-free ultra-filtered milk (100).

What are these ultra-filtered milks? They are simply filtered milk that is significantly higher in protein and lower in milk sugar than regular milk.

The commonly available brands are from a company called Fairlife, and these kinds of milk can be worth testing (note that we're not sponsored by any food company).

Regular skim milk also scores high.