How to Add Calcium Into Your Weight Loss Diet

Your body gets calcium from the food you eat, and this nutrient is essential to keep your bones healthy and prevent osteoporosis. If you're eating a low-calorie diet in an attempt to shed some pounds, you still need to make sure you're getting enough calcium. A deficiency in calcium may even make weight loss harder. This can be especially difficult if you're on a vegan diet or if you're lactose intolerant, since dairy foods are the easiest way to get calcium. However, you can still successfully add calcium into your weight-loss diet by eating plenty of leafy greens and other calcium-rich foods that are low in fat and calories.

Buy low-fat or skim milk. A pint (about 2 cups) of skim milk only has 190 calories, and a higher calcium content than full-fat milk. Skim milk has 25 mg more calcium than whole milk. If you drink just three glasses of skim milk each day (one with each meal), you'll be well on your way to getting the calcium you need.

·         If you're between 19 and 50 years old, you need at least 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day. Add 200 more milligrams per day if you're over the age of 50. Since there are around 300 milligrams of calcium in 8 ounces of skim milk, three 8-ounce glasses a day will provide you with 900 of the 1,000 milligrams of calcium you need.

·         If you include low-fat dairy in your weight-loss diet, not only will you get plenty of calcium, but you may lose weight more quickly than you would if you left milk and other dairy products out of your diet.

·         If you're lactose intolerant or don't consume dairy products, look for non-dairy milks such as soy milk or orange juice that are fortified with calcium.

Have yogurt as a snack. Yogurt is a weight-loss staple that also happens to be a significant source of calcium. If you're not a fan of plain yogurt, you can add fruits, nuts, or berries without decreasing the benefits of this food.

·         For example, an eight-ounce serving of fruit yogurt has approximately 345 milligrams of calcium. Just two yogurt snacks during the day would get you more than half of your recommended daily allowance of calcium.

·         Read the food label before you purchase yogurt to review the calories and added sugar content. Some yogurt is more like a dessert as it is full of added sugars. For example, Dannon Caramel Macchiato has 33 grams added sugar. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 24 grams (6 teaspoons) of added sugar per day for women and no more than 36 grams (9 teaspoons) of added sugar per day for men.

·         Add calcium-rich nuts such as almonds to increase the calcium boost you get from yogurt.

Eat mature cheeses. If you're on a diet, you probably think cheese is off limits. However, mature cheeses such as aged cheddar and parmesan are not only good sources of calcium, they can actually help you lose weight. Just make sure that you watch your serving sizes. A serving of cheese is 1 to 1 ½ ounces.

·         These cheeses can help you lose weight thanks to high amounts of the chemical butyrate, which essentially revs up your metabolism.

·         Aged cheeses such as Parmesan and Swiss also may be okay for you even if you're lactose intolerant, since they contain very little lactose.

·         These cheeses are easy to add to your weight-loss diet. For example, you might sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese onto a salad of leafy greens.

Use milk instead of water for drinks or hot cereals. If you don't like drinking milk, you can still sneak dairy into your diet by mixing it into instant drinks or foods such as oatmeal that you would typically make with water.

·         For example, you could use skim milk with instant hot chocolate instead of water for a richer, creamier drink that also gives you a boost of calcium.

·         Since milk has a different consistency than water, you may need to play around with the amount you add to keep your food or drink from being too thick. However, with skim milk there's not a significant difference.