You can eat 1–2 slices of a low-fat cheese 2–3 times per week in salads, pies, and sandwiches for weight loss. Small portions give taste to healthy, filling foods.
Can I eat cheese and still lose weight?
We lose weight when we burn more calories than we eat. So, we should follow a hypocaloric diet in order to lose weight or burn calories by exercising.
As a rule of thumb, cheese isn’t suitable for a low-calorie diet. Most cheeses have too many calories.
Mascarpone, cheddar, Parmesan, Edam, provolone, cream, Swiss, and blue cheese have too many calories per serving. A slice has more than 60 calories!
| calories per 100g | calories per slice | |
| mascarpone | 429 | 73 |
| cheddar | 409 | 70 |
| Swiss cheese | 393 | 67 |
| Parmesan | 392 | 67 |
| Edam | 357 | 61 |
| Gouda | 356 | 61 |
| blue cheese | 353 | 60 |
| provolone | 351 | 60 |
| cream cheese | 343 | 58 |
| brie | 334 | 57 |
| halloumi | 321 | 55 |
| mozzarella | 296 | 50 |
| feta cheese | 273 | 46 |
| goat’s cheese | 264 | 45 |
| ricotta | 158 | 27 |
| cottage | 82 | 14 |
Only feta, ricotta, cottage, and goat’s cheese have less than 50 calories per serving.
In fact, the healthiest cheese for weight loss is low-fat cottage cheese. Besides its low calorie content, cottage is a healthy cheese for weight loss because it’s pretty low in saturated fat and sodium! Even so, we should limit cottage cheese consumption to 2 tablespoons a day.
However, as long as you consume fewer calories than you burn, you can lose weight while eating any cheese!
How many slices of cheese a day is healthy?
As a rule of thumb, most people should consume no more than 2 slices of cheese per day! 2 slices of cheese have 100–150 calories, depending on the type of cheese!
But, consuming just one slice of cheese per day is preferable for weight loss. Cheese is high in fat. Too much fat is bad for weight loss. Not only does it have too many calories, but also it doesn’t promote satiety.
So, we should be very cautious with portion sizes. Reckless consumption of cheese can lead to overeating!
How many days a week should you eat cheese?
Certainly, we should avoid eating cheese every day. It’s healthier to eat 1–2 slices of a low-fat cheese 2–3 times per week.
Most cheeses are high in saturated fat and sodium. A diet high in these can raise LDL-cholesterol, and increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and hypertension.[2]
That’s why we can’t depend on cheese for calcium!
How to eat cheese for fat loss?
We can eat reasonable amounts of cheese. The best way to eat cheese is in salads. It provides flavor to salads. So, it makes it easier to follow a low-calorie, plant-based diet.
In fact, salads play a key role in a diet for weight loss. They keep us full for hours with only a few calories, as they’re high in fiber. Moreover, salads are packed with antioxidants and other compounds that increase basal metabolism and burn belly fat.
However, we should be very cautious with cheese, vegetable oils, and fattening dressings. We should add only tiny portions to salads, as they have too many calories. For instance, just a tablespoon of any vegetable oil has 126 calories!
1–2 tablespoons of light mayonnaise or mustard are good for weight loss, though.
Furthermore, you could add a slice of cheese to vegetarian pies, toasts, sandwiches, and other healthy snacks. Cheese gives tastes to many healthy recipes.
