One Small Step: Drink milk in the morning

Posted 07 July 2009

Drinking milk can boost your weight loss!

Researchers in Australia recently found that drinking skimmed milk in the morning, instead of fruit juice, helped overweight men and women feel fuller and led to a lower calorie intake at their next meal.

In the study, (published in the July issue of the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"), 34 people took part in two tasting sessions. In one they were given a pint of skimmed milk with their breakfast and in the other they were given the same amount of fruit juice.

Both drinks contributed around 250 calories to the breakfast.

At lunch the milk drinkers went on to eat about 50 fewer calories, or nearly 9% less food, than the fruit juice drinkers.

It's thought that that the results could be down to milk's protein content, lactose (the natural sugar in milk) or simply the thickness of the drink.

Research suggests that choosing foods which help you feel fuller can be an important factor in any weight management plan. And just a 50 calorie deficit every day would mean you'd lose 5lbs in a year - we think that's well worth a go!