Does Low-fat Cottage Cheese Make You Lose Weight?

While there is no magic food that will make you lose weight, low-fat cottage cheese does offer some weight loss benefits. To lose weight successfully, you need to create a caloric deficit by eating less food than your body needs. Low-fat cottage cheese can fit into a healthy, well-balanced weight loss plan, although you should avoid eating only cottage cheese when attempting to lose weight.

Food Pyramid Placement

Low-fat cottage cheese is in the dairy group of the food pyramid. Like other foods in this group, low-fat cottage cheese provides you with a variety of vitamins and minerals, including calcium and protein. Other foods in the dairy food group include milk, cheese, milk-based puddings, ice cream and yogurt.

Nutrition

Low-fat cottage cheese is a better choice for weight loss than full fat cottage cheese, as 1 cup contains just 163 calories. The cup of low-fat cottage cheese has 2.3 g of fat, 28 g of protein and 6.2 g of both sugar and carbohydrates. The 138 mg of calcium in cottage cheese is 13.8 percent of your daily requirement if you a male under 70, or a female under 50. If you are a female older than 50, the calcium in low-fat cottage cheese provides you with 11.5 percent of your requirement.

Protein and Weight Loss

A cup of low-fat cottage cheese contains a similar amount of protein to chicken or beef. Although opinions are mixed on the value of eating a high-protein diet for weight loss, a study published in the April 2011 edition of the "Nutrition Journal" compared a reduced calorie high-protein diet with a reduced calorie low-fat diet and concluded that while both groups lost weight, the group following a higher protein diet lost more weight. Additionally, eating foods with a higher protein content can help your weight loss efforts by keeping you feeling full for longer, which may help you limit your caloric intake.

Calcium Benefits

The relatively high calcium content of cottage cheese may be beneficial when trying to lose weight. The "Journal of the American College of Nutrition" published a study in their December 2005 issue which concluded that eating dairy products high in calcium may be beneficial for losing weight. Low-fat cottage cheese is a better high-calcium dairy choice than regular cottage cheese or whole milk because of the lower fat and calorie content.

Strategies

When dieting, choosing low-fat cottage cheese as a snack or breakfast food can help you lose weight. Combine 1/2 cup of mixed, fresh berries with 1 cup of low-fat cottage cheese for a low-calorie breakfast. Eat the low-fat cottage cheese as a 100-calorie afternoon snack accompanied by a few whole wheat crackers. Combining carbohydrate-rich crackers with high-protein cottage cheese will give you energy and fullness. You can substitute low-fat cottage cheese for regular fat cottage cheese or ricotta cheese in Italian dishes to save calories and fat.