Cheese only?

cheese
food
#1

So I’ve been thinking about cheese… a lot… I like to joke that half of my caloric intake is from cheese, but it might actually be true. I tend to have meals of just panela grilled on a skillet, a chunk of cheddar, or a wedge of humboldt fog pretty often and be completely happy and satisfied.

I’m thinking about eating only cheese for a week to see what happens. I know it probably won’t kill me, but I don’t know if there’s something obvious I’m missing.

Longer term, I would be worried about missing out on micro nutrients or maybe specific amino acids, but babies live on nothing but milk, so there’s probably not any serious deficiencies. Is there any reason that I shouldn’t try this? Anybody care to weigh in? Would a multivitamin be necessary? I’ll happily put olive oil or lemon juice on the cheese, but I sort of want to see how it would go with just cheese.

Thanks

#2

I’d certainly be supplementing magnesium! In terms of nutrient deficiencies I can’t imagine one week of cheese could be too terrible but it could prove a bit too insulinogenic long term.

#3

For my own body, cheese tends to make me constipated…so I would never attempt cheese-only unless I also ate a ton of greens.

#4

Most cheese seem to fall around 75% calories from fat, 25% from protein, and 0-2% carbs. It seems like the macros are pretty much ideal. Would the insulin be in response to the protein, carbs, or one of those sneaky insulinogenic for some people but not others things that I don’t really understand?

EDIT: I would probably end up keeping IF if insulin turns out to be an issue.

#5

I was actually lactose intolerant as an infant/child, but I guess I’m cured now. I never seem to have any problems with large quantities of cheese. Now that I think about it, I would never cut out dairy for fear of losing the ability to digest it again.

With magnesium supplemented in the form of magnesium citrate, I’ll probably preemptively take care of any constipation issues.

#6

I think it’s the combo of the particular type of proteins in dairy and the carb count. A lot of people stall their weight loss with even quite modest amounts of cheese or dairy & some have no problem. Those that do stall might be dairy intolerant &/or they may have higher basal insulin levels which means any extra spike in insulin is dodgy. So (as with many things!) YMMV.

Personally cheese doesn’t bother me (apart from the binding issue hence the magnesium) but even modest amounts of milk can have a big impact - mainly skin issues.

I’d be fascinated to know how it goes for you if you decide to try it- I love cheese :yum: