Eating cottage cheese exclusively for a few days probably won’t harm you. You may become nutrient-deficient and start a cycle of yo-yo dieting that makes it difficult to maintain a healthy weight over the long term.
Tangy cottage cheese is a staple of many low-calorie diets. It’s not surprising that it’s become a fad diet on its own.
The cottage cheese diet is a calorie-restricted, low-carbohydrate diet. It’s meant to help you lose weight quickly. Here’s a look at the pros and cons of this crash diet.
There’s no official version of the cottage cheese diet. It’s simply an eating plan where you eat only cottage cheese at each meal for at least three days. Some people also eat fresh fruits and vegetables in moderation.
Alcohol, fruit juice, sodas, and other sweetened beverages are usually avoided.
Pros of the cottage cheese diet
- You’ll likely lose weight quickly.
- The diet’s easy to follow and no cooking’s required.
- Cottage cheese is high in protein.
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The main benefit of the cottage cheese diet is fast weight loss. Any diet that greatly restricts calories usually results in weight loss. However, you may lose mostly water weight and not fat.
It’s inexpensive
Cottage cheese is also inexpensive and easy to find. A large tub is usually only a few dollars at the grocery store. This makes the cottage cheese diet appealing if you’re on a tight budget.
It’s convenient
The cottage cheese diet is convenient. There are no complicated recipes or shopping lists. You don’t have to count calories or points, or weigh your food.
Cottage cheese is portable and easy to pack, so you can take it with you to work or school.
It’s a high-protein diet
Cottage cheese is high in protein. One cup of low-fat cottage cheese has a whopping
High-protein foods digest slowly. This helps keep you feeling full longer and makes you less likely to overeat.
Protein also helps keep blood sugar levels stable, and helps build muscle. Discover more benefits of protein.
The bottom line
If you like the taste of cottage cheese, you’ll probably enjoy this diet, at least for the short term. You can change it up by topping your cottage cheese meals with seasonings, including:
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- pepper
- ginger
- Indian spice blends
Cons of the cottage cheese diet
- There’s little variety in the diet so you may get bored easily and you won’t meet your nutrient needs.
- The diet is calorie-restrictive and may cause the body to go into starvation mode.
- Cottage cheese contains no fiber.
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Like any restrictive eating plan, the cottage cheese diet also has its downsides.
It lacks variety
If you only eat cottage cheese all day, you may get bored and abandon the diet. This could lead to binge eating and ultimately sabotage your weight loss goals.
It may trigger cravings
Diet restrictions may trigger food cravings. The results of a 2017 study found that people with restricted diets experienced more food cravings and ate larger amounts of the foods they craved.
It’s a fiber-free diet
Cottage cheese contains no fiber. The recommended daily intake (RDI) of fiber is 25 g for women ages 19 to 50 and 38 g for men ages 19 to 50. People over 50 require a little less.
A low-fiber diet is linked to constipation, hemorrhoids, and diverticular disease.
Fiber helps control blood sugar levels and lower cholesterol. Unless there’s a medical reason you need to restrict fiber, it’s important to eat as much as you can each day.
You may have heard that your body goes into “starvation mode” when you restrict the number of calories you eat. This may be true for long-term diets, but it’s unlikely to happen if you only limit calories for a few days.
However, if you eat limited calories on a regular basis and don’t exercise, your metabolism may slow and cause your weight loss to plateau.
A 2015 study found that people who were overweight and followed a low-calorie diet without exercise lost weight. They also experienced a drop in their metabolism and reduced their physical activity over time.
Study participants who exercised and ate a low-calorie diet also lost weight, but their metabolism didn’t slow down.
Cottage cheese is a good source of some vitamins and minerals, but it only contains small amounts of others, or none at all.
If you only eat cottage cheese throughout the day, you won’t get the RDI of all the nutrients your body needs to function well. You may lose energy throughout the day, especially if you exercise.
Cottage cheese and sodium
One cup of low-fat cottage cheese contains
Too much sodium may lead to:
- water retention
- bloating
- puffiness
- weight gain
This defeats the fast weight loss goal of a crash diet.
The side effects may be temporary, but if you frequently go on the cottage cheese diet and consistently consume too much sodium, serious problems may occur, such as:
- high blood pressure
- increased risk of heart attack and stroke
- heart failure
- kidney damage
- osteoporosis
You can cut calories and fat from your diet and promote healthy weight loss by substituting cottage cheese for other foods. Here are some suggestions:
- Add cottage cheese to your morning smoothie.
- Top cottage cheese with fresh berries, mango, or pineapple for a healthy snack.
- Substitute cottage cheese for mayo in chicken salad and egg salad.
- Substitute cottage cheese for sandwich spreads like mayo or for butter on toast.
- Substitute cottage cheese for ricotta cheese in lasagna.
- Sprinkle cottage cheese with fiber-rich wheat germ, flax seeds, chia seeds, or hemp seeds.
If you’re trying to fit into your favorite little black dress by the weekend, the cottage cheese diet may help you lose a few fast pounds. It’s not healthy for the long term, though.
If you want to try the diet, do it for the shortest amount of time possible and eat low-sodium varieties of cottage cheese.
For maximum nutrients, top your cottage cheese with fresh fruit or chopped nuts or seeds. Eat a couple of healthy high-fiber snacks each day as well.
It’s also important to drink plenty of water throughout the day.
If you’re healthy, eating cottage cheese exclusively for a few days probably won’t harm you.
If you do it regularly, all bets are off. You may become nutrient-deficient and start a cycle of yo-yo dieting that makes it difficult to maintain a healthy weight over the long term.
Instead of using cottage cheese as the staple of a crash diet, incorporate it into a healthy eating plan that promotes long-term weight loss and maintenance.
- Basic report: 01016, cheese, cottage, lowfat, 1% milkfat. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/16?fgcd=&manu=&lfacet=&format=&count=&max=35&offset=&sort=&qlookup=cottage+cheese - Gidus, T. (2008, June 8). Protein to keep you full. Retrieved from http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/diet-diva/protein-keep-you-full
- Health risks and disease related to salt and sodium. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/salt-and-sodium/sodium-health-risks-and-disease/
- Mayo clinic staff. (2015, September 22). Dietary fiber: Essential for a healthy diet. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/fiber/art-20043983
- Polivy, J., Coleman, J., & Herman, C. P. (2005, December). The effect of deprivation on food cravings and eating behavior on restrained and unrestrained eaters. Eating Disorders, 38(4), 301-309. Retrieved from
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eat.20195/abstract - Redman, L. M., Heilbronn, L. K., Martin, C. K., de Jonge, L., Williamson, D. A., Delany, J. P., & Ravussin, E. (2009). Metabolic and behavioral compensations in response to caloric restriction: Implications for the maintenance of weight loss. PLoS ONE, 4(2), e4377. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2634841/
