Also note that if you aren't consuming full fat dairy then your body isn't absorbing all the nutrients in the milk and in that case it may not justify the sugar content. Have you tried an eliminating dairy to see how you feel? If you really enjoy it, then there are plenty of other things you could do to lose weight.

Christy Przystawik
Holistic Health Coach. Chef. Mother. Motivator.
coachchristymarie.com

To me, the calcium is the most important benefit of dairy products. It's important to get calcium, and more naturally you can get it, the better. So I'd take a nonfat greek yogurt over a calcium supplement any day.

I don't know what your overall diet is like right now, but eliminating sugar helped me lose the most weight. And that can include milk sugars. This is one reason I prefer yogurt and kefir. The fermentation process helps lower the amount of milk sugars.

Ok, aside from the tolerance issue. Some tout is as necessary for a good diet and other say stay far away. I tolerate it fine but I could live with or without it. As I make my food choices and always trying to lose that 5-10 pounds, how do I decide whether to include or exclude it from my diet?

It just depends on you and your genes. Some people have a good tolerance for dairy and some don't.

http://www.decodeme.com/lactose-intolerance

For the average 40-something trying to keep things together: seems like half of what I read says cut out dairy and the other half says add some dairy to your diet. So when is it yes dairy and when is it no dairy?