I have leaned out while consuming ridiculous amounts of heavy cream and full fat Greek yoghurt.Now I can see the veins under my skin above my inguinal ligaments, and I used to look like the ladies in renaissance paintings. I eat quite a lot of Havarti and Cheddar and some butter. It is only when I eat vegetables and fruit or any FODMAPs that I get bloated. I love steamed broccoli but my stomach balloons within half an hour of eating it. Oddly enough (maybe not so oddly if you think about FODMAPs) I can have some candy or soda (made with sugar, not HFCS here) without bloating, but I become lethargic of course.

I eat my yoghurt straight up, because if I add raisins or (god forbid) cornflakes, my favorite combination, I get very bloated and lethargic.

I grew up drinking whole milk with every meal. I quit while in my college freshman documentary-watching vegetarian phase and added it back in after getting comfortable with paleo/primal over a span of a year. I have honestly never noticed a bad effect, but ymmv. Actually, I feel like my skin looks better when I get on milk craving kicks. Every day I drink heavy cream in my coffee and a couple times a week I eat cheese, butter, yogurt, or drink milk. I keep everything organic when possible. On a SAD diet I am skinny fat, paleo+dairy I'm much much leaner. Just my experience. I'll take any chance to talk about my love for dairy ha.

Before I started Paleo, I had been steadily losing weight eating dairy everyday (a serving or two of yogurt and always cheese too), like almost 30lbs. I ate lots of veggies, fruits, greek yogurt, cheese, and things like flax seed and oatmeal with occasional wheat bread. I'm 29y.o getting close to my goal weight, pretty decent in-shape.

I tried VLC (no dairy) for over a month and hated it, I know some people love it but I learned through trial that it just isn't for me. I didn't really lose any weight, maybe a little fat and felt miserable the whole time. I do so much better with moderate carbs!

I hear you on the greek yogurt, I love love love it too. I went 30+ days no dairy/no grains and am now just starting to try and reintroduce some dairy. I'm not quite sure how I'm doing with it yet though. I ended up eating one huge meal yesterday that included over a cup of yogurt, I think I'm a little bloated right now but that could also be because I am expecting Ms. Flow. From my previous weight loss, I think (hoping?!) I will be able to tolerate some greek yogurt and occasional cheese. I've read that harder cheeses and yogurt are some of the best dairy options anyways.

I don't really like the idea of depriving myself of things I love and I've always been a dairy girl, loving cheese mainly, I can do without milk. Maybe try a 1/4 cup or so to start?

In short, the fittest, leanest, and strongest I have ever been was when the base of my food pyramid was basically greek yogurt and cottage cheese with a combination of anything from fruit, to salad, to stir fry, to meat, to just cinnamon....so yes...I believe you can thrive off dairy

I seem to tolerate it fine in small doses, not a surprise with my Danish heritage. While on a Whole30, I certainly lost a few pounds and was the leanest I've ever been as an adult (maybe a bit too much...), but a little cream in my morning beverage is totally worth it.

I use Greek yogurt in lieu of sour cream, in sauces and salad dressings. I don't do much cheese anymore, and try to keep it raw when I do. And ice cream on a rare occasion.

I know you weren't looking for anecdotal evidence, but I always think about this when I think of dairy: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2037749_2219823,00.html. 1500 calories a day of almost nothing but pure sour milk, and she's gorgeous, strong, and healthy (looking, anyway). Obviously there are myriad number of factors different in our lives versus hers, but it's at least evidence that dairy isn't evil to everyone.

I had my best weight-loss success when I ate a lot of meat, eggs, and cheese -- from 1/4 to 1/2 pound of cheese per day. Nothing special, just a cheap hard cheese like cheddar or colby from the store. I felt great and had as much energy as I've ever had, with no noticeable ill effects.

I also did a 10-day raw milk diet a couple years ago -- about two gallons of raw Jersey milk every day, and nothing else but water -- and felt great. It even seemed to clear up the chronic sinus congestion that I've had for years, which I had guessed might be caused by dairy. I really should do that again one of these days, to see if I get the same results.

In my opinion (and experience), Greek yogurt is one of the best dairy options, however you slice it. From the calorie/nutrient breakdown, it's one of the better protein and fat sources. I added it back after stint on strict paleo without any negative results. Cheese and milk don't go down the same way.

I eat full fat grass-fed yogurt and cheese everyday with no issues. Kerrygold makes some great grass-fed cheeses. I have no issues with these two things, although I have recently noticed a stomach issue when I occasionally indulge in regular pasteurized cream/milk in a coffee.

I eat about 1-2 oz of cheese every day (usually raw milk) and have (full fat) yogurt with fruit a few times a week. I strain the yogurt myself since I haven't been able to find a store-bought greek yogurt that I'm happy with.

All other things being equal (in other words, if I don't up my calories) dairy doesn't seem to have any effect on my weight at all, nor do I have any problem with bloating.

Have no problem with dairy products. Eat a fair amount of mostly hard cheeses made from whole and semi skimmed milk, and consume normal and half fat yogurt (2 and 4% fat) natural, besides fermented whey and kefir. On rare occasions I have fresh pasteurized milk in coffee and such.

I eat a lot of dairy: every morning a glass of milk kefir (homemade with whole milk), and usually at noon a yogurt combo of full-fat greek yogurt and some homemade sheep's milk yogurt. Often I'll have another snall glass of milk kefir in the mid-afternoon to stave off nutella cravings. I also take heavy cream in my coffee. I like to think I'm thriving - I'm maintaining a lean weight (145 pounds for 5'11" female) without much trouble, I'm currently training for some trail running this summer, and I haven't gotten sick in as long as I can remember. The last time I felt "bad" - headache, bloating - was after a cheat involving gluten/sugar stuff like cake and cookies.

I basically exist on one form of dairy or another. Whole milk, whey protein isolates, greek yogurt, casein proteins...I know, shakes are not a substitute for real foods but I am lazy and my protein requirement is over 145 grams per day.

I mix almond butter, whole grains, and fiber into my shakes with whole milk as the base so my macronutrients balance out (40/30/30). I also snack on fruits and vegetables during the day. Lunch I generally eat chicken breast with a spinach salad with mixed nuts/tomatoes. So I'm not a total shake freak! lol.

I have had no allergic reactions to my diet. No bloating, gas, cramping, etc.

Total dairy intake a day...2-3 cups of whole milk, 3-4 scoops of protein, 1-2 single servings of greek yogurt, and the oddball ice cream mix (I love the vanilla butterfinger mix from Braums).

I eat ricotta, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, heavy cream on daily basis. (not all at once:)) And i am surprisingly very nicely leaning out. I usually have a snack every day consisting of ricotta plus home made yogurt plus fruit. Oh and piece of cheese after dinner, i prefere raw cheeses or goats organic cheese. a splash of heavy cream in my coffee and a bit on my blueberries... Omg, life can be so wonderfull, i love it!

I try to avoid eating a lot of dairy, but I do know from past experience that I can tolerate it relatively well. My only problem is with things like cheese I have a hard time stopping... not as bad as it is with sugar, but not great either.

I had fun with it for a while, but it's just not for me. I am still constipated and I stopped consuming it a while back. I wish I hadn't experimented with it because my digestion was close to perfect before I started consuming it.

I consume full-fat yogurt or kefir on a daily basis. The results have been better for both weight and energy than when going strict paleo (no dairy at all).

If by thrive you mean poop all day with stomach cramps, yes.