A young couple eating a cheese pizza on a couch. Image Credit: Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images

Costco is a warehouse store where you can buy items in bulk. A food court also allows you to have a slice of pizza before or after you shop excursion. Find out what the pizza's nutritional content is to see how it fits in with your diet plan.

Size

Calorie control is all important to losing weight. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a 500-to-1,000-calorie daily deficit to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week. A single slice of Costco cheese pizza contains more than 800 calories. If your reduced intake is 1,500 calories a day, you would get more than half from one slice.

Significance

Costco pizza is high in saturated fat. A diet high in saturated fat causes a soft, waxy substance called cholesterol to build up in the arteries, according to the National Institutes of Health. A single Costco pizza slice contains more than 20 g of saturated fat, and it also contains more than 97 milligrams of cholesterol. Total daily cholesterol should be kept under 200 mg, and again, you get almost half of this amount from one slice of pizza.

Refined Carbs

Carbohydrates, your body's fuel source, also help with brain and nervous system function. One slice of Costco cheese pizza contains more than 70 g of carbs. Because these carbs come from refined white flour, they are considered simple carbohydrates which get digested quickly. Refined carbohydrates from white bread, white rice and other refined grains, pastries and sugared sodas may contribute to weight gain, interfere with weight loss and promote diabetes and heart disease, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.

Warning

Sodium is an electrolyte mineral that is important to the function of the body in normal amounts. Certain individuals, however, need to watch their intake. One slice of Costco cheese pizza contains almost 1,710 mg of sodium. African Americans, older Americans and people with high blood pressure should limit the sodium in their diet to 1,500 mg per day, according to the Family Doctor website. If you fall into these demographics, one single slice will put your over your recommended daily limit.

Dairy

Protein is considered a building block of muscle because of its ability to repair muscle fibers. Costco cheese pizza contains 44 g per slice. This mainly comes from the cheese, a high-protein dairy product. Cheese is also high in calcium. This same slice of pizza contains 81 percent of the daily allowance.

Low Fiber