Rich in nutrients, affordable and endlessly customizable, oats are staple breakfast for many. Rich in healthy carbs and fibre, oats make a perfect breakfast for weight watchers. Whether you eat them raw or cooked, oats make for an ideal weight loss boosting food.
But how you serve oats can actually have a big impact on the benefits that they provide.
One should avoid fatty and sugary toppings at all costs if one wants to lose weight.
Here we tell you some things you should keep in mind when you eat oats to promote weight loss.
Avoid sugary and instant oats
Always prefer plain oats with no added flavours. Packaged and flavoured oats are usually loaded with sugar, which adds unwanted calories and decreases the nutritional value. A cup of flavoured oats has approximately 70 more calories than a cup of plain oats. So, if you switch to plain oats then you are eating approximately 25,000 less calories in a year (if you eat oats every day). 25,000 less calories are enough to make you lose 2.5 kilos in a year without making any other changes!
As a snack
Oats has high fibre content, which takes a long time to digest and hence, work by keeping you fuller for longer. It's not just a simple breakfast food. Oats can make for a good snack option as well. Mixing up roasted oats with other filling ingredients like chivda, flattened rice, nuts and seeds can make for a healthy snack and definitely better than eating other fried, preservative-laden snacks and namkeens.
Add fibre-rich toppings
The key nutrient for losing weight is fibre. According to a research by University of Massachusetts Medical School, fibre helps you lose weight by keeping you fuller for longer and thus, stopping you from bingeing. Still, if you like your oats sweet, then you can add raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and blackberries to your oats. Berries will help you satisfy your sweet tooth and the fibre content in it will make the oats healthy for you.
By drinking oat milk
Did you know? Oat grains have a high calcium content in them. For those who don't like the taste of milk, or are averse to dairy, oat milk can be a healthy replacement. It's a plant-based protein and low in calories. If getting in shape in on your mind, you can consume oat milk as well. However, since it's comparatively high in sugar, moderating your consumption works best
Do not add fatty toppings
Adding honey and maple syrup offer only a little nutritional value and more calories. You can add a banana or a drop of stevia (natural calorie-free sweetener) to satisfy your sweet tooth. Avoid adding peanut butter (market bought) to your oats. 2 tbsp of peanut butter has 188 calories with little nutritional value. Swap milk with water to prepare oats in order to make them healthier for your weight loss programme.
Read here : Weight loss troubles? Read how this woman lost 45 kgs by eating biryani and NO GYMMING!
How to serve oats to lose weight
As we have mentioned above, one best part about oats is that it is endlessly customizable. You can add different toppings and textures so that you are not bored with your daily breakfast. You can add almond milk, unsweetened banana puree and cinnamon for rich and healthy taste. You can add different spices like cardamom, cinnamon and cayenne pepper to enhance the taste.
To make them even better, you can add 1-2 egg whites while cooking the oats. The egg white does not add any flavour as such but it adds the beneficial protein that one definitely needs for losing weight. Along with fibre having protein is important as well and the key to shedding those extra kilos, says a study by Harvard School of Public Health. A meal rich in protein and fibre helps you burn more calories during digestion and also keeps you fuller for longer.
Other ways
You can add oats to pancakes, make an oats smoothie, swap them for granola and mix them in your protein powder.
What is the oatmeal diet?
As the name suggests, the oatmeal diet centers only around oats. The basic concept behind the oatmeal diet is to eat oats as your main course.
The oatmeal diet plan includes two phases:
Phase 1: Eat oatmeal for three meals for one week. Eat whole oats instead of instant oats. You can add some fruits to oats during this phase.
Phase 2: During the second week, you need to eat oats for at least one or two meals in a day with healthy low-fat options for the rest of the meals. You can eat instant oatmeal and also add more fruits and veggies to your oats.
Benefits of eating oatmeal
Eating oatmeal lowers your risk of heart problems and colorectal cancer. Oats being whole grain can help lower your blood pressure. They also aid digestion due to being rich in fibre.
How much can you eat in a day?
Oats is a delectable delight and easy breakfast option. It is beneficial as long as you eat it in the right quantity. Too much of oats could make you feel uncomfortable and even gain weight. Ideally, only prepare half a cup of dry oats for one time. Have your meal in a small bowl, so that you eat less.
