Elizabeth Bailey
The oatmeal diet should let the kilos tumble – and without feeling hungry. What is this weight loss method all about and what are the advantages and disadvantages?
It is well known that oat flakes offer the best start to the day: After all, they provide a lot of important nutrients. Anyone who starts the day with oatmeal gives their body a lot of ballast and minerals. But there are also many vitamins, good carbohydrates, and proteins as well as magnesium, calcium, and sodium in the flakes. But how effective and healthy is the oatmeal diet?
How does the oatmeal diet work?
There are different variants of the oatmeal diet – but they all have one thing in common: 250 grams of oatmeal are on the menu per day, which is combined with other foods. You should aim for a maximum of 1,300 kilocalories per day. That alone limits the choice of side dishes – because 100 grams of oatmeal alone has 350 calories. Thus, oatmeal already consumes 875 calories per day. That leaves you with 425 calories for side dishes until the recommended daily limit is reached.
The oat flakes can be eaten raw or processed into muesli, soup, or porridge. They can be combined with yogurt or milk and also eaten with fruit and vegetables. If you soak the oat flakes in water, you can increase the saturation effect even further. What should be largely avoided in the oatmeal diet – as in most diets – is sugar. For this reason, you should also avoid sweet fruit such as bananas – this causes a high blood sugar level, which in turn causes food cravings.
- Meal plan: A day on the oatmeal diet
For example, a day after the oatmeal diet could look like this for you: - Breakfast: Low-fat yogurt with oatmeal
- Lunch: oatmeal cream soup (roast oatmeal, pour in vegetable broth, and add carrots, for example)
- Dinner: Porridge
Losing weight with oatmeal: what is important
It is best to provide yourself with as many recipes and ideas for dishes as possible in advance. Otherwise, the menu can quickly become monotonous – and that’s not only boring but also potentially dangerous. If you only have oatmeal on your plate for days without healthy side dishes, you run the risk of showing signs of deficiency.
It is also important that you drink as much as possible – preferably water, tea, or unsweetened fruit juices.
The benefits of the oatmeal diet
Oatmeal has the reputation of a true power food these days – and rightly so. Anyone who eats oatmeal provides their body with a whole range of nutrients and stays full for a long time. Oatmeal also has other health benefits.
The cons of the oatmeal diet
However, the oatmeal diet also has some downsides: It takes some expertise and planning to complete it successfully. Since there is no fixed menu, you have to put together your daily menu and calculate the total number of calories yourself. Since oatmeal already makes up the majority of the set daily calorie allowance, the selection of other foods is relatively limited. Here it is important to ensure a healthy change. Because although oatmeal is a healthy power food, a lack of variety can also result in a lack of nutrients.
