Oatmeal for weight loss: which one to choose and how to cook, recipes (cereals, smoothies, cereals)
The product of English gentlemen and other adherents of a healthy diet is oatmeal for breakfast. How much do we know about her? What is its use? How to use the product correctly in order to preserve nutrients and how to cook oatmeal for weight loss? Interesting information about her, practical advice, recipes and secrets of losing weight - in this material.
For more than 2 millennia, people have been eating unpretentious oats. From it in the old days they made cakes, oatmeal, kissel, cereals, pancakes; cattle were fed with grain. Having studied the properties of popular cereals, pundits called it the most useful along with buckwheat.
About the benefits of oats
Food from oats saturates the body well, contains proteins, fats, fiber, starch, carbohydrates. Proven benefits of oatmeal for weight loss. It has an impressive mineral composition: a lot of potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorus. Magnesium in its composition helps to absorb calcium, which protects our bones from osteoporosis.
Oats contain 11 valuable amino acids, in particular, arginine. It is used for muscle growth, athletes appreciate it. This amino acid helps prevent atherosclerosis, remove uric acid from the body - a companion of gout, kidney disease. That is why it is advised to eat a dish of oatmeal before or after training: it will help remove urea from the body and relieve fatigue.
There is a lot of valine in oats - an amino acid that is important for body growth, giving energy to muscles. Vitamins A, E, PP, group B regulate metabolism, help the nervous system, maintain a good mood, prolong youth. That is why eating oatmeal in the morning is necessary for everyone, and especially for children, the elderly, and the sick.
Cereals or cereals, what to buy?
When buying cereals, decide what is more important to you: the benefits of the dish or the speed and ease of preparation. The less processing, the more valuable the product, including for weight loss.
To prepare flakes, the grains are cleaned, steamed and flattened into petals with rollers.
Let's find out the degree of difference between crushed and non-crushed grain.
- The most useful is oatmeal from uncrushed cereals. It cooks up to an hour, and with pre-soaking - 2 times faster. The grains swell about 4 times.
- Flattened cereals are cooked for up to 40 minutes. Its properties are close to whole grains.
- From the refined grains, Hercules flakes are obtained. They are less useful than non-crushed cereals. More dense, coarse petals are boiled for up to 20 minutes.
- Flakes "Extra" are made under the numbers: 1, 2 and 3. Flakes No. 1 have a denser structure, they are cut from whole grains. Such porridge is cooked for about 15 minutes. Flakes No. 2 and 3 are smaller, as they are made from chopped cereals. Particularly thin and delicate petals in a pack under No. 3, they can be eaten by steaming them in hot water or milk. In 5 minutes, steamed oatmeal is obtained, in which useful properties are preserved to the maximum.
How to cook oatmeal?
Dozens of different dishes are prepared from grains or flakes. The most common is porridge. For weight loss, it is more beneficial when made from whole grains, but it is better to soak it overnight. Nutritionists say that after this, cereals are much better digested and absorbed by the body.
When soaked, gluten is partially destroyed in it - a complex protein that depresses the immune system. Yes, and cook the grain will have less.
- Classic recipe - instant oatmeal
It will require 1 cup of cereal per cup of liquid: water or milk. Experts advise taking milk and water equally. The porridge will come out thick, add liquid to make a slurry. In addition to sugar, salt and butter, the dish is flavored with jam, honey, cinnamon (how this spice helps to lose weight, read), cheese.
How to diversify porridge so that even picky household members order oatmeal for breakfast? We offer several options.
- With dried fruits
Sweet dried pears, peaches, raisins are great substitutes for sugar. Dried fruits pour hot water, close the lid. After 10 minutes, cut the fruit into small pieces and add to the finished porridge. A dish with prunes or dried apricots is also prepared, but for sweetness, you can add a pinch of sugar or a spoonful of honey to non-hot porridge, since these are less sweet fruits.
- With apples or oranges
You can grate and mix with the contents of the plate, or cut into cubes and put fruit on top, add slices of peeled orange. For more flavor, add crushed orange zest to the pot while boiling.
- With cottage cheese and banana
Combine the finished porridge in a plate with mashed cottage cheese, garnish with banana rings, pomegranate seeds or defrosted berries on top.
- With cocoa
When boiling in hot milk, add 1-2 teaspoons of cocoa. Porridge will acquire an unusual chocolate color. When it has cooled down a bit, sprinkle the top with dark chocolate chips, shredded coconut, or chopped walnuts. It's almost a dessert, a gourmet dish!
Cooking is not required!
Out of habit, many cook oatmeal. But this is not at all necessary. Recall that some of the vitamins and other nutrients are destroyed by boiling. Therefore, for weight loss, it is better to cook oatmeal without cooking, or at least not to cook more, but leave it to reach under the lid.
Calculate portions, because secondary heating will destroy more than half of the vitamins, and after the third warming up, there will be no benefit from food.
But still. How to cook boiled oatmeal for weight loss? Soak the cereal overnight, the next day cook it for half an hour and wrap it up so that it steams out. Nutritionist and nutritionist Olga Khazova advises cooking porridge with water, because lactose (natural sugar) of milk is absorbed too quickly. Instead of sugar, it is better to put raisins, dried apricots. Whether to add oil to a dish depends on your taste and daily calorie balance.
Introducing oats into other dishes
Healthy eaters and those looking to lose weight include oats and oats in many meals. Whole grains are put into soups, and traditional Russian kissel is prepared from it. They buy ready-made muesli with dried fruits, granola, where cereals are baked with honey and nuts. Instead of butter cookies, they eat oatmeal.
Below are some tips on how to incorporate a healthy product into other dishes.
- Dry oatmeal is easily ground in a coffee grinder. Add the resulting flour to pancakes, pancakes and other pastries.
- Toast the oatmeal in a dry frying pan until brown. Such oatmeal was widely used by the ancestors: they sprinkled it with potato gates, northern shangi, berries, for example, lingonberries.
- Roll fish in oatmeal, add flakes instead of crackers to cutlets. They are not as high in calories.
We recommend eating cereal with kefir and fermented baked milk, with yogurt and curdled milk. Just preparing lazy oatmeal in a jar. Pour tender flakes with milk or yogurt, mix and leave overnight. Add candied fruits, fruits or berries if desired. A cold dish is eaten in the morning, taken with them to work, study, training.
Smoothie Recipes
The fashion for smoothies (smoothie) came to us from the USA. Among those who want to lose weight, raw foodists, vegetarians and other adherents of a healthy lifestyle, foamy cocktails with the addition of herbs, fruits, berries, and vegetables are popular.
In the finished drink, all the beneficial substances of the ingredients are preserved. This vitamin bomb revitalizes the intestinal microflora, gives energy to athletes, restores the strength of the sick and, of course, helps to lose weight.
Smoothies are prepared in a powerful blender with a tall mug or in a food processor. A low-power device will not be able to grind food to a homogeneous consistency. Try some easy recipes for this tasty, thick drink.
Smoothies with milk
Place in blender:
- a tablespoon of soaked cereals or hercules;
- banana, cut into large pieces;
- a teaspoon of honey;
- a glass of milk;
- a glass of hot boiled water.
Shake the mixture and pour into glasses. A sweet, frothy drink with a banana flavor will be a hearty, pleasant and easy breakfast.
Cocktails are a boundless field for experiments. Pour more water or milk - you get a liquid drink, if you want a creamy mass - put more yogurt, fruits.
Thick smoothie with cinnamon and yogurt
Ingredients for whipping:
- 3 tablespoons of hercules;
- 1 sliced banana;
- yogurt packaging;
- a glass of milk;
- a little ground cinnamon.
Pour flakes with hot milk, leave for 5 minutes. Place the ingredients in a blender and beat for half a minute. Pour into glasses, sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon on top.
Smoothies with kefir
If you want to lose weight as much as possible, try a smoothie with kefir, it contains 75 kcal per 100 grams of drink. Its components:
- 1 apple;
- 150 g of kefir;
- a tablespoon of hercules;
- 1 banana;
- a teaspoon of wheat bran;
- a glass of hot water.
Pour flakes and bran with hot water, steam them for 5-10 minutes. Cut the apple and banana into large pieces. Send everything to a blender and beat. Not enough sweetness? Add a teaspoon of maple syrup and whisk again. A delicious diet dish is ready!
We clean the intestines
By consuming healthy fiber, you can get rid of blockages in the intestines, the weight of which sometimes reaches 10-15 kg. Which, you see, is a lot for those who want to lose weight. How to cleanse the intestines?
- Decoction
To obtain a decoction, pour 3 cups of oatmeal with 3 liters of water, boil for 20 minutes. Wrap the pan and leave for 24 hours. Strain, heat the liquid to 30 degrees and dissolve 100 grams of honey in it. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into the decoction and refrigerate. To cleanse the intestines, drink a glass of decoction three times a day on an empty stomach, before meals, for a month.
- Scrub
Scrub for the intestines - this is the name of this recipe. Pour a quarter cup of cold water over 2 tablespoons of oatmeal. Pour in a tablespoon of boiled milk and leave the mixture to swell until morning. Drink a glass of unboiled water in the morning. After half an hour on an empty stomach, eat the previously prepared porridge without salt and sugar, it is allowed to add only a little honey and nuts. Do not drink oatmeal with anything, eat nothing for 3 hours. The procedure thoroughly cleanses the intestines.
What problems can arise?
Let's talk about weight loss. Due to unsuccessful attempts to build a person becomes a skeptic in this matter. Food restrictions do not bring joy, and the pounds shed with difficulty return. How to steadily lose weight without discomfort, achieving the desired result?
Advice: so that your weight is steadily decreasing, stop losing weight by eye. The balance of calories you take in and then burn out needs to be controlled. Weigh food, keep a food and exercise diary.
Those who go on a campaign for harmony are forced to limit the calorie content of the diet. With a lack of carbohydrates, a person’s working capacity decreases, he experiences fatigue, drowsiness, and irritability. In this case, the arrow of the scales can stand still.
Another problem for those who lose weight: due to the small amount of food at one time, a food lump slowly forms. How to stimulate the bowels? The fiber of oats helps out, it improves the peristalsis of the gastrointestinal tract. What is the best oatmeal for weight loss? The one with more coarse fibers.
Calorie count
Dishes from cereals are not a panacea for weight loss, with them you can both lose weight and gain weight. It's not the cooking method, it's the calorie balance. If you manage to create their daily deficit, you will inevitably lose weight.
The less processed the grain, the slower it is digested. When losing weight, whole grains, bran are preferable. Cereals from cereals and hercules are more satisfying. Surveys showed that even 4 hours after a healthy breakfast, the subjects were not hungry. But after breakfast, with tender flakes drenched in boiling water, I wanted to chew something in a couple of hours.
Get acquainted with the table of calorie content of products and cereals from oats (approximately).
To achieve harmony, the nutritionist of the stars Margarita Koroleva recommends patients to have fractional 5-6 meals a day. You should “eat” no more than 1200 kcal, which means 200–240 kcal per snack (physical activity is not taken into account). A person can eat 200 g of oatmeal, stay on the weight loss schedule and feel comfortable.
A little more math. Let's calculate the calorie content of lazy oatmeal in a jar.
You can add 2-3 tablespoons of oatmeal to kefir, add raisins or dried apricots. If we have not gone beyond 200 kcal, then this is a snack that helps to lose weight.
Fast or slow?
Nutritionists unanimously believe that you need to lose weight slowly, lose no more than 3-4 kg per month. What to do if a significant event is approaching, where you want to shine?
Fast weight loss on oatmeal is possible, but it requires patience. Any mono-diet causes discomfort due to the imbalance of nutrients. Keeping it for more than a week is not recommended.
We give a description of the fast diet on oatmeal. From 100 g of flakes during the day, cook 4 servings of porridge in milk. Eat them by adding a teaspoon of honey to the plate. For a snack, take apples, oranges or kiwi (3 pieces). In addition to 2 liters of water, it is allowed to drink herbal decoctions, green tea with milk. For a week it takes up to 5-7 kg of weight.
Fasting days
Options for unloading days with oatmeal:
- For a day, eat 5-6 servings of oatmeal cooked in water with the addition of milk (3: 1).
- For 5 receptions, eat 500 g of porridge and 3-4 apples. Instead of fruits, you can eat up to 700 g of raspberries, strawberries, currants, gooseberries.
- Instead of berries, soak 200 g of dried fruits: prunes, dried apricots, apples - and eat in a day.
We talked about an amazing product that cleanses and strengthens the body, helps to lose weight and set sports records. Thanks to this knowledge, you will find the ideal weight and slim figure. Love oatmeal and your body will thank you with lightness, good muscle tone, and an endless feeling of youth.