Here’s How Good-Old Oatmeal Promotes Weight Loss

You probably already know that oatmeal is super-healthy. But do you know that eating oatmeal also can help you to lose weight, without even trying? Here’s how:

Whole grains keep you feeling full for hours

Oatmeal is made from cut and dried oats, which are great source of whole-grain. “Whole-grain” means that oats are not heavily processed prior to consumption (they are simply cut, or rolled, and dried).

It also means that the super nutritious oat bran and oat germ are present in oatmeal. They have not been stripped away during the refining process, like they are for white bread and white rice. Both the bran and germ are packed with vitamins and nutrients that elevate mood and keep hunger away.

When it comes to weight loss, this is important. Being whole-grain means that oatmeal is an excellent source of complex carbohydrates, which break down slowly in the digestive tract. The sugars in complex carbohydrates such as oatmeal are released into the bloodstream over a matter of hours.

This keeps blood sugar levels stabilized and promotes a feeling of satiety, or fullness. A bowl of oatmeal keeps you feeling full for hours and prevent cravings for the next snack.

Fiber in oatmeal helps you lose weight

Oatmeal is not only a healthy whole grain, but also an excellent source of dietary fiber.  1 cup of oatmeal has a grams of dietary fiber, a whopping 33% of recommended daily allowance. Increasing fiber in your diet is an excellent way to promote weight loss.

Why? Fiber is a carbohydrate, but it cannot be digested and broken down into sugars. So fiber passes through the body undigested. This is key for weight loss because fiber keeps the body feeling satiated. Since fiber can’t be digested, its physical presence in the stomach and bowels signals to the brain that more food is not needed.

Fiber also helps keep you regular, and your bowels moving. The bulk of undigested fiber pushes through the intestines, sweeping other undigested food with it, like a broom. This helps the overall flow of the digestive tract, and helps you lose weight.

There are two kinds of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Both types are healthy, but soluble fiber is better because it can absorb unhealthy lipids and cholesterol, like a sponge. The LDL, or bad, cholesterol from that big Mac you ate is mitigated by being partially absorbed by soluble fiber before it is processed by the body.

Oatmeal is packed with soluble fiber, and this helps to both promote weight loss and keep you feeling full.

Only the added ingredients in oatmeal can make you fat

So we’ve established how oatmeal itself is an awesome way to lose weight. But here’s what you have to watch out for.

Make sure you buy only 100% natural oatmeal and then add your own healthy ingredients and toppings to make it taste delicious. Plain old oatmeal can get boring quickly, especially if you eat it every day.

Don’t buy prepackaged, flavored oatmeal and expect to lose weight. These are packed with simple sugars and artificial flavors to make oatmeal taste more palatable. All the great health benefits of the oatmeal are counterbalanced with the “junk” they add to it.

You have to take the do-it-yourself approach in your own toppings and spices to whole-grain oatmeal. Think fresh fruits, nuts, spices, yogurt, etc. For ideas, please read my article 10 healthy and delicious things to put in oatmeal to really spruce it up and make it taste great.

Conclusion

So, oatmeal definitely does not make you fat; on the contrary, it promotes weight loss. Try eating a bowl of oatmeal every morning with fresh fruit and other healthy toppings. See if it doesn’t make a difference in your waistline and, more importantly, the way you feel.

Photo credit: “Oatmeal” by StarsApart is licensed under CC BY-SA