Get your weight loss on with some oatmeal!

One of the fantastic qualities about being a nutrition student is trying healthy food that perhaps, we ourselves don't find so fantastic. In that process, we become experts and less, hypocritical.

This is actually something that probably occurs within any realm of topic, whether you are giving personal advice, advice about money or about physical activity which you don't abide by yourself.

In an attempt to stick to my diet regime and trying to eat healthier, i ventured onto something I have always... disliked:

Oatmeal! 

Part of learning to love something is having to discover the health benefits  so as to convince it is worth trying.

So, here is the key question:
how does oatmeal help in losing weight? 
It's fair game when fruits and vegetables get their reputation for being called the main players in the weight loss game, but oatmeal and other whole grain products can totally be the quarterbacks of that game too.
While your fruits and vegetables are relatively low in calories, contribute great fiber,antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that help with your overall function, whole grains contribute many micro nutrients and fiber, just in another package deal.
It is all in the metabolic process that oatmeal benefits weight loss. Oatmeal, like many whole grains, contains a healthy source of dietary fiber.
You may wonder what is dietary fiber?

Dietary fiber, is the rougher part of the plant that can either be insoluble or soluble depending on its ability to breakdown within our digestive system, mainly in the colon.

Soluble fiber is found, as mentioned, in fruits such as the insides of a pear or an apple as well as in certain root vegetables/tubers such as sweet potatoes, potatoes and onions.
Other sources of soluble fiber are legumes (peas n' beans yo!) and grains such as rye, barley, chia and you guessed it... oats!

Naturally, our body will not be able to digest these until they reach our colon.In the colon, we have bacterias that are able to ferment and breakdown these fibers into a source for the bacteria to use in the colon, or for a very small caloric content ~1-2 kcal/g which in itself can either be used to maintain the colon's activity or for other bodily purposes.

On the other spectrum, are your insoluble fibers- which there is an extensive list such as whole grain foods, wheat, corn bran), vegetables like cauliflower and celery as well as some fruits such as avocados (as soft as they may be!) and bananas. These, like corn, pass right through you!

We can see how our body reacts to fiber: when we become a little too gassy with our beans and cauliflower, as our bacterias in our colon work hard to break them down, and as they do, a chemical gas is released by these colonic bacterias with some sulfur in it. In return, this fantastic microflora in our colon, is propagated with soluble fibers, rendering the name prebiotics to such fibers as oligossaccharides, while the term probiotic is contributed to the effect of adding bacterias into our system (via yogurts, cheeses, other probiotic products).

Both these types of fiber help to contribute to our weight loss efforts in the following ways:

- with the bulkiness and a longer digestibility, or difficult digestibility associated with fiber (especially insoluble), we feel fuller faster, and hunger satisfied for longer

- low caloric value that essentially helps with the weight loss regime

- ability of certain types of fiber to bind to bile acids (compounds containing cholesterol helping with the breakdown of fat) which overall helps in lowering cholesterol that would circulate in the blood-> considerable for heart disease and high cholesterol [cheerios= heart healthy option= made from oats= get it?]

- draws in water in the colon, and binds carbohydrates to it, decreasing the release of glucose right away. Thus the changes in blood sugar levels are not so abrupt. ---> great for managing diabetes.

- helps with constipation since it draws in water in the colon, softening the stools. However, too much dietary fiber, can also cause constipation, so the need for a balance in fiber and other nutrients are of the necessity.

..... and the list goes on.

With this being said, oatmeal, has much to add on to the conversation. Oatmeal in itself has many micronutrients such as selenium, vitamin E, zinc,copper, iron, manganese and magnesium, as well as contributing to some protein.
When mixing oats with water or milk, it is the gelling effect of the soluble fiber that contributes to its sticky, mucky texture, sometimes hard to consume, but not impossible.
It is a texture that you can try to get used to, and in fact, can even add on a few ingredients to spruce it up.

I tried Quaker oatmeal, with simply enough, a cup serving with 150 mL water, and heated in the microwave for 1 min. Then I mixed in some skim milk slowly, while adding a bit of Splenda to the mix. In the end, i put in a whole banana sliced into small pieces, and a palm full of cinnamon powder. Voila, easy, fast and...

It was gooooood!!!!!

I decided to try it in the evening, before a movie in the park with some Ben&Jerry's, popcorn and Orange Julep (yikes!)
So here's a thought, if you know you are going to have a heavy meal in the evening, a small serving of oatmeal is tasty, low fat and will keep you going until a late evening meal. And, you can add your own fruits to and spices (nutmeg anyone?) to make it a treat!

 It may even inspire you to order a salad with smoked salmon or whatever veggie dish you desire!

If you want to know how I am commiting to my diet: Here are my  3 golden rules :

- I do not eat after 6 pm, if I do, it is a snack with either fruit or yoghurt. Can be a salad sometimes. If I plan to stay up, which I have been doing often with the summer time, incorporating watermelon, pineapple, other fruits into the mix is a treat!

-I try to incorporate a salad, or some vegetables within my day and I have more of that than anything with carbs (bread, pita, cereal)

- I walk or do some form of exercise of moderate intensity-- walking, biking, volleyball etc at least 3 days a week

I try to remember, that I want to maintain a weight loss, and starting basic but small will ensure gradual but ongoing weight loss, which is what is needed, a gradual weight loss.

Do you have any rules you try to follow? What helps you eat healthy? What foods do you want to know more on, and with a Nidzster spin?

Let me know, I want to blog about something useful to others, and I will reveal how I have been doing for the summer with my weight loss at the end of the month, so like they say

....stay tuned!  You shall see less of me later...

Nidzster