Oatmeal Makes You Fat
Maybe your oatmeal is making you fat.
Ha. Indeed, this might be the case. For many people, the start of the day means either low sugar cereal or the infamous bowl of oatmeal. I get asked all the time, isn’t oatmeal good for my heart? Doesn’t it have fiber? Besides, isn’t oatmeal the reason why you have that early morning bowel movement. Very common questions and concerns, but it might that very same bowl of oatmeal is causing your body to resist weight/fat loss. Rather than get discouraged, change your situation with these tips. But before the tips are given, I am sure you’re asking yourself, “Well why the heck is she even suggesting a change?"
What’s wrong with oatmeal?
Let me answer that first. Well, oatmeal is a high glycemic carbohydrate. While carbs are the primary fuel source for the brain and muscles, you don’t need a lot of them when you’re about to go to a desk job or sit in traffic during the hour right after you eat breakfast. We eat so that we can fuel our bodies to move. If we do not move, then we never displace the energy that is in the food we eat and the body will simply be a physiological disaster. Your body will store it after it goes through an acute inflammatory response. Picture this; you eat your bowl of oatmeal. You give your body fuel for performance. Then you park yourself in a lot for hours. The fuel never gets used. The fuel gets stored for later. On the flip side, let’s just say you are one of my clients, for example, on your way to go train with me and I have you run a mile, run an agility ladder, run another mile, work your muscles through multiple planes of motion (check out my latest Gallon Water Workout on the Huff Post) all equaling about an hour of hard work. Then, that same cup to two cups of oatmeal is used. It is burned baby. Gone! Not stored.
Big difference. So eat your oatmeal, but only if you are going to use it. Let’s take another example. You study real hard for an exam. You cram your mind with facts, case studies, information that is so overwhelmingly cranial in nature and boom-your teacher cancels the test. She states that the test will be after the upcoming holiday break. You feel burned out like heck. That is how your body feels with carbs like oatmeal when the activity isn’t NOW. Make better sense?
So here is what you can have instead:
First note that let’s just say you want a smaller portion as in a cup of oatmeal, despite my above words of wisdom? Simply add a protein or healthy fat to it. For example; a scoop of peanut/almond butter AND/OR protein powder.
Other morning meals that will NOT store before your desk job or sedentary ways:
- 3 Hard boiled eggs with crudites such as carrots, celery, jicama, peppers
- Egg scramble with 2 cups of mixed veggies
- Smoothie with spinach, unsweetened almond milk, almond butter (1 tsp), plant based protein powder such as Juice Plus
- Beef stir fry with grass fed beef, mixed veggies cooked in coconut oil or coconut aminos
It is easy to make this switch. Honor your body and give it what it NEEDS, not what you WANT.
Your desires will change over time when you optimize your nutrition. It takes time. It takes consistency. It takes you knowing that this is what your body needs and then following through because you love your body so much. Enjoy my moments on the beach the other day as I thought about this post:
