Unhealthy weight gain is the leading factor that gives rise to many health woes. In our quest to explore and eat delicious food, one forgets the importance of eating healthy. Every other person we know today is a food blogger in this age of social-media dependence and many youngsters as well as adults fall prey to the food habits promoted by them, who are often mistaken for nutritionists and health experts. Some of them do caution us to eat healthily but temptations cannot be overlooked. This, coupled with our tendency of lethargy with little to no physical activity creates havoc in our lives. This article covers weight gain and how resorting to the Oatmeal Diet plan is beneficial to us, weighing the pros and cons to give us a better idea about it.
Common Reasons For Unintentional Weight Gain
Most of our health issues are directly or indirectly attributed to being overweight. Let us take a look at some common factors that lead to unhealthy weight gain:
- Processed food is a major culprit that contributes to a steady and unhealthy weight gain as they are loaded with unhealthy fats, sugars, chemical preservatives, too much salt, etc that do more harm than good.
- Another major contributing factor to unhealthy weight gain is leading a sedentary lifestyle. Lack of exercise, laziness, procrastination, excuses, low self-esteem all define a person that embraces such a lifestyle. Binge-watching television, being glued to one’s phone, etc all are hobbies, the sooner one quits the better.
- As per globenewswire.com, lack of sleep or neglecting an uninterrupted night-long sleep wreaks havoc to our physical health, mental health and contributes to unhealthy weight gain as well! Our metabolic functions get disrupted owing to this.
- Getting worked up or stressed leads to many health issues. The stress hormone cortisol increases hunger pangs in people and an irresistible desire to binge eat takes over one’s mind, adding to calories and unhealthy weight gain.
- Not being mindful of what and how much one eats is another contributing factor to weight gain. We tend to eat more of what appeases our palette ignoring wholesome, nutritious food. This undoubtedly adds to weight gain.
- Underlying health conditions like diabetes, eating disorders, hypothyroidism, depressions, PCOS, etc tend to make people gain weight. Certain medicines also cause weight gain as a side-effect.
What Is The Oatmeal Diet
As the name suggests, the oatmeal diet primarily calls for people resorting to this diet plan to consume oatmeal for weight to attain their weight loss goals. Normally people consume oats as a breakfast option but in the oatmeal diet at least 2 meals of the day should consist of oatmeal as the main dish. Oatmeal is basically prepared from dry oats which has various health benefits. The recommended serving size per individual per meal is half a cup of oatmeal. Oatmeal in itself is bland and tasteless but by adding spices like cinnamon, cardamom, some cut fruits or boiled vegetables, etc. one can enhance the flavors and enjoy the meal. Low-fat yogurt, skimmed milk, etc. can also be consumed alongside oatmeal in case one feels hungry. Oatmeal can be prepared and consumed in both sweet and savory forms but be careful, those who prefer it sweet should opt for natural sweetening agents like honey, jaggery, etc. or the purpose of the diet may be lost.
There are 2 common ways in which this diet plan can be followed:
- In the first stage, oatmeal is cooked and consumed in its whole-grain form as the main dish in all 3 meals throughout the day. This should be continued for a week. Instant oats should not be used in this plan. Fruits and vegetables of your choice can be added to the oatmeal. After the 1st week, oatmeal should be consumed as the main course in 2 meals during the day and for the third meal, you can go for any healthy, low-calorie meal option of your choice. In this 2nd stage, you can add up on fruits and vegetable intake as well as can use instant oats to prepare your oatmeal.
- The other type of the oatmeal diet calls for 2 main meals of the day to consist of oatmeal to be followed for 6 days. Followed by the 7th day consisting of any low-calorie but nutritious meals that need to be consumed. And then to get back to consuming oatmeal the next day.
In both the above options, the third meal can consist of chicken preferably grilled or boiled, lean steak small portion, or grilled fish, with some vegetable fries like that of carrots or zucchini, etc. followed by low-fat fruit yogurt or fruits drizzled with honey as a dessert option.
Pros And Cons Of Oatmeal Diet
Let us round up the pros of the Oatmeal Diet:
- This diet is highly nutritious as whole grain oats are rich in fiber, consist of proteins, and has zero sugars which is the most preferred choice for weight loss.
- Oats constitute calcium and iron both of which are beneficial to the body.
- Oatmeal makes one feel fuller for longer periods and helps to get rid of frequent hunger pangs.
- Oatmeal is a versatile meal option. Add fruits or vegetables to make the meal seem heavy but with healthy additions.
- They can be cooked in water, low-fat milk, or adding a little of both and can be consumed both sweet and savory.
- It is very low in calories contains only about 1.5 grams of fat
- Oatmeal helps to lower blood pressure and is heart-healthy.
- Oatmeal promotes better digestion
- Oatmeal curbs colorectal cancer
- It is easy to prepare and hardly takes any time or effort.
- Oatmeal can be consumed hot or cold and can be prepared in advance for ease and timely consumption.
- Oatmeal is a cheap product so this diet plan goes easy on one’s pocket.
- Owing to its long shelf-life oats can be bought in larger quantities and stored.
Some cons of the oatmeal diet to keep an eye out for:
- Oatmeal is very low in calories so be wary of following this diet for prolonged periods as it may reduce nutrition within the body to unhealthy levels.
- Some people find the repetition of oatmeal as the main dish taxing, so there is a tendency for people to unfollow this diet after a while owing to its monotonous nature. This will hinder the weight loss process.
- The oatmeal diet is a restrictive diet so the lack of being able to explore more food options to please one’s palate may tend to seem boring to some people and this also may discourage them from continuing the diet plan.
- Those with underlying health conditions need to strictly consult a doctor before they opt for this dieting method since it is extremely low in calories. For this reason, most doctors don’t approve of this diet.
- It is a fad diet and encourages crash dieting which is not too beneficial to the body. The lost kgs may get right back into the body once the diet program is stopped in case the person resorts to careless eating once again.
Conclusion
One would be surprised to know that certain factors which one deems harmless may contribute to unhealthy weight gain. Resorting to diet plans like the oatmeal diet is a safer bet at losing weight but unless there is some form of physical exercise involved coupled with healthy sleep patterns, no magical outcome can come out of any diet plan. One should at all times be mindful of what they eat. Only then can any diet plan grant the desired weight loss result.