Oatmeal is an easy-to-prepare and satiating breakfast to start the day. However, if you are trying to lose weight by following a low-carb diet, oatmeal, like any other grain-based food, constitutes a rich source of carbohydrates and could hinder your weight loss. Everybody is different, and assessing your own tolerance to carbohydrates can help you decide whether you can include oatmeal in your low-carb diet without compromising your weight-loss progress.
Low-Carb Diets
Most low-carb diets cut all grains, sugar and even fruits, at least during the initial phases, to jump-start weight loss and eliminate cravings as quickly as possible. If your low-carb program recommends avoiding grains, change your usual breakfast of oatmeal for a low-carb breakfast, such as spinach, eggs, cheese, bacon, sausages and avocado during the initial phase. Base your diet on low-carb foods such as nonstarchy vegetables, protein and fats to help you break cravings for sweets and starches and get started as quickly as possible with your weight loss.
Carbohydrate Tolerance
After following your low-carb diet for a few weeks and losing weight at a steady pace, most low-carb diet plans suggest reintroducing small amounts of carbohydrates to determine your personal carbohydrate tolerance. You can try adding back a small serving of oatmeal for breakfast, for instance. Do not modify anything in your diet or exercise and carefully monitor your weight and waist, hips and thigh measurements. After a week of reintroducing oatmeal, you will be able to determine whether eating oatmeal allows you to continue to lose weight or stops your progress. If you are fairly tolerant of carbohydrates, you should be able to lose weight with oatmeal in your low-carb diet, but if your tolerance is low, it may be best to exclude oatmeal from your diet.
Oatmeal Nutrition Facts
The nutrition facts of oatmeal differ depending on the type of oatmeal you choose. Instant and flavored oatmeal tend to contain more carbohydrates because of the added sugar they contain. Opt for plain oat flakes to prepare your oatmeal and do not use any sweeteners to keep your carb intake as low as possible. A serving of a half cup of dry old-fashioned oat flakes or a quarter cup of dry steel-cut oats provides about 27 grams of carbohydrates.
Track Your Carbs
The key to determining the right amount of carbohydrates to include in your diet is to track you daily carb intake. Use food labels and keep a food journal to do so. If you add oatmeal to your low-carb diet, your average carb intake will be higher than usual, depending on the serving size you eat and the foods you serve it with. Sweeteners, yogurt, milk, nuts and fruits all can contribute to increasing your carb intake. Determine how many grams of carbs you can include in your diet and still lose weight at a steady pace.
References
- "The New Atkins for a New You: The Ultimate Diet for Shedding Weight and Feeling Great"; Eric C. Westman, et al.; 2010
- Quaker: Compare Products
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