Oatmeal Diet Recipes — Looking into Onaowa and Rolled Oats, Protein Combinations
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"Doctor, I tried eating oatmeal because I heard it's good for dieting, but there hasn't been as much weight change as I expected." When providing dietary counseling in the clinic, there are truly many people who share this concern. I give the same answer every time: while it is true that oatmeal is a health food, the results vary completely depending on which product you choose and what you eat it with.
Why do oatmeal diet results differ for each person?
Oatmeal reacts differently in the body depending on the degree of processing. Products closer to whole grains, such as steel-cut oats or rolled oats, are rich in dietary fiber, so blood sugar rises relatively gradually. Some instant oatmeals, which are convenient to prepare, often contain sugar or sodium during the manufacturing process.
During a diet, these additives can actually stimulate appetite. The less processed the product, the more advantageous it is for weight management, so when choosing a product, first check whether it is sugar-free and additive-free.
Satiety and blood sugar that change depending on the combination
Oatmeal itself is an excellent carbohydrate source, but the accompanying ingredients are key. If you add a lot of honey or sugar for taste, blood sugar fluctuates significantly, leading to hunger quickly. Especially if you fill your breakfast only with carbohydrates, it is hard to endure the hunger until lunchtime. That time of day is when you feel the most dizzy.
In such cases, try eating proteins and fats such as eggs, Greek yogurt, milk, and nuts together. Satiety lasts much longer. There was a study where rats were exposed to a high-fat diet (oats + 30%[1] lard); it suggests that even when using a good ingredient like oats, weight and fat management can be shaken if excessive fat or the wrong combination is added.
Oatmeal and metabolism from the perspective of Korean Medicine
In Korean Medicine, 'metabolic efficiency' and 'digestive state' are looked at before calorie numbers. Since oatmeal is a complex carbohydrate, it supplies energy slowly, but those with weak digestive power may feel bloated if they suddenly eat a lot of coarse grains.
Depending on the constitution, some people find oatmeal suits them well, while others feel their body swelling as it promotes dampness (濕). Therefore, I advise my patients to adjust the amount while observing their own digestive state and to accompany it with warm-natured ingredients to help the metabolic flow.
Oatmeal practice points to try right now
The most important thing is the appropriate amount. Based on dry oatmeal, 30~40g at once, about half a paper cup, is sufficient. If you eat more than that, it eventually becomes an excess of carbohydrates. I will write down two recipes I frequently recommend in the clinic.
1. Simple breakfast, Overnight Oats (Onao)
Put oatmeal in an airtight container and pour in milk or yogurt until the oatmeal is submerged, then mix.
Let it soak sufficiently in the refrigerator for 4 hours or more.
Add fruits and nuts such as bananas, blueberries, and almonds as toppings.
If you find the sweetness lacking, try adding only about 1T of allulose or maple syrup.
2. Healthy snack, Oatmeal Granola
Prepare 160g of chopped nuts and 200g of oatmeal.
Add 60g of olive oil, 80g of honey, 5g of cinnamon powder, and a pinch of salt, then mix evenly.
Spread widely on an oven pan and bake in an oven preheated to 160 degrees for about 25 minutes.
You must take it out and mix once in the middle so it cooks evenly without burning.
Dietary management is a battle of 'how to sustain' rather than 'what to eat.' Finding a combination that your body feels comfortable with lasts longer than strict restrictions.
Try it next time and let me know during your visit how your condition was after the meal. If you are worried about a plateau or decreased metabolism through dietary control alone, it is also a good method to aim for more efficient results with the Baekrok Gambi-jung program.
References
[1] Early Postoperative Exposure to High-Fat Diet Does Not Increase Long-Term Weight Loss or Fat Avoidance After Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass in Rats. (Frontiers in nutrition, 2022) — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35495960/
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