Is it possible to eat muesli on a diet, the benefits and harms of the product for weight loss

General rules

Muesli is a semi-finished product that is a mixture of various whole grains and additives (dried fruits, bran, nuts, chocolate, seeds). A high-quality product contains several types of grains in the form of flakes, which are treated with ultraviolet rays rather than roasted. Sometimes muesli is additionally enriched with vitamins .
Combining cereal energy, fiber and vitamins, this product occupies a leading place in a healthy diet. It is important that the dish is prepared quickly, and it is also nutritious and tasty. The history of the creation of muesli began at the end of the 19th century, and they gained the peak of popularity in the 60s of the 20th century. Breakfast cereals are still in demand today and their varieties have become much larger. Is it possible to eat muesli on a diet? Yes, it is possible and this can be explained by several points.

• The offered product contains complex carbohydrates, which are digested and absorbed more slowly, maintaining blood glucose levels at normal levels. There is no feeling of hunger for a long time after consuming it.
• The high fiber content improves intestinal function and promotes the elimination of harmful substances (heavy metal salts, radionuclides, excess cholesterol ). Muesli is useful for constipation. The B vitamins contained are necessary for the normal function of the nervous system, and vitamins A and E are necessary for the normal condition of hair and nails.
• Of course, if you are pursuing the goal of losing weight, you need to exclude sweet muesli, fried or with the addition of vegetable oils, nuts and chocolate, as they are higher in calories.
• Weight loss should be achieved by reducing calorie intake.

Dietary muesli, for example, Nestle Fitness, includes whole wheat and rice groats, barley malt extract, sugar, tocopherols , which play the role of an antioxidant, vitamins and minerals. May contain milk in small quantities. Pay attention to the total sugar content. Even fitness muesli contains sugar, malt extract, invert syrup, glucose syrup and other carbohydrates.

Thus, the product contains a lot of carbohydrates (75.7 g, of which 33.5 g are sugar) and little protein (from 8.3 g to 11.3 g), which is necessary for losing weight. The calorie content is quite high (317-376 kcal), since it is a cereal product and also often contains nuts. Therefore, portions should be small (from two to three tablespoons, which corresponds to 28-43 g of dry product). Even such a small portion will give you a long-lasting feeling of fullness. This important quality of the product makes it the basis of a diet.

To lose weight you must follow some rules:

• Use a product that does not contain dyes, calorie additives and sugar. At the very least, pay attention to the fact that there is less of it in the composition.
• Use fresh flakes, not heat-treated and fried. Baked muesli is certainly tastier, but during the cooking process they are fried in oil, which gives them additional calories, and useful substances are lost. Plus they are sweeter.
• Serve with skim milk or yogurt. You can not add dairy products, but prepare a dietary version using water.
• Eliminate sweets, fatty, flour and fried foods. Reduce the use of sugar and salt in other dishes.
• Drink 1.5-2 liters of water, including green and herbal tea, juices.
• Dinner no later than 20:00.
• Increase physical activity.

The muesli diet has several varieties. The most acceptable and balanced option, which can be followed for a long time (a month or more), includes:

• One serving of cereal - usually at breakfast. Take no more than 2-3 tablespoons and pour in a low-fat fermented milk drink, milk or juice. After swelling, muesli is eaten slowly so that satiety comes faster. This allows you to be content with a small portion and thereby reduce your daily calorie intake.
• Fruits and vegetables, bran, lean meat and poultry, fish, fermented milk and dairy products, distributed among other meals.

The recommended portion of carbohydrates for breakfast provides nutrition and energy, is spent on the body's needs and is not stored in reserve. This diet option is more rational. Losing weight will not happen quickly - 1-3 kg per month. The results of losing weight are long-lasting.

The second variety, lasting 7 days, includes 3 main meals and 2 snacks. This diet includes the consumption of cereal flakes in the amount of 2-3 tbsp. l. at all main meals and half portions during snacks. Muesli is supplemented with milk or kefir, bran, fruits (apple, grapefruit), juice. At lunch you are allowed to eat 150-200 g of boiled meat or fish.

It is better to take different muesli for each meal, which will eliminate the monotony of nutrition and allow you to maintain your diet. This food contains a lot of carbohydrates, there are no vegetables, but it is easily tolerated. This diet should be accompanied by moderate physical activity. Under this condition, you can lose 5 kilograms in a week. You can repeat it after 3 months.

A more strict version of the diet is limited in food composition and calorie content, so you can follow it for 7 to 14 days. The calorie content of the diet is 1100 kcal. Not only sweets, baked goods, pasta, but also meat and fish dishes are excluded from the diet. Meals include muesli (for breakfast and dinner), low-fat kefir, vegetable broth (lunch), low-calorie cheese (dinner), vegetables and fruits complement each meal. Depending on individual characteristics, you can get rid of 4 to 6 kg in two weeks. It must be taken into account that the diet is not balanced because it has a low protein content.

Benefits for weight loss

If you look at the location in the store, the muesli is in the healthy or diet food section. From a biological point of view, the product is worthy of attention. It is an excellent source of energy for adults and children. But in this case, the topic of weight loss is of interest.

Benefits of this product for weight loss:

• contain fiber, which improves peristalsis, cleanses the intestines, and promotes weight loss;
• improve digestion, create a feeling of lightness;
• contain a lot of useful substances, but the composition depends on the included ingredients;
• give energy and strength for training and sports;
• like other carbohydrates, they have a beneficial effect on the emotional background. This is important when losing weight.

In fact, the benefits of each product need to be considered individually, based on the composition. Muesli from one manufacturer will help you lose weight, while an analogue from another company can greatly harm not only your figure, but also your health.

Authorized Products

In addition to the main product of the diet, the diet includes:

• any lean fish, beef, rabbit, boiled or baked chicken;
• buckwheat, pearl barley or whole grain oatmeal porridge, which can be consumed as an alternative once a day;
• any fresh or stewed vegetables are recommended for long-term diet;
• fruits and berries up to 200-300 g per day, as an independent intake or as an addition to the main course of the diet;
• bran, sesame and flax seeds added to cereal flakes;
• low-fat cottage cheese, cheeses with 20-30% fat content and low-fat fermented milk drinks;
• green tea, black tea without sugar, herbal teas, water up to 1.5-2 l;
• orange, grapefruit, fresh apple, vegetable juices.

Table of permitted products

Fully or partially limited products

• fatty meats, fats, smoked meats, canned food, sausages and semi-finished products;
• fried foods;
• fatty dairy products;
• baked goods, sweets, ice cream;
• cakes, chocolate, pastries, sweets;
• limit salt.

Table of prohibited products

Menu (Power Mode)

Here is a diet menu containing a protein dish for lunch and designed for one week. The diet includes 3 main meals and two snacks (2 hours after breakfast and lunch). There is a break of 4 hours between main meals.

Breakfast and dinner have the same composition: 2 tbsp. l. muesli and 1 tbsp. l. bran, poured with 150-200 g of milk (kefir). You can eat one unsweetened fruit (apple, orange, half a grapefruit).

Lunch: 3 tbsp. l. muesli with low-fat kefir or milk. For variety, you can cook porridge from the same amount of cereal. Supplement lunch with 100-200 g of boiled lean meat (fish) and a glass of fruit (vegetable) juice.

Snacks: 1 tbsp. l. cereal and 50 ml of milk (yogurt, kefir). An alternative option is to consume a tablespoon of bran with juice or 1-2 fruits (apples, citrus fruits are preferred).

In the long-term option, the usual breakfast is replaced with cereal in the amount of 2-3 tbsp. l. The rest of the diet should be based on the consumption of vegetables, fruits, lean meat or fish, and low-fat dairy products.

When use is prohibited

Muesli is a product that has virtually no contraindications. However, it must be taken into account that it contains gluten or gliadin (cereal protein). If you have been diagnosed with celiac disease (another name is celiac disease), you will have to stop eating cereal mixtures to avoid serious allergies and intestinal upset.

For the rest, in particular children, the elderly, as well as during pregnancy and breastfeeding, muesli will be very useful and will help you say goodbye to extra pounds gradually and gently.

Diet granola bars recipe

No matter how healthy muesli is, it is a finished product and therefore always contains coloring, emulsifier, acidity regulator and preservatives (sulfur dioxide) used for fruits. You can make a “cleaner” version of the weight loss product yourself. To do this, you need to take a mixture of different grain flakes (three or five cereals), add chopped off in a ratio of 3:1 and various chopped dried fruits (apples, prunes, pears, apricots).

The same applies to ready-made bars, which, in addition to healthy grain products, contain sugar, glucose syrup, milk powder, cocoa butter, palm and sunflower oil, emulsifiers, flavoring, invert sugar syrup, glycerin, and acidity regulator. The calorie content of one is 88 kilocalories, and the total carbohydrate content is 16.1 g, including sugar - 6.5 g.

Homemade candy bars can be used as snacks in any environment and can replace high-calorie chocolates, waffles, and cookies with health benefits. To do this, the mixture of cereal flakes needs to be supplemented with fresh fruit puree and arranged in the form of bars (or cut into rectangles).

Diet bars

They do not contain honey, vegetable sugar or butter, as these are additional sources of calories. Products needed: 300 g of oatmeal, 1 banana, 2 apples, 50 g of dates, dried apricots, cherries, 100 g of almonds or any other nuts, cinnamon and vanilla powder to taste.

Blend apples and banana in a blender. Mix the cereal, chopped dried fruits and nuts well in a container, add cinnamon and vanilla. Add the banana-apple mixture, mixing well with the base. Place the resulting mass on a baking sheet lined with parchment, smooth and compact. Bake for 20-30 minutes at a temperature of 1700. Cut the cooled layer into rectangular strips. Calorie content of 100 g of product is 292 kcal.

Compound

Allowed for weight loss:

• cereals;
• bran
• corn and rice balls;
• wheat sprouts;
• spices;
• pieces of apples and pears;
• sesame, pumpkin, sunflower, flax seeds;
• vitamin and mineral supplements;

Prohibited or limited when losing weight:

• chocolate;
• sugar;
• honey;
• dried fruits, candied fruits;
• nuts;
• banana pieces;
• vegetable oils, especially palm oil;
• preservatives, flavorings, stabilizers, dyes.

We conclude which muesli you can eat while losing weight based on its composition: nutritionists recommend choosing cereal flakes and bran with a minimum of additives.

Advantages and disadvantages

Contraindications

It is not recommended to purchase mixtures containing sugar and flavoring additives. This affects the calorie content of the product and negatively affects the figure. People who are losing weight and people with diabetes should remember this.

It is important to consider the salt content. It is better not to consume muesli with salt for those who have problems with blood pressure. Constant use of the product, even for a healthy person, is fraught with a violation of the water-salt balance, which threatens the development of hypertension in the future.

Pay attention to the presence of vegetable oil. It is used in production for heat treatment. Frequent consumption of muesli containing oils is harmful to the cardiovascular system.

Reviews of the muesli diet and results

According to many nutritionists, muesli should not be considered as a means of losing weight. However, a muesli diet exists and, according to reviews, is quite easy to tolerate and leads to weight loss. The norm recommended by nutritionists is 30-50 g per day. That is, the option of using them for breakfast is the most acceptable. It is also important to season them - you need to use low-fat milk and fermented milk drinks, unsweetened freshly squeezed juices. When topped with water or fresh juice, the energy value of a serving will be 120 kcal.

• “... I sat on Fitness cereal for a whole week when I was on vacation. I didn’t want to cook, I needed to lose some weight and cleanse myself. Believe me, this food is nourishing, I didn’t feel hungry or weak. I can’t go on strict diets without carbohydrates (cereals), because I get a headache and feel nauseous. I bought the simplest muesli - more grains, some dried fruits and no nuts. I poured it alternately with kefir, yogurt, milk, juice or just water. The portion was supplemented with an apple, berries or grapefruit. For snacks I drank kefir or ate an apple. In 7 days I lost three kilograms without exercising. True, by the end of the week I was tired of eating like that. There was clearly not enough meat or fish, so next time I’ll choose the option with these products.”
• “... If you don’t cook for the whole family, then you can survive any diet. Although I am sure that it is not useful to eat like this for a whole week - the body does not receive what it needs. I think that you can spend a fasting day on them, but no more. I personally unload on them. And one more thing that is important for me: the cereals need to be well soaked, so I can only eat them with warm milk or warm water, which soften them well. Kefir does not soak in and the resulting dish is rough on my stomach. So everything is individual."
• “... I always eat them for breakfast, but I also add fresh fruits and berries. It turns out voluminous and satisfying, and the calorie content does not increase much from a handful of berries or a few slices of an orange or half an apple. This food replaces traditional oatmeal, but is healthier because it is not processed with heat. At other meals I eat vegetable salads, boiled fish or meat, baked chicken breast, eggs, mushrooms, cottage cheese. I completely eliminated sweets and baked goods, limited other cereals (I can eat buckwheat or brown rice once a week). In general, the result is a rational and healthy diet. “I lost 10 kg in a year by working out in the pool once a week and walking 2-3 times a week.”