On the Hercules diet, you can not only lose weight, but also get rid of gastrointestinal problems and lower blood sugar levels. Learn how to cook oatmeal so you can lose 1 kg every day without starving!
- Reviews from those who have lost weight
Author: Kristina Lobanovskaya, doctor, practicing nutritionist Article updated: 11/10/2020
The basis of this diet is oatmeal, cooked in water, without salt and sugar. Of course, it’s not very tasty, but every day the weight decreases by 1 kg. Agree, you can wait a few days, especially if summer and the beach are ahead. Moreover, oatmeal has a number of beneficial properties. It’s not for nothing that the British have long loved to eat oatmeal for breakfast. Even if it's just a myth, it's a very good one!
The benefits of oatmeal
A healthy lifestyle is becoming increasingly popular. People want to be healthy, fit, full of energy. Measures to achieve this include the art of cooking healthy foods, which includes oatmeal.
The diet of many people, including professional athletes, cannot do without it. This is no coincidence. In addition to its rich composition (minerals, vitamins, pantothenic and folic acid, omega-3), oatmeal has another feature - you can prepare many delicious dishes from it.
10 reasons to eat oatmeal:
- Fighting high cholesterol.
- Reducing high blood pressure.
- Supports proper digestion.
- Regulating the activity of the thyroid gland.
- Prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
- Preventing osteoporosis.
- Strengthening the immune system.
- Maintain stable blood sugar levels.
- Improved concentration.
- Reducing stress, improving mood.
What are the benefits of oatmeal?
It would seem how you can lose excess weight on a fairly high-calorie product, because 100 grams of cereal contains about 350 kcal. In fact, this figure is significantly reduced if you approach the preparation of this dish correctly. Another nuance is quick satiety; even 100 grams of porridge perfectly satisfies the feeling of hunger and gives energy for a long time.
In addition to the fact that losing weight on rolled oats leads to excellent results, this product has other positive aspects:
- Removes waste and toxins from the body.
- Improves skin condition.
- Useful for the gastrointestinal tract.
- Normalizes stool.
- Recommended for use for problems with the thyroid gland.
- Due to the presence of iron in the composition, it is useful for anemia.
- Has a beneficial effect on the nervous system.
- Normalizes cholesterol levels.
- Increases endurance.
Oatmeal diet for weight loss
Few people consume oatmeal prepared only with milk or water. When following an oat diet, various flavoring additives, especially sugar, can become a stumbling block. A diet based on oatmeal involves replacing it with honey. Cinnamon is also suitable. It contains no calories, but is rich in valuable antioxidants. Scientific studies have shown that cinnamon stabilizes blood sugar levels, thereby promoting a long-lasting feeling of fullness and reducing cravings for sweets.
An oatmeal diet has health benefits. This cereal contains carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Thanks to the average glycemic index, it does not disturb blood sugar levels. And the fiber it contains will ensure ideal digestion and cleansing of the intestines.
Due to the high content of a wide range of B vitamins, following a diet containing oatmeal improves the quality of teeth, hair, and nails.
1st serving (½ cup) contains:
- 2 g fiber;
- 3 g protein;
- 0 g sugar;
- 2% of the recommended daily dose of calcium;
- 6% iron;
- 1.5 g fat.
Is it possible to lose 10+ kilograms with this diet?
When losing weight on oatmeal, there is no need to limit your imagination. To add flavor to the porridge, you can use different types of nuts and fruits. But when losing weight on oatmeal, be careful with nuts - they have high energy value, so they should be consumed limited. Also, some fruits contain a lot of sugar, although it is healthy.
Of course, an oat diet for weight loss will not help you become 10 kg lighter in a week. In addition, such sudden weight loss is undesirable. The optimal result is 2–3 kg per week.
Contraindications
Contraindications to the oat diet:
- Significant physical activity.
- Tendency to constipation.
- Heart failure.
- Acute stage of diseases of the urinary system.
- Acute infectious disease.
- Individual intolerance to oatmeal.
- Celiac disease (gluten intolerance).
- Disturbances in the absorption of calcium.
Possible diet variations
The basis of the oatmeal diet for weight loss is the consumption of oatmeal, ideally 2 times a day. You can start with a 2-phase plan or a 7-day menu.
- 1st phase. In the first week, porridge is consumed 3 times a day. At this stage, it is recommended to consume only whole grains and not instant flakes that do not have the proper composition. You can combine them with fruits.
- 2nd phase. During the 2nd week, the amount of porridge is reduced to 1-2 servings per day. You can use instant flakes. The rest of the food should be healthy, low in fat, and include lots of fruits and vegetables.
The second option is an oatmeal diet for a week, including 2 porridges per day. Therefore, stage 1 is skipped.
Menu for the oat diet for a week
1 day:
- Breakfast: oatmeal, tea.
- Lunch: vegetable soup, oatmeal.
- Afternoon snack: yogurt.
- Dinner: chicken salad.
Day 2:
- Breakfast: oatmeal, kefir.
- Lunch: vegetable soup, oatmeal.
- Afternoon snack: grapefruit.
- Dinner: fish.
Day 3:
- Breakfast: oatmeal, yogurt.
- Lunch: vegetable soup, oatmeal.
- Afternoon snack: pear or apple.
- Dinner: chicken, vegetables.
Day 4:
- Breakfast: oatmeal, kefir.
- Lunch: tomato soup, oatmeal.
- Afternoon snack: fruit salad.
- Dinner: fish.
Day 5:
- Breakfast: oatmeal, nuts.
- Lunch: vegetable soup, oatmeal.
- Afternoon snack: orange.
- Dinner: chicken salad.
Day 6:
- Breakfast: oatmeal, kefir.
- Lunch: oatmeal, asparagus.
- Afternoon snack: salad.
- Dinner: fish.
Day 7:
- Breakfast: oatmeal, yogurt.
- Lunch: vegetable soup, oatmeal.
- Afternoon snack: kefir, apple.
- Dinner: chicken, vegetables.
As part of the diet, you can use proven recipes for preparing delicious porridge, listed below. Instant cereals are not recommended - they are usually sweetened and therefore contain more calories.
To prepare porridge, ½ cup of oatmeal is recommended. The diet plan also allows low-fat milk, yogurt, kefir, and fruits. Be sure to add cinnamon - it will give the dish a pleasant sweetish taste.
Eat porridge for breakfast and lunch. Fresh fruits are suitable for the 1st afternoon snack; vegetables with unroasted nuts are recommended for the 2nd half of the day. The basis of the dinner is high-quality sources of protein, such as lean meat, fish and zucchini, baked in the oven. A small, low-calorie dessert is allowed.
Oatmeal-apple option
The top spot in the ranking is (according to reviews) the oatmeal diet with apples.
Ingredients for porridge with apples:
- ¼ liter of water or low-fat milk;
- 50 g flakes;
- 1 tsp. butter;
- 1 tsp. honey;
- apples.
Pour milk into a saucepan and add cereal. Bring to a boil while stirring. When the porridge becomes thick enough, sweeten it with honey and pour into a bowl. Add butter and fresh or dried apples. You can garnish with grated coconut.
Kefir-oat option
The oatmeal diet with kefir is no less popular than the above apple option. It is best to cook porridge in the evening (“overnight”). There's a reason for this. Thanks to kefir cultures - beneficial microorganisms contained in kefir - the flakes are easier to digest, maximizing the absorption of all important nutrients. Because we are not what we eat, but what we absorb in our intestines.
The porridge turns out soft, and you don’t feel tired after eating it. This is because digestion does not require much energy.
Ingredients for oatmeal with kefir:
- 150 ml milk kefir;
- oatmeal (about 50 g);
- 1 banana;
- a handful of nuts;
- optional: 1 tbsp. l. honey or maple syrup;
- cinnamon.
If you plan to eat the porridge right away, crush the banana with a fork and mix with other ingredients.
If cooking overnight, combine all ingredients except banana, cover, and leave on counter at room temperature (refrigerate in summer). In the morning, add banana.
Oatmeal-buckwheat diet
Buckwheat is a well-known and popular product. This is not a cereal; the cereal belongs to the category of pseudocereals. It does not contain gluten, so it is suitable for the diet of people suffering from celiac disease. The health benefits of buckwheat are due to the large amount of vitamins and minerals it contains.
When on a buckwheat-oat diet, you can prepare porridge with almond milk as an alternative to cow's milk - it will provide the body with energy from plant proteins. Additional components (honey, cranberry) contain anti-inflammatory substances, rejuvenate, restore the body, significantly increase the benefits of the dish, and improve the taste.
Gourmet version: Toast buckwheat flakes and almond slices for the perfect nutty flavor. It is not surprising that reviews of the oatmeal diet for weight loss with buckwheat are laudatory - one bowl contains a concentration of most of the substances the body needs.
Ingredients for buckwheat-oat porridge with cranberries and pumpkin seeds:
- 2 tbsp. l. buckwheat flakes;
- 2 tbsp. l. oatmeal;
- 1 tbsp. frozen or fresh cranberries;
- 100 ml almond milk;
- 2 tbsp. l. honey;
- pumpkin seeds for decoration.
First, cook the cranberries (pre-cooking is recommended). Place fresh or frozen berries in a saucepan and add a little water. Cook until soft, add honey, stir.
Fry buckwheat in a frying pan. As soon as it heats up and acquires a nutty aroma, add oatmeal, milk, bring to a boil, stir for about 5 minutes.
Pour into bowls, top with warm cranberry mixture, and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds. A good improvement is adding white yogurt.
Curd and oatmeal diet
This is an oatmeal diet option, the reviews of which are also very positive. The recipe contains blueberries, but any other fruits or berries can be used instead (for example, a mixture of wild berries, strawberries).
Ingredients:
- 100 g oatmeal;
- 25 g vanilla protein;
- 125 g low-fat cottage cheese;
- 50 g low-fat white yoghurt;
- 100 g blueberries;
- water.
Place blueberries (or other berries or fruits), cottage cheese, and white yogurt in a deep bowl. stir. Add water if necessary. Stir in vanilla protein. Add cereal. Leave in the refrigerator for 6 hours.
Losing weight with oat bran
Most people associate oat bran with horse feed. But surprisingly it is a recognized delicacy. They are very tasty, contain valuable minerals, B vitamins. Due to the significant amount of fiber, bran is indispensable for the proper functioning of the intestines. They help remove toxins and cleanse the digestive system. It is not surprising that the oat diet (that is, one of its variations) includes the use of bran.
Bran porridge can be prepared in water, using milk, adding natural yogurt and fruit.
The following delicious porridge will help you lose weight using oatmeal.
Ingredients for oat bran porridge with raspberry sauce and coconut:
- 2 tbsp. l. bran;
- 1 tbsp. fresh or frozen raspberries;
- 2 tbsp. l. white yogurt;
- fresh coconut pieces;
- a little cane sugar.
Place the bran in a bowl and add cold water until it is completely submerged. Microwave for 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop fresh coconut and fry in a dry frying pan. Sprinkle with fresh or frozen raspberries and add cane sugar. Fry it. When the raspberries release juice and the sugar melts, remove the pan from the stove and pour the resulting sauce over the porridge. Garnish with coconut pieces.
Oatmeal jelly diet
Oatmeal jelly is not even a drink, but a nutritious liquid dish. It contains a number of important substances, vitamins, minerals present in the flakes.
The diet of the dietary scheme is similar to the menu for eating porridge - jelly is consumed 2 times a day.
For example:
- Breakfast: jelly.
- Afternoon snack No. 1: any fruit.
- Lunch: buckwheat with chicken.
- Afternoon snack No. 2: yogurt.
- Dinner: jelly.
Ingredients for oatmeal jelly (for 1 serving):
- 1 tbsp. cereal;
- 1 tbsp. water;
- 1 tbsp. low-fat milk.
Grind the flakes to flour (for example, in a coffee grinder). Stir in ½ tbsp. water. Boil the remaining water with milk. Slowly pour in the prepared flour mixture. Cook until thickened (about 5 minutes).
How to cook porridge correctly
It is better to prepare fresh porridge for every meal. To do this you need to take 2 tbsp. tablespoons of cereal, sort through and rinse if necessary. Pour a glass of boiling water and cook over low heat until tender. You can simply leave the water-soaked flakes at room temperature overnight. This method of preparation is called fermentation or soaking. Add a splash of olive oil before serving.
Why do you need soaking?
First of all, it helps to activate the beneficial substances that lie dormant in oatmeal. Secondly: many plant foods - grains, legumes, nuts and cereals - contain phytic acid. This acid is not only not absorbed by the human body, but also interferes with the absorption of proteins, fats and various minerals, blocking digestive enzymes in the stomach. Often it is phytic acid that causes anemia or allergies to a particular food.
If cereals and legumes are soaked, sprouted or fermented, phytase, an enzyme that decomposes phytic acid, is activated in them.
Thus, it is advisable to soak any cereal before cooking, and this applies not only to rolled oats.
A few more recipes
Is it possible to lose weight on oatmeal without giving up your favorite foods? Can. Use it as a component for their preparation. But remember that a quick and effective oatmeal diet requires physical activity and a healthy diet.
Oatmeal pizza base
The oatmeal diet is not necessarily just porridge. Try changing it up with pizza with a cereal base. Many people like it even more than the classic version.
Ingredients:
- 300 g of flakes;
- 300 ml hot water;
- “quick” yeast in accordance with the indicated dosage;
- salt.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl, add water. Cover and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Place baking paper on a baking sheet and place the dough on it. First, with a wet hand, then with a wet spoon, rub it to a thickness of about 0.5 cm. The edges can be greased with olive oil, but this is not necessary. Place in a preheated oven, bake for 15-20 minutes.
Oatmeal cake
If you follow an oatmeal diet, you don’t even have to give up sweets. For example, you can try making a healthy cake. Don't be intimidated by the amount of ingredients, its preparation is not difficult at all. Stevia is mainly used for sweetening, but it is better to fry apples with coconut sugar or honey. When making toppings, a liquid sweetener is more suitable, as it “glues” the flakes and nuts together.
The cake tastes great but contains only 150 calories and 8 grams of protein.
Korzh
Ingredients for the crust:
- 80 g flakes;
- 40 g walnuts;
- 1 egg;
- sweetener to taste (stevia);
- water according to consistency.
Preparing the crust:
- Mix cereal and nuts.
- Add egg, sweetener, a little water.
- Knead a medium-hard dough and place it in a mold (diameter about 20 cm).
- Bake at 180°C for 10 minutes.
Filling
Filling ingredients:
- 2 medium apples;
- 1 tsp. cinnamon;
- 10 g coconut sugar;
- some water;
- 350 g low-fat cottage cheese;
- 15 g vanilla powder;
- 1 egg;
- sweetener to taste (stevia).
Preparing the filling:
- Peel and cut the apples into small pieces.
- Sprinkle apples with cinnamon, coconut sugar, and add a little water.
- Fry in a frying pan.
- In a bowl, grind the cottage cheese with the egg, add vanilla powder, sweeten to taste.
- Place the apples on the pre-prepared crust and cover with the curd mixture.
- Bake at 180°C for 30 minutes.
Sprinkles
Ingredients for sprinkling:
- 20 g walnuts;
- 40 g flakes;
- 10 ml coconut oil;
- liquid sweetener to taste (honey, maple syrup).
Preparation of the topping:
- Chop the nuts and mix with other ingredients.
- Crumble the sprinkles over the cake and bake for another 10 minutes.
Cool the cake before slicing.
Oat cookies
As you can see, the oat diet can be sweet. In addition to the cake, try making delicious and healthy cookies for tea.
Ingredients:
- 70 g flakes;
- 1 ripe crushed banana;
- 1 grated apple;
- sunflower seeds;
- 2 tbsp. l. honey;
- cinnamon - to taste;
- 50 ml milk or water.
Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Place the dough on a baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 180°C until the cookies are firm on the surface. It should remain soft inside.
Cons of the diet
So, you have found out whether it is possible to lose weight on oatmeal, and you have become familiar with the benefits of this diet for the body. But every change in diet should be consulted with a doctor, who, based on your medical history, will determine whether this type of diet is suitable for you.
In addition, this food pattern is based on low calorie intake. This may not be suitable for a very active person. Here it is important to consider the composition of not only oatmeal, but also other dishes.
Flaws
People with allergies to grains should avoid the rolled oatmeal diet.
If you have celiac disease (this is what gluten intolerance is called), the consumption of oatmeal in any form is prohibited. Oatmeal is not recommended for those with calcium deficiency. A lack of calcium can lead to the development of osteoporosis.
The disadvantages of the Hercules diet also include constipation. To avoid this unpleasant phenomenon, you should drink more clean water. This diet is not suitable for people leading an active lifestyle, since rolled oats do not provide the amount of healthy fats that a trained body needs.
It is not recommended for pregnant women to follow such a diet.
Reviews of those who have lost weight and results
The results and reviews of the oatmeal diet are good. For example:
- Nadya: “I’ve been following this diet for 8 days. I said goodbye to almost 3 kg. Of course, I wanted more, but this is the result.”
- Katya: “I followed the option with apples in combination with physical activity. In addition to getting rid of excess weight, the result was also visible on the skin - it became fresh and elastic.”
- Larisa: “Boring diet. But very effective! Almost 5 kg gone in 2 weeks.”
As you can see, a diet based on oatmeal will not give you minus 10 kg in a few days. But by losing weight more slowly, it will ensure the stability of your new body weight.
It will take about 1 month to become 10 kg lighter with an oatmeal diet for weight loss. During this time, it is advisable to alternate between different variations of the dietary pattern to provide the body with all the necessary substances.
