Porridge/Oatmeal

KayLgee

This is going to sound crazy to some of you but how healthy is Porridge?

I train (crossfit) 4-5x a week and run (C25K) 2x a week.. I work out at 6.30am.

I am wheat, glutena and dairy free (for the most part, due to allergies).

I currently eat eggs and bacon for breakfast but feel like I need to change that for more energy, something like Porridge.

My issue is the amount of blog posts, comments and videos I have seen where people discourage eating oats, espeically for those wanting to lose weight.

I am just trying to confirm if this is true as there are so many contradicting points.

I have attached a screenshot of what I would plan on eating (after my workout), it will include carbs, fats and protein.

Please let me know your views on (good?) old oats!!

GillianMcK

I love my porridge in the morning, although bit leary of all these flavoured ones (I automaticaklly think of them as processed rather than rolled oats that I make myself), however if you're wheat free you might struggle to find oats to use, because of farming practices you'll be lucky to find oats that are guaranteed to be wheat free (the same machinery will be used to harvest all fields and the machinery will not be sterilised/disinfected to prevent cross contamination between wheat/barley/oats etc.

I haven't seen any posts regarding not eating oats because it impacts weight loss so I don't know what the theories behind it are, I keep within my calories and macros and avoid processed food where possible.

CynthiaT60

Same here.
You might google "refrigerator oats"; not cooking them and using rolled oats instead of oatmeal helps the GI index somewhat.

cwolfman13

Oats are great (real oats)...low carb is all the craze right now so maybe that's why you're hearing that oats aren't "good for weight loss"...they aren't good for low carbers because oats are carbs. they are an excellent complex carb that provides great slow burning energy. To boot, they are an excellent source of fiber, particularly soluble fiber which aids in keeping your cholesterol in check.

I eat oats pretty much 5 days per week and lost 40 Lbs doing so...by maintaining a reasonable calorie deficit, not by being scared of certain foods and eliminating an entire category of macro-nutrients. The only reason I could see anyone saying oats are "bad" would be low carb people...many of whom don't actually know jack **** about actual nutrition...just that carbs are the "devil"

KayLgee

Thank you for the replies people, just to confirm I would be using (gluten free) rolled oats to make my own porridge.

GillianMcK

Just found this regarding labelling of oats as allergy free

Labelling of oats
Oat products are often labelled as '100% oats', 'pure oats' or 'organic' oats. These terms do not tell you whether or not the product is free from contamination with gluten. We list uncontaminated oats in the Food and Drink Directory.

It’s a legal requirement for grains which contain gluten to be listed in an ingredients list if they have been used as a deliberate ingredient, regardless of the amount used.

Currently, under the law, oats are considered to be a cereal which contains gluten. This means if a manufacturer chooses to use an allergy advice box, you may see the term 'contains gluten' or 'contains oat gluten'.

Oats that are not contaminated that test at 20 parts per million (ppm) gluten or less may be labelled ‘gluten-free’.

I am assuming that you're going gluten/wheat free because of coeliac, or is it personal choice?

KayLgee

Thank you for that, I am not coeliac but I do have minor reactions. I don't have to be 100% however I chose to try and avoid it as and when I can.

KayLgee

Bumping, does anyone else eat oats for breakfast and still have good results?

lamps1303

I eat porridge at least 5 days a week and I love it. It is so much more filling (for me) than cereal/toast and stops me snacking between breakfast and lunch. As someone already mentioned, I think those telling you to avoid oats/porridge are carb haters. If you watch your portion sizes so it meets your calorie and macro goals there is no reason not to eat it. And that goes with any food.

The things you can add to porridge/oats are endless so you can practically have a different breakfast everyday. Personally I always add cinnamon and raisins.

Slim_strategy

Nothing wrong with porridge, I've had porridge a lot of mornings for a long time and I've been losing weight. I like to mix it up with what I have with it though, also I like buying the big bags of rolled oats instead of the mini processed pots because you get to make more for less calories and add your own flavours in
Today :
1/2 cup oats
Cinnamon + ginger
agave nectar 1tsp
1 tbsp of sunflower seeds (gives it a nice crunchy texture)
Accompanied by a banana with tsp nutella spread on it.
= 337 calories

god I love breakfast.

GillianMcK

I would have to say since starting MFP I stopped with cereal in the morning and started porridge and I've lost just over 10kg, I used to really dislike it (texture rather than taste) but now I love it and have it 7days a week (double amount on my long run days)!!

jaydigity

Bump to this thread as I just had a porridge REVELATION today! Having weighed what I normally put in my cereal bowl of branflakes, it will inevitably come to 100g (even though most cereal packets describe a serving as 40gish-pleeease!), then add 200mlsh of semi-skim milk. I weighed out porridge oats today, to my surprise, what I'd consider a normal serving is 20g! so I can double that and, even with 40g serving, I'm still eating almost 200kcal less than branflake breakfast. That's a huge difference.

melissa_bebb

I just started eating oats and I can say that it definitely holds me until lunch (and that is something cause I am always hungry). I like to do crock pot oatmeal. It is so yummy. My boyfriend even loves it.

1 cup steel cut oats
2 cups light vanilla almond milk
2 cups water
1/8 cup brown sugar
Cook in 2 qt. Crockpot overnight (7-8 hours) on low.

You can do all water if you want, but I think the almond milk makes it more creamy. You just need to maintain the 4 cups liquid to 1 cup oats ration.

I like to add blueberries and a tbsp of PB2 to mine.

_lyndseybrooke_

I don't think I've heard the word porridge since I was a kid listening to my grandma tell me the story about Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

I eat oatmeal 5 mornings out of the week. It's awesome and there's absolutely nothing wrong with eating it. Don't listen to people that tell you anything is "bad" for weight loss because it has carbs. They can get out of here with that noise.

hopper602

oats will stack up your carb macro pretty quick is how I look at it. otherwise healthy depending on how you buy it and make it. I like to throw 1 serving of them dry into my chocolate whey shakes along with a peanut butter. I like the little bit of texture it adds. Steel cut plain oats that is, not brown sugar candy choco berry fruitiness in a packet kind.

ValeriePlz

I am with the poster above in loving overnight oats / refrigerator oats. Equal parts oats, Greek yogurt, and milk produce an awesomely tasty breakfast the next morning. Add in whatever else you want - nuts, dried fruit, cinnamon, nut butter, etc.

sshintaku

I have 1/2 cup of plain old rolled oats oatmeal for breakfast with a boiled egg pretty much every day. I sometimes add a little honey. It keeps me full and I consistently lost weight doing this.

MYhealthyjourney70

i do overnight oats and they are delish.... oats are very good for you..
1/2c oats
1/2-1c milk (depending how think/thin you want it)
cinnamon
raisins
craisins
fruit of choice
slice almonds
mix in bowl and put in refigerator overnight and they are ready to eat come morning

Angela26point2finisher

i do overnight oats and they are delish.... oats are very good for you..
1/2c oats
1/2-1c milk (depending how think/thin you want it)
cinnamon
raisins
craisins
fruit of choice
slice almonds
mix in bowl and put in refrigerator overnight and they are ready to eat come morning

I have to try this! So easy to grab n go in the morning.

booherd

A trick that Lisa Lillien (AKA "Hungry Girl") endorses is to add twice the amount of liquid that the oatmeal box suggests, and cook it for twice as long. That way you wind up with a huge serving of oatmeal, but no additional carbs or calories. And it is much more satisfying! Healthy additions like a few walnuts or a chopped apple and cinnamon makes this even yummier. This is much like the crockpot oatmeal described earlier. And stay away from the "instant" oatmeal - that stuff is crap.

rsclause

I do 1/2 cup of Oats every morning after my run. Just the good old Quaker Oats that I can buy a two month supply for about $7.00 at Sams club. Cook with water for four minutes in the microwave. I like to add 1/4 of walnuts and a big dose of fresh blueberries or strawberries. Also eat a whole grapefruit too.

Tmm10910

I have 1/2 cup of oatmeal every morning with raisins, fresh fruit, cinnamon and a splash of almond milk. Just stay away from the flavored packets, they have so much sugar. Get the plain and flavor it how you like.

Francl27

I can't stay away from oatmeal with one cup of milk, vanilla extract, one egg and maple syrup. Most delicious thing ever.