Welcome to the NEW Healthista series featuring 30 days of weight loss tips with Nutritionist Rick Hay. Discover why eating an oat-based breakfast with added protein can help you reach your weight loss goals
Today’s tip is about the weight loss benefits that come with having porridge for breakfast. A 2015 study in the Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism compared oatmeal to corn flakes to learn more about oatmeal’s potential to help with weight loss. The study’s authors fed 36 study subjects — half of whom were overweight, and half of whom were lean – either corn flakes or oatmeal, to see how each cereal affected appetite. They found that the people who ate oatmeal for breakfast felt fuller for longer, and they ate less at lunch, than the ones who had eaten corn flakes.
Pimping your porridge by adding some protein to that mix can benefit your appetite (as in cutting it) in between meals even more as countless studies have shown that eating protein in the morning can also help keep you fuller for longer leading to eating fewer calories (around 440 less to be exact) and less late night eating.
Take a leaf out of an Instagrammer’s book and try making proats. Our absolute favourite is this: take 25 grams whole, organic jumbo oats and add 25 grams (one scoop) Healthista’s Lean Vegan Diet Protein in Vanilla, and one teaspoon chia seeds and then top up with boiling water. Leave it to soak for 15 minutes or overnight and then enjoy the high protein, pudding-y goodness for breakfast. Alternatively, the the ready to prepare option Rick Hay recommends Of The Earth Power of Red Superfood Pot.
Rick Hay says: ‘Successful weight loss requires you to boost your metabolism in the morning, or more to the point it requires your food to do that for you by eating a breakfast high in complex carbohydrates and protein. What I have here is a SUPERFOODS bowl, this is a ready-made one, it’s lovely because it’s got some goji berries, baobab, oats and it also has linseed. When they all come together it’s going to regulate blood sugar levels. When you regulate blood sugar levels you stay fuller for longer, you have fewer cravings and you even have better mood. I talked about boosting metabolism, if you don’t have breakfast you can tend to be sluggish in the morning. You may crave more throughout the day. I recommend a healthy choice, something that has oats in it, that will help regulate the blood sugar levels and keep you full throughout the day; giving you that little boost to help burn fat.’
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Rick Hay is an Anti-Ageing and Fitness Nutritionist with many years clinical experience in nutrition, naturopathy, botanical medicine and iridology. He specializes in obesity treatment and weight management. He writes a regular Natural Health and Fitness Blog for Healthista. Find out more at rickhay.co.uk. Follow Rick on Twitter @nutritiomalphys
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