Can I lose weight on porridge?

Among all the well-known diets "herculean diet" nutrition has a number of advantages. Firstly, this is a low-budget weight loss program, since the cost of oatmeal, produced by the food industry under the brand name “Hercules”, is available to absolutely everyone who wants to normalize his figure. The second is the high utility of this product. After all, oatmeal contains a lot of elements necessary for the body. And the third, important quality is that the oatmeal dishes are very nourishing. This allows you to lose weight in comfort, without experiencing a painful feeling of hunger.

Features of the oatmeal diet

The “Hercules diet”, like any weight loss program, is associated with severe dietary restrictions. Therefore, it is not worth much to get involved in it.Nutritionists believe that sticking to the diet during the week, when meals of oatmeal become the main food, you can adjust weight well. But it is best to include oatmeal for breakfast in the menu, because this type of cereal reduces cravings for carbohydrates, and this will help to effectively “cut off” extra calories.

Among the advantages of popular cereals are the following properties:

1. Quickly gives a feeling of fullness.
2. It cleans the body well.
3. Establishes metabolic processes.
4. Enhances intestinal peristalsis due to the high content of fiber.
5. The product has a low GI (glycemic index).
6. Oatmeal is perfectly absorbed by the body, saturating it with useful substances.
7. The composition of flakes contains fat soluble acids that strengthen the immune system.
8. Cereal has a positive effect on vision and skin condition, because it contains retinol.

In this list, only the main advantages of oatmeal. But the main feature of this useful cereal is the ability to provide all organs and systems with life-giving energy. Such miraculous transformations are due to the fact that all the listed actions in the complex activate the course of physiological processes in the body.And this has a positive effect on overall well-being.

What product to choose for a diet

So, flakes "Extra" are made from low-grade cereals, and to improve the characteristics of the grain is subjected to additional processing. Of course, after intensive grinding, the cereal loses some of the valuable nutritional ingredients, since it is the shell that contains a significant part of the useful components. But the porridge of this product is prepared quickly, it is perfectly digested. When choosing a product you should also pay attention to such important points:

1. Expiration date (flakes over time lose useful properties).
2. Packaging (it is best to buy flakes in a carton, because it protects the product from exposure to sunlight and moisture).
3. The integrity of the package (poor-quality packaging can provoke the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms).

The last point is especially important to observe when buying fast food, when the dry mixture is simply brewed.

How to cook tasty and healthy porridge

Although porridge is considered the most elementary dish that can be cooked in the home kitchen, there are several secrets of this culinary process. These tips are easy to remember, but their use will help to organize the Hercules nutrition program. Nutritionists recommend:

1. Take for cooking such amount of product, which is enough for the whole day of the diet and will remain for another day.
2. If the raw material has impurities, it is necessary to clean and wash the flakes.
3. After pretreatment, the entire quantity of the product must be placed in a glass container, filled with water so that the liquid completely covers the flakes.Preparation for porridge should be well settled at room temperature. Night is enough for this, but it is better to extend this process to one day. Such processing will help to intensify the work of useful enzymes that are in oatmeal.
4. Before cooking porridge, you should take the amount of cereal, which is enough to cook exactly one portion of the dish. The excess liquid before it needs to be drained, and the flakes placed in a bowl with boiling water (in the ratio 1: 1.25).
5. Cook porridge should be 5-7 minutes on low heat. The dish must be constantly stirring. At the end of the cooking process, add salt to taste.
6. When the porridge comes to readiness, it must be removed from the fire and allowed to infuse for a few minutes.
7. Before serving, add a little olive oil to the table.

Here is a recipe for cooking traditional porridge from oatmeal flakes. But modern dietetics has a huge list of oatmeal dishes. The most interesting variations on the theme "Hercule diet" are given below.

Oatmeal with kefir

This combination of products is incredibly popular with people who want to lose those extra pounds.The fact is that fermented milk supplement to the oatmeal diet favorably affects the state of the body and gives a good result of weight loss. In total, for a weekly course of such a program, you can lose 3-5 kg ​​without compromising health. To carry out such a diet, you need to alternate in the daily menu oatmeal porridge with kefir (1.5 liters per day).

There is one more variant of such a diet: every 2-3 hours it is recommended to eat flakes soaked in kefir. A single serving - 1 cup, and the duration of the diet - 5 days. In the pauses between main meals, you can drink a glass of plain water. The average weight loss with this diet is 700 grams every day.

Apple and Cottage Cheese Oatmeal

1. Breakfast should consist of oatmeal, cooked in water and two medium-sized apples.
2. For lunch you need to eat the main course with the addition of a teaspoon of honey, a portion of cottage cheese (100 g), and three fruits.
3. A modest dinner - a double portion of cottage cheese (200 g) and 4 apples.

For such a diet for the diversity is allowed to add grams of 300 boiled vegetables.

American diet

This is also an interesting version of the diet with the inclusion of oatmeal. Its peculiarity is that such a complex of food helps to normalize the concentration of cholesterol, and serves as an excellent prevention of cancer. True, the duration of such a diet is 37 days. It consists of 3 stages:

1. The first phase is five days. The menu consists of a dish made from 60 g of flakes and 150 ml of milk with a low percentage of fat. Milk can be replaced with ordinary water.
2. The second stage involves the triple use of food, cooked in the proportions of the first part of the diet. Two additional supplements of any food are introduced into the diet, but with the condition that the caloric threshold does not exceed 1300.
3. The third phase is introduced in order to return to a normal diet. At this stage of the Hercules diet, oatmeal is used only once. But here we must count the calories to preserve the effect of losing weight.

The described methods of weight loss using oatmeal porridge will help you lose weight smoothly.

Video: oatmeal porridge - the benefits and harm