It’s essential for all of us to start our day with a healthy breakfast – even if you aren’t trying to lose weight. Starting your morning with a meal rich in fiber and protein can help your body feel energized throughout the day, and even help curb unhealthy snacking later on.
Many people have discovered that oatmeal is aneffortless yet healthy breakfast, because it takes just a few minutes to make and it’s rich in all the nutrients you need. Oatmeal is an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants, plus it is relatively low in carbs.
But, just because oatmeal is healthy on its own doesn’t mean the way you prepare it is always healthy. There is actually a very common mistake many people make that actually causes weight gain.
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If you’ve been adding sugar to your oatmeal - even just a little bit - you should stop immediately. Sugar often transforms foods that are normally healthy into one of the worst foods you can eat.
Sugary foods don’t keep you feeling full for a long time, which means you’ll start to feel hungry even when your body doesn’t actually need another snack. This makes weight loss a challenge, and actually counteracts some of the benefits of the fiber in oatmeal.
"In our society, sugar is consumed in excessive amounts through unhealthy foods, and it increases total calories, leading to weight gain," Eric Sternlicht, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology at Occidental College in Los Angeles and president of Simply Fit Inc., told Men's Journal.
“Many people do not like the taste of oatmeal so they tend to add sugar to make it sweeter,” Dr. Waqas Ahmad Buttar, family physician at Sachet Infusions, told SheFinds. “In my opinion, the use of sugar is bad for health, especially if you use it routinely.”
He warns that sugar can not only lead to weight gain, but it can also cause severe medical conditions.
Dr. Buttar continued, “Too much of any sugar on a routine basis can cause stress on the body, and constant spike-and-drop cycles of blood glucose can result in insulin deficiency or insulin resistance. The use of sugar may also cause obesity. Obesity is one of the main risk factors for type-2 diabetes. Sugar can contribute to weight gain, and weight gain can increase the risk of diabetes.”
Even adding brown sugar to your oatmeal is a mistake, even though many people assume that brown sugar is better for you than white sugar.
Kathryn McDavid, CEO of wellness company Editor's Pick, told SheFinds, “[Brown Sugar] seems harmless, but like white sugar, brown sugar is refined, which means it's far from healthy, and can certainly cause weight gain.
“The main reason brown sugar, and all sugar for that matter, can lead to weight gain is because of the addictive nature of the substance. Sugar can cause a dopamine spike in the brain, which makes us crave more of it, and since it's so easy to get in many of the foods and drinks on the market today, a sugar addiction is never far away.”
The American Heart Association recommends that women should limit their sugar intake to six teaspoons per day, and men to nine teaspoons per day. Though on average, Americans are eating more than three times the recommended limit.
One of the simplest ways you can cut down on sugar is simply by not adding it to any foods or drinks. Many foods already come with a certain amount of sugar in them, so cutting down on added sugars can make a world of difference.
If you prefer eating oatmeal on the sweeter side, try adding a bit of honey to it instead of sugar. You can also flavor your oatmeal with cinnamon, or take a look through our favorite recipes for overnight oats to find something healthy yet flavorful.
