Often I get asked if a certain food is healthy.
My response is always the same.
It is all relative.
Ask yourself what you would eat if you didn’t eat the food in front of you.
For example, you normally have cereal for breakfast. But today you want porridge (oats to all the US readers). So you ask yourself, are oats healthy and will they help me lose weight?
Answer: Compared to cereal, oats are a healthier choice. They contain no sugar and are also more nutrient dense than cereal.
Give yourself a pat on the back you made the right choice.
(PS read this if you want to learn how to put weight loss meals together)
Now after a month of eating porridge for breakfast you notice you aren’t losing much weight. What gives? Everyone told you oats were healthy, so why aren’t you losing weight.
Oats may be healthier than cereal, but it doesn’t mean they are the optimal breakfast choice.
So you switch to omlettes.
Compared to oats, omlettes are a better choice for breakfast than oats (assuming you haven’t just worked out) because they contain protein, good fats and fewer carbs. You don’t need all those calorie dense carbs so early in the morning. Your body has plenty of stored energy (fat) to use for fuel.
Back to the original question.
I hope you can now see why asking if eating oats for breakfast will help you lose weight is a dumb question. It depends on what you are comparing it to! Compared to cereal, yes, compared to omlette, no.
Healthy eating is all relative.
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