Am I defeating the purpose of oatmeal?

Question

I heard that eating oatmeal is good for losing weight and what not. To make 2 packets oatmeal tolerable to eat, I add suger, like 3-4 teaspoons...today I ate some and I thought to myself, I putting in too much sugar. My question is can I put sugar in my oatmeal and how much of it is healthy? Also does it matter how many bowls I eat? Will it do anything? Along w/ exercise 200 minutes a week + balanced meals for lunch and dinner, will successfully see results by january?

Answer 1

I don't know about all of that, but I do know that each teaspoon of sugar has 16 calories. so figure that into your total calories.

Answer 2

If you want to lose weight, you should only be eating one packet of oatmeal and add cinnamon or fruit to flavor it, not sugar. The flavored packets do not need sugar as they are already sweet. Have you tried Splenda? It is made from sugar but does not raise the blood sugar or have the calories of sugar.
The exercise plan sounds great. Watch your portion sizes for lunch and dinner, and between meal snacks should be no more than 15 grams of carbohydrates. I am currently seeing a dietician for my diabetes and she has me keeping a food diary. Its a great way to reduce what you eat "unconsciously". IF you know you have to write down every bite you eat, you will soon start asking yourself, "Is this worth the hassle?" Often that answer will be no. It also shows you how "balanced" your diet really is. You can get books at Walmart and book stores with calorie, fat and carbohydrate counts for almost every food item, even fast foods and restaurant chains. Great for menu planning too.
Good luck on the weight loss.

Answer 3

Try some of the flavored oatmeal. I use to add alot of sugar to my plain oatmeal but with the cinnamon and spice, apple, and etc. I don't add any. Oatmeal is suppose to be good for a number of things. Weight, heart, digestive system, and cholesteral among some. Good luck.