It’s FREEZING out there!!! Only 20* here in Charlotte with a mighty wind chill. I’m wearing a big sweater today and will need full gear – gloves, scarf, wool coat – for my train ride.
Early Morning
I woke up this morning with a horrible headache at 4:30. Strange. I took 2 IB profin but it was still there when the alarm went off at 4:50. Strangely, I felt like getting up would make it go away rather than going back to sleep. I wasn’t tired anymore. I was right! It was gone within 10 minutes of getting up. So weird.
Toast with jam:
Workout
My workout was dull this morning. Although I was sweaty and burned 400 kcal on the Stairmaster (40 minutes) and stat bike (10 minutes), I just didn’t feel like I ever really got my body moving and energized. I’m hoping for a good walk at lunch!
Breakfast
Steel cut oats take II! I made these yesterday, following Alton Brown’s recipe to a T. They still ended up being a smaller portion than the rolled. But I refrigerated them overnight (and put my banana in yesterday – it turned a little brown but still tasted the same!) and added 1.5 oz of milk this morning to re-heat in the microwave. They definitely needed the extra milk, which not only moistened them but made them fluffier = more volume.
Report: they were MUCH better today than my earlier portion, but I still prefer the creaminess of rolled oats. I think we’ll alternate between them since we have a big stock now.
Steel Cut Pros: Quick to cook in the microwave and NO DIRTY POT in the morning, fun to chew
Steel Cut Cons: Much more effort to cook the day before so need to be organized, less volume (a big con for me).
The Science of Oats
So continuing my research on oats, we recently watched a Good Eats episode on them. Alton Brown does a great job of explaining the why of food not just the how. Here’s the transcript from his episode explaining the different kinds of oats.
Groats
Once the oats are harvested, the miller has got a lot of choices to make. For instance he might elect to remove only the outer hull. That would produce whole oats, also known as groats. You notice that, uh, they still have their entire bran coat on, a lot like brown rice which is not a complete accident because you know what? They also taste kind of like brown rice. Nice, but a little too nutty for my taste. The other things is that, uh, even if you soak them overnight and cook them for hours, they’re chewy as Gumby. I’ll pass.Steel Cut Oats
Now, if you were to take these, however, and send them through steel cutters you would have steel cut oats, a.k.a. Scotch oats or Irish Oats or—I love this one—pinhead oats. They also take a little while to cook. But they produce a very creamy porridge. Mmm. It’s also just a little bit chewy, a little toasty … mmm. They’re really nice.Rolled Oats
Now if you were to take these and steam them and press them out in rollers and then dry them, you would have rolled oats, a.k.a. old fashioned oats, a.k.a. oatmeal. These are the oats we think of when and, well, if we think of oats. Now the idea of mashing them flat that was an American thing. Makes them cook faster. The problem is, faster is not always better. In fact, uh, they tend to produce a rather measly mush. They do have some other applications which they are very well suited, but we’ll get to those later.Instant Oats
Could you process them even more? Well, sure. Why not? You could mash them even thinner, par-cook them and then dry them. Then you’d have instant oats which I wouldn’t feed to my horse.
It seems AB prefers steel cut and thinks rolled oats make a mush – but I’ll take mush for volume any day!! My guess is that because rolled oats are basically flattened steel cut, their surface area increases, therefore making them more voluminous. Research has shown that people tend to eat the same weight of food each day, regardless of how many calories they’re consuming. Very interesting to note with these oats differences, although I thought today’s oats were heavier than the ones I made earlier this week with the added milk and banana.
Also had 1.5 cups of coffee on this cold morning – butter rum is better with more splenda!
Breakfast calories (with toast): 570.
Ala says
Hey there Kath! I just wanted to wish you a very Happy New Year! You handled yourself so well over the holidays and I love your approach to healthy eating. You show that we CAN have indulgences and get right back on track the next day. Balance is key!
I admire your 'team-like' approach with your husband. I have been trying to get mine into the whole health and exercise mindset, and I am finding the exercise part a bit hard. The healthy eating part has been pretty good because he basically eats what is put in front of him! ;)…but do you have any tips on encouraging a partner to workout with you? I am running out of ideas…
Have a great day and I LOVED the info on oats…I always wondered!!
Christie says
Hey kath,
Have you ever tried having Oat bran in the morning instead of the oatmeal. I switch off between the two and Oat bran when you make it like the oatmeal really gives a lot of volume and is very filling, it is more of a thicker consistency than the oatmeal but very good with cut up apples and made in the sauce pan with 1.2c milk 1.2 cup water, vanilla, cinn and some slivered almonds. You should def give it a try!
AA says
hey kath,
when you were trying to lose weight and not maintain, how was your diet different from what it is now? how was ur exercise schedule different? i just wanted to kno how much less calories you were taking in, how many calories you were burning, snacking/meal times/meal composition…etc. thank you so much for the great blog. i love it!
Cathy says
Happy New Year Kath! I was laughing when I read your blog from last Saturday night I think it was…..you guys had no plans for the evening…my husband ended up going to the NY Giants and Patriots game…we live right outside NYC in NJ near the stadium. Anyway, since it was a last minute thing he went with my brothers….boys only! SO, I was home all alone…bored! It was funny, I felt like a loser…Saturday night, by myself and no plans. Luckily, I read and went to sleep early! Hehe! You'd think I was an old lady and not in my 20s! Haha!!
KT says
Hey Kath!! Quick question for you or anyone else… What do you think of 0 calorie spray butter?? Bad… good.. stay away?? Are there actually calories? Let me know if I should cut this out!! I'm guessing I should, but I would just like some opinions.
Grace says
Hey kath,
I really enjoy reading your blog and I was wondering if adding vanilla extract to your oatmeal really adds flavor.. I've tried it (with the same vanilla you use! 🙂 and I dont think I tasted a difference.. when should I add it? before heating?
Thanks in advance
Aimee says
Ala, I have the same problem with my boyfriend. He's going back to school soon and plans on exercising again.. but he prefers to do it by himself although we went for occasional walks when the weather was warmer. More teamwork would be fun though!
Kath says
Ala,
I am VERY VERY lucky to have such a great husband who likes to work out and is conscious of his health and good habits. And he loves to walk! We lift weights together often and we run together, but I'm a much slower runner than he is so sometimes he wants to run alone. Also, I go to the gym 5 mornings a week whereas he probably goes 3/5 (he slept in this morning!). So it's really not me encouraging him to workout with me but his own decision to. Perhaps you could suggest hikes or runs with your husband as a weekend activity? Or just a walk after work together through your neighborhood? Just like everything else, if you start slow with walks and stuff, maybe he'll want to join you for more high intensity activities.
Christie,
Oat bran was my staple all last winter!! I just got a little sick of it and now am obsessed with my current oat concoction. I need to use it up though, since it's been in the pack of our cabinet for a long time – thanks for the reminder!
AA,
Tough question (and the reason I've been procrastinating answer this batch of questions!). Throughout the first 20 pounds of my weight loss I was NETing 1350 calories and burning about 350-450 in my daily workouts (which I did in the afternoons back then because of my job). Then for the last 10 pounds I decreased my net to 1226, started morning workouts (new job) but did the same activities, and also added a daily walk on my lunch break (so even though my net was lower I was eating the same amount of calories – make sense?). The last 10 pounds came off with those adjustments. Now, I'm really still eating/exercising the same as when I was still losing. As I've explained before, my maintenance outlook is "lose some, gain some" so while I might have lost some before Christmas, I probably gained some over the holidays eating more than normal. I'm not exactly sure why I haven't lost more than gained over the past few months since I haven't eaten more than I've supposedly burned, but my best guess is my body is very happy at this weight and has decided to stay within a pound or two of 120. OR perhaps my BMR and metabolism are really lower than I think!
Cathy,
As long as you enjoy your Saturday, it doesn't matter what you're doing – even if you're in bed at 8pm reading! I'm always thankful for a Saturday when I can just relax 8)
KT,
I used to use that stuff on occasion, but I eventually threw away the bottle because I never used it. I don't think it adds much to food, and you're right to know that I think 10 sprays = 10 calories or something like that. I prefer a dab of Smart Balance or Promise Light – or real butter when the ingredients call for it! If you love the spray, use it sparingly. If you're not impressed, I'd use something with a little more flavor.
Grace,
I don't think the vanilla adds flavor (have you ever tasted the stuff – yuck! I always lick it off if I spill it thinking it'll taste good but it's gross) but I DO think it adds a great scent to the oatmeal and therefore enhances the oatmeal-eating experience 🙂 You should add it last, as the heat from cooking will make it evaporate away.
Aimee,
Good luck with the BF – and try to keep up the walks in the cold weather – it's cozy to come home together and need to warm up!
Betty says
We LOVE steel cut oats! We eat them at least 3-4 times a week and never get bored of them. I prefer the nutty flavor and texture over rolled oats. This is also one of the few things that my SO *likes* to cook. We started with the AB recipe too but have adjusted it to our tastes. The toasting step makes it for me. We make a batch of it on the weekend and we just reheat single portions in the microwave each morning. Lately, I like adding chopped apple, cinnamon, and walnuts. My SO has been making it with maple syrup.
Kath says
Betty,,
Did you toast them in butter like AB said? I was tempted to try it without butter because I don't really want 120 extra calories in there, but I was afraid they'd burn! Any tips?
Kath
Karen says
So, Kath, I just want to be clear on your answer to AA re: calories consumed during your weight loss phase – you were losing on about 1650 – 1700 calories and burning approx. 400 through exercise? And, that is approximately the same program you are using to maintain your weight (or to be more accurate your ‘lose some/gain’ some balancing act program?)
My findings agree with yours re: the calorie allowances offered by various BMI calculators – they overestimate the calories I can consume before I gain weight (although I also avoid weighing myself regularly for similar reasons as you). Given that I am petite, my sweet spot seems to be around 1700 calories, gross, which is much lower than my supposed allowence. Plus, I just feel 2100 calories is too much intake for me…on days that I do reach that number, I feel indulgent. It is just too much food for my body to feel it’s best.
So, I guess trial and error and really paying attenttion to your body’s real physical (vs. emotional) hunger signs is the way to go.
Kath says
Karen
You are correct – and so cute with all the re.’s!! Although I think now my gross is more like 1700-1800 and I’m burned more like 500-550.
I couldn’t have said the part re. BMI calculators better myself 🙂
Kath