What is the difference between Medifast oatmeal and regular oatmeal? I’ll tell you
Website design By BotEap.comSometimes I get emails from people looking for alternatives to medifast or wondering what’s so special about the company’s products. I understand because I used to wonder these things too. At the time, I didn’t understand that the cost of foods on this plan is usually cheaper than groceries and that the nutritional, carbohydrate and protein content of medifast foods is usually a bit better than the alternatives. I will use the very popular oatmeal as an example in the next article.
Website design By BotEap.comThe real differences between Medifast oatmeal and regular oatmeal: I do not hide the fact that I love the oatmeal of the plan. All flavors are good (blueberry, peach, apple, cinnamon, and brown sugar and cinnamon), but I really love peach. And, I often use brown sugar as a dry ingredient for very low fat, low calorie, yet tasty oatmeal cookies. One of my co-workers asked me how this diet product was different from, say, Quaker Oats. Well, let’s see the numbers.
Website design By BotEap.comThis diet oatmeal (peach-flavored) has 110 calories (15 of those calories come from fat). It contains 1.5 grams of fat, only 16 grams of carbohydrates, and 2 grams of sugars. It has a whopping 11 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber. Additionally, it contains at least 25-30% of the vitamin and nutrient requirements such as iron, folic acid, and vitamins A, C, D, E, and K, as well as biotin, niacin, and riboflavin.
Website design By BotEap.comNow, let’s look at the Quaker equivalent (also peach flavored). It’s 130 calories and has 20 calories from fat (2.0 g total). This isn’t too bad, but things get worse when you look at the carb and sugar content. Regular oatmeal has a whopping 27 grams of carbs and 12 grams of sugar. It only has 3 grams of protein 2 of fiber and this is the big difference. (Taste-wise, believe it or not, there’s not a huge difference between the two, at least in my opinion.)
Website design By BotEap.comThe importance of the low-carb / low-sugar / high-protein combination: The reason the medifast diet works so well is because of ketosis. This means that the low amount of carbohydrates and sugar and the high amount of protein convince your body to activate your fat and burn it effectively. The oatmeal in this diet is an example of how many of the snack-type foods change nutrition to ensure that you not only consume a low amount of calories, but also limit carbohydrates and sugar.
Website design By BotEap.comSure, regular oatmeal is pretty low in calories and fat. But, that’s not the whole story. It is very high in carbohydrates and sugar and does not have enough protein to counteract this. There is no way this product will allow you to get into ketosis, which is really the key.
Website design By BotEap.comAnd you can make similar comparisons with many different types of food. Go for your typical protein bar or pudding and you’ll find tons of sugar and very little protein. This is not the case with medifast equivalents.