Today I am about to start what may be a crazy idea. I have read tons of "I did so and so for a week" posts, and decided to take on a challenge of my own.
For the next seven days, I will eat nothing but oatmeal for every meal. Why the oat overload? Because it's versatile and delicious. I will also keep track of how I am feeling after every full day of oats. Here goes nothing...
Day 1 - Monday
Feeling: Great!
To my surprise, I didn't find myself late night snacking on my usual pretzels and peanut butter. For breakfast, I had a brown sugar instant oatmeal, for lunch an apple spice oatmeal from the dining hall, and for dinner, a cinnamon spice oatmeal with banana slices. I had the energy (and time) to go for a quick run today, too. I'm not sick of instant oats... yet.
Day 2 - Tuesday
Feeling: HUNGRY
This morning, I had a 100-calorie pack of maple and brown sugar oatmeal from OatFit. I woke up hungry, which is pretty unusual for me. By 11:45, I was STARVING. I didn't have time to run to my dorm for lunch, so I had a black iced coffee to hold me over, and more oatmeal at 3:45. For dinner, I had plain oats with a banana. It's only day two and I'm already sick of the word oatmeal.
Day 3 - Wednesday
Feeling: Excited
I went to bed hungry, and woke up starving. For breakfast, I had plain oats with bananas and brown sugar. Why am I excited? My best friend visited for lunch today. We went to Le Peep in Champaign, and I ordered Granola Cranberry Oatmeal. It. Was. Amazing.
Confession time y'all. I cracked for dinner and had sushi (oops!). But I will be back on track tomorrow, and can't wait.
Day 4 - Thursday
Feeling: Guilty
I feel horrible about cheating yesterday (but my sushi was fantastic). For breakfast, I had a 100-calorie oatmeal pack, and was disgusted by how bland and boring it was. I was in need of a more protein-packed meal.
By lunch, I started to feel exhausted by this all oats diet. Dinner was plain oats with apple pieces and cinnamon sugar, since my sweet tooth was acting up.
Day 5 - Friday
Feeling: Bored
After five days of nothing but oatmeal, I can officially say I am craving something that isn't mushy. Surprisingly, it's not even the taste that I am sick of, it is the consistency of the oatmeal. I feel like an old lady who can't chew.
Day 6 - Saturday
Feeling: Exhasuted
With little to no iron in my system, I am pretty much tired all of the time. There's only one more day left of this experiment, and I can't wait to dive into a bag of pretzels. I skipped breakfast and slept in, ate a 100-calorie oatmeal packet for lunch, and piled on fruits and nuts over plain oats for dinner.
Day 7 - Sunday
Feeling: Done
It is finally the last day, and truthfully, I don't think I could have done this diet any longer. All I can say is, 0/10, would not recommend.
Conclusion
All in all, I would not recommend anyone to put themselves through the only oatmeal diet. There wasn't much pay off, given that weight fluctuates on a regular basis, and I did not feel any healthier. I felt tired, out of energy, and plain bored with my food options. Overall, this diet is a no-go. But if you're ever craving some fantastic oatmeal recipes, check these out.