Why does oatmeal smell and look good to me?

(M) #1

I’ve been keto for a long time. However my mom makes steel cut oatmeal in the morning and it smells and looks good. I don’t eat it however because every time I did I found it causes panic attacks and feeling bad later. I ate it as a child but was much more used to carbs then of course. What could be causing it to smell and look good?

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #2

Sounds like a craving, to me. Tell yourself you can have all the oatmeal you want. Tomorrow, just not today.

(Joey) #3

Frankly, I didn’t think oatmeal itself has much of a smell - does it? Might it be the added ingredients your mom is using, e.g., butter, raisins, other flavors?

In any event, we do have strong associations with smell and deep long memories. A smell can bring back wonderful recollections of places, people, times … and also bring back deep fears, anxiety, or worse. Depends entirely on the associations you’ve made along the way.

Whatever it is that you are smelling (oatmeal vs added ingredients), your olfactory senses are likely tapping into strongly ingrained comfort sensations from your mom’s cooking during childhood.

Instead of worrying about it, kiss your mom on the forehead and say “thanks!” for the wonderful memories whenever she makes that oatmeal - which you shall continue to smell instead of eat :wink:

(Rebecca ) #4

It may bring back nice, childhood memories.

(Robin) #5

Yes. Oatmeal is a feeling.

(M) #6

Nothing added to it, just plain oats.

#7

No idea, oatmeal famously looks bad (though I suppose it depends… bumps and creaminess can be appealing), I dislike the smell and the taste too but tastes differ :slight_smile:

So I hadn’t that but I actually considered some simple carbs a treat and way more appealing after I went low-carb. Special :slight_smile: I still am not into them but better than before…? Something like that. Maybe something in me wish to balance things out if it makes sense, I am not sure it does to me…

It’s mostly harmless espevcially when I merely like the smell or looks of sg. I enjoy the smell or looks of it then. I LOVE the smell of roasted peanuts. It doesn’t mean I eat that or want them.

(Bob M) #8

You’re that one person in a million who does that. :wink:

I used to add something like this to it:

Added a nice sweet, yet crunchy, top.

That was back when I was on a very low fat diet.

#9

Interesting, never heard about malted milk powder…

My SO adds fruits and walnut (it was coconut in the past but coconut flakes is hard to get nowadays, the stuff is usually robbed from its fat), nothing else. He can have it for breakfast 4 times a week. The fruits differ.
As I always hated the taste of oats (except mixed with a lot of eggs, interestingly that makes it much better), I never ever get tempted so it’s a safe food for me.
When I tried to eat oatmeal (a tiny bit for fun), I could, I just had to put a ton of coconut and cocoa into it (sweetener, too, I had those times at that point). The oat taste had to be masked, I only used its fun texture giving abilities.

#10

I’m thinking it smells and looks good? Just becaues something may not agree with you doesn’t translate to not liking it or thinking it smells good. I like the smell AND taste of lots of things that my body doesn’t agree with.

(Susan) #11

Be strong Ketopescatariuan, just be strong!! I love Irish Oatmeal. Brandied raisons at the bottom of the bowl, filled with steel cut oatmeal and topped with blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and fresh cream…oh my gosh so delicious. My favorite! I also must be strong, seriously.

(Bob M) #12

I have seen people who say that oatmeal makes them full and not hungry. For me, I was always starving 15 minutes later. I was able to eat it and other hot cereals, because I was going to school and couldn’t eat for hours (going from class to class).

If you’re one of those people who can eat oatmeal and not be hungry, then you probably don’t need to be on keto diet.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #13

I used to find it more filling when I boiled it in milk, instead of water.

The Scots and the Irish used to use oatmeal/porridge as their main starch, before potatoes were discovered and brought from the New World.

(Bob M) #14

Never thought about boiling it in milk. Back when I was eating it, I was on very low fat, so the only milk I could have was skim. And at the time, I didn’t like milk…didn’t drink any milk (other then milk or cream in my coffee) for years. Decades, really.

But I guess you’d have to compare the satiety of these three things: milk alone; oatmeal alone; milk and oatmeal. And to make it more complex, the calorie issue could hang over this too (if it’s milk + oatmeal, maybe it’s just more calories that make you have more satiety?).

Edit: A further improvement: CGM results for all of these. Preferably from multiple people.

#15

Yeah, oatmeal is widely considered very filling, apparently.
It works well for my SO, he is satiated for 8 hours after he eats his, it’s not a tiny one though. The people who gets a tiny oatmeal and can’t eat for some hours, well they are vastly different from both of us.

Carbs never worked well for me but I need lots of protein and fat anyway.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #16

When I was a carb-burner, the amount of calories seemed to be irrelevant to satiation. I was always hungry. In my earlier post, “more filling” was relative.

#17

It probably wasn’t this perfect but I had a pretty okay looking formula where every carb calorie acted like minus half calorie… The more carbs I ate, the more fat I had to eat extra and I did, it was an irresistible urge.
So when I simply took out most of my carbs, I got more satiated without doing anything to my protein and fat intake, those were just about right already as far as I know. I never tracked before I went low-carb but I did on some off days and yes, carbs had anti satiation effect and raised my fat intake.
I don’t think I still have exactly that, I changed and it probably depends… I still can eat way more with carbs but my satiation is very high on my carby days. My high-carb days always were satiating, of course, I dislike not being satiated so ate accordingly but I don’t need massive overeating to reach that now.

I can’t do much with the word “filling”. I understand satiation but filling…? It’s something weird to me, used in situations where I stay hungry, very often. Like oatmeal. Not like I ever ate much of it but even filling my stomach wouldn’t be enough for satiation.
But I know people have this, they eat a tiny bit of something “filling” and they are full. I don’t have such magic food. And my stomach being full doesn’t mean I am not starving anyway. it’s probably the other “full” thing but I don’t care about that (and it’s weird too, I usually feel full when I am well-fasted). I need satiation.

#18

Sometimes I think fullness was actually inflammation. It still happens now when I eat too much cream or just a bit of cake when I break. What do they say “A moment on the lips…”!

(Rossi Luo) #19

Yeah, agree. Sometimes I saw the pancakes made by my wife for my kids, I would want to have it although I was not hungry, actually I did eat 3 on last Sunday :rofl:, I agree with Robin that it’s a feeling of the old times.

#20

There are different things I can call “fullness”.
If I really and successfully stuff myself (I mean, I can eat as much as I can and still don’t get full… I talk about the kind when I do feel full), that’s a better kind (as long as I don’t overdo it but I don’t do it without excessive carbs).
If I do it with carbs, that doesn’t feel bad, per se but somehow worse, wrong. And I can’t give a description about that feeling.
Cream doesn’t do the trick for me though I hardly really imagine eating a really huge amount, like 100g… :smiley: I trained myself to eat it in moderation.
1 liter of milk does nothing.

Eating something nice isn’t just a moment of joy for me. It easily can nurture my soul (maybe not the right word but something mental) for weeks or months… It calms down my inner rebel for a while. I feel free knowing I can eat whatever I fancy.
The one moment (or not even that. there is compulsion to eat bad stuff that doesn’t even give us real joy) things are wrong and exist. I go for the former things and try to avoid the worst ones anyway. I enjoy my normal food enough and if I miss some texture or something, I try to make it carnivore. NOT easy when I want some super crunchy biscuit (it’s very difficult on every diet for me) and wafers are impossible but at least I can make those keto… (And cheese whisps help. Not exactly biscuit or wafer but if my desire isn’t very specific, it scratches the itch and anyway, I love that stuff.)

I have an old, passionate relationship with pancakes (though I rarely eat them now as I preferred them as a dessert and it’s trickier on carnivore). I spent insane amounts on making the ultimate one on low-carb, had zillion inferior versions… Fortunately I am a Hungarian so my ideal pancake is very thin, crepes-like and it’s very easy to make carnivore. Tastes differ though, I am lucky. I hate flour flavored pancakes now and never liked the typical ones with excessive flower anyway, Mom made eggier ones. I run away with the idea, bring it to the extremes and my SO calls my pancakes omelets… Oh well, more for me. I enjoy when my eggy items don’t get a diluted flavor by adding too much other (especially not tasty) things.