The hunt is on for a ‘natural’ way to achieve the same dramatic weight loss as the breakthrough drug Ozempic.
Dieters on social media have made a number of suggestions, including the little-known supplement Berberine and even cinnamon.
But the latest food hack that would mimic Ozempic’s anti-hunger effects is simple; mix some oats.
The so-called ‘Oat-Zempic’ trend involves drinking a mixture of oats, water, cinnamon and lime every day, which proponents say can help you shed some serious pounds.
The majority of those who engage in this eating habit abstain from eating other meals, instead adding small snacks when they get hungry.
The drink is made from a mix of oats, water, lime and cinnamon
TikTok user Fred_ddy92 has lost 10 pounds over 21 days after drinking the oat shake, starting at 241 pounds.
User anna.2490 said she lost five pounds, from 243 pounds to 238 pounds in a week by drinking the shake twice a day.
In the meantime User LekkerCara said she lost four and a half pounds in five days by drinking OAT zempic and taking up intermittent fasting.
Despite the hype, dietitians are less convinced that the shake is a miracle cure.
“It’s essentially eating a bowl of oatmeal,” Dr. Alok Patel, a pediatrician at Stanford, told ABC.
And just drinking this oat drink does not give the same effect as using Ozempic.
The drug works by disrupting the signals between the brain and the intestines that signal that you are hungry.
Those who lose weight while participating in this trend are “creating a false equivalency” between the oat shake and the weight-loss drug, Dr. Patel said.
However, this does not mean that the oat drink will not help you lose weight.
Fred_ddy92 shares his daily progress while making OAT zempic on his TikTok
“Eating oatmeal in the morning, instead of another, more processed breakfast, can lower cholesterol, which is good for heart health, reduce the risk of chronic disease, vitamins and minerals, and maintain that soluble fiber.” keep you full longer,” says Dr. Patel.
“Half a cup of oatmeal, that’s a lot of fiber and some water to keep them feeling full, which can lead to a calorie deficit and that’s why people see weight loss.”
Fans of the craze have noticed this effect.
“This drink makes you so full you don’t even want to eat anymore, so you eat less, which is crazy,” Fred_ddy92 said in an TikTok documents the tenth day of its journey.
He also said that since he started taking ‘Oat-zempic’ he had reduced portion sizes and spent more time in the gym.
Ozempic helps people lose weight by slowing down the rate at which they digest food, helping you feel full longer
“If it ultimately helps people start their day with a highly nutritious breakfast like oatmeal, then I’m all for it,” says Dr. Tommy Martin, a pediatrician at Boston Children’s Hospital, shared on a TikTok.
But other nutritionists warn that the oat drink could fall into a dangerous category of diet trends, where people use shakes to replace whole foods and end up consuming far too few calories.
Registered dietitian Maya Feller shared Good morning America advises against replacing your meals with ‘Oat-zempic’.
‘I wouldn’t use this because you won’t get all the nutrients your body needs. You’re essentially starving your cells of what they want so they can function optimally. It’s just not worth it,” she said.