OATzempic: Everything You Need to Know

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by Chris Shugart

Does This Diet Work for Fat Loss?

Oat shakes are a silly social media diet trend. Or are they? Here’s what you need to know.

Back in the ‘90s, I had an idea. To support my lifting goals and save time on busy mornings, I tossed a cup of oats and some protein powder into a blender and drank it. I called it my “oatmeal shake.” Years later, I wrote about it on T Nation and everyone tried it. Yep, I accidentally invented Oatzempic.

Well, sorta.

What the Heck is Oatzempic?

It’s a viral social media diet. The “oat” part is obvious. The “-zempic” part comes from Ozempic, the injectable prescription drug (aka semaglutide or Wegovy) mainly used as an appetite killer but originally made for Type-II diabetics. It’s incredibly expensive stuff. Naturally, social media soon blew up with so-called alternatives, some smart and healthy, some not so much. One of those is Oatzempic.

Oatzempic is simply an oat shake or smoothie. You blend half a cup of rolled oats with a cup of water and drink it every morning, usually for 8 weeks. Some people add a squeeze of lime juice. The promise? Rapid weight loss.

Does it work? Kinda. Let’s dig in.

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The Claim

The main claim behind Oatzempic’s effectiveness sounds sciency. Ozempic, the drug, mimics a hormone called GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) that makes us feel full. It also prompts the stomach to slow down food transit and lowers blood sugar levels. Oats, indirectly, also cause your body to release a little GLP-1. Most foods containing fiber do. However, the effect is short-lived compared to the drug.

Oats contain soluble fiber, including the type called beta-glucan, which forms a gel-like substance in the digestive tract. That slows down digestion and carb absorption, keeping blood sugar levels stable. This leads to a more sustained release of GLP-1 which enhances satiety. This same “fiber effect” is also why things like psyllium (Metamucil) have been called “the poor man’s Ozempic.”

Those are all fine reasons to have some oatmeal, but these GLP-1 effects pale in comparison to what the drug can do. I have a strong feeling that Oatzempic “works” for other reasons. And I know for sure that we can improve its fat-loss effects.

Why Oatzempic Actually Works

  1. Oatzempic beats a bowl of sugary cereal or whatever pastry people buy at Starbucks every morning along with their 300-plus calorie coffee drink. The standard Oatzempic shake only has about 140 calories. For many, this simply lowers their daily calorie intake. Calorie reduction for fat loss? Yeah, that works.
  2. Oatzempic gets a lot of people to start consuming breakfast. Multiple studies show that breakfast-skippers are more overweight than breakfast-eaters. Skippers usually compensate at lunch or dinner, or over-snack. An oat shake helps control their hunger and cravings. Yes, so would a bowl of normally cooked oatmeal. Nothing magical about blending steamed and flattened oats. (Rolled or old-fashioned oats aren’t technically raw since the processing involves steaming them first.)
  3. People trying Oatzempic are probably doing other things, too. Many of the online success stories mention how they also started exercising or watching what they ate in other meals. The shake was just part of it.

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A Better Oatzempic Shake

There’s nothing terrible about the Oatzempic fad. It may not work for the reasons the TikTok scientists say it does, but it’s fine. We can, however, make it better. Try this instead:

Blend the following with three ice cubes:

Allow the oats to soften for 15 minutes in the water or soak them overnight if you’re in a hurry in the morning. Yes, rolled oats are pre-steamed, but some people can have digestive issues if they skip the soaking.

Here’s why this is a better Oatzempic shake:

  1. Protein! It’s the most satiating macronutrient. Add that to the appetite-controlling effects of oats (and water) and it’s a superior combo.
  2. More protein! With this recipe, you’ll get about 25 grams of protein instead of 5 grams. Fat loss is great, but not when it slows your metabolism, causing you to quickly regain the lost fat. That happens with the muscle loss that accompanies most diets. Prevent that with protein. MD Protein (Buy at Amazon) also contains micellar casein, the most filling form of protein that also happens to have metabolism-boosting properties.
  3. Even more protein! Starting your day with more protein gets you closer to meeting your body’s natural protein threshold, part of the protein leverage effect. In short, most people need somewhere between 85 and 138 grams of protein daily to “turn off” their appetite-signaling mechanisms.
  4. Flavor! Oat-water and lime juice? Gross. You’ll be more likely to stick to the plan if your shake tastes good. MD Protein takes care of that, too.
  5. Nutrition! This shake provides a foundational hit of veggies, berries, and fruits without the associated calories. That’s the Superfood (Buy at Amazon) part. Too often when we diet, we eat a smaller variety of foods and miss out on things like inflammation-fighting, heart-healthy phytonutrients. Superfood contains 18 whole-food plant extracts to cover your bases.

But doesn’t this new shake have more calories than the standard Oatzempic shake? Yes, it contains about 50 more calories. What we’re doing is replacing some of the carbs from oats with protein. It’s almost impossible to store protein calories as body fat anyway, and the protein itself is thermogenic. It’ll keep you full longer and help you control portion sizes in subsequent meals.

Bottoms Up!

Sure, Oatzempic is a silly trend, but it’s not a terrible idea. Improve the strategy with the suggestions above if it motivates you. Just don’t forget to lift some weights. You can do that instead of zombie-scrolling TikTok.

MD-Buy-on-Amazon

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Never tried it in a shake but oatmeal has been my first meal of the day for the longest and when I became more conscious about excess calories eliminated sugar and started using protein for flavoring tastes so good

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People should be aware that oats contain high levels of Phytic Acid. Phytic acid will strongly block the absorption of minerals. Soaking oats in room temp water for 12-15 hours before consumption does help to partially mitigate the Phytic acid affects on mineral absorption.

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This is valuable information to consider taking mineral supplements at a different meal from one with oats. I will apply this to my steel cut oat eating time.

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There was a time when if you weren’t having steel a cut oats shake inn the morning you were doing it wrong.

I think that was around 2003-2006. :man_shrugging:t2:.

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Steel cut oats are a better choice than rolled oats because the former have a lower glycemic impact. Including steel cut oats in my diet along with whey protein is how I get the desired effect.

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Tons of foods contain phytic acid, and while it can block some of the absorption of some minerals, it’s not like it 100% negates them; it just reduces some mineral absorption. In fact, the only time this has really been seen in the real world is in nearly mono-crop cultures that live on nothing but grains and legumes. And yes, soaking and cooking reduces the phytic acid content.

BTW, phytic acid itself has antioxidant properties and potential anticancer effects, so let’s not panic.

If worried, simply take a chelated mineral formula (ElitePro) at night away from your oats, which is the best time to take it anyway (before bed).

FYI, foods with phytic acid: Wheat, rice, barley, oats, corn, bread, pasta, cereals, beans, lentils, chickpeas, peas, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, cashews, sesame seeds, flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, all potatoes, spinach, chard, broccoli, and carrots.

I’d just hate to see people give up on all these healthy foods because “they block mineral absorption!” People get myopic and miss the forest for the trees (or the tiny little shrubs in this case).

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I like steel-cut oats, but I don’t think they could be soaked enough to eat without G.I. distress (in some folks) for this recipe. I’ve done it, but it’s a little al dente. :grinning:

Steel-cut oats do typically have a lower glycemic index than rolled oats. Steel-cut oats have a GI ranging from 42 to 55, depending on the source and how they’re cooked. Rolled oats have a GI ranging from 45 to 66. The glycemic index can actually overlap depending on how they used, the variety of oats, etc.

So, again, it’s not enough to worry about. And some would argue that glycemic index itself is almost meaningless in a mixed meal. Same with potatoes. Everyone panicked and gave up white potatoes because of it, but it the difference was like a drop of water in the ocean when you zoom out and look at the big picture.

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You know, I never really liked oatmeal until 1) I started making it myself. I prefer it less gloppy, so I use less water. And 2) I started adding protein powder. That turns oatmeal into more of a dessert.

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Eating uncooked oats is a great way to have the rankest toots in the room. If you’re going to add oats to your shakes: precook a batch, store them in fridge, and chuck in a big spoonful at a time. The texture is better too.

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I was never intending to imply that we shouldn’t eat oats. On the contrary, I eat them every morning, but I soak them overnight. I agree 100%, take your minerals at night, away from the oat consumption. I am pretty sure that oats have the highest levels of Phytic Acid in any food.

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Rolled oats are pre-cooked (steamed, see article). Doesn’t affect me that way, though. But yes, nothing wrong with overnight soaking if you plan ahead. Has the same effect as what we’re going for here with the “oatzempic” idea. I think the people causing the bajillion-views social media trend aren’t the types to plan ahead or wake up early to cook oats normally. Just trying to offer them a more effective, sustainable approach with my version.

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Good! More anti-cancer benefits. (And we’ll take our minerals at night.)

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You guys should check these out:

Seems pretty cool. Bought some at Costco this weekend seems like same old oats…just more protein.

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“In 2020, the EPA increased the permissible amount of the chemical in imports from 15 to 40 parts per million, after petitioning from Taminco, a company that manufactures the chemical.”

Another reason to avoid grains for me.

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What if we cooked steel-cut oats ahead of time and then froze them to convert a portion into resistant starch? Freeze the cooked oats in ice cube trays and then once frozen move the cubes into extra large ziploc freezer bags for future OATzempic smoothies. I wonder what the glycemix index would be on those.

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Also avoid wearing cotton and eating apples, pears, and potatoes then. All have it. Not saying it’s great, just that you can dig into any food and find a reason to avoid it. And in the end, it probably doesn’t make a difference. Gotta stay focused on the big things when it comes to health, which is mainly “don’t be fat.”

Or maybe I’m just biased. My vasectomy took care of my fertility 20 years ago! :smiley:

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Give it a shot. I don’t think glycemic index matters much in the big picture unless you’re sitting around eating plain white bread by the loaf with nothing on it, but I do like the “oat cubes” idea.

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Kinda neat. Not sure I’d go with the “Protein Oatmeal” marketing when it only has 3-4 more grams of low-biological-value plant protein than regular oatmeal, but people don’t look at labels closely anyway. Nothing wrong with it though; I just don’t want people to assume it takes care of their protein needs.

I remember when Special K cereal did a big marketing push years ago. True, it had a few more grams than regular cereal (10g vs. 7g) but all from added soy.

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