Why bodybuilders eat porridge oats for breakfast to grow bigger and build muscle mass

Porridge oats are a low GI carbohydrate eaten for a healthy breakfast and added into protein shakes to help build lean muscle. Eating porridge oats in the morning is popular with bodybuilders and regular gym users and is a good appetite suppressant because it is very filling as well as nutritious. Mix porridge with almonds, whey protein, a drop of honey or berries such as blackberries or blueberries for the best results

Why do bodybuilders eat porridge oats for breakfast?

Oats have been the cornerstone of many bodybuilders nutritional plan for decades but why is this? First lets look at how carbohydrates affect our body and, more importantly, how they affect our body when combined with training.

The main function of carbohydrates is to provide energy, most cells in our body use a mixture of carbohydrates and fat to generate energy (protein when carbohydrates are limited). The cells in our muscles rely heavily on carbohydrates for contraction when exercising. When carbohydrates enter our body, they are always converted into glucose before being utilised by the cells. The stored form of glucose is called glycogen and glycogen is stored in the muscles (and liver). When stores of glycogen become depleted through prolonged activity, starvation or a calorie restricted diet, the body can manufacture usable carbohydrates through a process called gluconeogenesis (this is what you need to avoid when trying to build lean muscle tissue or if you are aiming to bulk).

If we look at the different forms of carbohydrates we have simple carbs (sugar, jam, honey, energy drink/soft drinks) which are single molecules at their core structure (monosaccharides). Next we have disaccharides which are two sugar molecules (milk, fruit) and lastly we have complex carbs (polysaccharides) which are long chain sugar molecules (wheat, oats, sweet potatoes, beans, rice, vegetables).

You might be wondering where I'm going with the science behind carbohydrates; if you have the knowledge behind how they are absorbed into your body then the better you can implement them into your training and diet plan. When it come to satisfying the carbohydrate needs for your body, there is no difference between simple or complex sugars and there is also no difference in the energy they generate in the form of either sugar or starch (they carry 4Kcal per gram). Of course the nutrient density is where they differ, where sweet potato will fill you up, a few spoonfuls of sugar will leave you empty and wanting more food. This is because most sources of complex carbohydrates provide dietary bulk of fibre in addition to the nutrient starch which leaves us feeling more satisfied.

When looking to build lean muscle tissue, the last thing you want to be doing is taking in more Kcal than you need. Eating food high in sugar is going to make you feel hungry and you are more likely to snack on foods than if you eat a fair amount of complex carbohydrates and low GI carbs.

The health benefits of eating porridge oats at the start of the day

"Porridge is the most important meal of the day" is a saying you have probably heard from your parents or grandparents but they are right, breakfast is the first meal of the day and should be eaten within 30 minutes of waking up (some say immediately). But why is this?

If you have been eating every 2.5 to 3 hours (as you should to keep your metabolic rate high) and you sleep for 6-8 hours, that's nearly 3 meal slots that you are missing out on (even if you take a casein supplement or cottage cheese before bed). So when you wake up, your body is going to require fuel; imagine if your car was low on petrol and the red light is on, how far are you going to get on your car journey? The answer is not very far and you should look at your body in exactly the same way! If you skip breakfast then come lunchtime you are going to feel tired and then, when you have dinner you're going to feel even more lethargic and have low energy levels. In this instance you may be likely to buy an energy drink or drink too much caffeine to try and give you an energy rush (and then suffer from a crash soon after).

Porridge oats are the perfect start to the day for many reasons. Firstly porridge oats are a great low GI carb. GI is measured at the rate that it enters the bloodstream - the slower it enters the bloodstream the lower the GI rating which means it will be feeding your body what it needs for longer. Also a 40g serving gives you around 10% of your daily intake of fibre and, as we looked at before, fibre is very important in keeping a healthy digestive system and also to help keep you feeling fuller for longer so you are least likely to snack between meals.

Eating porridge oats to help you lose weight

For those of you looking to lose a little weight or are on a cutting diet, take a look at the nutritional information we have provided for Quaker rolled oats (a personal favourite). It can be prepared two ways, either with milk* or with water. If you are looking to lower your carbohydrate intake then it would be best to make porridge with water and, after you have cooked your oats, add a scoop of protein powder which will improve the taste as well as up the protein value. Alternatively you can buy oats such as Myprotein Instant Oats which as well as coming in 'unflavoured' can also be purchased in a variety of flavours such as strawberry cream, chocolate, vanilla and banana.

Eating porridge oats to build muscle mass

When you are training in the gym and your aim is to bulk up and build lean muscle mass, your training programme is going to be filled with heavy weighted sets, the more sets you perform the more contracting and strain you are putting on your muscle fibres. The more strain you put on your muscle the more Kcals you're going to burn and as a result you will use more glycogen. When your body is depleted of glycogen it will look to take energy from fat and protein (mainly from your muscle), a process you don't want to happen when looking to build muscle mass.

So it is very important to feed your muscle as soon as you have finished your training. Most gym-goers will have a protein shake after their workout which is essential but the next 2 hours are also vitally important; you normally have a 2 hour window after training to replenish your glycogen levels. So we at Ice Nutrition suggest having a post workout meal that has a balance of protein, fat, and high carbohydrate content an hour after your post workout shake.

Alternatively you can split your carbohydrate intake between your post workout shake and post workout meal by adding oats to your shake, a tried and tested method and also a cheap alternative to all in one shakes. The best method for doing this is to buy some rolled oats and put them in a blender till you have a powder consistency then add this to your shake and the end result is a slightly thicker shake. Add the amount of oats you need in relation to your carbohydrate needs. A different approach would be to buy a supplement that contains oats and protein such as Optimum Nutrition Natural Oats and Whey.

Porridge oats protein bar recipe

You can also use porridge oats for a gym favourite, the 'No Bake Protein Bar' (see above).

  1. Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix together until you have a crumb like consistency
  2. Add water and mix until the mixture starts to stick (be careful not to add too much water as you will have runny porridge)
  3. Once the mixture has bonded together place in a baking tray and smooth out to fill the whole tray
  4. Once this is done place in the freezer or fridge over night
  5. Take out and cut into 8 equal sections.

Each piece will have:

These are perfect as a meal replacement and for much needed nutrition on the go.

In conclusion, to help you build muscle and keep muscle mass on, protein alone is not going to be much help. What you need is a good source of carbohydrates for you body to function in the way it needs to and by choosing the right carbohydrates (slow release - low GI or quick release such as white rice), at the right time of day, this is what is most important. Porridge oats are pretty much at the top of every bodybuilder's list of carbohydrates they eat on a daily basis.

Article written by Ice Nutrition. You can also follow them on Facebook @ IceNutrition.