What Do Bodybuilders Eat for Breakfast?

You know the saying, 80% diet, and 20% exercise. So, what do bodybuilders eat for breakfast?

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Well, truthfully- it depends on that bodybuilder’s routine. So let’s cover both.

If a bodybuilder is training early on in the morning, a bodybuilder will typically have a lot of carbs in their diet. This means a ton of waffles with syrup, cereal, and sugary stuff.

If a bodybuilder trains later on in the day, he will probably be eating for muscle development. This means probably more sausage, bacon, eggs, etc.

Regardless, both will likely have a lot of protein in their diet.

Even with the waffles, the bodybuilder will have some eggs or other protein right away. The main difference is the first bodybuilder is trying to get as much energy as possible for his workout!

Wait? Why Does The Bodybuilder Eat Sugary Stuff For Breakfast?

Many bodybuilders have incredibly intense workout routines, such as Arnold’s Blueprint to Mass. These workout routines will have bodybuilders in the gym 1-2 hours a day.

Personally, I start my bodybuilding workout super early in the morning. So I fall into this bracket.

Since these routines are 1-2 hours, they’re also incredibly tough. These workouts aren’t a ‘tiny burn’- these workouts are designed to take every ounce of energy out of your body.

So, as every bodybuilder needs protein for muscle growth, a good portion of the meal will be protein. This means there will likely be some eggs, bacon, or whole-grain toast in the meal as a core.

But Why The Sugary Stuff?

Well, actually, the sugary stuff isn’t always so bad for you.

Carbohydrates are known for providing the human body with a TON of energy! In fact, that’s where the idea of ‘sugar rush’ comes from. The carbohydrates in the sugar give you this sudden burst of energy.

So, without the carbohydrates, this 2-hour INTENSE workout is going to be incredibly taxing on the bodybuilder without proper energy.

So, what do bodybuilders eat for breakfast? Well for the ones working out in the morning it can include:

• Waffles (Kodiak Cakes are perfect!)
• Pancakes
• Syrup
• Strawberries
• Anything sugary

This might sound surprising, but all of those ‘dirty’ foods are actually incredible. They give the bodybuilders so much energy to get through these tough workouts that they’re actually beneficial.

All this energy needs to be burned off and fast, so the bodybuilder will quickly find themselves heading to the gym and burning off that energy.

It’s Like a Lumberjack!

Did you know that lumberjacks consumed nearly 9,000 calories a day?

It’s kind of the same thing. These bodybuilders are going for an incredibly hard work out for the next 2 hours, and they need to be fueled up for it.

While many bodybuilders use dirty bulking because it puts on so much muscle, they likely won’t see much fat gain because of the tough workout.

It’s different than say your neighbor who just watches TV all day. Burning all that energy in the gym will stave off fat and make these bodybuilders incredibly hungry.

It’s like how these lumberjacks went out all day and did nothing but chop trees- it would really tax their systems.

In fact, many lumberjacks weren’t allowed to talk when they were eating because eating was so fundamental to making sure they didn’t die in their line of work.

It’s the same thing here, without proper nutrition, these bodybuilders won’t be able to keep up!

So, What Do Bodybuilders Eat For Breakfast if They Don’t Workout In The Morning?

I know you might’ve just read my whole spiel about what bodybuilders eat if they work out in the morning.

But, what do bodybuilders eat for breakfast if they don’t workout in the morning?

For many of these bodybuilders they will be trying to save their carbs for later in the day. So if they workout at night, they want most of their carbs to come before that workout, not right away.

In order to keep their muscles repairing throughout the day before their workout, they will likely have a ton of protein right away.

A Majority of It Will Be Just Protein

Mainly, it will be just protein. The goal is to have enough protein for the next 6-10 hours before their workout to keep their muscle growing.

A famous saying is, ‘Your muscles don’t grow in the gym, they grow out of it’. And it’s true here. These bodybuilders know that they need to have a ton of protein to fuel their muscles to keep growing.

So here’s a list of what bodybuilders eat for breakfast when they don’t workout in the morning:

• Sausage
• Bacon
• Eggs
• Whole-Grain Toast
• Ham
• Steak
• Milk

Think of overall just an incredibly protein high breakfast. And it’s actually really good for you.

Regardless if you’re a bodybuilder or not-I highly recommend you have a high-protein breakfast, it will make a huge difference in your mood.

But They Still Have A ‘core’ Idea of Protein?

Yep! They both have this idea of having a ‘core’ around protein.

So in the first case of working out in the morning, there will be a ton of syrupy waffles with it. But there will still be a little bit of protein (20-30g) of it right away.

I personally use Chobani Flips, as they give a ton of protein right away and are easy on the stomach.

The only difference is the energy needed is right away in the morning, so that group will have the sugary stuff to get that energy. The second group of bodybuilders working out later just need protein right away, and save the carbs for later!

Summary

So here’s a summary of what do bodybuilders eat for breakfast!

Basically, if they workout early in the morning, they will have more carbs! This can include things like waffles, pancakes, maple syrup, powdered sugar, fruit, etc. But they will still have a little bit of protein like eggs/sausage.

If the bodybuilder works out later, they just need protein right away to keep fueling their muscle growth. So you’ll see them having a lot of eggs, sausage, ham, and meat in general. Even a glass of milk is good!

Remember, these workouts are like being a lumberjack, they NEED to eat a lot to keep up with the high energy burn in the gym.

Good luck out there! And if you’re a bodybuilder, get to eating!