Many people consider breakfast to be the most important meal of the day.
In fact, nutritionists have been stating the importance of breakfast since the 1960’s – with Adelle Davis’ famous quote: “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper”.
Now, we realize many people follow intermittent fasting diets and skip breakfast. If this is you, then why the f*ck are you reading this article bro?! So don’t come complaining to us if you’re intermittent fasting…
For those that plan on having high protein breakfasts to kickstart their day – well, you’re in the right place.
In this article, we’ll be taking you through our top 7 bodybuilding breakfast ideas to help boost your protein intake for optimal muscle gains.
But first, let’s go through why breakfast can play an important role in bodybuilders’ diets.
#1 Protein Smoothie
While “smoothie bowls” may sound too “feminine” for grizzly bodybuilders, they are easy to consume (no chewing) and add a respectable number of calories and protein to your day.
And you’ll really appreciate having easy-to-consume meals after chewing hundreds of dry chicken breasts and steak…
…save your chewin’ for later and gulp down Protein Smoothie for breakfast.
Ingredients:
- 1 large banana, peeled and frozen
- 2-4 ice cubes
- 200 ml of almond milk
- 1 serving of Performance Lab® Protein
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- Toppings:
- Extra banana slices or berries
- 1 tsp cacao nibs
- 1 tsp desiccated coconut
Method:
Throw the banana, ice, almond milk, peanut butter and protein into a blender and blend.
Pour into a bowl and top with your desired toppings. Or just drink it straight from the blender if you want…
Nutrition Info:
- Calories: 325 kcal
- Carbohydrate: 25g
- Sugars: 19g
- Fiber: 4g
- Fat: 14g
- Saturates: 5.2g
- Protein: 24g
#2 Spinach and Tomato Omelet
Disclaimer: You’re most likely sh*t at cooking so your omelet won’t look like this
Eggs and Spinach. Two things that should be in all diets that make a perfect bodybuilding breakfast.
It’s said that Arnold Schwarzenegger ate 3-4 eggs each morning, so if eggs are good enough for the King who won several Mr. Olympia titles, it’s good enough for you (admit it bro, you just pose to yourself in the mirror).
Ingredients:
- 4 eggs
- 100g spinach
- 400g chopped tomatoes
- 1tsp chili flakes
Method:
GTFO. You haven’t tuned into an episode of Gordan Ramsey here.
Put the eggs into a bowl. Chop up the spinach and tomatoes and mix with the eggs. Scramble that sh*t up.
Throw everything into a frying pan and cook into an omelet.
Nutrition Info:
- Calories: 456 kcal
- Carbohydrate: 12g
- Sugars: 8g
- Fiber: 8g
- Fat: 28g
- Saturates: 8g
- Protein: 36g
#3 Turkey Sausage Breakfast Burrito
Recipe Credit: Tasty.co
Who doesn’t like burritos. You KNOW you want to eat this for breakfast – tomorrow morning could be the day cos’ we’re giving you a recipe right here.
This recipe makes 6 servings, so meal prep this sh*t and you have breakfast ready for most of your week.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1lb turkey sausage
- 1 can cannellini bean, rinsed and drained
- 1 can diced tomato, drained
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 4 cups spinach
- Greek yogurt
- 2 ripe avocados
- 6 whole wheat flour tortillas
Nutrition Info:
- Calories 515
- Fat 37g
- Carbs 50g
- Fiber 9g
- Sugar 5g
- Protein 29g
#4 Bodybuilder Pancakes
Recipe Credit: mensjournal.com
Everyone loves pancakes, so you’ll be glad to hear you can make some ‘healthy’ pancakes that are loaded with protein and carbs.
If you wanted some extra protein, you could even throw in some protein powder into this recipe too.
Ingredients:
- 1 tsp avocado oil spray
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 3/4 cup egg whites
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- For the topping:
- 2 Tbsp Greek Yogurt
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1 cup blueberries
- 3 mint leaves
Method:
You know the drill. Heat the frying pan with some oil, blend the oats, egg whites and cinnamon to make a batter.
Cook the batter in your frying pan until it looks good.
Nutrition Info:
- Calories: 284 kcal
- Carbs: 37g
- Sugar: 6g
- Protein: 29g
*Info above is for per serving.
#5 Protein Muffins (Peanut Butter & Cottage Cheese)
Recipe Credit: Bodybuilding.com
I know what you’re thinking bro. “Cottage cheese, wtf”
Trust me, this one is actually pretty tasty. And you get to eat muffins for breakfast – that’s a win/win.
It’s pretty high in protein too and 12 servings can be ready in just 30 mins, which is more than enough or 1 week.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup fat-free cottage cheese
- ½ cup milk (2% fat)
- 2 whole egg
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 1 cup oat flour
- ½ tbsp powdered peanut butter
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ cup dried cherries
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (Farenheight) without burning your house down.
Mix the cottage cheese, milk, eggs, flour, peanut butter, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda in a blender. Stir in the cherries afterwards.
Pour the mixture into a pre-greased muffin tin (that has 12 cups). Bake for 20 mins.
Nutrition Info:
- Calories: 784 kcal
- Carbs: 89g
- Fat: 36g
- Protein: 27g
#6 Bacon, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich
Bacon. Eggs. Cheese. Bread.
What’s not to like?
You could even have this as a snack for lunch if you want to mix things up in your diet. It’s always going to be a winner.
Most importantly, it packs 26g of protein to help you reach your daily protein intake goals in a tasty way.
Ingredients:
- 1 slice Bacon
- 1 egg
- 2 slices of cheese
- 2 slices of bread (any kind)
Method:
No-one needs a recipe for this one. Cook your bacon and eggs.
Toast your bread and put bacon and eggs in-between, with cheese on top.
Done.
Nutrition Info:
- Calories: 630 kcal
- Carbs: 52g
- Fat: 34g
- Protein: 26g
#7 Protein Breakfast Casserole
Hashbrowns, eggs, sausages – this is one that everyone will love and comes loaded with a good amount of protein too.
This recipe makes 10 servings, so you’re going to have enough for a few days at least.
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 4 chicken sausages
- 1 cup egg whites
- 6 whole eggs
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- 1/2 cup monetary jack cheese, shredded
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 4 cups hashbrowns
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Whisky eggs, egg whites and milk together.
Pour the eggs into a casserole dish and add chopped chicken sausages, shredded hasbrowns along with the grated cheese on top.
Cover with some foil and bake in the oven for 35 mins.
Nutrition Info (per serving):
- Calories: 225
- Carbs: 16.5g
- Fat: 10g
- Protein: 16g
Why is Breakfast Important for Bodybuilders?
It’s no secret that bodybuilders need to eat more calories than they burn off in order to gain muscle mass. Hell, even reaching maintenance calorie intake for most bodybuilders can take some serious effort.
For example, Ronnie Coleman’s daily calorie intake was said to be around 5562 daily (with his protein intake being around 546g). It’s safe to say no-one is consuming that much calories or protein in 2 meals.
Not everyone can dream of achieving a similar physique to legends such as Ronnie Coleman. But even those that want to pack on some muscle mass to their frame will have to consume additional meals to help boost their calorie and protein intake (to be in a calorie surplus)
Ronnie Coleman actually states in numerous videos that following his diet during his peak physical conditions was “the hardest thing in the world”…because no-one wants to eat that much given the choice.
So, if you’re focused on building/maintaining muscle mass as a bodybuilder, breakfast can really help add calories and protein to your day so you don’t have to eat a couple mountains of foods later on.
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Conclusion
If you want to be a bodybuilder, you’re going to have to eat a lot. That’s the truth.
As mentioned above, you don’t gain muscle mass or weight by eating in a calorie deficit. And you don’t want to risk losing muscle mass by not consuming enough protein either.
There’s a lot of arguments about nutrient timing and whether eating meals at certain times makes a difference. There’s been many studies published that comes to different conclusions, but we won’t get into that.
If you prefer skipping breakfast, then that’s fine. But you will have to eat more calories and protein through the rest of your day to make up for it.
“It’s not hard to eat tons of calories”
You might be thinking: “I love eating, I can definitely eat more calories, bro”…
Well, if you’re trying to get as big as some of your heroes like Ronnie Coleman, then you’re most likely going to have to eat 4000-6000 calories and 500-600g protein per day.
That’s a lot of food that you’re going to have to put away in just a couple meals. Which is why bodybuilders often eat smaller, more frequent meals to make things possible (as well as for a few other reasons too).
We mentioned in this article that Ronnie found following his massive diet “one of the hardest things in the world” to do. And you will too, regardless of how much you love food.
And forget about eating junk food like Pizza or Burgers everyday to help you achieve your calorie intake targets. You’ll find that legendary bodybuilders who sculpted incredible physiques kept things as clean as possible with lean proteins, complex carbs and green vegetables.
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