# Oatmeal as energy



## speedyd (Mar 10, 2004)

I am wanting to use oatmeal with raisens/nuts and honey during an upcoming12 hour race that starts at midnight.I thought I would eat a little of this every 3 hours or so and use hammergel and some heed.Any thoughts or suggestions?


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## Noahknoll (May 28, 2008)

Race how you've been training. You don't want to switch anything up close to race day, especially when it comes to eating/drinking. If I were you I would try it out on a longer ride before your race to see how your body reacts to it.


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## clydeone (Aug 9, 2009)

> Race how you've been training. You don't want to switch anything up close to race day, especially when it comes to eating/drinking. If I were you I would try it out on a longer ride before your race to see how your body reacts to it.


 ^^^^^^ Ditto

do not change any thing rolling into a long race. create a plan, long training rides should be used to validate/adjust plan -- then implement it race day. So if you have time before your race to try out your new strategy indeed try it. I find a little solid food every hour (in my case I tried on half a powerbar) to help me out -- other people cannot tolerate ANY solid food.

YMMV


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## Maadjurguer (Mar 22, 2008)

I love oatmeal with raisons and nuts for breakfast before a big ride...but the logistics of having it during a ride never made sense to me. What I did do, was make my own granola bars with the same honey and oatmeal, adding in some other nuts like flax, some blackstrap molasses and some chopped bits of fruit like mango and dried apple.

Works for me and I don't dribble it all over myself when riding.....


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## Rovertd (Feb 22, 2004)

Oatmeal is fantastic for a slower release of carbohydrates but some people have trouble with the fiber as far a gas and pain. When racing most of us have more of an "on demand" need for fuel. But if it is good for you do it.

I'd be looking for a little protein in there somewhere. You're already using Hammer products so Perpetuem is a logical extension for you. I'd also check into electrolytes. Heed and Hammer Gel might not cover you for 12 hours.

Fats aren't as popular in racing nutrition but from personal experience/preference peanuts beat bananas (fats and carbos vs fiber and carbos).


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## mr.bubbles (May 4, 2011)

Maadjurguer said:


> make my own granola bars with the same honey and oatmeal, adding in some other nuts like flax, some blackstrap molasses and some chopped bits of fruit like mango and dried apple.
> 
> Works for me and I don't dribble it all over myself when riding.....


I can't believe I never thought of making my own granola bars !! :madman:


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## electrik (Oct 22, 2009)

The flaw here is thinking that you'll replace all those calories you're expending over 12hrs. 

Particularly with a lower glycemic food like oatmeal. Oatmeal is great for breakfast, but as a race food it sucks because it's slow to get into blood and packs low energy per gram. Also stay away from fatty foods as they tend to putrefy in the gut when body temperature rises and you don't want to **** yourself on course as that would be embarrassing.


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## jrastories (Aug 2, 2008)

mr.bubbles said:


> I can't believe I never thought of making my own granola bars !! :madman:


I worked at a camp that would make what they called Hudson's Bay Bread, basically it was a masive granola bar with lots of butter and lots of sugar mixed with oats and nuts, I have tried many various mixes of this recepie and it is great. you can find it here

As for myself my throat and mouth don't do well with eating solid food of any type so I stick to gels, banana's and liquids for my fuel. 
I do love to start my day with oatmeal though.


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## SneadFrank (Nov 7, 2011)

*Re:*

Oatmeal is an excellent source of fiber and protein. Fiber contained in oatmeal can be easily dissolved by our body and can easily make you full. An oatmeal diet offers several advantages such as lowering of cholesterol levels, loss of body weight and stabilization of blood sugar.


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## i_am_robert (Nov 20, 2011)

Clif bars are great energy bars.


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## i_am_robert (Nov 20, 2011)

I eat oatmeal in the morning and get lots of energy from it.


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## cheepnis (Aug 26, 2005)

You can survive on oatmeal but you will not thrive. It's simply not an optimal food but rather just another finely PROCESSED and MARKETED food. Our guts are very good at making the most with what they're given over the short haul... but for the long haul, hmm, this is the interesting question.


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## dave54 (Jul 1, 2003)

As mentioned above, oatmeal tends to be a low glycemic carb and high in fiber -- not always the best choice in nutrition during exertion. This is one of the rare situations where a highly processed high GI carb may be actually better than a less processed low GI carb. A small amount of oatmeal mixed in with other high GI carbs may be a better mix,(less than 15%?). The best ratio is hard to determine -- research is all over the place, and probably more of a personal preference than exact scientific formulation. Keep a food diary as part of your training log and over time you will note what works best for you. If you eat right the rest of the time the 'junk sugar' you eat during a hard ride will not harm you.

I use honey nut cheerios in my ride snack, mixed in with my other ingredients. Some food purists will sneer but it seems to work for me.


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