is oatmeal good for gaining weight/muscle/fat

Anything that will cause a caloric surplus will cause weight gain. If you want extra calories, throw in some extras, like butter, sugar, honey, Nutella, peanut butter, etc.

You can easily make it calorie dense with the things you add to it.

I make a refrigerator oatmeal dressed with Greek yogurt, fruit, and sunflower seeds.

I've seen others mention adding PB2, egg white, or peanut butter.

Oatmeal is food of the gods! No but really it is great for bulking. I go through about 5 lbs of the quaker quick oats per week.

Here's an example of my breakfast:
6 servings (3 cups ) of quick oats, 5 servings of honey, 2 cups skim milk. TOTAL CALS = 1,360.

Oh and as far as keeping you full, I found that the old fashion oats have that effect, but not the quick oats. well at least for me.

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gab0la wrote: »

jennifer_417 wrote: »

Anything that will cause a caloric surplus will cause weight gain. If you want extra calories, throw in some extras, like butter, sugar, honey, Nutella, peanut butter, etc.

Better if you dont go with butter, sugar, Nutella... peanut butter is good.

The OP is trying to gain weight, what is wrong with butter, sugar and Nutella? Peanut butter is peanuts with butter and sugar and Nutella is just, well, nuts and chocolate. I don't really see how one is better than the others...? am I missing something?

ndj1979 wrote: »

you need a consistent caloric surplus and macro adherence to gain weight and muscle ….one type of food - oatmeal in this case - has nothing do with it.

I'm quoting this b/c I generally agree. The facts appear to be: 1) you really like oatmeal 2) but, because you are trying to gain weight, you have not been eating it b/c you are afraid it will be too filling and therefore interfere with your intake of other foods/calories (which would make it harder for you to gain weight).

I say: if you like it, then try adding it back one time (with a meal? or as a snack? whatever works for you) and then see what results you get. Prepare it however you like (unless you suffer from high cholesterol, diabetes or high risk for cardiovascular disease, in which case go easy on sugar and saturated fats...).

When we hear guidelines such as "oatmeal will fill you up and keep you full for a period of time" -- these are really only generalities that don't necessarily apply at the individual level. So try it once and see how it goes for you. If it does fill you up too much so that you're too full when it comes time to eat again, then you'll know it is something that you don't want to eat often. Or perhaps you can include it in your diet, but a smaller (and therefore, less filling) portion than you previously ate.

Otherwise you may find that it is a favorite food that you can work into your diet daily or several times a week.

However, as you probably know, just remember that the more "bulky" fiber-containing types of foods you add to it (ie raisins, nuts, dried fruits), then these items may also contribute to filling you up and slowing your gastric emptying. Nothing wrong with those items, but just so you know they will add to the fibrous bulk (so you don't put all the blame on the oatmeal)!!

Since it's a food you love, try it and experiment around as needed with portion size, including types and portions of other foods you add in with the oatmeal.