Long hours at work, can't eat often enough

Hello everyone. I am a new member here. I have a unique problem and was wondering if anyone here has had the same difficulty.

My problem is simply this: I have a demanding job and work fairly long hours. I leave for work at 9AM and usually return by 9PM. The biggest problem this poses for me is figuring out how to fit in 6 meals in a work day (let alone 7 or 8). I tend to have a protein shake in the morning and one before going to bed at night. I have lunch at about Noon and dinner at about 7 (both times in a nearby cafeteria which actually has a decent choice of meats available).

The problem is finding some way to fit in another two meals. Those meals have to be "real" food meals for two reasons: (1) Protein shakes have a more limited anabolic effect; and (2) Protein shakes once mixed need to be consumed within a short space of time. Left in the thermos for a few hours and they go bad (and I am loathe to mixing them in the office).

I have improvised my own protein shake which is a combination of chilled diet coke, canned tuna and oats :eek: . It works reasonably well but the taste isn't great and also I need some variety. :(

Does anyone here have the same problem? I assume everyone who posts here has a job (or multiple jobs). How do people manage 7-8 meals on a working day? Curious to know.

I eat between 5-6 meals/day. During work I drink shake(s) except for lunch break where I have a solid meal.

What are your meals like? How many hours do you spend at work?

Im in the process of trying to sort my diet for my new job.

Im thinking I'll eat a meal when I get up, leave for work early and sit in the car park to eat a second meal before I actually start work, then I get my lunch break, then should be able to just have a shake mid afternoon then meal when i get home. Then workout, and pwo,ppwo and another meal right before bed.

You just got to try and fit it in the best you can becuase unfortunatly without the food your not going to grow.

Bring your meals with you

Bringing meals to work is an option (which is what I sort of do now with my tuna shakes). The problem is how much can you carry, what to carry and then eating all the time in front of the office snots etc. The other problem is not having enough time to eat. What I mean is - a tuna shake is easy to consume within a minute. But anything solid takes longer. I tend to have meetings and telephone calls peppered throughout the day (and at different times on different days).

I absolutely agree that without food there is no way to grow. To make matters worse I am an ectomorph and do not put on muscle easily.

bro, i am at work from 630 am to 8 or 9pm, i get 6 meals in atleast. I keep food in the fridge at work and also in a cooler(depending on what my day consists of). Most meals are solid meals but i do have 2 shakes a day(PWO included)(I have a gym in my office). Just plan your week ahead of time(what will be eaten at what times and what days)I have breakfast delivered to the office every morning a 7(6 eggwhites/broccolli, 1 small cup oatmeal). I really show up at the office and do cardio from 515-6 then shower and start my day.

What are your meals like?

I myself work 12 1/2 hour shifts where I work, and I eat every 2 hours, solid meals, except lunch where I mix up a fresh protien drink. so that is 5 consumptions not to mention the one before and after work. I only get 10 minutes per break but manage to squeeze out 2 or 3 more if I can get by with it to finish all of my food, I don't talk, just eat. My Lunch is 30 minutes long, and my breaks are every 2 hours, how are your breaks set up? I make all my food before I go in, sometimes my wife helps, especially with the chicken breast since sleep is important.

My meals are based on the " How to lean Bulk" sticky in this forum. In case you were wondering. Good Luck, Where there is a will there is a way.

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Originally Posted by erndog21971

I myself work 12 1/2 hour shifts where I work, and I eat every 2 hours, solid meals, except lunch where I mix up a fresh protien drink. so that is 5 consumptions not to mention the one before and after work. I only get 10 minutes per break but manage to squeeze out 2 or 3 more if I can get by with it to finish all of my food, I don't talk, just eat. My Lunch is 30 minutes long, and my breaks are every 2 hours, how are your breaks set up? I make all my food before I go in, sometimes my wife helps, especially with the chicken breast since sleep is important.

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I start work at 9:30. Lunch is available in the cafeteria any time between noon and 2 PM (we get a 1 hour lunch "break" but usually more than 40 minutes is difficult to squeeze). I tend to have lunch at 1. Dinner is usually available in the cafeteria between 7 and 9PM. We tend to be flexible with working hours so sneaking out for 10 minutes each time for a little snack is not a problem. I just dont seem to have enough meal ideas/plans in my head to be able to make it work.

I work form 730am to 5pm, i find the hardest part of eating what i should is preparing the food the day b4. if i do then i eat good meals every two hours and even protein to wash all that down, u just have to be organized and really want it. I even have 6 eggwhites made for the drive home, so even when im drivin im getting some kind of food in! GQ

http://forums.steroid.com/read-here-first/113010-unoffical-how-bulk-thread-sample-diet.html here is the sample diet i use for my guidelines.

get some high calorie bars... mhp's new bar called "MASS" is a great bar.. low gi carbs, 32 grams of different proteins and healthy fats (cla, omega 3,6&9...)

eat a couple of them before and after your lunch meal... theyll add 1000 cals to you day...

Here is how I do it at the moment:

7.00Am Protein shake, Brown bread

10.00AM Tuna/Oatmeal shake

1.00PM Lunch (usually Beef stake with whole meal bread)

4.00PM Tuna/Oatmeal shake

7.00PM Dinner (usually salmon stake with rice)

10.00PM Whey Protein shake

10:30PM sack time.

I dont find the shakes difficult to carry because they fit in a large thermos and I drink straight from it. How do people manage with lots of solid foods? How do you carry them/store them?

4:45 AM - Coffee
5:15-6:00 - Cardio (3.3 mph at 7 incline on treadmill)
6:45- 1/2 cup oatmeal w/ water/ 6 egg whites/broccolli
9:30- isopure(2.5 scoops) with 2tbsp natty PB
12:00- Tuna(1 can) with full fat mayo(or 25 almonds) and broccolli
2:30 - lean protein and fat(this meal usually varies)
5:00 - 6:00 workout
6:15 - Post workout shake 2 scoops isopure and ultra fuel
7:15 - PPWO - 8 oz.lean meat with one or two pieces of whole wheat bread or brown rice
10:30 - 2.5 scoops isopure with 2 tbsp natty PB

everytime i eat i am already thinking of what and when i am eating next. Try o plan your week in advance(sunday night)

I carry a big enough cooler to fit my 4 meal containers in and a smaller protien powder container, and my mixer, plus ice packs.

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Originally Posted by dutchman718

4:45 AM - Coffee
5:15-6:00 - Cardio (3.3 mph at 7 incline on treadmill)
6:45- 1/2 cup oatmeal w/ water/ 6 egg whites/broccolli
9:30- isopure(2.5 scoops) with 2tbsp natty PB
12:00- Tuna(1 can) with full fat mayo(or 25 almonds) and broccolli
2:30 - lean protein and fat(this meal usually varies)
5:00 - 6:00 workout
6:15 - Post workout shake 2 scoops isopure and ultra fuel
7:15 - PPWO - 8 oz.lean meat with one or two pieces of whole wheat bread or brown rice
10:30 - 2.5 scoops isopure with 2 tbsp natty PB

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Do you sleep for only 6 hours?

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Originally Posted by erndog21971

I myself work 12 1/2 hour shifts where I work, and I eat every 2 hours, solid meals, except lunch where I mix up a fresh protien drink. so that is 5 consumptions not to mention the one before and after work. I only get 10 minutes per break but manage to squeeze out 2 or 3 more if I can get by with it to finish all of my food, I don't talk, just eat. My Lunch is 30 minutes long, and my breaks are every 2 hours, how are your breaks set up? I make all my food before I go in, sometimes my wife helps, especially with the chicken breast since sleep is important.

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Jesus erndog where are working ? A Russian Coal mine :eek:

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Originally Posted by seanw

Jesus erndog where are working ? A Russian Coal mine :eek:

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HAHA...

if you are working 12+ hours you should get at least three solid 15 to 30 min breaks to eat some food man...



they better be paying you well man

I work a weekend Preventive maintenence crew, Go in Friday night at 10:00 pm till 10:30am Saturday, Back in Saturday night at 8:00pm till 8:30 am Sunday, then Sunday night 7:00pm till 7:30 am Monday morning. It is 36 hours with not alot of time between the first 2 nights but i got the whole week off unless I want to come in and make up my four hours. I work on cars on the side during the week for extra cash, so it leaves me plenty of time to train Monday thru Friday, and the pay is OK, we are working on more $ though, It is hard freaking work in full respiritory gear and full suits, hot as heck even in the winter. It has it's pro's and cons, sounded worse above in my post I guess. Thanks for asking though bro's.

Was just wondering why tuna shakes and not whey???

Sorry read closer and answered my own question!!!

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Originally Posted by biggytalls

Was just wondering why tuna shakes and not whey???

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Because I take whey shakes twice a day (early morning and at night) and would not want to take any more Protein that way. "Real" food protein gets burnt off more slowly and has a more anabolic effect.

Also, I hate mixing shakes in the office. So I usually prepare the tuna shakes at home and carry it in a thermos. The tuna shakes don't go bad very fast. If I mixed my protein shakes in the morning and had them sit in the thermos for five hours, they would taste :eek: .

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Originally Posted by dabigcheese

eating all the time in front of the office snots

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Tell them to eat a fu.ckin dick, you have goals and you know what you need to do to reach them, no one else matters.

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Originally Posted by AandF6969

Tell them to eat a fu.ckin dick, you have goals and you know what you need to do to reach them, no one else matters.

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True.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dabigcheese

Do you sleep for only 6 hours?

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if thre was more time in th day i would sleep more. Sat and Sun i get 8 hours. After a while 6 is all i need.

do people at your job get a cigarette break? how long 5 min?

Then just tell them you smoke Tuna :banana:

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Originally Posted by dutchman718

if thre was more time in th day i would sleep more. Sat and Sun i get 8 hours. After a while 6 is all i need.

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if there was more money in my wallet i'd spend more... :wg:


in all honesty thought... amount of sleep is not that relative person to person... if you are lifting hard, you need 8 hours of sleep to recover your body the optimal amount... any less will just be negatively affecting your gains... so either make time, or understand that your gains will come slightly slower...

where do you work at anyway???


if you're hourly and it's in the states theres all sorts of laws about this, unless you're a salaried cubicle worker, in which case just bring some grub to work...

i understand how important sleep is, and i am very serious about my training. Fact is, nobody is going to give me millions$$ because i look good, sacrifices must be made somewhere. To simplify things, I build buildings in New York, beween my resposibilities and those of my emplyees I am very busy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AandF6969

Tell them to eat a fu.ckin dick, you have goals and you know what you need to do to reach them, no one else matters.

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I personally prefer this approach myself.

It was me against 1353 stuffed shirts in that office hell-hole, and I won.

:)

~SC~

If you work in an office environment then there shouldn't be an issue. To hell with what everyone else thinks. I brink a cooler every day that is overflowing. To top it off I have things in the office fridge as well.

Shoot, I have been known to bring tuna into an office meeting.