First post! NEED some advice..INTERESTING situation

[standard]

Hey guys!
Ive been reading on here for quite some time and i finally decided to make an account and start asking my questions. I figured from what ive read, that i might as well be informed on what im asking, rather than wasting everyone's time wiht a question that has already been answered a million times.

First things first. Im not here for Steroid advice. Im 18 years old, turning 19 this year, and by no means am i ready for steroid use.

Second. i have put on about 50lbs in the last 2 years from training properly and eating properly. My diet looked like this.

Meal 1.
8 whole eggs
cup of oatmeal
an apple

Meal 2
6oz Steak
Salad
Baked potato
some fruit such as a banana

Meal 3
7-9oz chicken
1.5 cups of rice
More fruit

Meal 4
12 egg whites
1.5 cups pasta +sauce
2 glasses of orange juice

Meal 5
6oz steak
Small potato
"good" snack such as a grnola bar etc

Meal 6
8oz chicken
fruit

NOW, this DIET WORKED GREAT! I started out small and worked my way to this and ran this from january to august! PUT ON SOME AMAZING SIZE, but its started to slow.

AND, my real challenge is, its pretty much stopped now. And here is why..Ive gone away to university, and all i have access to is Cafeteria food. I dont really have the budget to go buy all of meals already as my mealplan is mandatory.
So, what do i do, in my case, in order to start gaining and STOP LOSING muscle with only shitty meals such as cold cuts, burgers, sometimes some stir fry, salads etc available. Eggs in the morning are good, but that stops ard 9am. I VERY RARELY can get any lean protein. Chicken comes once a month maybe, otherwise im stuck with a lot of stuff that just doesnt cut it.
My strength is going down day by day, i pretty much see myself shrinking!

SO!

WHAT DO I DO!

Btw
Here are my stats

Age: 18
Height: 5'10
Weight: 180
BF: 9%
Training: 2.5years

[Epic1]

I would get a job working 2 nights a week or something. You only need about 80 bucks a week in food maybe. Shouldnt be too hard if you really want it.

[elpropiotorvic]

Make a big meal and then split it into the day... I make two just cause one part is low carb meal and the other one is with carb.... Get a gym bag and put whole wheat bread and buy some good size Tupperware ... It is practical.. U make meals in the morning early or before going to. Bed... It takes time but hey we want to make the gains ...
Do everything in large cuantities that will last u for a day...
Props for the progress ... I know what ur going thru ... I am there myself but hey it's not gonna get easy... So I decided to just suck it up... I use to blame the situation for my lack of gains (not that u are but )
some meals won't taste good but hey it's either cold meal or crappy to no gains
try buying salmon that they sell frozen in the grocery its already ápices and everything and its lean...
Good luck

[standard]

I would get a job working 2 nights a week or something. You only need about 80 bucks a week in food maybe. Shouldnt be too hard if you really want it.

I wish i could. Honestly, i have class all day and i read and do work all night. Im in a pretty tough program, so if that was an option, it would have been done already.

Is there nothing i can do in the caff?

[standard]

Make a big meal and then split it into the day... I make two just cause one part is low carb meal and the other one is with carb.... Get a gym bag and put whole wheat bread and buy some good size Tupperware ... It is practical.. U make meals in the morning early or before going to. Bed... It takes time but hey we want to make the gains ...
Do everything in large cuantities that will last u for a day...
Props for the progress ... I know what ur going thru ... I am there myself but hey it's not gonna get easy... So I decided to just suck it up... I use to blame the situation for my lack of gains (not that u are but )
some meals won't taste good but hey it's either cold meal or crappy to no gains
try buying salmon that they sell frozen in the grocery its already ápices and everything and its lean...
Good luck

Thanks for the advice! So based on that, maybe i buy 2 meals(like real food) a day and eat at the caff the other 3 teams a day?
That i can do.
What would you suggest the meals consist of?

[elpropiotorvic]

No... I suggested making two big big meals and split them in my case

( im almost vegetarían ) so I do

Four veg patties they each bring 23 g of pro 10g of fat and 2g of carbs(not fat low but ...what can I do) I put that in a pan in the morning with broccoli... A full tree and stir it with 1tbsp of olive oil and put garlic powder in it....that makes for two meals low carb

TheN I do that salmon I was talking to u... U just bake it for twenty min while u shower or something and put a can of tuna in two slices of bread each 6g of protein 14 g of carb an 1 g of fat ... Either no cheese or cheese depends on ur goals.... Ur a student u know how much energy u spend and how much carbs and fat u need... U do this times two meaning that u put two salmon thingies to bake and make two sandwiches... That's another two more meals... That's already for meals... U can eat breakfast at home and dinner when u get home ... At least that's. What I do then a shake about 45 min to an hour of going to bed

[elpropiotorvic]

That's a good amount of protein too.. Not the lowest fat diet or carbs but it's better than caffeteria... The time to bodybuild will come after ur career ... Plus with plenty activities u can burn most of it ...

[standard]

sounds interesting ok
i dont eat salmon, so i will find a subsititute
i may give that a shot.

any other ideas, just to collect a bunch and see whats best?

[Twist]

prop has given you the idea. You have a stove and means to cook stuff right?
ps. you have great genetics for 19. good job. I would be terrified to lose that too.

[standard]

yea, i sort of get it.
In my case since i dont like patties or fish..
would you suggest i make 2 chicken breasts,2 steaks, 2 potatoes, 2 sweet potatoes, and eat that 4 times a day?( i think i can get some cheap stuff if i buy bulk, i just cant afford EVERY meal) along with my breakfast at the caff, which can be like 8 scrambled eggs, ham, potatoes, fruit and dinner, i guess i could eat stirfry every night, so atleast i get some chicken

My new diet would balance out like tihs

Meal 1 Breakfast
8 scrambled eggs
4oz ham
potatoes(they scoop em, i dont know how much, but theres plenty)
fruit

Meal 2
8oz chicken breast
1 sweet potato

meal 3
6oz steak
1 baked potato
Fruit

meal 4
8oz chicken
1 sweet potato
handful veggies

meal 5
6oz steak
baked potato
fruit

meal 6
cafeteria
i.E Stir Fry, other bullshit stuff they have

How do you guys think that would workout for say a 3 month course? and then change it up?

[chitownhoker]

If your having a hard time affording food your in trouble. I mean I can get buy spending less than $50 per week and i eat healthy. If you want to look good you have to make sacrafices.

sorry man, i don't buy the story that your in a "tough program" and can't afford to work or buy the food.

i've been there and done that

[standard]

ps. you have great genetics for 19. good job. I would be terrified to lose that too.

Thanks, but my genetic actually SUCK! i was 120lbs at the same height when i first picked up a weight..and my body LOSES muscle in an instant if i am not ontop of things.
If i dont train for a week, i lose 3-5lbs and a lot of strength
if i dont eat right, i get weaker by the day(which is whats happeneing now)

So realistically, ive just been pushing my body and altering my genetics, hoping that eventually it will stick

[standard]

By the way...should i subsitute some of the carbs for fats like nuts and other carbs such as veggies?

I feel like its too much starch/carbs

[slugtastic]

hey i no this is a little off the topic, but here in australia if you are studying we get what they call austudy which is a payment of $480 every 2 weeks to study. do you have any thing like that in usa??? and if we are living out of home or away from home you get an extra150 also.....

[standard]

no we dont

[slugtastic]

so your govment doesn't give you any incentive to study???? man thats abit ruff how are you expected to live???? that is how the rich get richer and the poor stay poor(unless your good at a sport)

[standard]

Ill pm u
I want info on my thread, not on CAD univers

[killface]

Something I've used for years that's fast, easy to store, and easy to reheat is lean ground beef and brown rice. They're both pretty inexpensive and all you have to do is cook and season a couple pounds of GB however you want (I use onion powder, garlic, and season salt) then add a can of plain tomato sauce and cook for a few more mins. Portion out the beef and rice to fit you macros and you're done. Once portioned, I mix the beef and rice together in separate containers and put them in the fridge.

You also can't go wrong with oats. I grind em in a coffee grinder and mix them with 8oz of egg whites and a scoop of protein powder when I don't have time for a proper meal.

It may be a little more expensive for you but you can get veggies in the 5 min microwave steamer bags. They're super convenient.

[dd0316]

Sounds interesting

[killface]

It's very cheap and it doesn't taste bad either.

The sauce has some sugar in it but once it's mixed into 2lbs of meat and then portioned out, it's negligible imo.