Small guy. Little money. Lots of questions

[tiny member]

First of all, hi everyone! Been perusing this forum for a while, finally got a contribution that made registering worthwhile. Well, contribution might not be the right word...

See, I`m this really tiny guy (so, member name is not ironic) who`ve finally given himself the challenge to become bigger. Okay, this happened a while ago. A year++. Went okay for about 6 months, then things happened. Whatever, I`m getting my act together as of now and am going back to the gym and I`m staying. Intro complete.

Now, my earlier workout routines were based on things found in mags, JP`s routines here, and some suggested by PTs at the gym. But I`m getting off track here...

point is, I`m wondering how you guys (anyone, everyone?) go about preparing / managing the meals you consume? Also, as I am a student and of very, very limited funds, got any suggestions to still make my calorie intake adequate? I have barely any body fat at all (this is true, but what good is that when there`s equal lack of muscle...), so I don`t really care about gaining some fat too. Just want to put on some weight. I read massive member`s "weight gain 101" and found it quite inspiring, but the main focus for me is to come up with a way to eat enough for an extended period of time. So, what are your tricks?

I _guess_ this eventually turned out as a profoundly rambling post, sorry `bout that. Hope you got the essence. Looking forward to some input. Oh, and thanks for a great forum.

[massive member]

go as cheap as possible. any places nearby where you can buy items in bulk? dont buy too much of the name brand stuff. most companies get the foods from the same place, only difference is the label. then they charge more for it.

many eat pretty much the same things day after day with little changes here and there. myself, i rely heavily on oats, cans of tuna and chicken, fruit, nuts, eggs, milk, veggies, etc

[Ian Kay]

"River Queen" brand Sunflower seeds (shelled, unsalted):

one serving:

Total Fat 17g
Sat Fat 2g
Poly Fat 12g
Mono Fat 3g
Sodium/Cholest 0g
Total Carbs 8g
Fiber 3g
Protein 7g

servings per container: 6

cost: $1.89 (at grocery store)

or buy online:
http://www.nutsonline.com/department...eferrer=google

on sunflower seeds:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?t...dspice&dbid=57

[Johnka]

Chicken, lean ground beef, eggs, and nuts are all cheap and great sources of protein (and fat for the nuts).

You can also checkout JB's Massive Eating, which has guided many people in your shoes to hypertrophy:
http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/...sseating_1.htm

Here's the calorie calculator:
http://www.johnberardi.com/updates/j...calculator.htm

Bon appetit!

[tiny member]

Thanks for the response guys, off to the store now... [img]smile.gif[/img]

[DiBatista]

back to the sunfolwer seeds, i myself also cannnot afford to buy protein or creatine, so instead i take a glass of milk(8 grams of protein) and i eat the Davids sunflower seeds, the shelled ones, but i aslo eat the shell. A small handful of them without shell is 3 grams of protein, with shell, i am told by the company that it is around 6 grams of protein for a small handful which is a very very VERY cheap alternative to protien shakes or bars, good luck.

[Rotting Pumpkin]

I once read that there is little difference between protein supplements that are isolates as opposed to ones that are concentrates as far as how beneficial they are to your muscle growth. If this is true, you can save a lot of money through buying a concentrate protein powder instead of a pricier isolate.

[massive member]

...there's no evidence to show that a whey protein isolate is any better than a whey protein concentrate.

from the facts about fitness