Bodybuilding Nutrition in College

This might be the wrong place to put this but it’s been a couple months since posting. Feel free to move this to a more appropriate section.

So I graduated high school. Wooohoooo. I’m going off to college this Fall and I’m going to major in social studies education. I was wondering how people are able to get the food needed to grow in body building. I know there are several successful people on this site that are college aged kids. Any tips? As far as I know I have the 21 meal plan a week plan and the majority of places on campus to eat are fast food type stuff. There’s a few campus owned food places as well and then there is one all you can eat buffet but I havnt heard that it has the best selection of stuff to eat. I have no idea if that means greasy food or lack of good solid meats or what. I’m also going to be working a part time job too so ill have some spendable income to use.

Wilk you get access to a kitchen and fridge freezer. Then you can bulk buy

Man, I wish I knew then what I know now -lol. I went to a State college for my undergrad studies, and my folks got me the campus ‘meal plan’. Basically 3 meals/day in any of the on campus cafeterias (not the separate fast food joints though). Of course I also made sure I got a small fridge for my dorm so I could have the important stuff like Mountain Dew, Peanut butter, leftover pizza…

Seriously, and I admit that I knew nothing about training or nutrition back then, if I had access to unlimited oatmeal, eggs, bagels and peanut butter, cold cuts, and various meats and veggies at lunch and dinner every day, I’d have no problem taking care of my eating. Throw in a giant tub of cheap protein powder and some bulk nuts to keep in your dorm room, and you should have no problem meeting all of your training nutrition needs.

S

Yes I will have a freezer and a little dorm floor kitchen
There’s a Walmart in town and I think a SAMs or meijer near by so I could buy there

Listen to Stu, best advice you’ll get!

Texas Man,

I think you should actually see this as a great opportunity to grow both physically and mentally. I was an athlete in college and my parents also put me on a “3 day/meal plan,” so I had to find ways to get additional food.

My first suggestion would be to buy some cheap plastic Tupperware (I know what it is like to be on a college budget). It doesn’t need to be anything fancy, but this will come in handy when you visit the cafeteria/“buffet” style joint. Many cafeterias have a rule where you can get unlimited food, but you are unable to take it with you. The way to get around it is to simply get as much food as possible, put it in the Tupperware, and then put it in your book bag.

While at the “buffet”, I would search for hard-boiled eggs in the morning, omelet stations, instant oatmeal, granola, and nuts. You can always take some extra with you. As for lunch and dinner, many of these “buffets” have a grill section where you can pick up your meats (grilled chicken, etc). Also, look in the salad section for cold cuts (turkey, ham, cheese) can all be used as sources of protein. You can mix it in with some veggies from the salad bar. Finally, be on the look out for fruits, (apples, bananas, and oranges).

Outside of your cafeteria, you can buy microwavable rice, tuna, sardines, other canned food, and mixed nuts at Walmart or any other local supermarket. You can get your brown rice for regular meals and white rice for post-workout. Also, those instant oatmeal packets that you took from the cafeteria can also be popped in the microwave. Of course, don’t forget to get a small blender or blender bottle in order to mix in your protein, which you can get in bulk to save money.

My final piece of advice is to have fun, but do not get carried away. This can be particularly hard during your first two semester. Nothing will kill your progress like drinking everyday from Wednesday to Sunday on a weekly basis. I hope that helps.

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Man, I wish I knew then what I know now -lol. I went to a State college for my undergrad studies, and my folks got me the campus ‘meal plan’. Basically 3 meals/day in any of the on campus cafeterias (not the separate fast food joints though). Of course I also made sure I got a small fridge for my dorm so I could have the important stuff like Mountain Dew, Peanut butter, leftover pizza…

Seriously, and I admit that I knew nothing about training or nutrition back then, if I had access to unlimited oatmeal, eggs, bagels and peanut butter, cold cuts, and various meats and veggies at lunch and dinner every day, I’d have no problem taking care of my eating. Throw in a giant tub of cheap protein powder and some bulk nuts to keep in your dorm room, and you should have no problem meeting all of your training nutrition needs.

S[/quote]

What is this cheap protein powder you speak of, you can’t find that now a days.

Food shouldn’t be that bad, just try to hit your macors in the three meals you hae and buy protein, oats, nuts in case you need em

[quote]myself1992 wrote:
Food shouldn’t be that bad, just try to hit your macors in the three meals you hae and buy protein, oats, nuts in case you need em[/quote]

This. I can’t believe a campus meal plan would not present you with the opportunity to find the BBing staples somewhere on campus:

rice, chicken, veggies, etc.

prepare food in tupperware.

[quote]texas man wrote:
I was wondering how people are able to get the food needed to grow in body building. I know there are several successful people on this site that are college aged kids. Any tips?[/quote]
This is a pretty common and recurring thread topic, actually. Hit up the Search and see what you can find. Even in older threads, the info is still going to be relevant.

http://www.T-Nation.com/searchResults.jsp?cx=016420786931182441572%3Akswwmllusns&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8&q=college+nutrition&siteurl=tnation.T-Nation.com%2Ffree_online_forum%2Fdiet_performance_nutrition_supplements%2Fbodybuilding_nutrition_in_college&ref=tnation.T-Nation.com%2Ffree_online_forum%2Fdiet_performance_nutrition_supplements%3FpageNo%3D1%26s%3DforumsNavTop&ss=4254j1414762j23

There have also been a few articles about it.