Nutrition for Bulking

ive seen an exhaustive thread for fat loss. i would love it if you would answer questions about bulking, christian. ive read the nutrients guidelines you’ve put for each macro and ive tried my best to understand nutrient timing but it’s still a bit confusing.

truth is, i was going to put all my money up to personal training sessions with a bodybuilder as i thought $40 per 1 hour session for three months isnt so much to ask for. but now, im just looking to do with the best i have until i have enough money to follow i bodybuilder. i have budget of $80 for food a month and $70 for 2 1/2 months for supplements, which is why T-Nation supplements are out of the question as they are expensive.

ive also had trouble follow P+C and P+F as all the food i choose seems to have all three macros in each meal. is there a shopping list of food you can reccommend given my budget? im so sorry to ask you questions i havent tried to find answers to but after research i am begging for your help. please help.

$80 a month for food??? There’s no way. I wouldn’t even worry about supplements beyond protein powder since it’s often a cheaper way to get protein than real food, but anything beyond that shouldn’t be of concern. I’d worry about getting as much towards whole foods as possible on such a tight budget.

sorry for adding onto this, but i really have no idea how to do it. great reply, but still not the answer im looking for.

What answer are you looking for? The one you want to hear?

With such a crappy budget, the only supplement you should buy is protein and the rest on food. On $80 a month I would struggle to stay alive let alone bulk.

now that’s a good answer hardgnr. that’s wat happens wen yur given a budget by a family who eats for $2 a day. they’re asian, nd their staple is rice. protein is only for taste nd almost never goes near 100 g a day. need i say more? then again, the answer you all would give is like my parents, “pursue bodybuilding when you have your own money.” right now im just trying to do the best i can with what i got. im jus asking if someone smarter can help me further than i can.

I would say milk and eggs are your best option. They worked well enough for me when I was unemployed.

How about the good old GOMAD-recipe (gallon of milk a day). Search that on internet and see if it suits you and your budget (don’t know what milk costs where you live). Just start drinking milk on your family dinners like there is no tomorrow…

(EDIT: I see some one beat me to the punch already on the milk).

My food bill is close to 80$ a day (for me and my wife) so I’m not the best person to ask for advice on how to work on a low budget. Milk, albeit not one of my preferred food, used to be pretty cheap. But the price has gone up significantly over the past year.

I’m sure that you can buy meat or chicken in bulk for a decent price. Tuna is fairly cheap, Nuts are a good way to add a lot of calories for cheap. But to be honest, in your situation the time might not be right to focus on size.

I would personally forget about the supps and add that money to the food budget! Buy eggs in buld as well as milk (if it doesn’t bloat you…).

Really, with such a small budget I wouldn’t even think about buying creatine or thelike.

80 bucks a month…is 20 bucks a week…man what can you eat with soooo low money…let off supplements and focus on whole foods…oatmeal, eggs, dairies, tuna, cottage cheese, mixed nuts.(buy in big quantities, you should save money…) Good luck!!.I m about like Chris…at least 50 bucks per day for food with my wife…

Well if you figure tuna can be gotten for about a dollar a can, and 20 bucks a week so thats… not even enough for 3 cans of tuna per day. You have to live off 2.85 a day?

Ok, so you buy the cheap tuna, 25-50 cents a can, and mac n cheese and powdered milk, there ya go, rinse wash and repeat, lol!

screw supplements just buy food. potatoes and yams and cheap. get whatever lean protein is on sale top round steaks, chicken breast, white fishes, etc. these things don’t cost much since ppl care more about taste so steaks like rib eye will cost much more. Same goes with veggies just get whatever is on sale.

[quote]vcjha wrote:
now that’s a good answer hardgnr. that’s wat happens wen yur given a budget by a family who eats for $2 a day. they’re asian, nd their staple is rice. protein is only for taste nd almost never goes near 100 g a day. need i say more? then again, the answer you all would give is like my parents, “pursue bodybuilding when you have your own money.” right now im just trying to do the best i can with what i got. im jus asking if someone smarter can help me further than i can.[/quote]

i’d start asking your mum for larger portions / extra portions, load up on as much “free” food as possible.

[quote]hardgnr wrote:
I would say milk and eggs are your best option. They worked well enough for me when I was unemployed.[/quote]

ive heard from various sources milk is not a great option for bulking as it packs on some fat. eggs is definitely a freebie in the family as we get the costco pack with most eggs(dont know how much but it’s $4.) however, asking for a second pack of eggs would be out of the question.-__-

How about the good old GOMAD-recipe (gallon of milk a day). Search that on internet and see if it suits you and your budget (don’t know what milk costs where you live). Just start drinking milk on your family dinners like there is no tomorrow…

(EDIT: I see some one beat me to the punch already on the milk). like i said, ive heard people say milk is not a good thing to use for bulking. packs on size, but leaves some fat on too. unless a T-Nation big dog like christian, nate, chris, or or some other respectable person says otherwise, i shouldnt try it as ive seems to come true sometimes.

one more thing: 1 gallon of milk a day will blow my budget out within the first two weeks. also, my parents would even stop buying any bodybuilding food. ad diet nearly brought me to that point.

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
My food bill is close to 80$ a day (for me and my wife) so I’m not the best person to ask for advice on how to work on a low budget. Milk, albeit not one of my preferred food, used to be pretty cheap. But the price has gone up significantly over the past year.

I’m sure that you can buy meat or chicken in bulk for a decent price. Tuna is fairly cheap, Nuts are a good way to add a lot of calories for cheap. But to be honest, in your situation the time might not be right to focus on size.[/quote]

Wow, thank you for the reply thib. i thought i was on your permanent blacklist. to even get a reply from you just made me a very happy man today. respectable bodybuilders like you must be very rich. yes in california, it’s about $6 for one organic gallon of milk. most people say organic is a better source but please let me know if im wrong. correct, i do ask for meat in bulk. then again, 200 g of protein is very hated by my family as they do buy it with a grimace. yep, tuna is also bought every month. nuts too. you are completely right. it is not a good time to bulk right now. this may be a stupid question but is it possible to lose fat and gain little size at the same time? if so, would u have any tips? it seems to be the best approach right now. but once i get a job, my priority will be to save to jump on the i bodybuilder. once again, thank you for the reply. if u wouldnt mind, i would never like to end up on yur blacklist. i couldnt get any of the 5 posts i sent u replied. until now. could u tell me what not to do? seems stupid but i really dont want to ever end up on yur blacklist. getting info from you is like getting info from the president.

[quote]ParagonA wrote:
I would personally forget about the supps and add that money to the food budget! Buy eggs in buld as well as milk (if it doesn’t bloat you…).

Really, with such a small budget I wouldn’t even think about buying creatine or thelike.[/quote]

honestly supps make it easier to use the money efficiently. milk is expensive now, at least organic is. i havent tried regular milk as a long time as it doesnt seem to effect my body in any way.

[quote]skohcl wrote:
Well if you figure tuna can be gotten for about a dollar a can, and 20 bucks a week so thats… not even enough for 3 cans of tuna per day. You have to live off 2.85 a day?

Ok, so you buy the cheap tuna, 25-50 cents a can, and mac n cheese and powdered milk, there ya go, rinse wash and repeat, lol![/quote]

yeah, it’s what u get when yur unemployed nd live under your parents. my parents see bodybuilding as a vain thing. i would do it to “stay fit” as that’s what they said they’ll fully support but maximum growth doesnt happen if u only try to “stay fit” and not work your ass off in the gym and eat strictly. mac nd cheese nd powdered milk? scratches head please explain.

[quote]daffyduck wrote:
screw supplements just buy food. potatoes and yams and cheap. get whatever lean protein is on sale top round steaks, chicken breast, white fishes, etc. these things don’t cost much since ppl care more about taste so steaks like rib eye will cost much more. Same goes with veggies just get whatever is on sale.[/quote]

once again, supplements seem to use the money more efficiently for me. $40 for 10 lb and $20 for 1000 mg(or g) of creatine is a bargain that no grocery store can beat. yep i do try to do that. bodybuilding does seem to be enjoyable at least food-wise at the moment.

[quote]pf wrote:
vcjha wrote:
now that’s a good answer hardgnr. that’s wat happens wen yur given a budget by a family who eats for $2 a day. they’re asian, nd their staple is rice. protein is only for taste nd almost never goes near 100 g a day. need i say more? then again, the answer you all would give is like my parents, “pursue bodybuilding when you have your own money.” right now im just trying to do the best i can with what i got. im jus asking if someone smarter can help me further than i can.

i’d start asking your mum for larger portions / extra portions, load up on as much “free” food as possible.[/quote]

see, if i could get good results from chinese nd vietnamese food, i would do that. sadly, everyone knows asian food is not the best food for bodybuilding. at least that’s what ive heard from so many people.