Suggestions for the busy man.

[Longshot]

Hey guys, I have been consuming 3500 calories a day, and I need some suggestions and help for someone who has very little time to cook. My food worked out okay when I needed 2400-2900 calories, but now that I am trying to push 3500+ so I can get above 200lbs I am looking for some assistance.

I want to do this clean, and not pound a ton of milk, not because I don't think it works, but because if I do this right, it'll be something embedded in my eating habits.

So here's what I eat currently:
(Probably shit, but again, I had to fill out from a 2900 calorie diet).

Breakfast:
4 Eggs (EggBeaters)
2 Instant Oatmeal packages (could do non-instant, but time is a concern)
1.5 cups of 1% milk

Breakfast 2:
Clif Builder protein bar (Don't like the substitute for real food, but it is easy)

Lunch:
2 Pieces of whole wheat bread
2 Slices of Provolone cheese (Provolone picked for lower sodium)
1 Serving of turkey deli meat (usually three pieces)
Mustard (nom nom nom)

Snack:
1 Whole wheat bagel
2 Tabelspoons of all natural peanut butter (1 serving)

Pre-Workout:
1.5 cups of 1% milk
1 scoop Whey Protein

Post-Workout:
1.5 cups of 1% milk (chocolate syrup sometimes)
1 apple

Dinner:
Chicken Breast (usually about 8-9 ounces, I get 3 in a package of 1.5lbs)
4 servings of Streamfresh veggies

After dinner:
Probably more milk
Another piece of bread with more peanut butter.


So, to put it bluntly, the calories are there (3500 on average, 3600+ sometimes, 3300+ rarely), but I am looking for help with making my veggies more frequent, and how to easily incorporate more meat into my diet without a lot of prep time. Oh oh, and I am tracking all of this on FitDay.com, so I know I am sitting somewhere around 40/40/20 (sometimes 50/30/20 or 40/30/30 depending on the day and if I feel like something besides the same food).

I can bring food to work, but I don't have a grill or a lot of time to prepare 180,000 chicken breasts for a week. I have begun purchasing more veggies/lettuce so I can maybe do more chicken earlier as well as get my servings more often through the day as opposed to four servings all at once. I'd also like to reduce my milk intake below the 7-9 cups a day I drink now, just because I think it is making me gassy and crap like I am giving birth.

I looked into jerky, but it looks like it's a sodium factory, and I am already pushing well past any kind of FDA recommendation.

I don't eat fast food of any kind (always made me feel queasy), but I do go out for drinks once in a while. I also have a soft spot for coke zero (it'll probably kill me, or rot my teeth or give me super AIDS, but frankly what doesn't these days?)


So yeah, I know it probably looks like shit, but that's why I am looking for tips and such. I want to keep it simple. I don't like a lot of types of foods, but I am very much a carnivore so long as it's an easy prep.


Thanks guys, I really appreciate any assistance. :)

[Ian Kovtunovich]

Right off the bat, you could like triple the turkey on your lunch sammich. Three slices? All I can think there is dryyyyyy. Your lunch will be yummier, and it's an easy way to pack in some protein-o-licious calories. Double up on the chicken for din-din, too. You're already cooking it, so fire up another breast while you're at it. Two breasts are always better than one.

Don't be so stingy with your whey protein, either. I have milk 2 or three times a day when I'm lifting, and I dump protein in there every single time. Easy. You might also upgrade the breakfast beverage to a full-on shake. I've taken to slicing up and freezing a bunch of bananas, and doing a banana's worth of frozen slices with some frozen mixed berries in my morning protein shake. Quick and easy, and you get a couple servings of fruit out of the deal.

I also snack on mixed nuts and raisins throughout the day; a healthy, filling snack (I've been pleased with Trader Joe's Go Raw Trek Mix).

Maybe after dinner, you could do cottage cheese instead of the milk. I believe it is a good source of casein, which is apparently a slower-digesting source of protein, which is supposedly good while you sleep, so you keep tapping that source all night. Dunno how true it is, but cottage cheese has protein, it's tasty, it's easy, and if you did the full fat kind, you could get some easy calories there.

[LeonidasfromSparta]

Hey guys, I have been consuming 3500 calories a day, and I need some suggestions and help for someone who has very little time to cook. My food worked out okay when I needed 2400-2900 calories, but now that I am trying to push 3500+ so I can get above 200lbs I am looking for some assistance.

I want to do this clean, and not pound a ton of milk, not because I don't think it works, but because if I do this right, it'll be something embedded in my eating habits.

So here's what I eat currently:
(Probably shit, but again, I had to fill out from a 2900 calorie diet).

Breakfast:
4 Eggs (EggBeaters)
2 Instant Oatmeal packages (could do non-instant, but time is a concern)
1.5 cups of 1% milk

Breakfast 2:
Clif Builder protein bar (Don't like the substitute for real food, but it is easy)

Lunch:
2 Pieces of whole wheat bread
2 Slices of Provolone cheese (Provolone picked for lower sodium)
1 Serving of turkey deli meat (usually three pieces)
Mustard (nom nom nom)

Snack:
1 Whole wheat bagel
2 Tabelspoons of all natural peanut butter (1 serving)

Pre-Workout:
1.5 cups of 1% milk
1 scoop Whey Protein

Post-Workout:
1.5 cups of 1% milk (chocolate syrup sometimes)
1 apple

Dinner:
Chicken Breast (usually about 8-9 ounces, I get 3 in a package of 1.5lbs)
4 servings of Streamfresh veggies

After dinner:
Probably more milk
Another piece of bread with more peanut butter.


So, to put it bluntly, the calories are there (3500 on average, 3600+ sometimes, 3300+ rarely), but I am looking for help with making my veggies more frequent, and how to easily incorporate more meat into my diet without a lot of prep time. Oh oh, and I am tracking all of this on FitDay.com, so I know I am sitting somewhere around 40/40/20 (sometimes 50/30/20 or 40/30/30 depending on the day and if I feel like something besides the same food).

I can bring food to work, but I don't have a grill or a lot of time to prepare 180,000 chicken breasts for a week. I have begun purchasing more veggies/lettuce so I can maybe do more chicken earlier as well as get my servings more often through the day as opposed to four servings all at once. I'd also like to reduce my milk intake below the 7-9 cups a day I drink now, just because I think it is making me gassy and crap like I am giving birth.

I looked into jerky, but it looks like it's a sodium factory, and I am already pushing well past any kind of FDA recommendation.

I don't eat fast food of any kind (always made me feel queasy), but I do go out for drinks once in a while. I also have a soft spot for coke zero (it'll probably kill me, or rot my teeth or give me super AIDS, but frankly what doesn't these days?)


So yeah, I know it probably looks like shit, but that's why I am looking for tips and such. I want to keep it simple. I don't like a lot of types of foods, but I am very much a carnivore so long as it's an easy prep.


Thanks guys, I really appreciate any assistance. :)
Your diet looks like shit? Are you kidding me? I wish I ate like that, now I'm stuffing all kind of food (including fast food), because now that progression as novice is getting more and more difficult, I realized the importance of eating a lot, and getting all the protein. I would suggest you prepare some red meat to eat 3 or 4 times a week, and also you should add a 1 scoop of whey protein to the milk PW. Depending on your bodyweight you should get around 1g of protein/lb.

[Longshot]

Right off the bat, you could like triple the turkey on your lunch sammich. Three slices? All I can think there is dryyyyyy. Your lunch will be yummier, and it's an easy way to pack in some protein-o-licious calories. Double up on the chicken for din-din, too. You're already cooking it, so fire up another breast while you're at it. Two breasts are always better than one.

Don't be so stingy with your whey protein, either. I have milk 2 or three times a day when I'm lifting, and I dump protein in there every single time. Easy. You might also upgrade the breakfast beverage to a full-on shake. I've taken to slicing up and freezing a bunch of bananas, and doing a banana's worth of frozen slices with some frozen mixed berries in my morning protein shake. Quick and easy, and you get a couple servings of fruit out of the deal.

I also snack on mixed nuts and raisins throughout the day; a healthy, filling snack (I've been pleased with Trader Joe's Go Raw Trek Mix).

Maybe after dinner, you could do cottage cheese instead of the milk. I believe it is a good source of casein, which is apparently a slower-digesting source of protein, which is supposedly good while you sleep, so you keep tapping that source all night. Dunno how true it is, but cottage cheese has protein, it's tasty, it's easy, and if you did the full fat kind, you could get some easy calories there.

Well, the concern with more turkey is the sodium, since it's deli meat. I get quite a bit from instant oatmeal and turkey and I don't want to add more by adding turkey.

Good idea on the bananas, if they last a decent amount of time frozen I could do those with non-flavored oatmeal too. I was eating those for a while, but lost interest in eating a banana every single day.


I guess I have to try cottage cheese as well.


Your diet looks like shit? Are you kidding me? I wish I ate like that, now I'm stuffing all kind of food (including fast food), because now that progression as novice is getting more and more difficult, I realized the importance of eating a lot, and getting all the protein. I would suggest you prepare some red meat to eat 3 or 4 times a week, and also you should add a 1 scoop of whey protein to the milk PW. Depending on your bodyweight you should get around 1g of protein/lb.

Well, it could be a lot better, and I know how the internet can be with feedback, so I figured it was safer to assume it was shit than proclaim it to be a good diet. :) I was eating more scoops of protein, but I am trying to systematically eliminate whatever is making me fart every few minutes. I think it's the milk, but I want to be certain.

I did start buying ground beef so I can make that up and have a few meals to work with, but anything beyond mixing it with beans and a whole wheat tortilla and calling it a burrito I haven't done anything.


Thanks for the tips guys, I appreciate it. :)

[WildPegasus]

I can bring food to work, but I don't have a grill or a lot of time to prepare 180,000 chicken breasts for a week.

Just throw a bunch of chicken breasts on a baking sheet and cook them in the oven instead of a grill.

[Ian Kovtunovich]

Well, the concern with more turkey is the sodium, since it's deli meat. I get quite a bit from instant oatmeal and turkey and I don't want to add more by adding turkey.


Before I forget, I deleted the part about gassiness from protein in your post, but you could explore some kind of enzymes or whatever they give people with lactose intolerance. Apparently you adjust eventually, but that might smooth things out for you, so to speak.

Regarding the turkey, you could probably go to a natural foods type place (Whole Foods or the like), and find some uncured roast turkey that might not be such a sodium bomb. Or you could just eat it. Unless you have some medical condition that makes a lot of sodium bad news for you. Speaking of the oatmeal, I dunno what you're eating, but I've got a box of Trader Joe's Oatmeal Complete, which has protein and a bunch of vitamins added, and it has 200mg, or 8% of your intake. Doesn't seem like a couple of packets of that is really going to ruin your life. But whatevs, you seem to get the idea about packing more food in.

[strengthstarter]

Meat:

Suggestion 1: Chicken.

Go grab a 5 pound chicken at the supermarket. Rub some thyme and olive oil on it. Throw it in the oven at 350F. Come back 1.5 hours later. Take it out. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Quarter it and you have 4 servings of meat.

Suggestion 2: Meatballs.

Go get 4# ground beef. Mix it with 5 eggs and diced small red peppers, onions, celery, etc. Form into meatballs. Bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes.

Suggestion 3: Salmon.

Go get 2-4 pounds of wild alaska salmon at the store. Throw some dill and lemon juice on it. Bake.

Suggestion 4: Sushi-grade Tuna

Pan sear the shit on both sides and serve it up rare. Takes 3 minutes.

The key is to bake in quantities that are good for a few meals, if time is a concern.

Vegetables:

Suggestion 1: Find one or two vegetables you like. Try to vary them in color a bit. Put them in a salad and lay one of those nice hunks of protein on top of it.

Suggestion 2: Salad can get old. Saute up some of your favorite vegetables in the pan you scramble your eggs in and lay the eggs in on top. Making an omelette or scramble with some veggies.

Suggestion 3: Snack on veggies raw. Topping my list are baby carrots, raw zucchini (with the seeds cut out), and sometimes red pepper.

Suggestion 4: Frozen steam-in-back vegetables can be used in a pinch if you have a microwave. Sprinkle some garlic powder on it or season it some other way for flavor.

[rpbrown]

Regarding the turkey, you could probably go to a natural foods type place (Whole Foods or the like), and find some uncured roast turkey that might not be such a sodium bomb.

Uncured meat is no good. The nitrite and nitrates that are added (in parts per million quantities, mind you) kill botulism and other agents that could otherwise form. If you look closely at the ingredients, the nitrites are always the last ingredient; ingredients are ordered by how much of each is in the food.

Naturally cured meat is no better. It doesn't have enough naturally introduced nitrite. Besides, if sodium intake is a problem, you're either screwed by genetics OR you need to increase your potassium intake, methinks.

[Ian Kovtunovich]

Uncured meat is no good. The nitrite and nitrates that are added (in parts per million quantities, mind you) kill botulism and other agents that could otherwise form. If you look closely at the ingredients, the nitrites are always the last ingredient; ingredients are ordered by how much of each is in the food.

Naturally cured meat is no better. It doesn't have enough naturally introduced nitrite. Besides, if sodium intake is a problem, you're either screwed by genetics OR you need to increase your potassium intake, methinks.

Hmm...didn't know that's what the nitrite/nitrates were for. Thanks for the meat-safety primer, though; always keen to learn something new. Personally, I'll pretty much eat whatever, but it seemed like the OP was spooked about the sodium, and I reckoned that might be an option.

[bowdirk]

Chicken - get the 'family' pack of thighs that is usually about 15 thighs and roast em in the oven on a weekend. split however many up into 5 different tupperware things and throw em in the fridge. grab one each day and take it to work and eat a piece at first snack, lunch, and second snack along with what you are already eating.

Protein, Simple, Fast, and cheap...

- Edit - and yeah leave the skin on, and bread them too if ya want - Fatty thighs with skin taste a shitload beter than dry breasts, and you can either eat them right out of the tupperware or zap em in a microwave to re-heat

-Bowdirk

[toddmr]

Right now McDonalds is doing the two sausage mcmuffins with egg for $2.50. My PR is six. Easy breakfast.

[Patrick]

IMO the problem with the OP isn't time, it's diet choices and the fact that he's got some competing priorities -- ie, I won't eat the protein sources I've chosen because of sodium and rather than eat the sodium or change proteins you just don't eat more. More protein, more calories, etc. Being busy doesn't have much to do with it if you're not gaining weight.

[Longshot]

Thanks for the tips guys, I've started doing things like making meatballs and adding more eggs in. I won't worry as much about the sodium as I was, since that doesn't seem like as big an issue as I thought. I also added back in greek yogurt so I can have something else besides milk to randomly ingest.


IMO the problem with the OP isn't time, it's diet choices and the fact that he's got some competing priorities -- ie, I won't eat the protein sources I've chosen because of sodium and rather than eat the sodium or change proteins you just don't eat more. More protein, more calories, etc. Being busy doesn't have much to do with it if you're not gaining weight.

I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at. I am gaining weight fine, I am eating lots, and I am seeing results. I am just trying to be smart about my nutrition and not eat fast food just because it's easy.


Thanks again guys!