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bennystone · 09-17-2005, 12:06 AM

I can't tell you jack about life, primarily because I'm probably younger than you are, but mostly because I'm pretty poor at living it.

If there is one thing I can help you with though, it's weight gain.

I am a bodybuilder and am personally much much better at losing weight than putting it on. It's called being ectomorphic, and it's very common. For skinny people though, it's less often conceived as a bad thing.

I put on 20 pounds in one month once, and I'll outline below the diet that did it for me. I don't know what kind of budget you're working with here, but as a college student I was fairly broke. This is the cheapest plan I ever used and surprisingly the most effective.

The key to weight gain, and particularly building muscle mass is protein. You want to eat, at a minimum, 5 meals a day. I recommend 6 plus, personally. Each meal should contain around 30 grams of protein or more, if possible. Each meal should also contain as many carbohydrates as possible. Carbs are fuel to your cells and will help you in the gym, if putting on muscle is something you'd like to do.

So here's what I recommend specifically for you in the cheapest and most efficient way possible:

Meal 1: 9 AM- 5 eggs, 3 sausage links, one bowl of oatmeal or equally oatty/wheatty cereal in milk (5 eggs is minimum, and if you're healthconscious egg whites are OK! sausage can be bacon if you really want to up the calories, milk can be 2 percent for the same purpose. Also, I like to scramble the eggs and grate cheddar cheese into them to up the calories, protein, and flavor all in one shot. This is a great first meal because it is packed with protein, jump starts your metabolism to boost your energy, and is relatively inexpensive.)

Meal 2: 11:30 AM- Protein shake, any kind of fruit(If you want to gain weight, trust me on this one and buy a big giant tub of protein powder and start mixing shakes. Protein powder seems expensive, but the number of meals you get out of one thing makes it relatively low priced. I know protein shakes taste bad, so I recommend Muscle Milk, particularly Banana Cream flavor. This is the best tasting protein shake I've ever had. To save money on protein powder, I also recommend buying it from gyms rather than stores like GNC where the markup is gigantic. Most gyms sell protein at discounted prices. The fruit in this meal is to add carbs, and depending on the shake you make can mix into it to improve the taste!)

Meal 3: 1 PM- 1 Cooked chicken breast, with rice (Chicken is a great great great source of protein because it's packed in there. If you buy frozen chicken breasts in large quantities at stores like Sam's Club or Cosco, you'll save a lot of money here. I usually cook chicken breasts 3 at a time twice a week, so that I don't spend half my day cooking meals all the time. You don't have to eat Meal 3 with rice, you can use anything really. Pasta, mixed veggies, anything you want. I prefer rice because it's packed with carbs, relatively inexpensive, and quick and easy.)

Meal 4: 4 PM- Another protein shake and fruit meal (I know I'm repeating myself here, but this is the cheapest, and easiest way to pack protein and calories into your day.)

Meal 5: 7 PM- A big turkey/ham/or chicken sandwich, and anything you want on the side (Honestly, if you wanted you could just eat chicken all day long, but I like to get some variety into my day so I don't get bored. If you go to your local supermarket and find a cheap but tasty turkey, you'll find that about a third pound equals 30 grams of protein. This varies from brand to brand and blah blah blah. Just try and eat a 30 gram protein sandwich at 7 pm. If you have Albertsons in your area, go there, they have a great selection of cheap deli meat. You don't even have to put the sandwich on bread if you don't want to. It will save you money, but bread is where carbohydrates come from, so it's carbs or money, depending on which you need more of)

Meal 6: 10 PMish- Another bowl of oatmeal or oat/wheat cereal in milk and cottage cheese (This meal is fairly loose because at this point in the day it's hard to find foods with protein that you want to eat this late.. The required element is the bowl of cereal. I like to go with Frosted Mini Wheats because the taste doesn't suck horribly, and they've got loads of fiber and decent carbs. The milk is essential because it has a good amount of protein and is packed with vitamins that physically active people need. I find that cereal is cheapest at stores like Target and Wal-Mart rather than regular grocery stores, trust me on this one. As for the cottage cheese, I hate cottage cheese and would never eat it. However, it's an amazing source of protein. If you don't like it, try mixing it with fruit like strawberries or blueberries. If that doesn't work for you, just eat whatever you can. In your situation, calories equals good.)

So here's the gist. You want fiber in the morning and evening so you'll be able to crap at least half of the food you're eating. Lots of protein as often as possible. And many many carbs.
Never go more than 3 hours without eating!!!
If you're going to the gym frequently, you will build muscle quickly on this diet. If you're not, you'll at least be gaining weight.
As for the times and all that, don't worry so much about sticking exactly to any of it, it's a guideline. A very very good guideline, but a guideline only.
If you really like cottage cheese or milk, take in lots and lots of it, because that is your best ally. Same thing goes for eggs, if you like them hardboiled, eat them as often as you can during one of those meal slots.

Lastly, just because you're cramming on calories and protein doesn't mean you want to take in lots of saturated fats. I never recommend fast food meals(Subway is ok..) unless you're just looking to put on straight up fat. But you sound to me like the type of person who would rather put on muscular weight, so Protein Protein Protein.

I hope this has helped you at least a little bit. Again, I can't help you with depression or anything like that, I'm no therapist. But let me tell you one thing I have learned. Life sucks. You can sit idly and allow it to suck, or you can change it. Because the world isn't gonna change for you.

Good luck man, and if you need any more advice, I'm your man.

Benny

Quick disclaimer: I don't recommend this to everyone, unless you also happen to be trying to put on lots of weight. This will not help you with any other fitness aspect, nor do I recommend it for any other fitness aspect.

09-17-2005, 12:06 AM	#5 (permalink)
bennystone Upright Location: north san diego county	I can't tell you jack about life, primarily because I'm probably younger than you are, but mostly because I'm pretty poor at living it. If there is one thing I can help you with though, it's weight gain. I am a bodybuilder and am personally much much better at losing weight than putting it on. It's called being ectomorphic, and it's very common. For skinny people though, it's less often conceived as a bad thing. I put on 20 pounds in one month once, and I'll outline below the diet that did it for me. I don't know what kind of budget you're working with here, but as a college student I was fairly broke. This is the cheapest plan I ever used and surprisingly the most effective. The key to weight gain, and particularly building muscle mass is protein. You want to eat, at a minimum, 5 meals a day. I recommend 6 plus, personally. Each meal should contain around 30 grams of protein or more, if possible. Each meal should also contain as many carbohydrates as possible. Carbs are fuel to your cells and will help you in the gym, if putting on muscle is something you'd like to do. So here's what I recommend specifically for you in the cheapest and most efficient way possible: Meal 1: 9 AM- 5 eggs, 3 sausage links, one bowl of oatmeal or equally oatty/wheatty cereal in milk (5 eggs is minimum, and if you're healthconscious egg whites are OK! sausage can be bacon if you really want to up the calories, milk can be 2 percent for the same purpose. Also, I like to scramble the eggs and grate cheddar cheese into them to up the calories, protein, and flavor all in one shot. This is a great first meal because it is packed with protein, jump starts your metabolism to boost your energy, and is relatively inexpensive.) Meal 2: 11:30 AM- Protein shake, any kind of fruit(If you want to gain weight, trust me on this one and buy a big giant tub of protein powder and start mixing shakes. Protein powder seems expensive, but the number of meals you get out of one thing makes it relatively low priced. I know protein shakes taste bad, so I recommend Muscle Milk, particularly Banana Cream flavor. This is the best tasting protein shake I've ever had. To save money on protein powder, I also recommend buying it from gyms rather than stores like GNC where the markup is gigantic. Most gyms sell protein at discounted prices. The fruit in this meal is to add carbs, and depending on the shake you make can mix into it to improve the taste!) Meal 3: 1 PM- 1 Cooked chicken breast, with rice (Chicken is a great great great source of protein because it's packed in there. If you buy frozen chicken breasts in large quantities at stores like Sam's Club or Cosco, you'll save a lot of money here. I usually cook chicken breasts 3 at a time twice a week, so that I don't spend half my day cooking meals all the time. You don't have to eat Meal 3 with rice, you can use anything really. Pasta, mixed veggies, anything you want. I prefer rice because it's packed with carbs, relatively inexpensive, and quick and easy.) Meal 4: 4 PM- Another protein shake and fruit meal (I know I'm repeating myself here, but this is the cheapest, and easiest way to pack protein and calories into your day.) Meal 5: 7 PM- A big turkey/ham/or chicken sandwich, and anything you want on the side (Honestly, if you wanted you could just eat chicken all day long, but I like to get some variety into my day so I don't get bored. If you go to your local supermarket and find a cheap but tasty turkey, you'll find that about a third pound equals 30 grams of protein. This varies from brand to brand and blah blah blah. Just try and eat a 30 gram protein sandwich at 7 pm. If you have Albertsons in your area, go there, they have a great selection of cheap deli meat. You don't even have to put the sandwich on bread if you don't want to. It will save you money, but bread is where carbohydrates come from, so it's carbs or money, depending on which you need more of) Meal 6: 10 PMish- Another bowl of oatmeal or oat/wheat cereal in milk and cottage cheese (This meal is fairly loose because at this point in the day it's hard to find foods with protein that you want to eat this late.. The required element is the bowl of cereal. I like to go with Frosted Mini Wheats because the taste doesn't suck horribly, and they've got loads of fiber and decent carbs. The milk is essential because it has a good amount of protein and is packed with vitamins that physically active people need. I find that cereal is cheapest at stores like Target and Wal-Mart rather than regular grocery stores, trust me on this one. As for the cottage cheese, I hate cottage cheese and would never eat it. However, it's an amazing source of protein. If you don't like it, try mixing it with fruit like strawberries or blueberries. If that doesn't work for you, just eat whatever you can. In your situation, calories equals good.) So here's the gist. You want fiber in the morning and evening so you'll be able to crap at least half of the food you're eating. Lots of protein as often as possible. And many many carbs. Never go more than 3 hours without eating!!! If you're going to the gym frequently, you will build muscle quickly on this diet. If you're not, you'll at least be gaining weight. As for the times and all that, don't worry so much about sticking exactly to any of it, it's a guideline. A very very good guideline, but a guideline only. If you really like cottage cheese or milk, take in lots and lots of it, because that is your best ally. Same thing goes for eggs, if you like them hardboiled, eat them as often as you can during one of those meal slots. Lastly, just because you're cramming on calories and protein doesn't mean you want to take in lots of saturated fats. I never recommend fast food meals(Subway is ok..) unless you're just looking to put on straight up fat. But you sound to me like the type of person who would rather put on muscular weight, so Protein Protein Protein. I hope this has helped you at least a little bit. Again, I can't help you with depression or anything like that, I'm no therapist. But let me tell you one thing I have learned. Life sucks. You can sit idly and allow it to suck, or you can change it. Because the world isn't gonna change for you. Good luck man, and if you need any more advice, I'm your man. Benny Quick disclaimer: I don't recommend this to everyone, unless you also happen to be trying to put on lots of weight. This will not help you with any other fitness aspect, nor do I recommend it for any other fitness aspect. __________________ "In this world of uncertainty there's one thing you can be sure of and that is that you can never be sure of anything."