What to Eat at School?

Nutrition
1

So my mum being the old fashioned woman who grew up in communist Poland on a farm back in the day has some strong views about lifting and dieting its a miracle I can even step foot in a gym. It’s ok though shes old, nothing I can do she just has some stubborn beliefs. Half a year ago I was 57kg, I am now 74.5kg so I gained a decent amount of weight in a short period of time.

At one point I was eating 4000 calories a day but that’s been going down since my mum is the one who makes my food, she has the final say in how much I eat. She says I am heavy enough already and I do not need to gain any more weight, and if I keep eating a lot I am just going to get fat. 75kg at 6’2 I am still underweight…

I have no interest in cooking, unfortunately I don’t have the time to since I get home after the gym on week days, eat dinner, then go straight to bed. I am a very strange teenager in the fact that I play 0 games at all and don’t really have any leisure time. I would cook ALL of my own meals if I could but I cant at the moment, I will one day.

The biggest problem is not having enough lunch at school. I would like for her to give me my usual food but for me to make a little of my own on top of that since she refuses to do so. What should I eat?

Bread, so therefore sandwiches are completely out of it. I’m not a bird I don’t eat grains, and since I started taking lifting seriously I’ve had a bad acne breakout (had clear skin my whole life until now) and would rather not have the inflammatory properties of grains making it worse.

Best case scenario I was thinking some broccoli, beef, and a bit of sweet potato? My mum tells me time and time again that the food would go bad by the time I eat it, is there any merit to this? General guidance would be very helpful.

Its very painful seeing my weight gain and strength gains slow down.

2

[quote]Massthetics wrote:
I have no interest in cooking[/quote]
Any lifter who has an interest in seeing results needs to have an interest in cooking. Not saying you need to be whipping up five-star dishes, but you need to give the kitchen at least as much effort as you give the weight room. It’s the boring side of the lifestyle, but it’s seriously no less important.

Bogus excuse. Tuna salad is two ingredients just stirred together. Egg salad is, again, two ingredients stirred together. Hard-boiled eggs is two ingredients (if you count water as an ingredient) and takes 15 minutes, tops.

With a teeny-tiny bit of planning, you can come up with a few quick meals and keep them in the fridge. Or, like many guys do, make big batches of “whatever” on a Saturday or Sunday and eat it through the week.

I think you missed some words here. What’s wrong with bread?

Huh?

Presuming you’re showering regularly, I’d say there’s a better chance the acne is simply puberty-related, not so much directly from lifting. In any case, if you do want to avoid grains, there are still plenty of easy carb options - Fruit, rice, rice cakes, potatoes, yams, corn, and/or beans would be a start.

Depends on exactly what you’re making and where/how it’s being stored during the day. If you’re bringing a cooked, cold steak and leaving it in a brown paper bag in your locker, then yes, it’ll probably go bad in a few hours. If you have a decent insulated cooler-type lunchbox, then things will keep better. Absolute worst-case scenario, bring a calorie-dense shake in a thermos.

3

Chris nailed it on the head as usual.

You’re making far too many excuses in my opinion. Like Chris said, there are very quick and cheap meals you can make with eggs, tuna and whey. Those are staples for bodybuilders on the go.

4

By the way, I put grains out in my bird feeder, oats, and the birds would not touch it.

5

I can make 12 hard boiled eggs, 15 minutes, plus ice water.

Personally I would cook beef/bison, rice or potatoes and greens altogether in a skillet, and crack some eggs on top and put it in those little plastic boxes.

6

[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:

[quote]Massthetics wrote:
I have no interest in cooking[/quote]
Any lifter who has an interest in seeing results needs to have an interest in cooking. Not saying you need to be whipping up five-star dishes, but you need to give the kitchen at least as much effort as you give the weight room. It’s the boring side of the lifestyle, but it’s seriously no less important.

Bogus excuse. Tuna salad is two ingredients just stirred together. Egg salad is, again, two ingredients stirred together. Hard-boiled eggs is two ingredients (if you count water as an ingredient) and takes 15 minutes, tops.

With a teeny-tiny bit of planning, you can come up with a few quick meals and keep them in the fridge. Or, like many guys do, make big batches of “whatever” on a Saturday or Sunday and eat it through the week.

I think you missed some words here. What’s wrong with bread?

Huh?

Presuming you’re showering regularly, I’d say there’s a better chance the acne is simply puberty-related, not so much directly from lifting. In any case, if you do want to avoid grains, there are still plenty of easy carb options - Fruit, rice, rice cakes, potatoes, yams, corn, and/or beans would be a start.

Depends on exactly what you’re making and where/how it’s being stored during the day. If you’re bringing a cooked, cold steak and leaving it in a brown paper bag in your locker, then yes, it’ll probably go bad in a few hours. If you have a decent insulated cooler-type lunchbox, then things will keep better. Absolute worst-case scenario, bring a calorie-dense shake in a thermos.[/quote]
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-grains-are-unhealthy/#axzz339JyMkg9

Well I legitimately am hard pressed on time whether you believe it or not. On non lifting days though I would have the time to prep some food the night before. But i can’t cook food every single night. Quick question, would food lose its nutritional value the longer you keep it stored? At the moment all I really know how to make is a nutella sandwich and some 2 minute noodles.

About acne, when I first started going to the gym around october/december doing a standard bro split after a couple of days I went from clear skin to a pimple here and there. Also increased sex drive. Fast forward approx 3 months I got on stronglifts and started putting more thought into my food. Coincidentally when I took lifting more seriously my sex drive went through the roof again and I went from relatively clear skin to acne in about 3 weeks, I broke out REALLY quick. I am pretty sure that if I ever were to stop lifting it would go away. I got prescribed pills (antibiotics, yuck) and a special cream and all it seems to be doing is suppressing it from getting worse not getting rid of it. Then theres the side effects of having dry skin, red and irritated skin etc. Taking things into my own hands and eating less bread and primarily sleeping more has made it start to get better. Moral of the story lifting = greater hormone production = more pimples.

Rice is a grain unfortunately. I like to get my carbs from potatoes particularly sweet potatoes, sugars from fruit, etc.

I have a couple tupperware containers of varying sizes which I bought a couple of weeks ago. They’re probably air tight.

Mertdawg - that meal sounds good.

7

You know… there’s just as many blogs out there bashing meat and dairy for similar reasons (toxicity, we aren’t built to digest it, bad for heart, etc.)

As far as excuses for not eating well… it takes one of two things: 1) time 2) money
Which do you have more of?

As far as what you should eat… pick any diet on here (the 5/2 is popular) and eat that… If you don’t want to eat grains, seeds, dairy, whatever, fine… don’t eat it. Though, you have to admit. It’s ironic that you won’t eat rice, but you’ll down a case of processed sugary drinks.

If your real question is how to save time… check out jordz’ thead in the BB forum. He has a video of him cooking. He basically makes an entire week’s worth of food in a couple of hours by throwing chicken and sweet potatoes in the oven. I think he microwaves veggies. You could always just drink more milk too.

Also, eat whatever your mom makes.

8

Find a cheap rice cooker if your family doesn’t have one yet.

Stuff it with potatoes and whatever stewable vegetables you like (carrots, onions) and some meat.

Press ON.

…

If you come up with another excuse I will be baffled.

9

[quote]Sutebun wrote:
Find a cheap rice cooker if your family doesn’t have one yet.

Stuff it with potatoes and whatever stewable vegetables you like (carrots, onions) and some meat.

Press ON.

…

If you come up with another excuse I will be baffled.[/quote]
You can put potatoes and meat in a rice cooker??

tweet

10

Mass, I see your anti-grain article and raise you:

Point is, like 1Man said, you can find articles extolling the hazardous side of pretty much any food. What you see for yourself, through trial and error, will trump whatever anyone else can write.

[quote]Massthetics wrote:
But i can’t cook food every single night.[/quote]
No one ever said you had to. I can make 8 chicken breasts, 24 hard-boiled eggs, 8 baked potatoes, a bowl of cooked vegetables, and a bigass pot of chili in a little over an hour on a Saturday afternoon. It’s not difficult at all, it just takes a little bit of planning.

With the times we’re talking about (up to a week or so) and proper-temp storage, no, not to any significant degree.

I think you mentioned this sandwich crisis before. Dude, it’s a piece of bread, some meat, and a piece of bread. If you can squat and deadlift, hell if you can tie shoelaces, you can make a sandwich. Again, tuna salad or egg salad would be perfect for you.

For some people, true. If that’s what you’ve actually noticed, then that’s what you’ve noticed.

Technically, but white rice has little to none of the negatives associated with more common grains (wheat, oats, etc.)

11

I have a buddy who, while he makes a pretty decent living, eats nothing but oats, protein powder and peanut butter. All three purchased at bulk prices, all 3 easy to prepare in a microwave (even ahead of time and eaten cold later out of a tupperware), and all 3 together giving you plenty of protein, quality carbs, healthy fats, and calories.

When I was in college, I’d eat tuna (dented cans, as they were cheaper) mixed in with store brand Mac n Cheese (4 for $1) like it was going out of style.

Plenty of easy to prepare, inexpensive, and perfect to support training options out there if you’re willing to do the work.

S

12

I’ve got no idea what I am doing anymore im no closer to coming up with a meal plan than i was a few months ago. The fitness industry is amazing, never seen so many lies and incorrect information in my life (diet wise). Researching training and training methods is easy and simple. Researching diets and foods is like going through a minefield of bad advice everybody has some sort of agenda.

Vegans who want to save the planet trying to convince you their diet is healthier, similar idiots trying to convince you milk deteriorates your bones, etc. I’ve been spun around so many times I am just left dizzy and confused. I’m just going to experiment on my own and find what works best for me, very very few reliable sources on the net. I only have 3 websites I truly trust: exrx, examine, and mercola.

1 man island - Well I am short on both. This morning I went to my mum and asked what sort of meat we had (so i could think about some meals I could make) and she said we didn’t have any. I asked why she said shes going to buy them as soon as we have money. I live in Sydney Australia I go to an expensive school but my family is quite poor and struggling to pay for food and bills. My parents escaped (not moved, escaped) from communist poland about 30 years ago and scrambled their way across Europe for about a year with a few month old baby and eventually made their way to Australia where they settled down. I am lucky to have what I have they have done an amazing job but I am not as privileged as everyone else.

Time wise, I am a student I don’t have all the time in the world but I have enough to meal prep. I’ve become more disciplined lately.

Suteburn - Sounds ok but I am not sure if you can cook meat in a rice cooker, can you?

Chris - I would most likely cook meals every second day, on the days I don’t go gym. I will be coming up with and experimenting with meals soon. Just wondering, its a 90% chance i will be cooking the night before, should I be heating up my food before I leave the house? I wouldn’t be able to heat food up at school.

Salads and stir fries would be doable, a million times easier than sandwiches. There is also more room for creativity so I would be able to have some fun with it.

Stu - Good point. Definitely can live off cheap food like that but it wouldn’t be healthy lol.

13

P.S. guys when i go to the gym on the weekend and go in the mornings what should my breakfast consist of? For example today before hitting the gym I had an omlette consisting of 4 whole eggs, some bacon and ham, tomato, onion, and cheese. With 2 bananas and a cup of orange juice. I read somewhere last night that you should actually be having lots of carbs in the morning? Is this true? Just in case I added the two bananas and orange juice. On the way to gym I downed a 500ml bottle of aloe vera juice (36g sugar), and a handful of oreos.

I have learned how redundant simply reading is and not doing. I have read on a couple of websites that 3 meals per day is optimal. I tried it for a almost a fortnight and found it hard to stay in a surplus. I just don’t have the stomach space to split 4kcals into 3 meals I am much more comfortable with 5-6. Learning.

14

[quote]Massthetics wrote:
P.S. guys when i go to the gym on the weekend and go in the mornings what should my breakfast consist of? For example today before hitting the gym I had an omlette consisting of 4 whole eggs, some bacon and ham, tomato, onion, and cheese. With 2 bananas and a cup of orange juice. I read somewhere last night that you should actually be having lots of carbs in the morning? Is this true? Just in case I added the two bananas and orange juice. On the way to gym I downed a 500ml bottle of aloe vera juice (36g sugar), and a handful of oreos.

I have learned how redundant simply reading is and not doing. I have read on a couple of websites that 3 meals per day is optimal. I tried it for a almost a fortnight and found it hard to stay in a surplus. I just don’t have the stomach space to split 4kcals into 3 meals I am much more comfortable with 5-6. Learning.[/quote]

I am pretty sure Oreos are made with grains.

Aloe can have side effects (not to mention 36 grams of sugar).

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-607-ALOE.aspx?activeIngredientId=607&activeIngredientName=ALOE

I have used Aloe for sore throat, but basically a capful a couple of times a day. Also people can be allergic to it (latex).

15

You don’t have 30 minutes every night to precook chicken and rice and microwave some bags of frozen veg and then place said food in tupperware for the next day?

I think you need to recalculate just how busy you are. Because if will smith can personally prepare his meals for the day ahead, then go be one of the most successful actors and businessmen ever I am guessing you can probably squeeze it in.

If you are allergic to grains you could make use of dairy.

2.24 litres of whole fat milk contains 1300 calories and 67 grams of protein.

Add in some chicken thighs for another 40 grams of protein and some fruit and tubers and you have a grain free gluten free high protein diet. Maybe a couple scoops of whey in a smoothie.

16

Yeah, the thing about nutrition is there are many paths to the same goals, so everyone tries to get you to buy into their system because all they really have to sell is information. If you stick to the basics and experiment from there, you’ll be fine:
-Calories are king for your goals
-Protein is necessary for building muscle: .8 - 1.5g/lb
-Fat is necessary for hormone production (it gets tricky when you start looking at types of fats, but fat from food is better than fat from a bottle)
-Vegetables are amazing not just for preventing you from getting sick, but developing your body, mind, and long term health (preventing cancer, etc.). They’re also probably one of the best ways to get your fat (greens in olive oil). I think the general goal is 3 plates of uncooked greens and another 2-5 cups of fruits, veggies, and mushrooms/day.
-Carbs are necessary for energy and development. You’re skinny, so these should take up the majority of your calories in the day… plus, they’re cheap!

17

A rice cooker will just boil whatever is in it…

Chicken breast will not taste good because it will be dry and bland. But stew type cuts will probably be fine.

The best way to eat a sweet potato is to cook it in a rice cooker. Fucking delicious.

Try it. It’s also awesome since you can just dump ingredients in before heading to the gym, press on, and your meal is practically ready when you come back. Find a set of spices so what you eat tastes better.