I'm getting too skinny!

[sasquatch]

I got a new job and I'm really busting ass in it. I've had it for two months and have already lost twenty pounds, witch isn't good when your already a 6 foot 4 stick. My muscles never have a chance to recover either, I used to recover from a workout in about two days, now it takes a week, and the muscles still feel like they aren't fully recovered. Can anybody tell me some cheap high calorie/protein things I could buy to gain some weight back and recover faster?

[Neal Winkler]

Milk protein powder, then search for shake recipes that include fat and carbs (meal replacement shakes).

[Amebix138]

Gallon of milk a day is one but long term it might not be that healthy. Olive oil is loaded with calories but has a tendency to taste like donkey ass. Seeds and nuts have alot of calories. 90 grams of sunflower seeds has something like 650 calories, mostly from fat. Fatty cured meats will likely be your friend. Be constantly snacking.

[Nick Van Bockxmeer]

donkey ass

and you would know what that tastes like...how?

[Jason Stein]

Can anybody tell me some cheap high calorie/protein things I could buy to gain some weight back and recover faster?

Sasquatch,

Do you have a relationship with a coach/trainer/gym-owner etc?

It would be useful to have someone look over a week's food-log of your current eating and give feedback before you start fooling with adding calories.

For example, there guys at the gym who hit it hard, yet complain of tiredness/weakness. When pressed they admit to bagels for breakfast and bowls of cereal for snacks.

Or they log their food and realize they're eating 1,300 calories a day, enough to fuel the athletic efforts of a 13-year-old anorexic girl.

For these people, adding protein powder or drinking a gallon of milk is not as useful as getting 3 servings of protein a day.

best of luck,

jason

[sasquatch]

Where I live now, most people don't exercises, so I don't really have any body to talk to about my diet, but awhile ago

I counted my calories and everything I ate for a week and I eat between 3900 and 5500 calories every day, but the meals were always random, almost always crapy cheap meat sandwiches for lunch.

[Anthony White]

"but the meals were always random, almost always crapy cheap meat sandwiches for lunch"

Hi Sasquatch,

That last sentence seems to be key here. If you're loosing strength and muscle mass, you need to start eating properly. Three solid meals a day, with good quality meat (not processed meats), vegetables, and fats at each meal. Cut out sugar, and reduce grains with an aim to cut them out too.

Random is no use. Eat a good breakfast, a good lunch and a good dinner.

Real meat is the best there is for a "high protein/calorie thing", and will help you start to sort out your diet. Get enough meat, and you have everything you need to gain back weight and recover faster.

I still like the classic formula: "eat meat, vegetables, some fruit, little starch and no sugar".

Then go and look at the nutrition advice of Robb Wolf, Mike Eades, Mark Sisson, Loren Cordain.

Whey protein shakes may have their place for some people, once the rest of their diet is already dialed in. If your diet is not solid, and it sounds like yours isn't, then protein shakes and liquid food have too many compromises.

Best wishes,

Anthony White

[sasquatch]

Thanks anthony. Do you know what would be the most affordable of the good meats? I was thinking of getting packs of chicken breasts and cans of tuna from walmart, tuna is probably super processed though right? I also heard hamburger meat is good if your a hard gainer because of the calories and protien, but that must be super processed also. I'm looking for the most affordable way because I only have a minimum wage job, and i'm saving up for school. It might not be possible for me to gain a lot of weight until i'm out of school i guess, eating good meals is probably pretty pricey, right?

[Richard Duelley]

I am on a tight budget as well. I eat lots of whatever meat is on sale at the store. I go to the fresh meat area and whatever is about to go bad (ie one day or on the sell by date) is WAY cheap. I got organic chicken yesterday for like 2.99 a pound because it was the sell by date, hamburger and regular chicken can be even cheaper. The only problem with this strategy is you have to go over the store every other day and see what they have, but I can usually buy enough to cook that day and it will feed me for 2-3 meals. Luckily for me the store is a 5 min walk from my town house and/or I can just stop by on my way back from campus. I also buy up the nuts when they are on sale. Basically I buy whatever is on super sale and I have a coupon for. I also have had to cut back on going out, like to the movies or bars or whatever, it sucks but I like the results :wink:

[sasquatch]

I am on a tight budget as well. I eat lots of whatever meat is on sale at the store. I go to the fresh meat area and whatever is about to go bad (ie one day or on the sell by date) is WAY cheap. I got organic chicken yesterday for like 2.99 a pound because it was the sell by date, hamburger and regular chicken can be even cheaper. The only problem with this strategy is you have to go over the store every other day and see what they have, but I can usually buy enough to cook that day and it will feed me for 2-3 meals. Luckily for me the store is a 5 min walk from my town house and/or I can just stop by on my way back from campus. I also buy up the nuts when they are on sale. Basically I buy whatever is on super sale and I have a coupon for. I also have had to cut back on going out, like to the movies or bars or whatever, it sucks but I like the results :wink:

Cool, thanks for the tips. If you don't mind me asking, about how much does it cost a month to eat a good diet, here in Arizona it's most likely a little cheaper than in Virginia.

[Amebix138]

For a cheap and calorie dense food, look into hulled hemp seeds. You can buy a 25 pound carton for 110$ + shipping online. Lentils are high protein and cheap too.

http://hempoil.tng-secure.com/products. ... 0lb-Carton

Check out those nutrition facts, son. Cant be beat.

[Jason Stein]

How much does it cost a month to eat a good diet?

Week:

7# pastured ground beef: $42 [eat roughly 1# a day]

2 dozen eggs: $6

1 bag roasted unsalted almonds: $6

1 bag organic spinach: $4 [to show to the ground beef]

7 apples: $4

$248/month

$62/week

$9/day

$3/meal

You might could lay out for some olive oil, condiments and spices to season up your ground beef.

This is incredibly bare-bones 'n' budget-conscious, too.

[Anthony White]

Hi Sasquatch,

From my perspective, healthy food is the most important thing, so I am prepared to cut back on other things in order to pay for good food. I've been out of work for the last four months, and am still eating a meat focussed paleo diet.

I can't necessarily advise on the best way to buy meat, as it varies a lot by location. There are plenty of cheap cuts of beef that are delicious. In the US, is hamburger beef the same thing as straight ground beef? If so, then it's not processed, just put through a grinder. Check the ingredients, and put it back if there is any ingredient other than beef. Aim for leaner ground beef, between 10-15% fat by weight.

Casserole cuts are always pretty cheap. They tend to be tough unless you casserole them, but that is a good approach.

Farmer's markets and butchers can be a good place to buy meat, and tend to be less expensive than supermarkets.

best wishes,

Anthony White

[Yeti]

Hey bro, I sugest you carb it up. Carbs will help you put on the muscles and help you fill out when you're rail thin. DON'T EVER go for the refined sugars or white flours though. White flour gets absorbed just like sugar and any energy not used up easily gets absorbed as fat. You don't want that. Hit up 100% whole wheat pasta, I find this nutritious and beneficial. Use your favorite pasta sauce and put some cheese on top. Also hit up the oatmeal. Oatmeal is grrrreat! For flavor add some honey and berries if desired. Also cinamon helps too. Drink whole milk and eat plenty of fruits. Vegetables are overrated amd are not as deliscious as fruits, but they can be used in conjuction with other food items to make scrumptious meals. Brown rice is another awesome choice. Make sure to eat some egss too, cooked in butter or olive oil. Don't hit up the junk food as a solution, it won't be. For the recovery find a program for that. I use Scott Sonnon's TacFit commando and that has a great program besides the incredible exercise portion that helps with speeding up recovery. Try some dynamic stretches and things like that to help out your body. Also go on walks and try to aim for 7-9 hourse of sleep. Hope that helps!

[Nicholas Sortino]

Hey bro, I sugest you carb it up. Carbs will help you put on the muscles and help you fill out when you're rail thin. DON'T EVER go for the refined sugars or white flours though. White flour gets absorbed just like sugar and any energy not used up easily gets absorbed as fat. You don't want that. Hit up 100% whole wheat pasta, I find this nutritious and beneficial. Use your favorite pasta sauce and put some cheese on top. Also hit up the oatmeal. Oatmeal is grrrreat! For flavor add some honey and berries if desired. Also cinamon helps too. Drink whole milk and eat plenty of fruits. Vegetables are overrated amd are not as deliscious as fruits, but they can be used in conjuction with other food items to make scrumptious meals. Brown rice is another awesome choice. Make sure to eat some egss too, cooked in butter or olive oil. Don't hit up the junk food as a solution, it won't be. For the recovery find a program for that. I use Scott Sonnon's TacFit commando and that has a great program besides the incredible exercise portion that helps with speeding up recovery. Try some dynamic stretches and things like that to help out your body. Also go on walks and try to aim for 7-9 hourse of sleep. Hope that helps!

Just because carbs (and especially grains) will help you gain weight doesn't mean it is good weight.

I would not advise the grains, most of them cause nutrient deficiencies or are empty useless calories. Eggs are a really awesome, easy and cheap way to get a lot of quality protein and fat. Make sure to eat the yolk. You can boil them and save them for snacks throughout the day.

Whole milk is another very cheap way to get a lot of decent calories. If you can find Grass-fed milk that is best, if not, look for Organic Valley, they are a national brand that is good quality. Milk that has a sell-by date 70 days in the future is useless... its been boiled beyond being milk...

If you cook things like bacon, strain the leftover grease through a sieve and throw it in the fridge. Now you have a great cooking oil that is delicious and didn't cost you anything extra. Just make sure to strain out all the meat bits you can, it'll last longer that way. You can do this with fat from other things too like ground beef. Also this means you can buy the cheaper high fat ground beef since you will be saving the fat for other cooking uses (I would use the 80-20 anyway but that is just me, i love me some fat).

This place has high-fat 100% grass-fed ground for under $5/lb. They also carry a large assortment of other grass-fed meats at a pretty reasonable price (for grass-fed that is...).

[Yeti]

Just because carbs (and especially grains) will help you gain weight doesn't mean it is good weight.

I would not advise the grains, most of them cause nutrient deficiencies or are empty useless calories. Eggs are a really awesome, easy and cheap way to get a lot of quality protein and fat. Make sure to eat the yolk. You can boil them and save them for snacks throughout the day.

Really? Tell that to the special forces. Carbs provide energy for the body and are an essential part of muscle building. http://www.vincedelmontefitness.com/blo ... ding-diet/ This guy knows what he's talking about and its knowing how to use your carbs that matters. Assuming all grains are just useless or not important is pretty ignorant. I've gotten pretty shredded myself eating the right kind of carbs. And its advised to eat them to put on healthy weight. People have been eating grain for A LONG time and you just have to how to use them to your advantage.

[Nicholas Sortino]

Really? Tell that to the special forces. Carbs provide energy for the body and are an essential part of muscle building. http://www.vincedelmontefitness.com/blo ... ding-diet/ This guy knows what he's talking about and its knowing how to use your carbs that matters. Assuming all grains are just useless or not important is pretty ignorant. I've gotten pretty shredded myself eating the right kind of carbs. And its advised to eat them to put on healthy weight. People have been eating grain for A LONG time and you just have to how to use them to your advantage.

What Special Forces? Regardless, that carries little weight to me since I work in the special operations community and I can assure you diet is not something most guys focus on.

I never said don't eat carbs, although I personally don't eat very many, but if you are going to eat carbs, grains a pretty nutrient poor source. In comparison to almost any veggie, you will get far less vitamins and minerals from eating grains. So why waste those calories on something not nearly as useful, when you can be chowing down on the good stuff. There are plenty of other people out there who "know what they are talking about" and would disagree with you.

People have been growing and eating grain for approximately 10,000years. In the evolutionary standpoint, that is a pretty insignificant amount of time. People were eating meat with the occasional vegetables, and sometimes fruit in the right climates at the right time of year for a whole lot longer than that. Grains are a sign of civilization, and there is a reason cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer, heart disease, stroke, depression and many other illnesses are referred to as "The diseases of Civilization." There are some pretty strong links between these and high carbohydrate western diets. Go read Good Calories, Bad Calories. Probably one of the most important books I've ever read.

[Yeti]

I never said don't eat carbs, although I personally don't eat very many, but if you are going to eat carbs, grains a pretty nutrient poor source. In comparison to almost any veggie, you will get far less vitamins and minerals from eating grains. So why waste those calories on something not nearly as useful, when you can be chowing down on the good stuff. There are plenty of other people out there who "know what they are talking about" and would disagree with you.

People have been growing and eating grain for approximately 10,000years. In the evolutionary standpoint, that is a pretty insignificant amount of time. People were eating meat with the occasional vegetables, and sometimes fruit in the right climates at the right time of year for a whole lot longer than that. Grains are a sign of civilization, and there is a reason cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer, heart disease, stroke, depression and many other illnesses are referred to as "The diseases of Civilization." There are some pretty strong links between these and high carbohydrate western diets. Go read Good Calories, Bad Calories. Probably one of the most important books I've ever read.

Agreed that grains when refined and defiled are VERY damaging and do cause A LOT of damage to people's health. People in ancient civilizations such as the Greeks and Romans made use of grains (though trust me I know those civilizations don't extend back 10,000 years yet they prospered) and if you consider the Bible a valid source people were eating grains FAR longer than a mere 10,000 years. Plus they make a great staple food to have something in case of famine or bad weather. Open your mind is all I'm saying. The Spartan Health Regimen is probably one of the best resources I've read concerning man and his natural diet. Here's a review of the regimen that also lists some of the basic principles. http://www.strongerfasterfitter.com/spa ... -a-review/ The Spartan Heatlh Regimen is way ahead of its time since the guy came out with program in 1997. Basically the guy has you eating a lot of fruit since our digestive system is near lidentical to a chimpanzees. Vegetables have many nutritious benefits but they don't taste nearly as good as fresh fruit. I vouch for the program and its benefits and its resourcefulness and the vast amount of research that accompanies it.

[Neal Winkler]

Newer evidence suggests that grain consumption could date back as far as 100,000 years ago.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 141312.htm

Good calories, bad calories is filled with bad science.

For example, see here:

http://weightology.net/?s=taubes&searchsubmit=

[Neal Winkler]

and if you consider the Bible a valid source people were eating grains FAR longer than a mere 10,000 years.

For one, the people depicted in the Bible didn't live over 10,000 year ago.

Basically the guy has you eating a lot of fruit since our digestive system is near lidentical to a chimpanzees.

That's a silly reason to eat a lot of fruit. I'm not even sure if it's accurate, but even if it is it's still silly.

[Yeti]

and if you consider the Bible a valid source people were eating grains FAR longer than a mere 10,000 years.

For one, the people depicted in the Bible didn't live over 10,000 year ago.

Basically the guy has you eating a lot of fruit since our digestive system is near lidentical to a chimpanzees.

That's a silly reason to eat a lot of fruit. I'm not even sure if it's accurate, but even if it is it's still silly.

According to you it doesn't date back that far. People in Genesis were living for 900+ years. I believe man has been using grains since the dawn of their existence. That's just what I believe, I'm not saying your wrong just throwing in what I believe and know to be true. Anyways that's a different topic.

Silly you say? Ha ha I thought so too. I got the Regimen though and put it to good use. Can't argue with results. The fruit thing is just one of the many helpful tools in the program. He makes a lot of sense.

[Neal Winkler]

and if you consider the Bible a valid source people were eating grains FAR longer than a mere 10,000 years.

For one, the people depicted in the Bible didn't live over 10,000 year ago.

Basically the guy has you eating a lot of fruit since our digestive system is near lidentical to a chimpanzees.

That's a silly reason to eat a lot of fruit. I'm not even sure if it's accurate, but even if it is it's still silly.

According to you it doesn't date back that far. People in Genesis were living for 900+ years. I believe man has been using grains since the dawn of their existence. That's just what I believe, I'm not saying your wrong just throwing in what I believe and know to be true. Anyways that's a different topic.

Silly you say? Ha ha I thought so too. I got the Regimen though and put it to good use. Can't argue with results. The fruit thing is just one of the many helpful tools in the program. He makes a lot of sense.

Well, let's steer clear of a debate on the Bible.

As far as chimps go, I wasn't arguing fruit consumption I was arguing your justification for fruit consumption.

[Yeti]

Well, let's steer clear of a debate on the Bible.

As far as chimps go, I wasn't arguing fruit consumption I was arguing your justification for fruit consumption.

Agreed, I doubt the nutrtion section is hardly up for a topic of that caliber ha ha. :wink: Its not my justification, its one of the many the author Anthony Bova uses in the Spartan Health Regimen. I think its funny to so no worries. Thanks for the link to the article about the grains use of 100,000 years ago. Science isn't a process of invention but of discovery.

[Ryan Libke]

Getting back to the subject, I am just starting to eat paleo myself, and have lost weight (most of it fat, so that is good.) Still, I find that I need to get some carbs in, and I love sweet potatoes. Also, coconut milk might be another way to get some calories. A tall person who is laboring all day and exercising in the off hours is probably going to need tons of calories, plus lots of protein for recovery.

You can get some decent canned fish (salmon, shrimp, tuna) at Trader Joes for not too much, if there is one nearby. Also, check out Amazon's groceries. There are some good deals on-line if you don't have good shopping choices.

[Yeti]

Getting back to the subject, I am just starting to eat paleo myself, and have lost weight (most of it fat, so that is good.) Still, I find that I need to get some carbs in, and I love sweet potatoes. Also, coconut milk might be another way to get some calories. A tall person who is laboring all day and exercising in the off hours is probably going to need tons of calories, plus lots of protein for recovery.

You can get some decent canned fish (salmon, shrimp, tuna) at Trader Joes for not too much, if there is one nearby. Also, check out Amazon's groceries. There are some good deals on-line if you don't have good shopping choices.

Yeah cutting back on the carbs is grrrrreat! to lose fat. Because instead of burning carbs for fuel your body burns your fat. But to maintain a healthy weight and to pack on some serious muscle, carbs are an essential. I eat A LOT of carbs. I'm talking whole wheat pasta, fruit, and oatmeal. You have to listen to your body to meet your needs. I'm done getting shredded. My eight pack and the rest of my body agree. I don't want to keep losing weight so I up it on the carbs. Look at the crash course muscle building diet for reference I posted earlier. It has a lot of what I'm preaching.