Help with a cheap bulking diet for a ectomorph..

[russianguy192]

Officially I'm posting regarding some help sorting out my diet issue, Its been 6 months that i have been working out and gaining no results, I've lost all the motivation to hit the gym for the past 2 months, i pretty much gave up on myself, but at the moment I'm trying to get back on my feet.

I weigh 119lb/55-59Kg and I'm 5"9, i have about 3-5% in fat, and I'm going to be 18 next month, which would consider me being an ectomorph, I remember when i started training and i was so motivated to hit the gym and so motivated to pack up some muscle, but my diet plan was a failure i could never keep track of it cause i was always on a busy schedule or cause i just didn't have enough funds for food, so i pretty much sucked on that one, i ended up losing a couple cm on my waist, and 1-2cm around my arms but i never noticed cause i looked more toned, but still skinny .

I always believe its my fast metabolism, yes I'm an ectomorph , but maybe its true its just me not eating enough!

I already have done some research, and yes i have already tried the search engine so there wasn't anything i could find useful other than what cheap bulking foods i can use for the diet, which i already know, but i can't seem to find any diets consistent for my needs.

I'm very strained on money and only make an average of about $120 NZD a week but i have about $80 in expenses!!, I go to tech, and i live with my family at the moment so our food budget is high but we still don't manage to have enough food!

Everything costs a lot.. I remember when i spent over $250 NZD ( i live in new zealand ) just on supplements to help with and i found it to be a waste of money..

Currently i am not happy with myself at the moment but I'm trying the best i can to motivate myself to hit the gym and start all over again and work on the area i struggle with.

So I've calculated how much consumption i need and all, i know which foods are cheap and such but I'm completely lost on how to make a daily diet for myself as i just am not diet expert and believe I'm just going to be able to make one and being lost again with it..

Here is what my requirements are:

2200-2600 Calories
260-325g Carbs
190-200g Protein
60g Fat

Does this really sound right? I went through this website looking at different articles so I'm not completely sure..

And is it okay to skip meals if you have a busy schedule? Like at work and sometimes I'm not even able to to have a meal after about 4-5 hours cause just the way my work schedule works, even at tech i have a 4 hour interval in classes till i have lunch, and i find it very difficult to even able to eat every 3 hours! how do you even manage to eat every 3 hours with having a very busy schedule and lifestyle?

But I would appreciate it if someone could give me a good sample diet thats very dirt cheap and enough to sustain my needs.

I'm just lost and don't know what to do :/ and I don't want to sound lazy based from my post, but I've sincerely done all the research i can on the net and just can't find any sample diet article to meet my needs..

Cheers

[watermelon_2001]

If you look at any generic bodybuilding diet, then you can essentially use that as a template for building your own diet. The only real work you have to do is determine the serving sizes you require in order to reach your desired calorie total.

A sample diet would be something like...

Breakfast;
Eggs (Add in a few additional whites)
Oatmeal
Fruit

Snack;
PB and Jelly sandwich
Tub of Natural Greek Yoghurt (This stuff is a decent protein source, ~10g per 100g)

Lunch;
Tuna and Pasta Salad with Avocado

Snack (Pre-workout);
Oatmeal
Whey Protein
Peanut Butter

Post-Workout;
1-2 Banana's
Whey Protein

Dinner;
Fish/ Chicken/ Turkey/ Beef
Sweet Potato
Vegetables

Before Bed;
Cottage Cheese/ Casein Protein
Peanut Butter
Oatmeal (Nothing wrong with carbs in the evening, but if you've issues about it then drop this)

Just determine how much of what you need at each meal to add up to your calorie target.

[Leigh91]

Here is what my requirements are:

2200-2600 Calories
260-325g Carbs
190-200g Protein
60g Fat

Does this really sound right? I went through this website looking at different articles so I'm not completely sure..

For Calories i would say you need to bump it up higher to give a shock to your system. For your weight/size, maybe push it closer to 3000 for a week, then back to 2700 for couple weeks, then bang it up to 3200 for a week, then back to 2800, etc.
Thats right for carbs i'd say if your hitting the high end. No lower than 300 i would recommend. For protien, and your size id say thats abit high, drop it down to 160 - 170g, as you will find it hard to get that much protein in one day!
And for you, i would say forget about your fat intake, dont even think about it, try and eat healthy, staying away from chocolate etc, but don't worry about it at the moment, just eat eat and eat more. To get big you have to eat big, fat wont really have that much, if any of a negative affect on you at the moment, it will most likely increase your hormone production of usefull anabolic hormones like testosterone!

Regarding training, stick to compound movement. Forget about isolating your biceps and triceps etc for now. You want to get bigger. Stick to basic, big compound movements such as Bench Press, Shoulder Press, Squats, Pull-ups, Dips and Deadlifts. Lift heavy, 6 - 8 reps for around 3-4 sets and finish off with 1-2 burnout sets for 12 - 15 reps. This will release the most hormones and build mass. Watermelon_2001 has given you a good sample diet. Here's an example for your workout

Sample Workout:

Monday - Chest & Biceps

Warm up - Shoulder width Press ups - 2 sets of 30. 1min Rest between sets.

Flat Bench Press - 3 Sets of 6 reps. 2min Rest between sets.
Flat Bench Press - 2 Sets of 12 reps. 1min Rest between sets.

Incline Bench press - 3 Sets of 8 reps. 2min Rest between sets.
Incline Bench press - 2 Sets of 15 reps. 1min Rest between sets.

Pull-ups - 4 sets till failure. 1min 30sec Rest between sets.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday - Rest

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday - Legs & Triceps

Warm up - Squat with 1/2 of your 6 rep weight - 2 sets of 10 reps. 1min Rest between sets.

Squats - 2 Sets of 6 reps. 2min Rest between sets.
Squats - 2 Sets of 8 reps. 2min Rest between sets.
Squats - 2 Sets of 15 reps. 1min Rest between sets.

Hamstring Curls - 3 sets of 5 reps. 2min Rest between sets.
Hamstring Curls - 3 sets of 12 reps. 1min 30sec Rest between sets.

Sprints - 10 sets of 50m. 1min Rest between sets.

Parallel Bar Dips - 5 sets till failure. 1min 30secs Rest between sets.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Thursday - Rest

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Friday - Back & Shoulders

Warm up - Deadlifts - Just the bar. 2 sets of 15 reps. 1min Rest between sets.
Warm up - Deadlifts - 1/2 of 6 rep weight. 1 set of 10 reps.
Warm up - Deadlifts - 3/4 of 6 rep weight. 1 set of 6 reps.

Deadlifts - 3 sets of 6 reps. 2min Rest between sets.
Deadlifts - 2 sets of 10 reps. 1min 30sec Rest between sets.

Bent over Rows - 2 sets of 6 reps. 2mins Rest between sets.
Bent over Rows - 2 sets of 10 reps. 1min 30secs Rest between sets.

Shoulder press - 4 sets of 8 reps. 2mins Rest between sets.


-----------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday - Rest


-----------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday - Rest


-----------------------------------------------------------------

Train big. Eat big. Get big!

Goodluck!

[russianguy192]

If you look at any generic bodybuilding diet, then you can essentially use that as a template for building your own diet. The only real work you have to do is determine the serving sizes you require in order to reach your desired calorie total.

A sample diet would be something like...

Breakfast;
Eggs (Add in a few additional whites)
Oatmeal
Fruit

Snack;
PB and Jelly sandwich
Tub of Natural Greek Yoghurt (This stuff is a decent protein source, ~10g per 100g)

Lunch;
Tuna and Pasta Salad with Avocado

Snack (Pre-workout);
Oatmeal
Whey Protein
Peanut Butter

Post-Workout;
1-2 Banana's
Whey Protein

Dinner;
Fish/ Chicken/ Turkey/ Beef
Sweet Potato
Vegetables

Before Bed;
Cottage Cheese/ Casein Protein
Peanut Butter
Oatmeal (Nothing wrong with carbs in the evening, but if you've issues about it then drop this)

Just determine how much of what you need at each meal to add up to your calorie target.

Since i haven't got any protein powder at the moment, is it always necessary? cause those run out pretty quick, my 1KG cost me $50 NZD and lasted less than a month. Is it possible to go on a diet without supplements? I have left overs and been starting to retake creatine but still..

That diet looks good, but don't know how to even measure it out at all :S. how do you guys measure your food?

[russianguy192]

For Calories i would say you need to bump it up higher to give a shock to your system. For your weight/size, maybe push it closer to 3000 for a week, then back to 2700 for couple weeks, then bang it up to 3200 for a week, then back to 2800, etc.
Thats right for carbs i'd say if your hitting the high end. No lower than 300 i would recommend. For protien, and your size id say thats abit high, drop it down to 160 - 170g, as you will find it hard to get that much protein in one day!
And for you, i would say forget about your fat intake, dont even think about it, try and eat healthy, staying away from chocolate etc, but don't worry about it at the moment, just eat eat and eat more. To get big you have to eat big, fat wont really have that much, if any of a negative affect on you at the moment, it will most likely increase your hormone production of usefull anabolic hormones like testosterone!

Regarding training, stick to compound movement. Forget about isolating your biceps and triceps etc for now. You want to get bigger. Stick to basic, big compound movements such as Bench Press, Shoulder Press, Squats, Pull-ups, Dips and Deadlifts. Lift heavy, 6 - 8 reps for around 3-4 sets and finish off with 1-2 burnout sets for 12 - 15 reps. This will release the most hormones and build mass. Watermelon_2001 has given you a good sample diet. Here's an example for your workout

Sample Workout:

Monday - Chest & Biceps

Warm up - Shoulder width Press ups - 2 sets of 30. 1min Rest between sets.

Flat Bench Press - 3 Sets of 6 reps. 2min Rest between sets.
Flat Bench Press - 2 Sets of 12 reps. 1min Rest between sets.

Incline Bench press - 3 Sets of 8 reps. 2min Rest between sets.
Incline Bench press - 2 Sets of 15 reps. 1min Rest between sets.

Pull-ups - 4 sets till failure. 1min 30sec Rest between sets.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday - Rest

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday - Legs & Triceps

Warm up - Squat with 1/2 of your 6 rep weight - 2 sets of 10 reps. 1min Rest between sets.

Squats - 2 Sets of 6 reps. 2min Rest between sets.
Squats - 2 Sets of 8 reps. 2min Rest between sets.
Squats - 2 Sets of 15 reps. 1min Rest between sets.

Hamstring Curls - 3 sets of 5 reps. 2min Rest between sets.
Hamstring Curls - 3 sets of 12 reps. 1min 30sec Rest between sets.

Sprints - 10 sets of 50m. 1min Rest between sets.

Parallel Bar Dips - 5 sets till failure. 1min 30secs Rest between sets.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Thursday - Rest

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Friday - Back & Shoulders

Warm up - Deadlifts - Just the bar. 2 sets of 15 reps. 1min Rest between sets.
Warm up - Deadlifts - 1/2 of 6 rep weight. 1 set of 10 reps.
Warm up - Deadlifts - 3/4 of 6 rep weight. 1 set of 6 reps.

Deadlifts - 3 sets of 6 reps. 2min Rest between sets.
Deadlifts - 2 sets of 10 reps. 1min 30sec Rest between sets.

Bent over Rows - 2 sets of 6 reps. 2mins Rest between sets.
Bent over Rows - 2 sets of 10 reps. 1min 30secs Rest between sets.

Shoulder press - 4 sets of 8 reps. 2mins Rest between sets.


-----------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday - Rest


-----------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday - Rest


-----------------------------------------------------------------

Train big. Eat big. Get big!

Goodluck!

Thanks mate!

I wasn't so worried about my workout but i did a mix form of big compound workouts with some isolating workouts so i saw improvement on all my muscles, i will start interpreting it into my workouts and see if i can add anything else in.

[Leigh91]

That diet looks good, but don't know how to even measure it out at all :S. how do you guys measure your food?

Measure it by its nutritional values per 100g. On anything you buy it will have information on it telling you its nutritional values per 100g. Aim to get 30g of protein per meal, 60g+ of carbs and 500 calories (kcal). Try to eat 5 - 6 meals a day. Hope this helps.

[russianguy192]

Measure it by its nutritional values per 100g. On anything you buy it will have information on it telling you its nutritional values per 100g. Aim to get 30g of protein per meal, 60g+ of carbs and 500 calories (kcal). Try to eat 5 - 6 meals a day. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the advice, now i have a last question? how do i come about meeting 5-6 meals a day between 3 hour intervals if my study time and workplace won't allow it? I mean how do you fit having 5-6 meals a day if you have busy schedules which would allow you have to say have a meal after 4-5 hours ? Thats only thing i can never understand how to manage.. people say eat 5-6 meals, 1 meal every 3 hours but how do they manage to have all the time in the world to eat that much anyway?

[Leigh91]

Thanks for the advice, now i have a last question? how do i come about meeting 5-6 meals a day between 3 hour intervals if my study time and workplace won't allow it? I mean how do you fit having 5-6 meals a day if you have busy schedules which would allow you have to say have a meal after 4-5 hours ? Thats only thing i can never understand how to manage.. people say eat 5-6 meals, 1 meal every 3 hours but how do they manage to have all the time in the world to eat that much anyway?

Ok, well your obviously a very busy guy. Maybe you could arrange with your work/study to allow you to bring packed lunches and have them at small short breaks. I dont know what you do so its hard for me to advise. If your work/study will not accept you having pre packed food and breaks, then i would recommend a minimum of 4 meals, making them slightly larger, E.g. Breakfast - 8.00am, Lunch 12.00pm, Meal 4.00pm, Dinner 8.00pm. This is only an example. Can you not fit something in like that? (add in a protein shake after your workout of corse).

[russianguy192]

Ok, well your obviously a very busy guy. Maybe you could arrange with your work/study to allow you to bring packed lunches and have them at small short breaks. I dont know what you do so its hard for me to advise. If your work/study will not accept you having pre packed food and breaks, then i would recommend a minimum of 4 meals, making them slightly larger, E.g. Breakfast - 8.00am, Lunch 12.00pm, Meal 4.00pm, Dinner 8.00pm. This is only an example. Can you not fit something in like that? (add in a protein shake after your workout of corse).

Cheers mate, don't know how much i can thank you!

[alang184]

Hello Russianguy192.

Make sure you eat at least 45 minutes before doing a workout; plenty of complex carbohydrates (around 70g). Also, it's is VERY important to eat immediately after the workout. Some people recommend 50%/50% simple/complex carbs (around 70g total).

I find good complex carbs to be from wholegrain bread, wholegrain pasta, wheat. The only good cereal I can find in the cereal aisle is 'Shredded Wheat'. A pan of good quality wholegrain bread is great value; 800g for around 1.50 euro (whatever that is in NZ currency).

Good value protein - Tuna. I always buy John West tuna. Any brand can be ok, but just check the nutritional content; protein should be in the 30s%.

Watch out with red meat - it should be at least 20-25% protein. Recently I've had some organic round steaks - a tad costly, but a whopping 36.1% protein! But generally, if the red meat is <20% protein, I always avoid it because it's either processed, or just no good.

Of course, the more active you are, the greater your calorie intake must be. It's especially important if you do any sports etc, or even just an active day, to compensate with added calories (Search google for some calorie-intake calculator websites).

The most valuable thing I can say is, don't stress out! You're only 17 (or nearly 18), and you're already on this website, taking in valuable information and ideas. I wish I did this when I was 17! See it as an early opportunity to get informed about what exactly you need to do, and what your plans should be.

[russianguy192]

Hello Russianguy192.

Make sure you eat at least 45 minutes before doing a workout; plenty of complex carbohydrates (around 70g). Also, it's is VERY important to eat immediately after the workout. Some people recommend 50%/50% simple/complex carbs (around 70g total).

I find good complex carbs to be from wholegrain bread, wholegrain pasta, wheat. The only good cereal I can find in the cereal aisle is 'Shredded Wheat'. A pan of good quality wholegrain bread is great value; 800g for around 1.50 euro (whatever that is in NZ currency).

Good value protein - Tuna. I always buy John West tuna. Any brand can be ok, but just check the nutritional content; protein should be in the 30s%.

Watch out with red meat - it should be at least 20-25% protein. Recently I've had some organic round steaks - a tad costly, but a whopping 36.1% protein! But generally, if the red meat is <20% protein, I always avoid it because it's either processed, or just no good.

Of course, the more active you are, the greater your calorie intake must be. It's especially important if you do any sports etc, or even just an active day, to compensate with added calories (Search google for some calorie-intake calculator websites).

The most valuable thing I can say is, don't stress out! You're only 17 (or nearly 18), and you're already on this website, taking in valuable information and ideas. I wish I did this when I was 17! See it as an early opportunity to get informed about what exactly you need to do, and what your plans should be.

Thanks for the comment.. I've been sticking to the diet and the workout so far, going good at the moment for the first 2 days, pretty hard to stick to it as its very time consuming, lucky i am on holiday at the moment.

Been going back loading up on creatine, I'm 115lb, which sucks so I wanna end up getting 35 pounds end of this year which is my goal.

The thing is when i did my chest workout yesterday, i can't seem to have the energy or the strength to lift heavy on bench press and can't seem to do many reps. I've been going to the gym for 6 months but had made no gains but more strength, but still.. just made a big alternation to eat more and hopefully get some gains.