Ridiculously busy and no time to cook. What do I eat?

[E27]

Just a bit of background, I lift and swim nearly every single day. In excellent shape. Eat very clean, my body is used to lots of chicken, fish, and steaks with a lot of veggies, proper carbs etc. Have a pretty lean physique. Interested in just maintaining it really, not looking to get super jacked.

Now the problem is when I go back to school I will once again have 0 time to keep all of this up and I lose weight extremely fast. Absolutely no time to cook for myself and fast food isn't really an option as I hate putting junk into my body. I've tried protein bars but I never get full enough and obviously they don't have any kind of sustainable nutritional balance. Don't have time to even make shakes or anything like that so I'm wondering what quick things can I buy that can last me throughout the day and will get me the necessary proteins/carbs/other nutrients?

[BookMonkey]

I recommend mass cooking one day a week. Find a hour or two that you can spend on the weekend to make food for the rest of the week. Put them in tupperware for each meal/day and go from there. You could even go longer if you freeze some of them so you don't have to worry about spoilage. There will be a significant loss of taste as opposed to cooking fresh, but, as a student, you gotta do what you gotta do.

[InItForFitness]

Just a bit of background, I lift and swim nearly every single day. In excellent shape. Eat very clean, my body is used to lots of chicken, fish, and steaks with a lot of veggies, proper carbs etc. Have a pretty lean physique. Interested in just maintaining it really, not looking to get super jacked.

Now the problem is when I go back to school I will once again have 0 time to keep all of this up and I lose weight extremely fast. Absolutely no time to cook for myself and fast food isn't really an option as I hate putting junk into my body. I've tried protein bars but I never get full enough and obviously they don't have any kind of sustainable nutritional balance. Don't have time to even make shakes or anything like that so I'm wondering what quick things can I buy that can last me throughout the day and will get me the necessary proteins/carbs/other nutrients?

Your BOLDED statements worry me.
I believe you need to do a bit of nutritional research.

As for your question, take one night a week to cook items in bulk and consume them throughout the week when convenient throughout your day (easiest/cheapest method).
Snack on fruits/veggies throughout the day for nutritional value and pack in a high calorie meal or due with plenty of protein/carbs either early morning or at night, whenever you have time before/between/or after class.

I'm sure there is plenty of time to cook 1-2 meals a day, in 15-20 minutes you can cook (and usually have time to eat) plenty of options.

A proper diet isn't a quick fix, you have to make time and be dedicated.

[E27]

I've tried mass cooking but unfortunately, only managed to do it twice this past semester. Cannot stress enough how little time I have so no, "plenty of time to cook 1-2 meals a day" is absolutely not an option. And of course a diet isn't a quick fix, but these are my circumstances right now.

[Lvisaa2]

How do you not have time? I worked full time. Was a double major. And lifted 5-6x/week. You make time. It takes 30 minutes in the morning to cook for the day. Or get a crockpot and throw it all in the night before. There are single mothers who work and still cook all their meals for their kids. Get their kids to school and their various activities. They have it was worse than you or I. Time to man up

[InItForFitness]

I've tried mass cooking but unfortunately, only managed to do it twice this past semester. Cannot stress enough how little time I have so no, "plenty of time to cook 1-2 meals a day" is absolutely not an option. And of course a diet isn't a quick fix, but these are my circumstances right now.

If you're going to school full time/working there is still time, I guarantee it, this is my situation and I can still sacrifice 15 minutes a day to cook a least one meal for myself.

You have to balance/sacrifice a bit of time somewhere else sometimes (whether its in a workout/time with friends/something)
You gotta just find the time, because for what you want to achieve you really don't have an option, unless you're gonna down a **** ton of canned tuna/chicken between classes with a high carb bar and piece of fruit.

[InItForFitness]

How do you not have time? I worked full time. Was a double major. And lifted 5-6x/week. You make time. It takes 30 minutes in the morning to cook for the day. Or get a crockpot and throw it all in the night before. There are single mothers who work and still cook all their meals for their kids. Get their kids to school and their various activities. They have it was worse than you or I. Time to man up

...well ****...bring the thunder.

[E27]

How do you not have time? I worked full time. Was a double major. And lifted 5-6x/week. You make time. It takes 30 minutes in the morning to cook for the day. Or get a crockpot and throw it all in the night before. There are single mothers who work and still cook all their meals for their kids. Get their kids to school and their various activities. They have it was worse than you or I. Time to man up

Yeah well those single mothers aren't in med school for 14 hours a day using their brain at max capacity all day. So when I say I don't have time, I really don't have time. We all have different circumstances, this is just the case for me. And I'd appreciate it if you guys could stop questioning that, I'm just looking for any kind of solutions.

Right now all I got is the canned tuna/chicken as InItForFitness said and fruits/nuts throughout the day. I've tried that and I kept it up fairly well but of course I'd like some more options. Anything else?

[InItForFitness]

Yeah well those single mothers aren't in med school for 14 hours a day using their brain at max capacity all day. So when I say I don't have time, I really don't have time. We all have different circumstances, this is just the case for me. And I'd appreciate it if you guys could stop questioning that, I'm just looking for any kind of solutions.

Right now all I got is the canned tuna/chicken as InItForFitness said and fruits/nuts throughout the day. I've tried that and I kept it up fairly well but of course I'd like some more options. Anything else?

That leaves you 10 hrs/day...still not seeing it.
Sorry, but you asked to opinions, you're gonna get the truth, were not here to baby you or spoon feed you simple solutions to your problem, especially when we see a bigger problem.
Sounds like you're just tired after a long day of class and don't wanna put in the necessary work to achieve your results.

The tuna suggestion is a joke, consuming high amounts of tuna weekly can be a dangerous venture.

[E27]

That leaves you 10 hrs/day...still not seeing it.
Sorry, but you asked to opinions, you're gonna get the truth, were not here to baby you or spoon feed you simple solutions to your problem, especially when we see a bigger problem.
Sounds like you're just tired after a long day of class and don't wanna put in the necessary work to achieve your results.

The tuna suggestion is a joke, consuming high amounts of tuna weekly can be a dangerous venture.

Of course I'm tired, no one's looking to get babied but it's not realistic to spend time on cooking when that time can go to studying. That's just the way it is. There's never enough time, I run out of time as it is.

And yes, I'm aware too much tuna is dangerous, I've mostly done chicken.

[Lvisaa2]

Here's what I do: wake up. Start up the foreman. Trim chicken. Throw it on the foreman. Go shower. Brush my teeth. Shave. Whatever. Then come back and my chicken is ready. Tada. I have cooked all my protein for the day.

[E27]

Here's what I do: wake up. Start up the foreman. Trim chicken. Throw it on the foreman. Go shower. Brush my teeth. Shave. Whatever. Then come back and my chicken is ready. Tada. I have cooked all my protein for the day.

Now that is a great suggestion. Didn't think of that. Easy clean up too. Thank you for that.

And carbs?

[InItForFitness]

Of course I'm tired, no one's looking to get babied but it's not realistic to spend time on cooking when that time can go to studying. That's just the way it is. There's never enough time, I run out of time as it is.

And yes, I'm aware too much tuna is dangerous, I've mostly done chicken.

Well than you have a decision to make.
Do you want to achieve your physique goals? Or are you not willing to lose that 20 minutes of study time?
Long term, those 20 minutes of study time really aren't going to have as severe of an effect on you as not consuming a proper meal/diet will.
I'd make the sacrifice, for your body's sake, and for sanity in general.

We've offered the advice we can at this point OP.
You've got a decision to make.

[InItForFitness]

Now that is a great suggestion. Didn't think of that. Easy clean up too. Thank you for that.

And carbs?

Instant mashed potatoes?
Boil water
Add milk/butter/flakes
Stir and consume.

Also bread, grain/granola bars, oats are a great quick morning source of carbs (2 minutes in the microwave)

[E27]

Instant mashed potatoes?
Boil water
Add milk/butter/flakes
Stir and consume.

Also bread, grain/granola bars, oats are a great quick morning source of carbs (2 minutes in the microwave)

That can work. I guess I'm used to spending some time on my cooking, I don't really do instant stuff. Should work out if I can cut down the cook/clean up time.

[InItForFitness]

That can work. I guess I'm used to spending some time on my cooking, I don't really do instant stuff. Should work out if I can cut down the cook/clean up time.

Now you're thinking sensibly.
There are plenty of easy-quick options, even though they require a bit of cooking, it's all about time management.
Multitask, study in the kitchen well your rice boils.
Do whatever you gotta do.

Mac and cheese is also a great option, very high in all your macros.

[Lvisaa2]

Fruit. Salads. Various things you can find in the little convenience and food shops on campus. Oats with protein powder is always easy. I actually don't mind dry oats and protein powder with just a touch of water. When I'm busy, I am simply using food as fuel for my body. Doesn't need to be a decadent meal. Just something I can throw down that keeps me going and nails my diet for the day

[E27]

Now you're thinking sensibly.
There are plenty of easy-quick options, even though they require a bit of cooking, it's all about time management.
Multitask, study in the kitchen well your rice boils.
Do whatever you gotta do.

Mac and cheese is also a great option, very high in all your macros.

I do the rice thing once in a while. Again, I spend most of my time at the actual school so I'm not able to take nice little breaks to go cook. Just takes too long to get back home, cook, clean, etc. But quick microwable options can work at school.

[Lvisaa2]

Additionally, rice cooker makes it really easy. Some have delay timers so you can set it up to be ready when you wake up. Like I said earlier, crockpot is great. Throw in some meat, veggies(both greens and starchy), with some sauce/spices. Let it cook overnight and you'll have a full day or two of food

[E27]

Fruit. Salads. Various things you can find in the little convenience and food shops on campus. Oats with protein powder is always easy. I actually don't mind dry oats and protein powder with just a touch of water. When I'm busy, I am simply using food as fuel for my body. Doesn't need to be a decadent meal. Just something I can throw down that keeps me going and nails my diet for the day

Yeah that's about all I manage. Oats and protein is a great idea.

[Blazer_2006]

Uncle Ben's ready rice. Microwave for a minute and a half and you got yourself some rice.. they have a ton of flavors, even plain brown and white rice...

[InItForFitness]

I do the rice thing once in a while. Again, I spend most of my time at the actual school so I'm not able to take nice little breaks to go cook. Just takes too long to get back home, cook, clean, etc. But quick microwable options can work at school.

In regards to this OP, just eat when it's convenient. You do not need to try and get meals in during the day if its too much of a hassle.
Get your calories from breakfast/dinner and make up the remaining little bit with small snacks throughout the day, rather than trying to get meals in on the to.

Simply another route to consider.

[E27]

In regards to this OP, just eat when it's convenient. You do not need to try and get meals in during the day if its too much of a hassle.
Get your calories from breakfast/dinner and make up the remaining little bit with small snacks throughout the day, rather than trying to get meals in on the to.

Simply another route to consider.

Yeah I'll try that. Thank you gentlemen. I'll try all the instant stuff and definitely that Foreman grill.

[BJons21]

Like it was mentioned before, I find it hard to believe that you have 0 hours to cook any food. If you really want to eat right then you will make it happen. You come across as thinking that not a single person in the world is busier than you. Do you seriously think that people have all this time to make meals, and go to the gym and spend time with family and whatever else is important to them, or do you think that maybe they make the time to just do it. Just stay up a little later, wake up a little earlier, dedicate a specific time every week to just cook a bunch of meals. Just get creative.

[InItForFitness]

Yeah I'll try that. Thank you gentlemen. I'll try all the instant stuff and definitely that Foreman grill.

Thank you for coming to your senses and thinking logically.
Best of luck man, please feel free to come back with any future questions.

[rich503]

Yeah I'll try that. Thank you gentlemen. I'll try all the instant stuff and definitely that Foreman grill.

There is plenty of time to cook and eat during medical school. Don't let your life fall apart now, things are going to get busier and harder every year...

[Vendetta52]

I have friends who are in medical school and they have plenty of time, it's all about time management. You made time to do the things you want to do and excuses for the things you don't, cooking is no different. I spend 2 hours on Sunday mass cooking chicken breasts, baked potatoes, and vegetables to have throughout the week with lunches. Dinner I get creative and cook my protein the night of. For potatoes, just nuke them in the microwave and top with whatever you want, simple and tasty. Buy frozen vegetables and nuke in the microwave and top with appropriate seasonings as well. The only "difficult" part of cooking is the protein source, but it is as easy as put it in the oven for a certain amount of time and then it's done. You can study and do whatever while it's cooking, only prep work of like 5 minutes is required beforehand.

[Domicron]

Instant mashed potatoes?
Boil water
Add milk/butter/flakes
Stir and consume.

Also bread, grain/granola bars, oats are a great quick morning source of carbs (2 minutes in the microwave)

instant mashed potatoes are less tasty and more expensive than real mashed potatoes. buy a big bag of potatoes, clean (peel if you need/like) and dice them into roughly 1 inch cubes and fit as many as you can into your biggest pot. cover with cold water, bring to boil. boil til fork tender.

strain, put back onto the heat for a minute to cook off extra water. start with a stick of butter (assuming at least 10 pounds of potatoes) and a good cup of milk and get to mashing. if its dry, add more milk, and if its not rich enough and fluffy enough then you add more butter. then add salt, plenty of it. put into a bowl. alternatively, skip the milk, salt and butter and just put in a cup or so of sour cream and a bag of shredded cheddar and then some green onion.

this way you have a few batches of mashed potatoes (they go quickly) and they're fun cuz you get to eat as you cook. and then you can make mashed potato cakes the next day

[BrentEvo]

Just give up. Always looking for a shortcut! I loathe these people. I wanna get in shape and draw looks and be strong but I don't want to have to do anything for it. You know who you sound like? A spoiled little girl.

Edit: just give up

[ELLSKIES]

Things that are simple and easy, IMO: Quest Bars, pre-cooked chicken (just nuke it), frozen veggies, edamame (again, just nuke, and consume). Greek yogurt (consume on-the-go), milk, peanut butter, cottage cheese, cheese, fruit, whey shakes (buy RTD ones if you need to), beef jerkey, etc.