Diesel's Bulk Plan... on a budget?

[blinkin_winkin]

Hey everyone,

I've been reading and researching Diesel's bulking plan for a while now. I've been able to find every component of his plan online and really want to start it. The only problem lies in my walet. The plan is terrific and no doubt achieves everything I want. It's just that my current budget doesn't allow me to delve into every component of it.

Is there a version of Diesel's Bulk Plan that achieves most of the goals but costs much less. I know I need to get Whey and Creatine. I can handle the food part. Are the vitamins and other components (glutamine, dextrose) vital?

I'd really like to bulk up and look great but I need a cheaper version. I can't afford to drop $100 every 2 months.

Thanks a lot,
Aaron

 

[Soshyopathe]

No, you don't need creatine. You can get the whey cheap at proteinfactory.com, and there's nothing cheaper than milk and eggs. You need the multivitamins, flax oil, and whatnot.

 

[blinkin_winkin]

Originally posted by Soshyopathe
No, you don't need creatine. You can get the whey cheap at proteinfactory.com, and there's nothing cheaper than milk and eggs. You need the multivitamins, flax oil, and whatnot.

Thanks for the quick reply!

So I need the Vit. C & E? How about the CLA, dextrose, and MRPs?

MRPs are really damn expensive. That was the first thing I saw that I was planning to throw out. Are they needed?

Aaron

 

[D'Anconia]

Dextrose is vital. Actually, a better choice for a post workout drink is 1.5 or 2 scoops of whey mixed with a 50/50 blend of dextrose and maltodextrin. Both are fast absorbing carbs, but dextrose is a simple sugar, while maltodextrin is complex. Dextrose is dirt cheap. You should be able to find it in a bulk food store under the common name "corn sugar". About $10 will get you enough for months. Maltodextrin is a little harder to find. You can get it at most online supp shops, however they sugar coat it with a fancy label, and jack up the price a bit. Home brewery places might sell you some. It's an ingredient used in making wine. Just tell them you make your own at home and need to buy some malto. Dextrose alone will suffice as a decent 2nd choice.

For protein - milk, eggs, cottage cheese, ground beef, canned tuna should be your staples if you're on a budget. If you're really that hard up for cash, get some milk powder. It's incredibly inexpensive, but the drying process lowers the quality of the milk protein, and might make you drop protein bombs all day.

 

[D'Anconia]

homemade MRP

One more thing - skip the MRPs. Make your own at home. Get a blender, some cottage cheese, some low fat sugar reduced pudding mix and you can simulate Myoplex right at home. If you want to bulk up, my favourite is a cup of cottage cheese, chocolate pudding mix, a scoop of natural peanut butter and maybe some cooked oatmeal. Be careful, this might break your blender. You need to add water to the mix to get it going. Chug a few of those each day and you'll beef up for sure.

 

[blinkin_winkin]

Thanks D'Anconia. Welcome to the forums!

That's some really good advice. I really liked the idea for homemade MRPs. I hate cottage cheese but maybe after mixing it with the rest of the stuff it'll work.

Any other really good budget-friendly ideas out there anyone?

Aaron

 

[DJ Girevik]

Buy a huge tub of peanuts. I swear, these buggers never fill me up, and I weigh 225. They have good mono fats, relatively low carbs (unless you get honeyroasted), and are a good protein source.

 

[Big N]

You don't need CLA or Glutamine either.

 

[sonick182]

Oatmeal is a cheap source of Carbs

Cottage Cheese is a good source of protein as well, though it looks and tastes like puke.

 

[DJ Girevik]

Oh yeah. Milk and yogurt are also good sources of protein and calories. Each one has 12 grams per cup...

 

[sonick182]

Milk has a lot of fat though, just FYI

 

[blinkin_winkin]

Originally posted by sonick182
Milk has a lot of fat though, just FYI

Yes it normally does. I go the skim milk route. I think it's 9 grams of protein and 90 cals per cup. Not bad at all.

Aaron

 

[lemieux66]

beef jerkey is high in protein and low in fat.

not like slim jims and stuff like that, the dried out, chewy stuff.

 

[Shiftkey]

If you drop all the junk and fast food you should fit the diet in your budget.

One more thing - skip the MRPs. Make your own at home. Get a blender, some cottage cheese, some low fat sugar reduced pudding mix and you can simulate Myoplex right at home. If you want to bulk up, my favourite is a cup of cottage cheese, chocolate pudding mix, a scoop of natural peanut butter and maybe some cooked oatmeal. Be careful, this might break your blender. You need to add water to the mix to get it going. Chug a few of those each day and you'll beef up for sure.

I'm sure this makes a good shake, but it kind of defeats the purpose of MRPs - convenience. It takes me less than 2 minutes to make and clean my MRP in a shake-up cup. Cooking oatmeal, finding 3 other ingredients and cleaning the blender and scoops must take more than 2 minutes.

IMO it would be better to just have a normal meal if you don't need the convenience of a MRP.

 

[D'Anconia]

Originally posted by Shiftkey
I'm sure this makes a good shake, but it kind of defeats the purpose of MRPs - convenience. It takes me less than 2 minutes to make and clean my MRP in a shake-up cup. Cooking oatmeal, finding 3 other ingredients and cleaning the blender and scoops must take more than 2 minutes.

IMO it would be better to just have a normal meal if you don't need the convenience of a MRP.

That's a fine point, but the subject of the quote is bulking on a budget. Not only is my suggestion cheap, it's high quality muscle building fuel. Oatmeal is perhaps the best source of complex carbohydrates out there. Cottage cheese is casein-dense and is extremely high quality, digestable protein. Casein is slower-digesting, meaning it is a preferable protein source outside of the post-workout window. Commercial MRPs use mostly whey, or at the very least, a whey/casein blend. If you are lazy and don't want to put in the extra effort, than my suggestion may not be the way to go. However, body builders need to eat 6 times a day at least. I personally cannot afford 3 meals in addition to 3 MRPs. That's why I need these extra "quick" meals in between. FYI, you don't need to add oatmeal. Fruit is also an okay choice, although large amounts of fructose aren't advised. Or you can do what the supplement companies do, add maltodextrin. The only negative aspect is that a higher insulin response will be had. This is why commercial MRPs are over-rated, IMO.

 

[D'Anconia]

Originally posted by sonick182
Milk has a lot of fat though, just FYI

Skim milk has 0 g of fat. Blinkin_winkin, if you're a real hard-gainer (ie. can eat a lot of junk food and not get fat), don't worry about the fat in milk. It can even be beneficial. I know quite a few former skinny guys who added a lot of size simply by drinking a lot of milk. The extra calories from the milk sugar and fat helped them get to their daily quota, which they never would have made since regular meals fill them up so much.

 

[blinkin_winkin]

Originally posted by D'Anconia
Skim milk has 0 g of fat. Blinkin_winkin, if you're a real hard-gainer (ie. can eat a lot of junk food and not get fat), don't worry about the fat in milk. It can even be beneficial. I know quite a few former skinny guys who added a lot of size simply by drinking a lot of milk. The extra calories from the milk sugar and fat helped them get to their daily quota, which they never would have made since regular meals fill them up so much.

I'm not sure if I'm a hardgainer or not. I've stayed skinny for a long time and eaten a pretty good size of junk food. The thing is I would always skip meals. Only eating dinner 5 days a week. It was a big meal but still NO other meals. Snacks every now and then though.

I've only been eating really well for about a week and a half now. I have gained some weight but not a lot.

Aaron

 

[blinkin_winkin]

Any new views on how to bulk when your wallet doesn't bulk. (hahaha... i am soooo funny!... or not...)

 

[bigforearms]

You'll probably want to supplement with whey powder. If you're buying the right brand, it'll be a cheaper protein source than almost any of the other stuff you could buy at the grocery store.

Everything else is unnecessary. You need NO supplements to bulk properly. Creatine will be helpful, but isn't necessary. Almost everything else is extreme nitpicking of your diet, and I'd only suggest that to people who have been lifting steadily for more than a few years. Just do your research and figure out which foods at the grocery store you need to make a good bulking diet. It's a lot cheaper (and just as effective if you pull it off right) than buying lots of supplements.

Bulking is about calories; it's not about buying CLA, multivitamins, flax oil, the first milk from the mother of a newborn calf, baboon boogers, or whatever else the supplement companies decide to sell you. Sure, you should get the right amount of macronutrients, vitamins, minerals, etc. for maximum performance, but you don't need to supplement to get them.