What if you have little control of what you can eat?

[Amo]

tl;dr version - How can I maximize my gains when I don't have a lot of control with regards to my food and cash?

Like most teens, I'd like to start working out. I have done a little here and there, and I've read a lot of about the stuff, so once I get into a gym on a regular basis, I think I'll be okay. But being the perfectionist I am, I'd really like to maximize the gains possible. I understand how especially important the diet and (to a lesser standard) the supplements are.

But, like most teens, I live with my parents. Because of this, I can't really control my diet as much as I'd like to. Just getting enough protein in my diet is likely to be a challenge - let alone trying to have the ridiculously detailed diets that Anthony Ellis spits out.

I'm also not exactly loaded when it comes to cash - I get about 40 bucks a month. It's not horrible, but in everything-is-imported-really-expensively Bahrain, it's not that much, and supplements are quite expensive. The internet is useless to me too, because I find that most suppliers either don't ship here or do at high prices.

So, I'd like some advice from the Don Juans 'round here - how can I maximize my gains when I have such little control with regards to my food and cash? Just by eyeballing, I would like to say that my family eats pretty healthily - we cook at home and cook right. There's usually lots of meat for me to eat and my family's legendarily simple salad is a fixture at dinner. The food's not too fatty or sweet or anything like that, and I only treat myself to junk food every now and then.

So maybe I'm better off than the people who eat out every other night. But I've really gotten sick of being so scrawny and unathletic, and I want to do this right and get great gains. I've turned to my favorite forum to help me out.

So, DJs, help me out. What tips do you have for a guy who can't follow cookie-cutter diets but still wants great gains? And if you had to pick two or three supplements (e.g. whey protein, MRPs, fish oil, etc.), what would they be?

 

[ArcBound]

Is there any chance you can just ask your parents to cook more food? I doubt they will deny you food to grow... Other than that you will probably have to get a job and earn money to buy more food.

If supplements like whey cost a lot for you, then its probably more economical to use your money to buy food. You can get all your nutrients without supplements, though if you were getting a supplement the only one I'd get is a multi-vitamin.

 

[StateOfMind]

In your situation... Don't even bother with supplements... Buy tons of eggs, brown rice, moderate amounts of tuna, chicken breasts and tubs of peanut butter... Alll are extremely cheap... now go stock up!

 

[Huffman]

What he said. You can always add some tuna(30g protein a can) or a couple of boiled eggs(~6g each) in between, just as a snack. Or drink a big glass of milk(~10g) before going to bed everyday.

I have a question about peanut butter though, I've avoided it mostly because it has 50g of fat... your thoughts?

 

[StateOfMind]

Fats in peanut butter are healthy for you.
Fats in peanut butter consists of Mono, poly, and saturated fats... All of the good fats except trans which you should avoid. Make sure you buy NATuRAL peanut butter though, the amount of fat you want to consume depends on your daily macro percentages but in general don't be afraid to consume fats its good for you.

 

[Amo]

Thanks for the great replies guys!

@ArcBound:

Nah, cooking more is not a problem at all. In a world of calculated diets and crap though, I'm afraid I'll get the wrong balance of food or whatever.

I think I can get my parents to buy me the multi-vitamins, so I can probably get one other supplement - should I get protein?

A job isn't really possible where I live, there are basically no jobs for teens out here - loads of cheap expatriate labor already and teens are laaazy here. If you've got any good online money-making schemes with only a moderate time investment though, I'm all ears. Thank you for the suggestions though.

@StateofMind: Does brown rice vs. white rice really make a difference? And why only moderate amounts of tuna? My family's pretty big on tuna, so eating lots of it won't be strange. But thanks for the suggestions.

@Huffman: Huh, I was avoiding peanut butter for the same reason. The more you know, I guess.

Another question: I used to be allergic to eggs and milk (in my early childhood), but over the past year I've discovered that my allergies have disappeared! Any suggestions for making these two foods tastier for someone who never really got used to the taste?

 

[The Bad Ass Canadian]

Definitely don't worry about the supplements. focus on getting the highest quality foods you can, into your body.

eating crap and using expensive supplements is akin to building a wooden boat but using golden nails.