KETO!.....With a TON of calories, for broke students..

Hey all, thought I'd ask for help with a Keto diet for focus and mental capability in school.

As a student I only possess the time for a post like this. So please help!
I stand (and sit) six feet six inches tall, and am pretty thin already at 180lbs so the focus isn't for gaining weight although it'd be nice.

Here's the goals

3360 Calories
70% 261g Fat
25% 210g Protein
5% 42g Carbs

If anyone knows a little something about bulk cooking, recipes, and shopping lists, don't hesitate to send me advice even if it's condescending (lol). Praying there might be someone here willing to share what they do. I don't exactly have the time I need to plan this out myself!

Replies

  • __Roxy__
    __Roxy__ Posts: 825 Member
    Oh I wish I could help! This is so much more food than I could ever eat in one day. I work to crack 100g protein a day and I chill on fats because I'm aiming for weight loss.

    All I can suggest is lots of animal products... with those kinds of numbers you'll need all the steak, chicken, butter and cheese you can get! Maybe lots of pepperoni? It's high fat/protein. Good luck... I get what it's like being a student, the restraints on time and budget.

    Perhaps adding mct oil to your diet for fat and brain function?? :)
  • mlinton_mesapark
    mlinton_mesapark Posts: 517 Member
    Hi there,

    I've been working on getting in the habit of bulk cooking for myself and my family, so while we're not exactly in the same boat, I think a lot still applies:

    *Look for big cuts of meat you can roast. Look for easy roast recipes on the internet. It really doesn't have to be more complicated than salt, pepper and a little fat of some sort to keep the roast from drying out. Pork shoulder, Boston butt roast, chuck roast, whole chicken or turkey. Pick a day when you can monitor the oven over several hours. If you want to get some vegetables in, you can peel and roughly chop some carrots, onions, squash, broccoli or cauliflower and/or slice up a whole head of cabbage, drizzle it in olive oil and roast the meat on top of it. The veggies will roast in the meat juice, and turn out delicious.

    *Nuts and nut butters, avocados and cheese are nutrient-dense and handy, if you tolerate them well.

    *Boil and peel a dozen eggs and keep them in the fridge for a grab-and-go snack. Or make a batch (or several) of egg muffins (no flour, just egg to bind whatever ingredients you choose: bacon, sausage, vegetables, cheese, etc.)

    Wishing you the best of health and success!

  • mlinton_mesapark
    mlinton_mesapark Posts: 517 Member
    Oh, canned fish is cheap, easy and shelf-stable. Canned fish + any greens = instant salad that's filling enough for a meal.
  • Cheesy567
    Cheesy567 Posts: 1,186 Member
    Invest in an InstantPot for batch cooking, you can make huge batches of stews and roasts in no time, and save a bunch of money that way. Plus, it’s relatively small and fits in a dorm room easily.
  • Cheesy567
    Cheesy567 Posts: 1,186 Member
    And, check with your grocery store meat department to see if they’ll pre-cut your meat for you, buy whatever’s on sale and freeze it in the sizes you need to batch cook. Huge time and energy saver on bulk cooking days.

    I cook 6qt of soup/ stew at a time, with 2pounds of meat per batch. My grocer’s butcher will chop it into 1/2 inch cubes for me, and package it in 2-pound packs. I’ll buy 2-5 of whatever’s on sale, and freeze the extra. They chop and package it to order for free— I just call ahead to place the order and set a pick-up time.

    Other time savers— keep in mind that frozen veggies are pre-cut and usually have better nutrition than the fresh produce anyways. Frozen chopped onions are the way to go. Bags of coleslaw mix make an easy salad base that holds up better than lettuce when you’re packing a lunch.

    When you’re batch cooking, keep a pan of soapy water in the sink and clean as you go.
  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,628 Member
    +1 on the canned fish - I like canned mackerel, and the price point is good. Not everyone is the fan. Check out the cans of "chunk chicken" at Walmart.

    Where I live you can get a 10 lb bag of chicken leg quarters for $6.99. Cook them and keep them in the fridge. I do bacon and eggs for breakfast almost every day, but the protein total is low. You might need to add some protein if you are looking at 60-70 protein g per meal.
  • mlinton_mesapark
    mlinton_mesapark Posts: 517 Member
    P.S. Check out the "KETO Hacks" thread on the launchpad. Tons of good ideas there.
  • mikethornton117
    mikethornton117 Posts: 9 Member
    Oh I wish I could help! This is so much more food than I could ever eat in one day. I work to crack 100g protein a day and I chill on fats because I'm aiming for weight loss.

    All I can suggest is lots of animal products... with those kinds of numbers you'll need all the steak, chicken, butter and cheese you can get! Maybe lots of pepperoni? It's high fat/protein. Good luck... I get what it's like being a student, the restraints on time and budget.

    Perhaps adding mct oil to your diet for fat and brain function?? :)

    Thanks! And to everyone else. I just ate animal protein for the first time today in a very long time. Tasted freakin’ amazing but inflammation has come back as well as an axe to the face in my cardio times.. What gives?
  • kirkor
    kirkor Posts: 2,530 Member
    I just ate animal protein for the first time today in a very long time. Tasted freakin’ amazing but inflammation has come back as well as an axe to the face in my cardio times.. What gives?

    Something else is afoot

  • Keto_Vampire
    Keto_Vampire Posts: 1,670 Member
    Not sure how you could do that much protein daily with those macro ratios on a budget without regularly consuming some form of animal protein (unless you are really liberal and consume lots of whey protein and egg whites?)

    Yeah, bulk EVOO, cabbage, & cheap protein sources (tuna, chicken, eggs) were my go to foods for meeting budget in college. Good luck
  • catherineg3
    catherineg3 Posts: 127 Member
    your best bets on cheap protein are eggs and chicken and cheese. I find grocery store rotisserie chickens are a quick easy meal, and then boil down the bones for soup, which gives another meal at good economy. You just have to get used to tossing in some veggies for the soup instead of noodles.
    vegetarian and keto don't go well together as vegetable sources of protein like beans and grains have loads of carbs.

    Remember to focus on fats to keep the keto balance right. Add fat/butter/coconut oil/olive oil to everything. I use cheese, olives and nuts for easy high fat low carb snacks, although you need to keep an eye on quantity to stay under a strict carb limit. Avocados are a great snack, high fat and most carbs are fiber, so very low net carb.
  • mtizi
    mtizi Posts: 28 Member
    I do coconut oil chocolate.
    1/2c coconut oil
    1/4 coco powder
    2tbsp sweetener
    I make them in bulk and throw them in the freezer
  • prepared chickens are easy grab and go.