Tips, and a cheaper diet?

this will be quite a long read, but i want to give as much detail as possible so it will be easier to get tips from anyone willing to help :)

I am completely new to body building, and I will be going to the gym for the first time tomorrow.  I am basing my routine and diet on Sean Nalewanyj's "The Truth About Building Muscle."  Some people are skeptical on the value of this program, but since it was given to me for free i will be using it as a starting point.

My story: Always had a small frame since i was a kid, can eat like a pig and not gain weight, been stuck at 125lbs for at least 4 years now, 21 yrs old.  I am returning to school end of this year, and right now I'm working part time to pay off thousands of dollars of debt.  I work at a busy fast food joint selling fried chicken, and actually quite active on the floor.

My goals: I dont want to bulk up, but I want to gain about 25lbs, and when i reach my desired body type i will just do strength training and focus on overall health.

In the program this is a suggested meal for day 1:

6:00 - 1/2 cup Egg substitute
21 grams Protein powder
1 cup Skim Milk
1 cup Oatmeal
2 tsp Olive, Flax or Salmon Oils

9:00 - 28 grams Protein powder
1 cup Skim Milk
2/3 cup Oatmeal
1 tsp Olive, Flax or Salmon Oils

11:30 - 42 grams Protein powder
2 2/3 cups Fruit juice

1:00 - 6 oz Tuna, steak
1 cup Rice
2 Peppers (bell or cubanelle)
2 tsp Olive, Flax or Salmon Oils

4:00 - 6 oz Chicken breast, skinless
1/4 cup Cucumber
1 Pepper (bell or cubanelle)
1/8 head Lettuce, iceberg
1 cup Cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup Applesauce
2/3 cup Rice
6 tbsp Almonds, slivered

7:00 - 28 grams Protein powder
1/3 cup Oatmeal
2/3 tsp Olive, Flax or Salmon Oils
1 cup Skim Milk

I only make $900 a month as I am also studying part time.  $600 have to go to paying my bills, $100 for transportation, $50 for cheap dates a month.. so I only have $150 grocery money a month, and I dont want to max out my credit card. fruits and vegetables are affordable, the protein is affordable if its one or 2 a month, but its the red meat that's burning a hole through my wallet. What are some adjustments that I can make?  Also, I can eat for free in the place I work in.  Is it ok to eat fried chicken breast if I remove the skin after cooking?

Thanks very much to anyone willing to read through this whole thing!

uhm wow thats an interesting meal plan...i dont really agree with it all that much though.  you want to be consuming 500 cals more a day than you burn to gain about a pound a week...more if you would like a faster gain.  however 1-2 lbs a week is healthy. 

I would say to add more fruits and veggies((high cal ones though)) peanutbutter is really cheap and can last a while and you can add it to anything to add calories and you can replace some of that oil with the pb.  can you change the skim milk to full fat milk?? much better for weight gain.  Certain nuts are more expensive than others but they are all perfect for gaining weight so that is a good idea...not just almonds because those tend to be more expensive.  just make sure they dont have much added salt because that can become problematic.  My dad bought a thing of like 50 cans of tuna and canned chicken for like 10 bucks at costco...some amazing deal so that would be a good idea probably.  You dont need the red meat..there are other replacements that are much cheaper.  Theres nothing wrong with a little fried chicken every once in a while but the place you work at serves other things too right??

Your weight gain menu has alot of not high cal foods is the problem.  regular eggs higher cal than egg substitue, wheres the starch in your diet??? i see no bread, pasta, potatos, nothing??

thanks for the quick reply. actually, this meal plan is set for the goal of 2500 calories, and it also includes how many calories each of those items are.  The total daily portions of protein, carbs, and fat are also included.  OH! I actually found a grocery list at the end. Also, i failed to mention that this meal plan includes 77 days of detailed meals to follow.  Here is the grocery list of days 1 - 7 :

Protein
1/2 cup Egg substitute
595 grams Protein powder
6 oz Tuna, steak
35 oz Chicken breast, skinless
8 cups Cottage cheese, light/low fat
6 oz Tuna, canned in water
9 oz Haddock
4 oz Cheddar cheese, light/low fat
9 oz Ground beef (<10% fat)
16 oz Beef, lean cuts
7 oz Cheese, low or non fat
8 1/2 oz Salmon steak
4 Egg whites
4 Eggs, whole
Carbohydrates
8 2/3 cups Oatmeal
8 cups Fruit juice
7 1/12 cups Rice
4 3/4 Peppers (bell or cubanelle)
1 7/8 cups Cucumber
3/8 head Lettuce, iceberg
1 cup Cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup Applesauce
1 1/2 cups Cereal, cold
1 2/3 cups Pineapple
1 1/2 cups Raspberries
3/4 cup Chickpeas
3/4 cup Salsa
2 Kiwis
3 tbsp Barley
1 cup Lettuce, romaine
2 cups Bran cereal, all varieties
3/4 cup Onions
1/2 cup Tomato sauce
2 1/4 cups Pasta
1 1/4 cups Mushrooms
1 cup Peaches, canned
1/3 Cantaloupe
1 cup Honeydew melon
2 Rice cakes
4 oz Granola
1 1/4 cups V 8 juice
1 whole Pita
4 pieces Cornbread
1 1/2 Apples
1/4 cup Bamboo shoots
1 1/2 cups Snow peas
1 cup Blueberries
1 Orange
1 Tomato
2/3 Banana
1 1/2 cups Strawberries
3 tbsp Raisins
1 1/2 cups Beans, green or yellow
1 cup Zucchini
2/3 cup Potato
Fats
36 2/3 tsp Olive,
Flax or Salmon Oils
15 tbsp Almonds,
slivered
36 Cashews
3/5 oz Sunflower
seeds
33 Almonds, whole
3 Macadamia nuts
1 2/3 tsp Peanut oil
12 Peanuts
Other
17 cups Skim Milk
2 1/4 cups Yogurt,
plain, low fat

I AM GUESSING for days 1 - 7 its already costing about $100. anyways, I love to cook italian food, so i'll squeeze the starch in myself.  Thanks, i'll probably go to costco this weekend

If you insist on following that diet, then what I'd do is go down the list and tick off the things that are most expensive (macadamia nuts for instance) and adjust it so you don't eat that.  It's a shame it doesn't include beans and legumes (pluses) because they provide protein, carbs, fiber and calories, and are nutritious too, and very cheap.  Also, I don't get eating rice cakes.  They are so low calorie that it makes more sense to eat actual, real brown rice instead.  I don't understand the canned peaches either - why not another whole, fresh fruit? 

Look for sales where you can stock up on non perishables and things you can freeze. 

looks like a pretty standard bb'ing diet for a clean bulk.

Yeah, those veggies will up the price.  And I agree that you can sub some of the foods...the cheaper nuts (macadamia are very $$...almonds and walnuts are cheap).  

Frozen fruits and veggies are cheap and fine to use.  For protein, you can buy cartons of egg whites rather than whole eggs, canned tuna is pretty cheap.  Buy your oatmeal/grains in bulk and stick to the cheaper carb choices...you can buy beans in bulk (dry and soak them yourself...you just buy the canned).  

Just don't buy the red meat and use other protein sources.  You should be fine.  

I follow a similar plan that that's pretty much how I do it.  

As for eating fried chicken...feh.  Sure, if you remove the skin it should be ok.

Good luck.

oh i see...the list looks pretty good and yes deffinetely trade in those macadamian nuts.  Canned fruits are higher cal than fresh so its fine that there are canned peaches....ya maybe you could sub some of the high cost meats for beans?? theyre very great protein wise and wayyyyy cheaper.  The first week you buy it will probably be well over 100 dollars though because you should be buying in bulk...to make it cheaper over time...and you wont only be getting 36 cashews for example..you would be getting a whole huge jar of em...you see what im saying?? but if you kind of stick to that same list then the only things you will have to keep buying are the fresh produce.

You are male, I presume? You're likely going to need a few more calories - probably around 500 more. If you're female, I apologise.

Anyway. You might want to read up on this: PART 4 - Gaining Weight, Losing Money, which is a segment from this: The Aim is to Gain: Advice on Weight Gain, Whatever Your Reason

Summer and for_zev have given a lot of good ideas, though.

COSTCO!!! or if you have access to a military comissary.  Costco is the best cost-effective method of buying bulk food (better then sams club) and military comissarys are significantly cheaper then ANY grocery store ($3/12-pack pepsi, $1.69/marie-calander frozen dinners, etc compared to walmart $4+/12-pack, $3+/marie-calander frozen dinners).  Not that those are the foods that I eat, just the major price differences that I noticed.

Good luck

The nuts can get REALLY expensive, buy the cheapest nuts or mixed nuts and eat them instead of the huge variety. EAt canned salmon, it's cheaper and even flavored in some packages. swap 1 or 2% milk for skim to increase your calories without bulk. There is no reason to be eating rice cakes and things that lack nutritional value but add bulk for such few calories if your goal is to gain. subsitute whole eggs for real eggs which isn't a problem if you have no cholesterol or heart issues. Try increasing your whole grain intake and adding healthy fats like oil based dressing and yes it is okay to eat the chicken at work without the skin, especially if it's cheaper. if it's like kfc you can also have mashed potaotes with gravy and corn on the cob. just work on meeting your calorie goals with a reasonably healthy diet, 80% healthy 20% more lax [not unhealthy] and you'll be fine. don't worry about being so regimented with the exact menu as long as you make sure you're eating enough and a well balanced diet. you'll still get the results you're looking for!! hope this helps:)

If you can find a whole foods or a farmers market near you then you should hit that up since its local and usually cheaper. Also, the bulk bins are awesome! I buy my almonds in bulk along with my almond butter, sometimes ill add a little more after the ticket prints when nobodies looking.

WHAT?! Who said that?

haha Clay that is brilliant! I just go get like 20 samples of everything when no ones looking, especially the granolas, dried fruits, and "energy" nugget things that are super high calorie. I can make an entire snack out of it.

ohnoyoko: most of the tips have been really good so follow those and dig through the weight gain thread and forums like "what did you eat today" to get more ideas. Honestly, trying to follow that diet plan to the dot is kind of extreme and unneccesary and doesn't even seem all that logical as far as what foods it gives you. Plus where' the variety?? YOu have to have some fun with your food too. It seems like an excess of low cal proteins and not enough fats and carbs. You can still body build with a more balanced plan and do it without such filling foods. there are recipes around here for 1000 calorie oatmeals, dried fruits and nuts are of course a must, using oils as dressing for your veggies and rice, or pasta. Why not use whole eggs? It's better for you, higher calorie, more nutrients and much cheaper. You can use beans as a protein source too and buying them in bulk is really cheap. Again, switch to at least 2% milk to make getting the cals in easier, use hearty wheat breads instead of rice cakes and you can make some good pb sandwiches. My favorite ways to add calories and nutrition are nut butters and full fat greek yogurt, though thats a bit more on the expensive side but if you have a costco or sam's around you, those are great places to buy food in bulk too.