How cheap can you eat healthy?

[Jeex]

I am a college student and money is hard to come by for me. I am looking for a way to get about 1900-2000 calories a day (my calorie maintenance level is 2700 right now), but to get these calories HEALTHY and more importantly CHEAP.

I am sort of also interested in doing an E/C stack, wondering how cheap I can get by per month, and if the E/C stack is a valuable aid in losing weight.

Guys (and gals),

How cheap can you eat per month, and what do you buy? Is an E/C stack worth doing (will I see faster results)? I'm 5'10", 190lbs, and looking to weigh 175 or so (going from 20% bf to like 11%)

Thanks!

[Silleli]

Originally Posted by Jeex

I am a college student and money is hard to come by for me. I am looking for a way to get about 1900-2000 calories a day (my calorie maintenance level is 2700 right now), but to get these calories HEALTHY and more importantly CHEAP.

I am sort of also interested in doing an E/C stack, wondering how cheap I can get by per month, and if the E/C stack is a valuable aid in losing weight.

Guys (and gals),

How cheap can you eat per month, and what do you buy? Is an E/C stack worth doing (will I see faster results)? I'm 5'10", 190lbs, and looking to weigh 175 or so (going from 20% bf to like 11%)

Thanks!

Buy protein powder, old fashioned oats and peanut butter. Can get a lot of good calories for your money there. For real food, try buying chicken breasts in bulk. It's harder to eat healthy on a budget, but it can definitely be done.

E/C stack won't hurt you, but most important thing is diet. Never tried E, but get plenty of C.

I think going from 190lbs and 20% to 175lbs and 11% will be very challenging. Maybe not impossible if you are really strict and have good genetics, but I would suspect that you will have to lose more weight than that to get close to single digit body fat.

Hope that helps.

[ZidaneValor]

You're in luck. I made this for another kid.

[chitownmedic]

Ive done that drop in weight before and kept it off for a couple years. as for eatin healthy on a budget. ive shopped around and usually spend $150-200 with protein powder a month. what kills the budget is going out and getting chicken kabob dinners when i dont have time to cook. at $8-10 a pop, not cheap.

[BiGGz28]

Originally Posted by ZidaneValor

You're in luck. I made this for another kid.

nice

[Wimbeast]

I eat for about 40 bucks a week. 2k calories, 220g protein. I could probably go for less but its not too big of a deal for me.

[Grimmjowl]

Originally Posted by ZidaneValor

You're in luck. I made this for another kid.

Thanks for the grocery list lol



For me it helps to work in food service. I tend to take a lot of the "raw" ingrediants from the fast food place I work at and just cook them myself. You'd be surprised how healthy some places could be with a little modification. Nice to eat free 3-4 nights out of the week.

[erifly]

A bag of chicken breast is the cheapest you can get for protein. Tuna is about 75 cents a can but its basically one can=one meal. The bag a chicken breast for $7.00(~12 pieces) might be better alternative. For veggies 3-4 bags of steamfresh at ~$2.50 each can last a week. A bulk can of oatmeal for $5.00 easily last 25 days. A box of Minute brown rice can get you about 4-5 meals. $2.50 a box.

Shopping list
2 bags of chicken breast $14.00
4 bags of veggies $10
oatmeal $5.00
rice $2.50

Total bill = ~31.00
Shop at offbrand store Total bill = ~21.00 lol

[chubbleton]

Sardines are a great source of Omega-3's and protein, hovering around .99 a can; try and find some with low sodium though, as this is a big killer.

Cottage cheese / Yogurt / Full-fat milk are all awesome and very cheap.

For my protein, I shop around and find chicken on the bone (breasts or leg quarters usually) for between .99 and 1.50 a pound. I will cook up five or six pounds on the barbeque with some homemade salsa for flavor, and this will last me all week.

Don't forget your vegetables as well, many people here really don't take them into account as much as they need to IMHO. Carrots, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, Spinach, Kale... too many great and superhealthy greens to list!

Hope I helped a bit.

[little1337]

Oat meal, whatever cheap lean-meat in bulk, greens(I eat a lot of frozen peas, takes 1-2min to get ready), rice and what ever cheap greens you can get...

Honestly not that hard, if you ignore your taste

And of course, the 20kg protein bag

[wlknier]

E/C stacking is cheap, but not healthy

[Vogtp]

i find it cheaper to healthy than bad.


i usually only spend 50$ a week on groceries.

[SV1000]

You can afford to eat right even as a college student, break out the calculator and figure it out, price can be deceiving. I hit the grocery store last night and stocked up on tuna for lunch while at work, seems cheap until you figure the cost/lb. There is definitely cheaper tuna than I buy but I have to choke that crap down so I buy the good stuff and save money elsewhere.

Tuna - 3.55
Pork Loin - 1.97 (sale)
Skinless Chicken Thighs - 1.00 (sale)
Ground Chuck - 2.50 (sale)
Eggs - 1.00
Turkey - 1.00 (I can't stand more than one every six months though)

Protein Powder - 8.25-10.00

I don't know how protein powder, especially name brand **** falls into the budget category. I use Body Fortress whey for backup only and it varies between 16.50-20.00 per two pound canister. For that price, I would rather have a tuna steak or a better yet, a fat ribeye!

And I may as well shove a cork up my ass because that is what it's like after 3-4 PWO shakes per week, I don't have that issue eating fish, chicken, eggs, beef and pork.

The same holds true with vegetables and fruit, I use two different grocers to get what I want at the best price.

SV

[Bad Company]

I eat chick peas, eggs and veg when im skint..

[jay24k]

I go through 42 eggs a week. But buy chicken at Sams or somewhere else when it is on sale. You can get it for 2 dollars a pound so that is only 12 dollars instead of 16 for the week. That's another 4 bucks saved.

[jjallans]

Pretty cool grocery list.

It's been said a few times already, but do what your grandma does and look for the sale ads. The grocery store down here usually has at least one item in the meat section that is buy one get one free each week. They just rotate which item. When the chicken breasts come around I stock up and put what I'm not going to eat in the freezer.

It's a little more complicated eating good on a budget, but it can be done.

[SV1000]

This is not directly related to Jeex's question on eating cheap while in college, but depending on the living conditions raising chickens for eggs is not hard.

We go through 3-4 dozen eggs a week between me and my two teenage daughters. I have plans to build a chicken coop this summer and raise a 6-8 birds for eggs. The initial cost depending on how much I throw at a coop will drive the price of the eggs up but they are certainly better for you and taste better than store bought eggs. It will payoff in the long run.

[goodfella0729]

im horrible at spending when i go grocery shopping. i spend about $300 a month on food for myself. next month though im trying to make a budget so im looking for some good money saving ideas as well.

[Djaye]

i feel you on that cuz im a college student as well.

i just buy in bulk. saves me money and time because i dont have to go grocery shopping as much.

white albacore tuna comes out to about $1 a can if you buy at costco. when boneless/skinless chicken breasts are on sale at $1.99 a lb, i buy tons of packages and just toss them in the freezer. and for eggs, you can get a dozen large eggs for about $1.29 at target.

[Luger77]

Originally Posted by Djaye

i feel you on that cuz im a college student as well.

i just buy in bulk. saves me money and time because i dont have to go grocery shopping as much.

white albacore tuna comes out to about $1 a can if you buy at costco. when boneless/skinless chicken breasts are on sale at $1.99 a lb, i buy tons of packages and just toss them in the freezer. and for eggs, you can get a dozen large eggs for about $1.29 at target.

I spend about 21.00 a day on food. It's the low-carb tortillas I consume... Lots of fiber in them.

[cyclistgod]

I don't wanna disappoint you and be negative. But it's better to live in the truth than in a fake-world. And the truth is that the buying power of the dollar is going down. The value of the dollar is going down. The US dollar is collapsing, which means in real terms that food and every thing is getting more expensive at a fast pace, while our salaries and incomes stay the same.

We are trapped

What u can do though, is to get an egg-separator, buy eggs and eat like 4 egg-whites and 2 yolks, with whey-protein powder as a protein pancake for breakfast.

For lunch u can eat chicken leg quarters with green vegetables

And for dinner, have a whey protein shake with 1 cup of milk, 2 and a half scoops of whey protein powder a lot of ice in a blender, and 3-5 apples

But the truth is that every thing in this damn world is getting more expensive, while we are incomes are going down


cyclistgod

Originally Posted by Jeex

I am a college student and money is hard to come by for me. I am looking for a way to get about 1900-2000 calories a day (my calorie maintenance level is 2700 right now), but to get these calories HEALTHY and more importantly CHEAP.

I am sort of also interested in doing an E/C stack, wondering how cheap I can get by per month, and if the E/C stack is a valuable aid in losing weight.

Guys (and gals),

How cheap can you eat per month, and what do you buy? Is an E/C stack worth doing (will I see faster results)? I'm 5'10", 190lbs, and looking to weigh 175 or so (going from 20% bf to like 11%)

Thanks!

[Chaohinon]

Kale and Collards tend to hover around 1-1.10 per pound. They are your friends.

[amberjazz]

Originally Posted by cyclistgod

I don't wanna disappoint you and be negative. But it's better to live in the truth than in a fake-world. And the truth is that the buying power of the dollar is going down. The value of the dollar is going down. The US dollar is collapsing, which means in real terms that food and every thing is getting more expensive at a fast pace, while our salaries and incomes stay the same.

We are trapped

What u can do though, is to get an egg-separator, buy eggs and eat like 4 egg-whites and 2 yolks, with whey-protein powder as a protein pancake for breakfast.

For lunch u can eat chicken leg quarters with green vegetables

And for dinner, have a whey protein shake with 1 cup of milk, 2 and a half scoops of whey protein powder a lot of ice in a blender, and 3-5 apples

But the truth is that every thing in this damn world is getting more expensive, while we are incomes are going down


cyclistgod

Yeah, that's pretty negative! While it may be the truth, do we all need to sit around and complain about it all day while living in fear? How is that going to make things better?

Sorry...that wasn't on topic but I had to reply.

[ballinfrogs]

Originally Posted by ZidaneValor

You're in luck. I made this for another kid.

no hate but...1866 calories?

[sbbc]

I don't look at protein powder as cost per pound since it's just protein with no water content adding to the weight. There's something like 70 servings per 5 pound container at 23-27 grams of protein per serving... even at the expensive price of like $50-60 per 5lb container that's under a $1 per serving.

I aim for about 30g of protein per meal and protein powder still the cheapest way to get it.. eggs probably a close second.

[luckynunn]

Sorry for the noob question, please don't flame me, but if I bought a bunch of cans of tuna, could that replace my chicken breasts in my diet for lunch and dinner?

[Amandarose531]

Originally Posted by luckynunn

Sorry for the noob question, please don't flame me, but if I bought a bunch of cans of tuna, could that replace my chicken breasts in my diet for lunch and dinner?

If they're tuna in water that's a WONDERFUL protein.

If you're pregnant, which I understand you're not, it might not be the best choice for you but I do think tuna is a great cheap healthy food :]

[luckynunn]

Originally Posted by Amandarose531

If they're tuna in water that's a WONDERFUL protein.

If you're pregnant, which I understand you're not, it might not be the best choice for you but I do think tuna is a great cheap healthy food :]

Butttt could it replace the chicken breast, though?

[Amandarose531]

Chicken breast isn't miracle food. To my knowledge protein is protein correct me if i'm wrong of course.

[luckynunn]

Originally Posted by Amandarose531

Chicken breast isn't miracle food. To my knowledge protein is protein correct me if i'm wrong of course.

oh, sorry, I'm new to this.