Want to construct a good fat burning diet with very low budget

[jmson23]

Hello everyone. First post here but have been lurking a while. I really like what I see so far. My basic story is I was an athlete in high school, built big but in decent shape. I'm 6'1'' and I'd say my average weight my senior year was around 195-200. Right before graduation, I contracted mono and basically couldn't eat for a month. I dropped down to 165 at my lowest and was skinny for the first time in my life. I somehow got it into my mind that I was now skinny and invincible.

Fast forward three years into college. I am now around 240 pounds, out of shape and have oh-so-glamorous stretch marks every where. It's disgusting and I'm disgusted in myself. I am ready to take responsibility for myself and not only get back down under 200 lbs, but keep going on and get cut as well. One step at a time though.

Ok, so now that that's out of the way let's get to my question about diet. I have read the stickied threads about basic tips on losing weight and the process isn't hard to understand. Calories in < calories out. It's not so easy for me though. I am used to big meals and have ravenous hunger all the time it seems. I have been eating much more clean lately and I've noticed that I do not get insane hunger cravings and my energy level is constant - the bad part about this though is I am always slightly hungry and my energy is constantly next to nothing.

Foods that I have been eating, some for their health quality, some for their cheapness and some for both:

Eggs
White potatoes
White rice
Salad mixes
Frozen vegetable mixes
Onions (put them on everything)
Pasta (not whole wheat) with crushed tomatoes (not spaghetti sauce)
Pita bread
Chicken breast

Condiments I use:
Vinegar based hot sauce
Low fat butter substitute (ICBINB or something similar)
Canola oil for cooking
Vinegar based salad dressings
Barbecue sauce (not good I know)

Now, all that said I do have weak meals and days where I eat a Zaxby's chicken wing meal, but I am getting better with my self control.

So, my question to you is: What things should I completely get rid of that I am eating now? What foods should I be buying that I don't have?

I want to construct a full day's recipe of food that will get me to lose weight and I will eat this over and over and over... until I can't take it, then I'll eat it again. I am a poor college student and while technically I get about $10/day to spend on food, with other expenses it's not close to that. I would love to get by on $5-6/day. Do any of you do this?

Thank you for reading and I hope you are reaching all of your goals for yourself, inside and out.

[KaBone]

Get a crock pot and cook in bulk. You can throw in 5# of meat seasoned with salt and pepper and little braising liquid (vinegar and fruit juice). Cabbage is about the least expensive greens. The 5# and head of cabbage should last you 2 days if that's all you ate. And don't waste anything. Forget the carbs. Forget supplements. Forget sports drinks. Eggs, cheese, and peanut butter to round things out. I think Tapatio is the least expensive hot sauce.

[TribalJMD]

Originally Posted by jmson23

Eggs
White potatoes
White rice
Salad mixes
Frozen vegetable mixes
Onions (put them on everything)
Pasta (not whole wheat) with crushed tomatoes (not spaghetti sauce)
Pita bread
Chicken breast

maybe get some brown rice instead of white, whole wheat pasta, ect...

[jmson23]

Originally Posted by KaBone

Get a crock pot and cook in bulk. You can throw in 5# of meat seasoned with salt and pepper and little braising liquid (vinegar and fruit juice). Cabbage is about the least expensive greens. The 5# and head of cabbage should last you 2 days if that's all you ate. And don't waste anything. Forget the carbs. Forget supplements. Forget sports drinks. Eggs, cheese, and peanut butter to round things out. I think Tapatio is the least expensive hot sauce.

Cooking in bulk is definitely a good suggestion. Some questions about your sample meal: 1)By 5# do you mean buy $5 worth of meat? 2)The meal should basically just be meat plus cabbage? I don't have to worry about overcooking cabbage while the meat cooks? 3)I'm a pretty bad chef, could you elaborate just a little on how to cook this properly? I'm assuming by braising you mean in the oven.

Thank you for your time and help

[LS2Stew]

Three cans of tuna per day and some green tea is all you need bro

[AaronJustin]

Originally Posted by LS2Stew

Three cans of tuna per day and some green tea is all you need bro

Depending on the size of the can of tuna your getting, that probably barely breaks 500 calories. Thats not really a very good diet.

[tam_ironcup]

buy vege fruits meat and eggs from the farmers market and not a supermarket if yoiu can, waaaay cheaper. buy a weeks supply each time. nuts for healthy fats, fruits for carbs, and chicken breatss and eggs for protein.

since u wanna eat cheap, gotta eat for fuel and not for flavor. i just use my george foreman salt and pepper the chicken and grill em, ouh and olive oil from a spray can. so yeah, i dont really bother with various spices or onions and ginger, and the vege i get are capsicums lettuce potatoes and carrots.

[jmson23]

Originally Posted by LS2Stew

Three cans of tuna per day and some green tea is all you need bro

Is this a joke? I'm trying to be serious. I don't get why you'd say something like that. That alone won't give me enough calories per day and I would be lacking in so many nutrients.

[jmson23]

Originally Posted by AaronJustin

Depending on the size of the can of tuna your getting, that probably barely breaks 500 calories. Thats not really a very good diet.

Thank you for saying so. I agree with this.

Originally Posted by tam_ironcup

buy vege fruits meat and eggs from the farmers market and not a supermarket if yoiu can, waaaay cheaper. buy a weeks supply each time. nuts for healthy fats, fruits for carbs, and chicken breatss and eggs for protein.

since u wanna eat cheap, gotta eat for fuel and not for flavor. i just use my george foreman salt and pepper the chicken and grill em, ouh and olive oil from a spray can. so yeah, i dont really bother with various spices or onions and ginger, and the vege i get are capsicums lettuce potatoes and carrots.

I've never thought of that before. I wasn't aware that you could buy meats at the farmers market. I've been trying to think of how much chicken breast it is good to eat per day, or chicken breast plus some other high protein source. That way I know how much I should buy in bulk. I can easily eat like 2 pounds of chicken breast per day but I feel like this is too much.

[AaronJustin]

I have a good recipe for you that is pretty easy on the bank account. I cannot take credit for it though, I got it somewhere off of this site.

Chicken Chilli

15 oz. Pre Cooked Chicken breast shredded
1 can Kidney beans
1 can Black beans
1 can Whole kernal corn
1 can no salt added diced tomatos
1 can whole green chilli peppers
Then spices like cayenne, chilli powder or whatever your favorite spices are.

I will see if I can find the link to the recipe for you, I think theres even a picture.


I found the post pretty quickly. Originally posted by Bossbrutha.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...#post194139501


He even gives a breakdown of the calories/protein/carbs etc.

[RachelBringIt]

Beans and Rice are cheap and healthy :-D

[KaBone]

Sorry for the culinary confusion. I meant 5 pounds of meat. That's about the amount a large crock pot can accomodate. Braising is a term for cooking with a small amount of liquid over an extended period of time. The slow cooking process will make the meat 'fall off the bone tender.' This allows you to purchase less expensive cuts of meat. You can cook the veggies and the meat together, but that means less room for meat. Don't slow cook delicate veggies like broccoli because they turn to mush.

Here's what I did recently for St. Patty's Day. Put the corned beef and brine in the crock pot and enough water to cover in the morning. Came home from work and the beef is ready to eat. I poured off the liquid into another large pot and added the cabbage, carrot, onion, celery. Boiled the veggies for 20 minutes. Then eat.

Yesterday, I made bbq spareribs in the crock pot. I'll post the recipe in the keto recipes thread. The beauty is you can throw it all in in the morning and let it cook while your at class. When you come home it's hot, ready, and delicious.

Go to the library and read/check-out books on crock pot cookery.

[jmson23]

Originally Posted by AaronJustin

I have a good recipe for you that is pretty easy on the bank account. I cannot take credit for it though, I got it somewhere off of this site.

Chicken Chilli

15 oz. Pre Cooked Chicken breast shredded
1 can Kidney beans
1 can Black beans
1 can Whole kernal corn
1 can no salt added diced tomatos
1 can whole green chilli peppers
Then spices like cayenne, chilli powder or whatever your favorite spices are.

I will see if I can find the link to the recipe for you, I think theres even a picture.


I found the post pretty quickly. Originally posted by Bossbrutha.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...#post194139501


He even gives a breakdown of the calories/protein/carbs etc.

Looks tasty! Thank you.

Originally Posted by RachelBringIt

Beans and Rice are cheap and healthy :-D

I agree they are cheap, but if this is the staple of my diet won't I be way too carb heavy?

Originally Posted by KaBone

Sorry for the culinary confusion. I meant 5 pounds of meat. That's about the amount a large crock pot can accomodate. Braising is a term for cooking with a small amount of liquid over an extended period of time. The slow cooking process will make the meat 'fall off the bone tender.' This allows you to purchase less expensive cuts of meat. You can cook the veggies and the meat together, but that means less room for meat. Don't slow cook delicate veggies like broccoli because they turn to mush.

Here's what I did recently for St. Patty's Day. Put the corned beef and brine in the crock pot and enough water to cover in the morning. Came home from work and the beef is ready to eat. I poured off the liquid into another large pot and added the cabbage, carrot, onion, celery. Boiled the veggies for 20 minutes. Then eat.

Yesterday, I made bbq spareribs in the crock pot. I'll post the recipe in the keto recipes thread. The beauty is you can throw it all in in the morning and let it cook while your at class. When you come home it's hot, ready, and delicious.

Go to the library and read/check-out books on crock pot cookery.

Thanks for the followup. I'll take your advice plus read into this cooking method more.

[LS2Stew]

Originally Posted by jmson23

Is this a joke? I'm trying to be serious. I don't get why you'd say something like that. That alone won't give me enough calories per day and I would be lacking in so many nutrients.

3cans of tuna and green tea each day is a sick diet apparently but works, you need very strong motivation too!

[grunmn]

Yea I'd say if your down to lose weight and cheap. Eat 3 cans of tuna a day throw in some peanutbutter/ banana sandwhiches on wheat bread in between. No carbs after 4 pm

But umm... real cheap... costco for eggs is the ****.

you can get 5 dozen eggs-$7.50, 2 loafs x bread-$5, 16 cans tuna-$8, 2big packs sliced turkey for like $8 **** there protein is alright like $16 for a bag of that. Peanuty butter is cheap too. I buy more ****, but I think that usually the basics I get every time. Oh and bananas. I blend 100gwhey, 2tbls pb, and 2 bananas then split that up for a pre workout meal and a snack meal for later. Good ****

[grunmn]

Originally Posted by AaronJustin

I have a good recipe for you that is pretty easy on the bank account. I cannot take credit for it though, I got it somewhere off of this site.

Chicken Chilli

15 oz. Pre Cooked Chicken breast shredded
1 can Kidney beans
1 can Black beans
1 can Whole kernal corn
1 can no salt added diced tomatos
1 can whole green chilli peppers
Then spices like cayenne, chilli powder or whatever your favorite spices are.

I will see if I can find the link to the recipe for you, I think theres even a picture.


I found the post pretty quickly. Originally posted by Bossbrutha.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...#post194139501


He even gives a breakdown of the calories/protein/carbs etc.

Oh this reminds me of a cheap meal I make that lasts for like 4-5 meals.

Package ground turkey
Chunky Salsa
Can of Kidney beans.

Its pretty basic but tastes alright. Cheap as well. I know personally when I am trying to lay of the carbs I will substitute beans for rice. Depending on what I am making I go for beans with less taste obviously.