Bulking On A Budget - UK Members?

[bridgey655]

Hey all, I am totally replanning my diet and want to stock up on nutritional goodness to make sure I stick with it. The trouble is I've got to spend as little as possible and stick to a budget while doing so. So if you're in the UK and stick to a solid diet, can you help me out - where do you buy the following for as little as possible?

I'd want to buy in bulk to make sure I dont run out and to maximise cost savings.

I buy my chicken from Morrisons which is about £3.50 for a 1KG bag (4-6 smaller chicken breast fillets). Where do you buy yours? Do you go with whole chickens?

I already buy brown rice and pasta in bulk for cheap, as well as tuna, eggs, brocolli, etc.

Where can I buy a large quantities of the following for as little as possible?

almonds
walnuts
natural peanut butter
turkey breast
lean steak - not in bulk, maybe once a week
sweet potato - never seen them in any supermarket?

Any other cheap, clean sources of carbs, healthy fats and protein considered. I also supplement with protein shakes inc creatine, glutamine, BCAA's and multi vitamins.

Thanks for your time!

[Rambo26]

I get Morrisons value chicken and it costs more than that! (£7.35-ish per kg)
That frozen?

Protein shakes (from a bulk supplier) are the key for me, way cheaper than anything else

[bridgey655]

I get Morrisons value chicken and it costs more than that! (£7.35-ish per kg)
That frozen?

It is frozen, yeah. Comes in the yellow bags. What about your other nutritional needs?

[DTBABY]

Go to aldi mate... Much cheaper than asda/morrisons/sainsburys :-p

[bridgey655]

Go to aldi mate... Much cheaper than asda/morrisons/sainsburys :-p

Y'know what I dont think ive ever been to one, may just do that lol.

What about holland and barrett, I'm guessing they're expensive?

[Rambo26]

It is frozen, yeah. Comes in the yellow bags. What about your other nutritional needs?

Sadly I have very little fridge/freezer space in my current flat so can't buy cheap bulk stuff

I just buy the cheapest steaks £9 or £9.99/kg, sometimes fresh fish, their veg, nuts, rice, caged hen eggs etc

I now remember the Morrisons frozen "white fish" (it's Pollock) are very cheap but are so full of water they really shrink once cooked!

Lidl/Aldi are worth checking, they're generally cheaper all round

Larger Holland and Barrets do big tubs of Meridian peanut butter which I believe it fairly cheap compared to Whole Earth. The big bags of nuts may work out cheaper than Morrisons but I don't think it's much, you should check though!

[adean1989]

Hey all, I am totally replanning my diet and want to stock up on nutritional goodness to make sure I stick with it. The trouble is I've got to spend as little as possible and stick to a budget while doing so. So if you're in the UK and stick to a solid diet, can you help me out - where do you buy the following for as little as possible?

I'd want to buy in bulk to make sure I dont run out and to maximise cost savings.

I buy my chicken from Morrisons which is about £3.50 for a 1KG bag (4-6 smaller chicken breast fillets). Where do you buy yours? Do you go with whole chickens?

I already buy brown rice and pasta in bulk for cheap, as well as tuna, eggs, brocolli, etc.

Where can I buy a large quantities of the following for as little as possible?

almonds
walnuts
natural peanut butter
turkey breast
lean steak - not in bulk, maybe once a week
sweet potato - never seen them in any supermarket?

Any other cheap, clean sources of carbs, healthy fats and protein considered. I also supplement with protein shakes inc creatine, glutamine, BCAA's and multi vitamins.

Thanks for your time!

Firstly when bulking on a budget scientifically unproven supplements should be ditched. Lose the glutamine and lose the BCAA's if you're not training fasted.

Furthermore why are you insisting on so called "clean" carb/fat/protein sources. I suggest you read the stickies as clean foods will not yield superior results assuming macro and micro nutrient sufficiency. Formulate the majority of your diet from whole foods and enjoy the remainder of you calories.

Lot's of so called "health" foods are expensive, over hyped and less palatable versions of their "non-health" counter parts and if you're looking for a cost-effective bulk then eating calorie dense food will be key in achieving your goals.

Forget the almonds, walnuts, sweet potatoes and stick to that bulk of pasta for your carbs, eat vegetables you enjoy for micro nutrients and satiety (frozen should be cheap and easy to store), fats from full fat dairy, whole eggs, oil and nut butters for a treat. Whey is cheap and the buying your meat should really be the only dent in your wallet. Good luck.

[msagrain]

Sweet potato? 'Never seen them before'! They're available for purchase in every supermarket. I'd be suprised if they didn't sell them.

[SuffolkPunch]

White potatos are probably a lot cheaper than sweet potatos. Buy them by the sackful. You wouldn't be worrying about GI values I hope?

[G-Rex]

Man, meat is pretty resonably priced in the UK, I've been here for about 6 weeks and am stoked with the amount of Chicken/Salmon/mince/pork you can buy from ASDA for 10 pounds.. Do you have an ASDA near by?

As for cheapest place to get Whey, bodybuilding.com has really good delivery prices to the UK, it's the cheaper than any local online shops I've come across. Feel free to correct me if you know of a cheap local dealer

[bridgey655]

Rambo26, adean1989, SuffolkPunch - thanks for the advice.

I take "clean" sources to mean foods high in the target nutritional value - for example pasta for carbs, chicken for protein, not high in fat, but I guess when bulking it doesn't really matter?

For example I wouldnt pick pork products for a protein source as they are high in fat.

msagrain - I havent found any in asda, morrisons and smaller stores. Perhaps I didnt look hard enough!

SuffolkPunch - During bulking, no Im not bothered. I guess during a cutting phase I should buy a GI food chart and read up on this further but I'm not at the moment. Don't potatoes start sprouting after so long? How long are they typically good for?

[bridgey655]

As for cheapest place to get Whey, bodybuilding.com has really good delivery prices to the UK, it's the cheaper than any local online shops I've come across. Feel free to correct me if you know of a cheap local dealer

I'm currently using an "all in one" powder, I get this cheap from here: htt[REMOVE]p://w[REMOVE]ww.discount-supplements.co.uk/sports-supplements-protein-whey-protein-blends-optimum-health-ultimate-one-2-2kg

I use bb.com for other things such as multi vitamins and scivation xtend as it can work out cheaper

[SuffolkPunch]

SuffolkPunch - During bulking, no Im not bothered. I guess during a cutting phase I should buy a GI food chart and read up on this further but I'm not at the moment. Don't potatoes start sprouting after so long? How long are they typically good for?

No, ignore GI. It has no practical value in the real world. White potatos are great nutrient wise and versatile cooking wise.

How long they last before sprouting a lot depends on how old they are when they were bagged, very hard to say. Start with small bags and see how you get on. You can cut shoots off and still eat the potato - it's fine as long as it hasn't gone soft.

[adean1989]

Rambo26, adean1989, SuffolkPunch - thanks for the advice.

I take "clean" sources to mean foods high in the target nutritional value - for example pasta for carbs, chicken for protein, not high in fat, but I guess when bulking it doesn't really matter?

For example I wouldnt pick pork products for a protein source as they are high in fat.

msagrain - I havent found any in asda, morrisons and smaller stores. Perhaps I didnt look hard enough!

SuffolkPunch - During bulking, no Im not bothered. I guess during a cutting phase I should buy a GI food chart and read up on this further but I'm not at the moment. Don't potatoes start sprouting after so long? How long are they typically good for?

Ahh well we've all got our own definitions of "clean" eating, over here it's frowned upon due to the ambiguous nature of it.

I feel you're putting too much emphasis on isolating your macro nutrients (food high in protein and nothing else, food high in carbohydrates etc). There's absolutely nothing wrong with eating pork because it contains protein and fat because at the end of the day you have macro nutrient goals to reach and if you want to be cheap you can't afford to throw away say an egg yolk to get your fat from walnuts/almonds/ice cream or whatever.

Simple example, hypothetically you may need 200g protein and 100g fat. You can get 200g of protein and 100g of fat in both scenarios by either:

A.) 420g of boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets (macros are: Protein 160g, Fat 9g) and then eating 180g of peanut butter (44g protein, 91g fat, 18g carbs). Total: P: 204/F: 99/C: 5

OR

B.) 800g of Pork Chops (146g protein, 96g fat) and then consuming 2 scoops of whey (49g protein, 3g fat, 5g carbs). Total: P: 204/F: 100/C: 18

Daily nutrition is what matters and in scenarios A and B, assuming you are not micro nutrient deficient, the only difference between these two will be how satiated you are (liquid calories such as in a whey shake are less filling naturally) and how palatable it is (some people exhibit a preference for cuts of meat higher in fat and vice versa). Read the IIFYM (if it fits your macros) sticky it should enlighten you!

[bridgey655]

Daily nutrition is what matters and in scenarios A and B, assuming you are not micro nutrient deficient, the only difference between these two will be how satiated you are (liquid calories such as in a whey shake are less filling naturally) and how palatable it is (some people exhibit a preference for cuts of meat higher in fat and vice versa). Read the IIFYM (if it fits your macros) sticky it should enlighten you!

That's very helpful, thanks for your time. I have calculated my requirements for growth overall, I just need to have a plan in place to reach it as I feel I do not eat enough and that has been where I have failed previously.

[kevvy83]

I personally go to asda for most things, eggs £3 for 30. Sweets potatoes £1 a kg. Tildi brown rice £1 a pk. I buy PB from holland and Barrett £4.50 a kg multi vitamins from there aswell. The whey I buy Is from bulkpowders £35 for 5kg ( cheap cheap!) fruit and veg get from Aldi cheaper and fresher of a Thursday. Hope that helps.

[adean1989]

That's very helpful, thanks for your time. I have calculated my requirements for growth overall, I just need to have a plan in place to reach it as I feel I do not eat enough and that has been where I have failed previously.

Glad I could be of help! When you start to see food as nutrition (I know this sounds ridiculous) it becomes much easier to reach your goals. Sadly I can't help with finding the bargains but if I've opened your eyes and made you realise that all food can assist you in reaching your goals then my time was well spent

[bridgey655]

Just wondering, do you guys try and get the optimum ratio of protein, carbs and fats in every meal, every 2-3 hours, or do you just aim to eat enough of each over the whole day (but still eat every 2-3 hours)?

[oats_addict]

Whey from myprotein.co.uk
Flax Seeds from Holland and Barret when they have one of their promotions on
PB either from myprotein (1kg for £5) or Whole Earth from Asda.

Im lucky I live at home and my rent covers whatever food I want over the month, including ice cream, meats etc.

Get economy oats and potatos for cheap carbs. Morrisons do a choice of meats for £10. Think this includes turkey steaks, Mince beef, pork or lamb steaks and sometimes chopped beef.

All supermarkets have promotions on tuna, sweetcorn etc.

I buy morrisons/asda economy greek yoghurt and cottage cheese.

Nothing wrong with economy stuff man, like i said, my rent (£100 a month!) covers all my food (not supps) but i still buy economy stuff and the occasional tub of B&J's. Bulking on a budget is do-able.
Def ditch the non-essential supps like someone ^up there mentioned.

[kevvy83]

I eat approx. Every 3hrs, because basically I can, nutritional timing isn't that important compared to total daily intake, but I can't have an overly large meal, I mean I like big meals, to feel full not to feel ill, so I break it down into 5-6 meals, each to there own on that one.

[kwolf]

I live in the UK now and eat a lot of the chicken breasts from Iceland (the shop). You can get a 4 pack for £3 and they don't seem to shrink up when cooked. Not to hijack the thread, but why does meat seem to be so much cheaper here than in north america, and if this chicken is full of crap, would it be listed on the package? Ok to be eating these 'cheap meats' daily?

[cassas00]

If you go to Farmfoods they have a deal on with chicken breasts

3 frozen bags of chicken breasts for £10, thats 3kg worth

That makes it cheaper than ASDA smart price, also better quality

They also sell chicken legs and thighs, something like 5kg for £10

Check out their steaks and all

Farmfoods milk and bread - two 4pts milk for £1.50, two loafs for £2

ASDA:

Tuna in as around 35-50p a tin
Beans - 20-30p a tin
Juice - 1-1.5ltr for 50-70p
Mixed veg smart price, 900g for like 50p
Cheap peanut butter - 49p

Mixed Nuts & dried fruit - 400g bag for £1.60

Whey, dolphinfitness.com Nutrisport 90+ 5kg £40 free delivery

myprotein or bulk powders to cheap unflavours whey as well as BCAA & Creatine

[SuffolkPunch]

Investigate your local butchers too. They often have good value meat and fresh too. I get drumsticks from our local farm shop - v.cheap compared to breasts and tastier too. I bake them for about 2 hours on a lowish heat (~140-150C) with jerk seasoning.

[gareth14th]

where do you buy your brown rice in bulk?