Eating through my wallet.

[JeffJaimes]

Hey guys,

I'm new to lifting and I'm trying to do all the right things. One of them is eating my daily calorie goal. I'm noticing though that I'm eating right through my wallet. Does anyone know of some cheap foods or plans that can help me meet my 3300cal/day without spending like 30$/day.

Thanks

[WonderPug]

What country are you located in?

[Tobi_DXB]

If he's in ***** he's ****ed. 6$ for a pound of chicken breasts.

[JeffJaimes]

California...Haha. I'm probably sounding like an idiot Wonder! ^^ I'm sorry to bother with such stupid comments. But I thought I'd ask anyway...I'm eating out and I think that's the problem but I'm not a very good cook. So I was just trying to see what people eat if their on a budget but still want to meet their calorie intake.

[WonderPug]

Costco membership and a bit of attention to bargins will keep you well fed for well under $10 per day.

[brobro916]

Peanut butter,whole milk,whole eggs,olive oil,nuts, dried fruit

[arusoff]

As others have already mentioned, Costco is an excellent place to load up on cheap sources of protein.

Also worth checking out is Trader Joes. They actually have extremely similar prices on chicken/turkey/eggs/cottage cheese and allow you to buy in smaller quantities, incase fridge space is a limitation or you don't have a costco near by.

For more suggestions on eating on a budget take a look at scoobysworkshop.com. I found a lot of good protein sources on there, like quinoa for example.

[harebearva]

Some things I like are peanut butter, eggs, milk, rice. I'd would make one suggestion, You can save a bit of money by not buying protein powders. I myself keep it around for convenience but I prefer whole food protein sources. Interestingly enough it is, for the most part, cheaper to buy boneless skinless chicken breast than protein powder. The cheapest source of whey for me is Body Fortress @ walmart. 2 scoops is roughly the same protein content as 8oz of chicken. 1 tub of whey is $15. You can get chicken @ walmart for about $2 a pound and is cheaper per serving. LOL that's provided walmart is available to you, it seems to be everywhere. Hope this helps

[Rob711]

Some things i do to make sure i keep it cheap

1. Reduced meat is your friend.The meat is only a day old are so, no reason to be scared
2. Eggs are a great cheap protein/fat source
3. Cereal is a cheap and easy carb source ($2 will get you ~ 400g carbs)
4. Peanut butter is one of cheapest fat sources (if you need to fill calories cheap do it with this)
5. Bulk whey
6. Whole milk

[alex2363]

nutella, peanut butter, coconut oils, all nuts cheap and calories densed.

[rowan57]

Hey guys,

I'm new to lifting and I'm trying to do all the right things. One of them is eating my daily calorie goal. I'm noticing though that I'm eating right through my wallet. Does anyone know of some cheap foods or plans that can help me meet my 3300cal/day without spending like 30$/day.

Thanks

Eggs! I'm pretty well bankrupt, but I can get 30 eggs for $5.50, that last's me a week.

10 eggs (with potatoes) makes a Spanish Omelette or Tortilla that lasts 2 days, 6 Scrambled eggs for breakfast 2 days a week, 3 Fried eggs with chips & beans 1 day a week, and the last 5 as hardboiled eggs. Thats what, the main protein in at least 5 meals of the week for $5.50, so a $1 a meal give or take.

If your not bothered about free-range, you can probably do it cheaper still. I know the farm I buy my eggs from, and I know how the chickens are raised, so it costs a little more.

[desslok]

Costco membership and a bit of attention to bargins will keep you well fed for well under $10 per day.

This, go to costco, eat all the free samples, change shirt, eat all the samples, rinse, repeat. Then go to Trader Joes and eat the samples, etc.

[Lvisaa2]

Some things I like are peanut butter, eggs, milk, rice. I'd would make one suggestion, You can save a bit of money by not buying protein powders. I myself keep it around for convenience but I prefer whole food protein sources. Interestingly enough it is, for the most part, cheaper to buy boneless skinless chicken breast than protein powder. The cheapest source of whey for me is Body Fortress @ walmart. 2 scoops is roughly the same protein content as 8oz of chicken. 1 tub of whey is $15. You can get chicken @ walmart for about $2 a pound and is cheaper per serving. LOL that's provided walmart is available to you, it seems to be everywhere. Hope this helps

If you look for deals then whey is about the cheapest protein source you can get. That doesn't mean you can just go to the store and pick up random protein when you are out, but that means actively searching for and finding good deals. If money is tight then you should do this with anything and buy in bulk when you find good deals. It may cost more at the time, but it will save you money in the long run.

[alex2363]

This, go to costco, eat all the free samples, change shirt, eat all the samples, rinse, repeat. Then go to Trader Joes and eat the samples, etc.

then youtube it for repps.

[trance__dreamer]

then youtube it for repps.

/agreed.

[jammyo40]

I second Costco. They're all over the place in CA. This is what I always get there: milk, eggs, KS peanut butter, nutella, spinach, KS greek yogurt, bananas, frozen fruit, whey, all my meat, frozen chicken breasts, and whatever they have in their prepared foods section (their ravioli lasagnas are pretty bomb).

This, go to costco, eat all the free samples, change shirt, eat all the samples, rinse, repeat. Then go to Trader Joes and eat the samples, etc.

You don't need to change shirts. 1) there are so many people going through samples, they won't remember you and 2) if they did, they wouldn't care; it's Costco. Just make it a circuit routine.

[desslok]

You don't need to change shirts. 1) there are so many people going through samples, they won't remember you

Negative Ghostrider, I have had the ladies ask on several occasions, "hey weren't you just here?"

[jammyo40]

"hey weren't you just here?"

"yeah"
***takes another sample***
"thank you!"

[hockeytownfan]

Some cost effective options for bulking, since I find cutting more expensive:

chicken thighs, drumsticks or leg quarters replace chicken breast
Usually some sort of hamburger is on sale. Bulking is usually the only time I can fit 73/27 or 80/20 in to my macros. 93/7 is good for cutting
Pork steaks for bulking, center cut loin chops, loin roast and tenderloin for cutting
Chuck roast for bulking, rump or round for cutting

As you can see, the calorie dense protein sources are usually cheaper than the lean sources.

Peanut butter
Whole Eggs
Whole Wheat Pasta
I like to get the 'heavy' whole grain bread (think orowheat or pepperidge farms) for bulking (or their equiv from Aldi)
Move to whole milk from 2% or to 2% from skim
Butter
Bacon
Olive Oil
Breakfast sausage
bulk russett potatoes

etc etc etc

Lots of cheap wholesome food out there if you do the "processing" (prep and cooking) yourself.