Looking to get serious with my diet. Aussie Members please help! New Member.

[russvik]

Hey there! New member here.

Just recently moved to Sydney from New Zealand. Been here 2 months now and will be permanently living and staying here since I got myself a job over here. Just recently signed up to a gym nearby on a cheap contract, I live in the CBD. I've been going to the gym for 2 1/2 years with results off and on, my weight has been fluctuating and I've been struggling to put on mass. I am wanting to get entirely serious with developing my body, that means putting 200% effort on my diet everyday. I've just started a new program called Starting Strength, My budget is roughly $50 AUD for food a week.

Could anyone tell me good areas nearby I could buy cheap brown rice and meat? I've managed to stock up on eggs $3 for 2 dozen and breast chicken fillets $7 for a kg, around Bondi Junction.

Where do you do your shopping? I just checked out Aldi and they are expensive for the quality they are selling. Coles seems to be the cheapest option for me at the moment. How much do you guys spend roughly on food a week? I've realised that meat here and dairy products here are significantly cheaper, but when it comes to rice and other carb sources they are a bit more pricey compared to over in NZ, I can't find brown rice anywhere for cheap other than Coles, Woolies ends up being more expensive for me than Coles for some reason.

Could you guys recommend me where would be the best places to shop for cheap and more close to the Sydney CBD area? Any cheap butcheries near Kings Cross or CBD? Would $50 a week be enough for me to bulk on?

I'm looking to try having 3 litre milk a day plus 4-5 meals if possible. The highest I've been was 65kg, reached from 52kg, and recently since my move I've just managed to hit the gym last week and realised I lost a lot of weight due to stress and not dieting/going to the gym. I want to have a fresh new start and start from the beginning and fixing up my diet completely.

[midget2ninja]

Dont live in sydney living in melb atm . But moved here from nz at begining of the year. I have the exact same expenditure as you each week. and $50 is plenty for me. Ive only started lifting 3 weeks ago.
My food bill is
-$30-35 per week on vegetables eg cabbage egg plant onions carrots fruit avocados coconut tomatos lettuce etc. Always shooping at a veggie fruit store
-$20-15 spent at coles on 1kg of fish usually basa $8-10 4 cans of tuna $4 and 1kg of brown rice any left over change on eggs

breakfast

3/4 dry brown rice with grapes and bananas
lunch
tuna with avocado lettuce tomato carrot onion
dinner
steamed brocoli an cauliflower pumpkin with fish an stir fry onion cabbage eggs eggplant
4 the last 2 weeks ive gained weight on this diet an its kinda cheap to attain, hope it helps

[Taz80]

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...99643&page=260

[russvik]

Thats the thing, canned fish for protein for me is cheap as hell, I'm just worried about the mercury especially in tuna, not sure if i should start going with canned sardines and beef mince,chicken breasts. Brown rice the cheapest I can find is 2kg for around $6 bucks at coles for the sunrice brand, not many grocery stores sell it around here :S which is kinda odd considering back in NZ it was $2 per kg pretty much in most stores. So if I can find a local store that sells brown rice for reasonably a bit cheaper that would be great.

[midget2ninja]

2-3 cans a week of tuna is alright, just dont eat 5-7.And most tuna cans are only 95g, so nothing to worry about. Lol comparing to nz. where in nz you roam about. 1kg 3.50 brown rice 4 me lasts 7 days so its worth the price. Shop at fruit and vegie stores for bulk of your food

[russvik]

2-3 cans a week of tuna is alright, just dont eat 5-7.And most tuna cans are only 95g, so nothing to worry about. Lol comparing to nz. where in nz you roam about. 1kg 3.50 brown rice 4 me lasts 7 days so its worth the price. Shop at fruit and vegie stores for bulk of your food

Okay I'll get that in mind.

I'm from Auckland mate. But as in my previous post reside in Sydney now.

Hmm, I wonder how good frozen veges are compared to fresh.

[midget2ninja]

Dont buy frozen vegies, not as benefical as frsh an limited assortment of vegies will make you grow distain for your diet. If you really just want to bulk though try an hit your macros so more money spent on carbs protein and fat so more meat rice avocados etc. Not as much emphasis on vegies. will help you reach your goal.

[AlwaysTryin]

Dont buy frozen veggies

Why? What's wrong with snap frozen

[midget2ninja]

Why? What's wrong with snap frozen

Always assumed vegetables would lose nutrients after blanching and freezing. But after reading some studies that say otherwise , it seems vegetables snap frozen can be just if not more nutritional than fresh as fresh produce loses nutrients from the haul from the farm to your plant. So sorry for naive info should have looked it up before stating something like that.Alwaystryin will rep you