Nutrition costs per week/month

[bbuk2018]

Hi all. I used to do weightlifting but stopped for various reasons. Then I took a break from the gym altogether. Since the summer of this year I have just been doing cardio solely. For pretty much all year i have been in debt and recently paid off all my debts 😊. Now I'm wondering whether to go back to a weight-lifting routine as I want to save money. However, I realize that doing weight-lifting is not cheap due to the high protein-diet. Could any one please give me a rough idea of how much you spend on food-shopping/supplements for your protein etc per week so that I can see if its worth me going back to weight-lifting or just sticking to cardio and saving up instead. If it helps I am male, 32yrs, 183cm and 75kgs. thanks

[SuffolkPunch]

It should cost almost exactly the same as you spend on food now. You could argue that additional protein is a little more expensive than other foods - but there are cheap ways of getting protein. I think you could take any average diet and add extra protein without changing the cost that much.

Same with calories - for mass gain you might need to be 300 calories over maintenance each day - so a little extra food. But if the extra came from bread and butter then you aren't going to be spending much more are you?

[bbuk2018]

It should cost almost exactly the same as you spend on food now. You could argue that additional protein is a little more expensive than other foods - but there are cheap ways of getting protein. I think you could take any average diet and add extra protein without changing the cost that much.

Same with calories - for mass gain you might need to be 300 calories over maintenance each day - so a little extra food. But if the extra came from bread and butter then you aren't going to be spending much more are you?

True. Its just that last time i did it i was buyiny protein shake etc and the costs were quickly adding up

[SuffolkPunch]

There are always ways of cutting costs. Eat less preprepared food, make stews in a slow cooker using chuck steak. Buy chicken breasts and thighs in bulk for the freezer, get beans, chickpeas, lentils, milk, eggs.

[rhadam]

True. Its just that last time i did it i was buyiny protein shake etc and the costs were quickly adding up

Whey protein is one of the cheapest forms of protein.

[MrCarrot]

Hi all. I used to do weightlifting but stopped for various reasons. Then I took a break from the gym altogether. Since the summer of this year I have just been doing cardio solely. For pretty much all year i have been in debt and recently paid off all my debts 😊. Now I'm wondering whether to go back to a weight-lifting routine as I want to save money. However, I realize that doing weight-lifting is not cheap due to the high protein-diet. Could any one please give me a rough idea of how much you spend on food-shopping/supplements for your protein etc per week so that I can see if its worth me going back to weight-lifting or just sticking to cardio and saving up instead. If it helps I am male, 32yrs, 183cm and 75kgs. thanks

When I had a 10 year break from lifting, I have to admit this is one of the reasons I prolonged not getting back into it. Basically the effort of thinking what to eat and when to eat it, and also the cost.

I'm afraid I haven't calculated what I now spend on food, but it does seem like I'm constantly at the supermarket buying eggs, yoghurt, chicken and fruit. Some foods, like oats for example, are as cheap as they come. But others like strawberries and chicken are quite expensive. Not that you have to eat strawberries and chicken, but I do.

On the plus side, previously I was probably visiting McDonalds twice a week and having a Chinese takeaway once a week. Coupled with the fact that when I ate takeaway the rest of my family did too, that was pretty damn expensive and the additional cost of "healthy" food is possibly mitigated by having far less takeaways.

[Paulie1986]

I usually just buy cheap branded natural yoghurt for 45p and it has 20g of protein. Eggs and tuna are usually cheap as well as frozen meat. Get a cheap grill and some spicy sauce and away you go.

[1MANU]

$20 a week for entire grocery:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tMzPIdEJFg

$50 a week for entire grocery:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM2uYFOr3hs

[andy0w]

About £350 per month for two, including restaurants and pubs.

Healthy eating would be less.