Food making me go broke

[bezoe]

How do you guys afford 6 meals a day? Im spending over 80 a week on food (not including protein powder). This chicken and tuna is getting expensive lol Any tips on meat that is affodable? Im eating 350g protein/day.

 

[Frank Reynolds]

How do you guys afford 6 meals a day? Im spending over 80 a week on food (not including protein powder). This chicken and tuna is getting expensive lol Any tips on meat that is affodable? Im eating 350g protein/day.

80? fack. I spend easily over $200-250.

 

[bezoe]

On just you? theres no way i could afford $1000 a month on just food. Thats 12,000 a year, JC almost a quarter of my income lol

 

[Frank Reynolds]

On just you? theres no way i could afford $1000 a month on just food. Thats 12,000 a year, JC almost a quarter of my income lol

Yup. Total bill is prob pushing 250-300 with my wife, but she eats like a bird..lol

Doesn't even include my Sat night, dinner out.

My problem is I don't shop around, or for sales. I am stuck on eating what I want.

 

[Rodja]

Chicken thighs, whole eggs, ground beef, and bacon make up the bulk of my protein consumption. It's freaking produce that is so damn expensive.

 

[bezoe]

Wow. Yea i know what you mean.. i never look for sales or anything. Im headed to sams club now to see what kind of bulk products they have

 

[Frank Reynolds]

Wow. Yea i know what you mean.. i never look for sales or anything. Im headed to sams club now to see what kind of bulk products they have

I bought a huge box of rice crispy treats, and welches fruit snacks at costco today. Refeed FTW! haha

 

[bezoe]

Chicken thighs, whole eggs, ground beef, and bacon make up the bulk of my protein consumption. It's freaking produce that is so damn expensive.

Youre right.
Thats pretty close to what eat. Whole eggs, tuna, chicken breasts, and steaks less frequently. Its scary cause im only eating around 3K cals a day now and it will be increasing very soon

 

[CJ_Xfit89]

Chicken thighs, whole eggs, ground beef, and bacon make up the bulk of my protein consumption. It's freaking produce that is so damn expensive.

U guys have farmers markets?Cheap there?

Or why don't you get a group of friends, bulk buy and freeze or snap seal?

 

[kanakafarian]

Chicken thighs, whole eggs, ground beef, and bacon make up the bulk of my protein consumption. It's freaking produce that is so damn expensive.

^^^ I eat the same stuff! Especially the bacon!

 

[mattrag]

Chicken thighs, whole eggs, ground beef, and bacon make up the bulk of my protein consumption. It's freaking produce that is so damn expensive.

OH yes! Its good stuff. Oddly in Japan the stuff with fat in it is more expensive... hahah I buy chicken breasts and have extra fats from other sources usually.
Or just eat the leaner beef... (What I usually tend to do)

 

[OrganicShadow]

The price of food is mind boggling. I'm pretty good at shopping out deals and sales. After buying the same items for so long you start to know what's a good price and what's not. I buy a lot of things wholesale which saves. I'm around 200g protein daily and vegetables on a 1600-1700cal cut diet so I'm looking at 50 bucks a week before supplementation. Obviously higher quality and organic would run more but I'm ok with frozen string beans and mass produced Perdue chicken. Right now I'm mainly fish and turkey.

 

[steppinRazor]

I know what you're sayin man..and god damn I wish I had 12gs to spend on food a year..
This next month is gonna be rough, my diet will probably consist of mostly eggs..eggs till I puke

 

[mattrag]

Yea, kinda amazing on days I don't go over $20 bucks (US equivalent). Well Im usually always cutting... Im a fat a$$

 

[Docmattic]

a bunch of scattered thoughts here....

Buy brown rice...its really cheap and a good source of carbs.

I also buy chicken breast in bulk 2kg+ (4.4pounds) and pay 9.90kg instead of $16 (i dont know what it costs where you live)
eggs are cheap-

fresh carrots+frozen peas and corn shouldnt set you back too much either.

But i get most of my protien from chicken...i dont bother with steak much anymore unless i want a treat. Its too expensive.

you can also make good protien bars from OATS, Penutbutter, honey and protien powder that are relativly cheap to make and are about 500 cals each.

 

[EasyEJL]

How do you guys afford 6 meals a day? Im spending over 80 a week on food (not including protein powder). This chicken and tuna is getting expensive lol Any tips on meat that is affodable? Im eating 350g protein/day.

Why so high on protein? its not particularly necessary even if it is enjoyable.

And sams club should have chicken breasts at 1.88-1.99/lb, so that might help.

 

[Docmattic]

And sams club should have chicken breasts at 1.88-1.99/lb, so that might help.

wow thats cheap!

 

[tubbednova]

I usally average $150 a week only buy meat/fish grains at the store and all my fruit/veggies at local markets by my house sometimes go to local butcher too.(live in the country) Always go for the best deals and shop smart always have stuff to help with the following week.
Best to get deals and freeze them

 

[bezoe]

Yea, kinda amazing on days I don't go over $20 bucks (US equivalent). Well Im usually always cutting... Im a fat a$$

LOL same here bro.. well im not a fatass but im never lean lean. Not gonna "bulk" again until i hit around 8%.

Why so high on protein? its not particularly necessary even if it is enjoyable.

And sams club should have chicken breasts at 1.88-1.99/lb, so that might help.

Well thats about 1.5 x my lean bodymass. In a slight caloric deficit doing cardio everyday and no anti-catabolic agents (AAS), I figured i should eat at least that much.

Thanks Easy im gonna head over there now.. tried last night but the damn place closes at 830

 

[JajaNe20]

Sam's is the shizit, I buy all my food there! Everything from greek yogurt to beef, shrimp, steak. What other college student do you know that lives in an efficiency and has a damn 5 cubic foot freezer in his room! Haha idc it's all about improvement and I'll sacrifice some living space for my precious freezer. With that being said food is expensive, I eat super clean and it still runs me 80-100$ every 8 days or so. Depends on if I get cheap round steak, london broil or hit up some ground sirloin

 

[EasyEJL]

Well thats about 1.5 x my lean bodymass. In a slight caloric deficit doing cardio everyday and no anti-catabolic agents (AAS), I figured i should eat at least that much.

yeah, I just still haven't seen any documentation of needing more than .6 - .8g/lb to maintain mass, whether in endurance or strength athletes I tend to eat more than that just for enjoyment, but i'm not terribly anal so long as I get somewhere over 150g

 

[bezoe]

yeah, I just still haven't seen any documentation of needing more than .6 - .8g/lb to maintain mass, whether in endurance or strength athletes I tend to eat more than that just for enjoyment, but i'm not terribly anal so long as I get somewhere over 150g

thats interesting. Im always eager to know what studies show. The only thing im worried about is if I decrease cals from protein ill have to increase carb intake to make up for it. But... I guess if im consuming too much protein now its only getting converted to carbohydrates anyway.

So i just got back from sams club. The frozen chicken was $10 for a giant bag with probably 15 or 20 huge breasts. I also bought enough oats for the rest of the month. Ill def be shopping for bulk products next paycheck.

PS their protein wasnt too expensive either. $30 for a 5 pound bag of 1400g of whey.

 

[EasyEJL]

actually when I shifted down on protein, I added more nuts + healthy fats instead, which not only was healthy, but yummy

 

[EasyEJL]

heres one, at 1.4g/kg/day strength athletes maintained

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1474076

1.8g/kg for endurance athletes maintained

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16546481

a sort of meta-table from a doctor evaluating studies
Table 1. Caloric and Protein Intake Guidelines




Activity Level

Caloric Intake

Protein Intake



General Activity

25 -35 kcals/kg/day

0.8 – 1.0 g/kg/day



Strength Training Athletes

50 – 80 kcals/kg/day

1.4 – 1.8+ g/kg/day



Endurance Athletes

150 – 200 kcals/kg/day

1.2 – 1.4 g/kg/day


have yet to find a study that there was negative body comp change at anything above .6-.8g/lb. its a little rough, as in the studies above you can see they went .8g/kg, 1.6g/kg, 2.4g/kg which is basically RDA, 2x RDA, 3x RDA and nobody has bothered so far to try and narrow it down closer.

 

[bezoe]

Thats interesting. May taper down and see how my body comp and strength/recovery reacts.

 

[Torobestia]

It's often cheaper to shop for deals on produce at stores than it is to buy it at Sam's. Most of my staples at Sam's aren't produce, with the exception of spinach or that spring salad mix, sugar snaps, and avocados. Peppers used to be good until they started selling the world's smallest peppers at the same price, and often times I find fruit like blueberries and grapes for better prices elsewhere. Sausage, eggs, and oatmeal are often the cheapest at Sam's, though; their salmon is also very c heap - 3lbs for 23-24.

 

[Bagged01]

i say i spend about 350-500 a month on food for my training and for my kids and wife,
i think the fruits is the one thats killing me, other than that i buy in bulk costco!!!!

 

[mattrag]

Quite honestly I've been playing around with the idea of only eating healthy fats and drinking bcaas recently.
Might not actually be cheaper though lol.

 

[Blergs]

How do you guys afford 6 meals a day? Im spending over 80 a week on food (not including protein powder). This chicken and tuna is getting expensive lol Any tips on meat that is affodable? Im eating 350g protein/day.

yes add in ALOT of peatnutbutter 1tbs -100cal 4tbs in a protien drink is 400cal just the peanutbutter then say 2 scoops of whey is abouy another 300cal now you have 700cal for cheaper.
peanutbutter and BREAD sandwich CHEAP and FULL ofcalories PACK on the peanutbutter
also BANANAS! their CHEAP and good for you.
oatmeal by the bulk i also good.

 

[Blergs]

Quite honestly I've been playing around with the idea of only eating healthy fats and drinking bcaas recently.
Might not actually be cheaper though lol.

I wouldent do that with whey protein yes maybe

 

[Blergs]

ohh also OLIVE OIL i ad dit to almost all my shakes, like1-3oz per drink.

 

[OrganicShadow]

I found when I do higher fats and mod protein I start cutting costs. Why is it carbs, the lesser part of my diet, have to be the cheapest? Oh, were forgetting vegetables. I eat a lot of those and they vary from 1.50-4 bucks per pound.

 

[bezoe]

I found when I do higher fats and mod protein I start cutting costs. Why is it carbs, the lesser part of my diet, have to be the cheapest? Oh, were forgetting vegetables. I eat a lot of those and they vary from 1.50-4 bucks per pound.

Exactly. carbs are dirt cheap.. its the damn meat and whey thats killing me. I think this frozen chicken from sams will save me some money

 

[OrganicShadow]

I don't wanna go on an antigovernment rant but there is politics involved. We do overproduce grain and badger Americans to eat more gain that necessary to keep costs as is. It's supply and demand and dry grain is waaaay cheaper to transport than something like fresh fruit. And a ten cent raise on cinnamon toast crunch could mean a whole population of African people not being able to afford food. Oh, and if we ever did move to ethanol from corn as a biofuel forget it- pop tarts would cost 20 bucks

 

[bboyflash]

Pallets off eggs! I go thro 5 dozen a week not including other sources I get

 

[owlicks]

Hmm -- Do you guys have Trader Joe's in your area? I'm able to keep it down to about $35 per week.

Here's my normal TJ's shopping list:

1 or 2 bags of pre-washed arugula
2 red bell peppers
1 red onion
1 bag organic baby carrots
1 package grape tomatoes
1 bunch of bananas
1 package pulled chicken breast (good for two meals)
1 bottle fat free balsamic (lasts a month)
3 cans of white fin tuna in olive oil
2 containers of pasteurized egg whites
2 containers (32 oz) fat free cottage cheese
2 containers (32 oz) fat free greek yogurt
1 package fat free english muffins
1 package feta cheese crumbles (lasts about two weeks)
1 package (16 oz) raw almonds (last a few weeks)

Believe it or not that all adds up to about $35 to $40. I also buy some items in bulk from Costco, mostly Adams peanut butter, frozen chicken breasts, plain oats, and frozen turkey patties.

With all of that, I'm able to keep my food costs pretty low (supplement costs are another story), and take in about 230 to 250 g of protein per day mostly from whole foods. It only starts adding up if I eat out.

 

[mattrag]

man if i only had a trader joes in my area...

 

[OrganicShadow]

I wish I had trader joes. All I get is stop and shop, fries chicken Chinese restaurants and liquor stores. Damn urban NJ.

 

[owlicks]

I wish I had trader joes. All I get is stop and shop, fries chicken Chinese restaurants and liquor stores. Damn urban NJ.

Maybe there is one closer than you think? Looks like you're kind of surrounded by them: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Trader+Joe's+near+Newark,+NJ&hl=en&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=46.812293,92.548828&vpsrc=0&z=10

 

[OrganicShadow]

Theyre all in Manhattan. Granted I work in the upper east side but I'm not tryin to cart my groceries on the bus. I appreciate the thought though

 

[bezoe]

Im surrounded by boondocks lol.. i might check out some different farmers markets

 

[Linda Albert]

take little food at eating time..

 

[bezoe]

take little food at eating time..

huh? lol

 

[owlicks]

huh? lol

I think it's a Sun Tzu quote.

 

[bezoe]

lol who the **** is sun tzu.. i dont know anything about little food- its all BIG FOOD. And eating time is all the time..

 

[scherbs]

lol who the **** is sun tzu.
The teacher in me cries

 

[Ziricote]

Don't know Sun Tzu, next thing you'll be saying y'all ain't heard of Siddhārtha Gautama, Confucius, or Nichiren! :lmao:

Just playin' Back on topic, if you go into supermarkets here chicken costs upwards of £6.00 a kilo, and usually you'll find chicken breasts for £5-6 for 600g... Farmers markets are even worse ('organic' = ££.££). At best I used to be able to get 5kg of chicken beast for £4.50/kg which was a pretty good deal, hopefully the butcher still remembers me and I can haggle him down to 5kg for £20...

 

[steppinRazor]

 

[juiceless_joe]

How do you guys afford 6 meals a day? Im spending over 80 a week on food (not including protein powder). This chicken and tuna is getting expensive lol Any tips on meat that is affodable? Im eating 350g protein/day.

I blow the butcher.

 

[bezoe]

I blow the butcher.

Yea well im not looking for italian sausage