B Con
12-18-08, 7:43 am
As a fellow strapped for cash student, over the years during my war with the iron, I have learned several things. Figured I could pass down some of my wisdom and help out those in need of wanting to become BIG with limited resources. First things first, if you are one of the lucky ones who has a parent with a Costco or Sam's membership, then you are able to buy in bulk at pretty decent prices. For those of us without this benefit, it takes a little bit of creativity to bulk or cut while on a budget. Here are what I consider the cheap bare necessities. I will cover basic supplements, as well, but it will be slim to none, as while in school, I never have money for supplements so I have to be inventive.
I get a lot of messages on the boards about "how do you eat if you're in school?" or "I don't have money for this" or "how can I afford that"... therefore I bring you BIG on a budget. I'm not saying go out and buy all these items... but you can easily get away with buying a few from each list and being set for a few weeks without breaking the bank. I know because I have done it for a few years now...
You want to always start with the meats. 9 times out of 10, you can find pretty decent deals here when buying in bulk.
Meats:
-Tuna (I cannot tell you how many times all I could afford was cans and cans of Tuna. I opted for the cheapest cans I could find and usually found them for around 50 cents a can.)
-Ground Beef (I consider this the next cheapest thing you can find that's worth the money as well. Buy this bad boy in those HUGE containers meant for a "family"... typically they are around 15 bucks but contain around 10 lbs of at least 80/20 beef. That's easily several meals of 8 oz of beef... very hard to pass this up. Some days I only got tuna and beef in the store)
-Chicken (What sucks here is a lot of times I have found the chicken to be more expensive or not as much food for the buck when buying the chicken breasts in the poultry/meat area. Bypass this section and search for either the "cans" of chicken (these are by the tuna) or towards the freezer area where you can find the big bags of chicken for around 6-7 bucks of 10 chicken breasts. The only downside is these have bones with 'em...)
-Steaks (I only put this category on there because every now and then you can find a decent deal on a set of steaks... and when you find that deal, its damn hard to pass up, especially when you have been eating tuna for weeks on end).
-Be smart with the meats as you can sometimes find stacks of lunch meat on sale, bags of salmon, roast, etc. If you have a friend that hunts, get some venison or other meat from him as well. Can't beat free lean meat like that.
Dairy:
-Eggs: Man oh man if you can find those sweet deals on the 5 dozen of eggs for under 8 bucks you are SET. You can eat almost a month off of that deal. Plus eggs make anything taste better (think tuna omelet with melted cheese, isn't that better than tuna out of the can?)
-Milk: Nowadays milk is fucking expensive. It's getting to be close to 5 bucks a gallon here... if you're getting it though sometimes you can find those specials where the milk is cheaper, but it's also going to expire that Friday. This is about the only time I saw myself buying 2 gallons of milk and trying to finish them off before they went bad. Fun times... Milk also provides a lot of extra bang for your buck when you are bulking and need more cals for your shakes.
-Cottage Cheese: Buy a big container of this and in my opinion, you don't need the latest casein whey. I would buy the big container of this stuff and eat it nightly or even blend it with whey powder when I had some. Don't like the taste? buy some of those jello packets for flavor...
-Yogurt: Honestly I hated the taste of this stuff as it was always a battle but when I was cutting I used to combine it with tuna and it wasn't terrible...
-Cheese: This is vital if you really need help coming up with some taste for your foods... I used to melt this stuff on anything and everything and it helped add a few more calories as needed.
Breads/grains:
-Bread (loaves of white/wheat whatever your kick): I always went with the cheapest version of what I needed. I leaned towards whole wheat, but the choice is what's best for you. If you eat white bread then by all means destroy it and get your grow on. If you are one of those I need wheat types, you can typically find deals on them as well. You may spend a little more on your bread than you would other areas but still not a bad investment.
-Rice: This is so damn cheap to buy those mega bags of rice and cook portions of it as a time. If you are needing some carbs in your meals you really can't beat adding a cup of rice to each one. White, brown, whole grain... you choice.
-Potatoes: You can normally find a big ass bag of these bad boys laying around for a decent price... buy a bag of 'em and enjoy! Regular or sweet...
-Pastas: No not the latest Italian vintage noodles, go for that discolored bag of off brand noodles and use it like you do the rice, one cup or so.
-Oats: I really don't think you can beat a cylinder of oats. This is value all the way. Good ol' fashioned oats...
Veggies/Fruits/Others:
-Frozen mixed veggies: I have bought big bags of broccoli several times and continue to do so...
-Canned Veggies: You can find a lot of what you are needing in canned veggies for half the price of what you would pay for the fresh produce...
-Spinach Leaves: Every now and then these bad boys are on sale...
-Fresh Produce: If you don't see good deals around the store then wait till you see a good roadside country boy selling some on the side of the road, can't beat it.
-Bananas: I would buy these bad boys a dozen at a time...
-Almonds/Cashews: I use 'em here and there throughout the day to add in some good fats... not always the cheapest but sometimes you can find deals
-Peanut Butter: Are you kidding me? This is KING of the bulk and makes everything so much better. Get some natty pb and you are adding EFAs to the mix as well...
-Olive Oil: This isn't cheap but has great benefits...
-WATER: this is the most underrated I have ever seen... consume water and consume LOTS of it.... I would buy a gallon jug and refill that baby in the kitchen sink. Still do. Get in as much water as you can at least a gallon a day...
Supps:
-I really think you only need very few supplements to maintain... in fact I think you could get away with taking a good multi vitamin (PAK) for the most part while on a budget and get the others in as you can. I think a good multi is vital to ensuring you are getting all the proper nutrients/minerals that you may be missing in whole foods. Honestly when I was first starting out I used a 10 lb bag of whey and a multi vitamin for over a year with amazing results.
-Protein: Buy a big ass bag of whey and let it stay with ya for a while. Sure the 60 or 70 bucks is a bit much today, but that 10 lb bag will last you for a LOOOONG time. And you can do so much with protein, i.e. make sludge, shakes, pancakes, cookies, homemade protein bars... etc
-Weight Gainer: Forget buying these, make your own with the whey, oats, peanut butter, milk... hell even add some fruits/berries for an antioxidant feel to 'em... You would be surprised how much some oats and PB can do for your shakes when trying to put on mass. Hell if you want to get serious add some sugar free ice cream to these bad boys...
-Protein bars: As mentioned make your own. There are several recipes out there just google 'em or search this site. I have saved a boat load just by making my own bars and putting what I wanted in them... once again you will find oats and pb to be vital.
-EFAs: You want to make sure you are getting these in... you can even opt for more efa rich foods like fish, efa styled pb, oil, butter...
-Creatine: Everyone wants to lift more and be bigger, stronger... you get the point. Buy this stuff in BULK. Don't opt for the latest technology in advancing creatine, go for the proven method of mono. Even though I really don't think creatine is needed when you are first starting off.
-Fat Burner: I only put this one on there as there may be people wanting to shed weight or whatever they feel the need to do and think they must have the latest fat burning technology. Not so. In fact, change your diet up, adjust your cals, eat cleaner, add cardio, shorten your rest times and go from there. When you hit a plateau you may want to add some green tea extract and caffeine extract for a slight jump start. After all these are the top two ingredients in the top 100 fat burners... if these stop working then opt for something like Cuts or Zero G or something else to send you back into fat burning. Whatever you do keep adjusting. Add time on your cardio... do more cardio... up the intensity... shed another 100 cals... whatever is needed adjust.
Sure there may be a few things I left out here or there... but the key thing is keeping things simple in the beginning and going for the proven things. You can't beat having quality foods. In fact, I would rather have a fridge full of solid foods than a cabinet full of supps any day. There is no easy fix. There is no short cuts. There isn't a magic yam you can eat that will put on 20 lbs, take 5 inches off your gut, and add another 5 to your arms/chest. Abs aren't built overnight. Hell if it was easy, no one would want it. It takes days, months, years of hard work in the gym, at the dinner table, and through life to get where you want to go. You want a breakdown? I truly believe 75% of everything comes from nutrition/diet/dinner table. 15% comes from the constant hardwork and dedication in the gym. And the remaining 10% is broken down for 5% from attitude/motivation and another 5% for supplements. That's right there is no magic pill...
Consistency is the key and if you want something go out there and get it. So many people say they don't have TIME to go lift. Go to bed EARLIER and WAKE UP a few hours EARLIER and wham, you now have time to hit the gym. Don't like that, well during your lunch break go to the gym and get a quick workout in. After dinner go to the gym instead of watching that show on TV. TiVO it or poor man TiVO it (yes use that VCR haha). Run outside through your neighborhood. Do pushups, situps, BW squats, anything while watching TV. There is ALWAYS time to go out and get what you want to do... you just have to make it. Nothing will be handed to you... you have to go out there and take it
I get a lot of messages on the boards about "how do you eat if you're in school?" or "I don't have money for this" or "how can I afford that"... therefore I bring you BIG on a budget. I'm not saying go out and buy all these items... but you can easily get away with buying a few from each list and being set for a few weeks without breaking the bank. I know because I have done it for a few years now...
You want to always start with the meats. 9 times out of 10, you can find pretty decent deals here when buying in bulk.
Meats:
-Tuna (I cannot tell you how many times all I could afford was cans and cans of Tuna. I opted for the cheapest cans I could find and usually found them for around 50 cents a can.)
-Ground Beef (I consider this the next cheapest thing you can find that's worth the money as well. Buy this bad boy in those HUGE containers meant for a "family"... typically they are around 15 bucks but contain around 10 lbs of at least 80/20 beef. That's easily several meals of 8 oz of beef... very hard to pass this up. Some days I only got tuna and beef in the store)
-Chicken (What sucks here is a lot of times I have found the chicken to be more expensive or not as much food for the buck when buying the chicken breasts in the poultry/meat area. Bypass this section and search for either the "cans" of chicken (these are by the tuna) or towards the freezer area where you can find the big bags of chicken for around 6-7 bucks of 10 chicken breasts. The only downside is these have bones with 'em...)
-Steaks (I only put this category on there because every now and then you can find a decent deal on a set of steaks... and when you find that deal, its damn hard to pass up, especially when you have been eating tuna for weeks on end).
-Be smart with the meats as you can sometimes find stacks of lunch meat on sale, bags of salmon, roast, etc. If you have a friend that hunts, get some venison or other meat from him as well. Can't beat free lean meat like that.
Dairy:
-Eggs: Man oh man if you can find those sweet deals on the 5 dozen of eggs for under 8 bucks you are SET. You can eat almost a month off of that deal. Plus eggs make anything taste better (think tuna omelet with melted cheese, isn't that better than tuna out of the can?)
-Milk: Nowadays milk is fucking expensive. It's getting to be close to 5 bucks a gallon here... if you're getting it though sometimes you can find those specials where the milk is cheaper, but it's also going to expire that Friday. This is about the only time I saw myself buying 2 gallons of milk and trying to finish them off before they went bad. Fun times... Milk also provides a lot of extra bang for your buck when you are bulking and need more cals for your shakes.
-Cottage Cheese: Buy a big container of this and in my opinion, you don't need the latest casein whey. I would buy the big container of this stuff and eat it nightly or even blend it with whey powder when I had some. Don't like the taste? buy some of those jello packets for flavor...
-Yogurt: Honestly I hated the taste of this stuff as it was always a battle but when I was cutting I used to combine it with tuna and it wasn't terrible...
-Cheese: This is vital if you really need help coming up with some taste for your foods... I used to melt this stuff on anything and everything and it helped add a few more calories as needed.
Breads/grains:
-Bread (loaves of white/wheat whatever your kick): I always went with the cheapest version of what I needed. I leaned towards whole wheat, but the choice is what's best for you. If you eat white bread then by all means destroy it and get your grow on. If you are one of those I need wheat types, you can typically find deals on them as well. You may spend a little more on your bread than you would other areas but still not a bad investment.
-Rice: This is so damn cheap to buy those mega bags of rice and cook portions of it as a time. If you are needing some carbs in your meals you really can't beat adding a cup of rice to each one. White, brown, whole grain... you choice.
-Potatoes: You can normally find a big ass bag of these bad boys laying around for a decent price... buy a bag of 'em and enjoy! Regular or sweet...
-Pastas: No not the latest Italian vintage noodles, go for that discolored bag of off brand noodles and use it like you do the rice, one cup or so.
-Oats: I really don't think you can beat a cylinder of oats. This is value all the way. Good ol' fashioned oats...
Veggies/Fruits/Others:
-Frozen mixed veggies: I have bought big bags of broccoli several times and continue to do so...
-Canned Veggies: You can find a lot of what you are needing in canned veggies for half the price of what you would pay for the fresh produce...
-Spinach Leaves: Every now and then these bad boys are on sale...
-Fresh Produce: If you don't see good deals around the store then wait till you see a good roadside country boy selling some on the side of the road, can't beat it.
-Bananas: I would buy these bad boys a dozen at a time...
-Almonds/Cashews: I use 'em here and there throughout the day to add in some good fats... not always the cheapest but sometimes you can find deals
-Peanut Butter: Are you kidding me? This is KING of the bulk and makes everything so much better. Get some natty pb and you are adding EFAs to the mix as well...
-Olive Oil: This isn't cheap but has great benefits...
-WATER: this is the most underrated I have ever seen... consume water and consume LOTS of it.... I would buy a gallon jug and refill that baby in the kitchen sink. Still do. Get in as much water as you can at least a gallon a day...
Supps:
-I really think you only need very few supplements to maintain... in fact I think you could get away with taking a good multi vitamin (PAK) for the most part while on a budget and get the others in as you can. I think a good multi is vital to ensuring you are getting all the proper nutrients/minerals that you may be missing in whole foods. Honestly when I was first starting out I used a 10 lb bag of whey and a multi vitamin for over a year with amazing results.
-Protein: Buy a big ass bag of whey and let it stay with ya for a while. Sure the 60 or 70 bucks is a bit much today, but that 10 lb bag will last you for a LOOOONG time. And you can do so much with protein, i.e. make sludge, shakes, pancakes, cookies, homemade protein bars... etc
-Weight Gainer: Forget buying these, make your own with the whey, oats, peanut butter, milk... hell even add some fruits/berries for an antioxidant feel to 'em... You would be surprised how much some oats and PB can do for your shakes when trying to put on mass. Hell if you want to get serious add some sugar free ice cream to these bad boys...
-Protein bars: As mentioned make your own. There are several recipes out there just google 'em or search this site. I have saved a boat load just by making my own bars and putting what I wanted in them... once again you will find oats and pb to be vital.
-EFAs: You want to make sure you are getting these in... you can even opt for more efa rich foods like fish, efa styled pb, oil, butter...
-Creatine: Everyone wants to lift more and be bigger, stronger... you get the point. Buy this stuff in BULK. Don't opt for the latest technology in advancing creatine, go for the proven method of mono. Even though I really don't think creatine is needed when you are first starting off.
-Fat Burner: I only put this one on there as there may be people wanting to shed weight or whatever they feel the need to do and think they must have the latest fat burning technology. Not so. In fact, change your diet up, adjust your cals, eat cleaner, add cardio, shorten your rest times and go from there. When you hit a plateau you may want to add some green tea extract and caffeine extract for a slight jump start. After all these are the top two ingredients in the top 100 fat burners... if these stop working then opt for something like Cuts or Zero G or something else to send you back into fat burning. Whatever you do keep adjusting. Add time on your cardio... do more cardio... up the intensity... shed another 100 cals... whatever is needed adjust.
Sure there may be a few things I left out here or there... but the key thing is keeping things simple in the beginning and going for the proven things. You can't beat having quality foods. In fact, I would rather have a fridge full of solid foods than a cabinet full of supps any day. There is no easy fix. There is no short cuts. There isn't a magic yam you can eat that will put on 20 lbs, take 5 inches off your gut, and add another 5 to your arms/chest. Abs aren't built overnight. Hell if it was easy, no one would want it. It takes days, months, years of hard work in the gym, at the dinner table, and through life to get where you want to go. You want a breakdown? I truly believe 75% of everything comes from nutrition/diet/dinner table. 15% comes from the constant hardwork and dedication in the gym. And the remaining 10% is broken down for 5% from attitude/motivation and another 5% for supplements. That's right there is no magic pill...
Consistency is the key and if you want something go out there and get it. So many people say they don't have TIME to go lift. Go to bed EARLIER and WAKE UP a few hours EARLIER and wham, you now have time to hit the gym. Don't like that, well during your lunch break go to the gym and get a quick workout in. After dinner go to the gym instead of watching that show on TV. TiVO it or poor man TiVO it (yes use that VCR haha). Run outside through your neighborhood. Do pushups, situps, BW squats, anything while watching TV. There is ALWAYS time to go out and get what you want to do... you just have to make it. Nothing will be handed to you... you have to go out there and take it