How to get big on a crap budget?

[Pumpupthejam]

Hey guys. I earn about $400 a week due to not having a trade or anything and being a useless pom.

What good food could I buy to build myself up within my budget? I'd say after bills, petrol etc my food budget is about $100-150 a week.

I want to keep a consistent diet for about 6 months. I am weight training and my goal is to bulk up big time.

Also, I'm wanting to eat good food, nothing processed or Mcdonalds or anything like that.

Any help would be much appreciated! Cheers.

[diamond]

heaps of egg whites, protein powder, cans of tuna, brown rice, fresh veges from the supermarket or fruit and vege market.

[Pumpupthejam]

heaps of egg whites, protein powder, cans of tuna, brown rice, fresh veges from the supermarket or fruit and vege market.

Sweet. Cuz fruit and veg is pretty cheap isnt it? Should I avoid white rice?

[diamond]

yeah white rice will mostly just blow you up. stick to brown rice, i reckon it tastes like shit compared to white rice, some people ( hippies etc ) reckon it tastes nice.. it doesn't.

But if you are working to a budget then get into it. 4 or 5 cups of cooked brown rice a day along with your veges and protein and you'll be all good.

Check out the butchers as well, sometimes you can get steak and chicken thats almost over expiry pretty cheap, half price or better.

Oats are another thing you can use that are really cheap. Chuck a handfull in with your shakes.

One good way to make brown rice taste a little bit better is to hit it with a bit of soy sauce, people give soy sauce a bad rap because of high sodium levels, but i love it. Bit of extra salt aint going to hurt anyway.

[boostinggtir]

$150 per week isn't to bad, the above info is good, I'd also get a little steak for one meal a day, Bad butcher has 8.95 kg of steak this week. Also get some white rise for your post work out meal.

[Hennie]

yeah all above!

Tuna and brown rice, + teaspoon of tomato sauce also good.

Oats also really cheap, if you are just concerned about bulking and can get away with extra calories then you can go for cheaper less lean sources of meat like that Bad butcher steak that was mentioned.

Buy some bulk dextrose or waxy maize, don't fall for "I need supplements to grow" cause that = "I will have less cash"

[Pseudonym]

stick to brown rice, i reckon it tastes like shit compared to white rice, some people ( hippies etc ) reckon it tastes nice.. it doesn't.

I like it! But I admit not everyone does.

Supermarket checkout lady: Ooh, do you actually eat this stuff?

Me: Yeah, it's nice. And better for you than white rice.

Supermarket lady: I've never tried it.

Me: It takes a bit longer to cook, but it tastes nuttier than white rice. You should give it a go.

Supermarket lady: In the Islands, we feed it to the chickens.

:pfft:

[laurasaur]

lolol.. mmmm chicken feed.

but seriously i agree with everyone else. meat + rice + veges and you will be set just be prepared for your food to be boring unless you are super motivated

[Varven]

Look for discount vouchers.

Look for special sales.

Often in places like pak n save if the next day is the "use by" or "best before", they will slash prices.

Buy it then and cook it instantly... it can last a week in the fridge.

Go to the vege markets, MUCh cheaper than wool worths..

EGGS.....

When I was on a budget Id often eat 12 - 20 eggs (white and whole depending on what i wanted in my diet)... cheap protein.

[goinhard]

Leave a few oats lying round till you get mice, trap them with peanut butter, not too much though cos thats more money then throw them in the foreman.

Peanuts in bulk are cheap and calorie dense, olive oil, whole milk etc.

[startinfromscratch]

mate im also on a budget, though i do buy supps on the mastercard :pfft:

im trying to bulk atm, and another excellent, cheap form of lots of carbs - Kumara! i just cut and boil say 4 large, mashem and keep in a container in the fridge. Get a decent amount down you day to day. also agree with eggs, use whole if your bulking!

eggs kumara oats tuna/chopchop b.rice steak : base foods imo \:D/

[Pumpupthejam]

mate im also on a budget, though i do buy supps on the mastercard :pfft:

im trying to bulk atm, and another excellent, cheap form of lots of carbs - Kumara! i just cut and boil say 4 large, mashem and keep in a container in the fridge. Get a decent amount down you day to day. also agree with eggs, use whole if your bulking!

eggs kumara oats tuna/chopchop b.rice steak : base foods imo \:D/

Funny you mention Kumara as I've just started eating them. THey taste like shit on their own (to me anyway) so I eat them with roast potatoes and gravy, and some meat of course.

But yeah, sweet potatoes give you lots of energy from what I've heard.

This year, I found that I was buying Mcdonalds reguarly as it was very convenient and cheap after a work out at the gym, but for 2009 I'll make an effort to prepare something before hand to take with me.

Cheers to everyone for the tips as well guys.

[diamond]

I agree with Hennie, forget about supplements if you are on a really tight budget, you can still get big with diet and training.

When jay cutler first started out he was broke and lived on his parents chicken farm. He couldn't afford supplements but still put on 50 lbs in his first serious year of training just by smashing back heaps of eggs veges and chicken breast.

One thing i would suggest is get you hands on a cheap no frills monohydrate. Just make sure you drink 4 litres of water everyday when taking it and keep added salt out of your diet and you will make some good gains.

[Pumpupthejam]

I agree with Hennie, forget about supplements if you are on a really tight budget, you can still get big with diet and training.

When jay cutler first started out he was broke and lived on his parents chicken farm. He couldn't afford supplements but still put on 50 lbs in his first serious year of training just by smashing back heaps of eggs veges and chicken breast.

One thing i would suggest is get you hands on a cheap no frills monohydrate. Just make sure you drink 4 litres of water everyday when taking it and keep added salt out of your diet and you will make some good gains.

Cheers for the advice. Whats a monohydrate by the way?

[boostinggtir]

mate im also on a budget, though i do buy supps on the mastercard :pfft:

im trying to bulk atm, and another excellent, cheap form of lots of carbs - Kumara! i just cut and boil say 4 large, mashem and keep in a container in the fridge. Get a decent amount down you day to day. also agree with eggs, use whole if your bulking!

eggs kumara oats tuna/chopchop b.rice steak : base foods imo \:D/

I wouldn't consider chop chop for people on a budget, though you gotta love the convince, also it's so effortless to eat. If you can find $10 a kg chicken breast you'd be getting around twice the protein you'd get from $10 (3 cans) of chop chop. Keep on eye out for chicken week at the MB.

[soundsgood]

I dunno. Chop Chop is generally $2.50 per 160g at a cheap supermarket.

Thats $15.50 per kg - pre cooked, conveniently packaged and ready to eat.

Versus cheap Chicken Breast that you still have to cook up.

[boostinggtir]

I dunno. Chop Chop is generally $2.50 per 160g at a cheap supermarket.

Thats $15.50 per kg - pre cooked, conveniently packaged and ready to eat.

Versus cheap Chicken Breast that you still have to cook up.

I've seen it at that price, at pak n save once, it usually cost me $3.60 - $3.80. Feel free to let me know when it's on sale for $2.50. :grin:

[soundsgood]

Standard price at Pak N Save Mill St is $2.49. I go in and buy 4 trays (48 cans) start of every month, along with heaps of packets of rice, trays of eggs and mixed veges. All the muppets shop there but its worth grinning and bearing it for the money you save :grin:

[Optimass]

Standard price at Pak N Save Mill St is $2.49. I go in and buy 4 trays (48 cans) start of every month, along with heaps of packets of rice, trays of eggs and mixed veges. All the muppets shop there but its worth grinning and bearing it for the money you save :grin:

Watch the Warehouse every now and then mate - have been doing $1.99 per can for a couple of weeks now.

[aidangro]

loads of good advice above, i live off cans of tuna, i buy 14 cans at the start of the week at about $2.20 a can, they have (depending on brand) about 35 - 38 grams of protein per can, 2 cans a day is a big chunk of ya daily need. plus eggs in morning , protein shakes & bars, oats

[Pumpupthejam]

Standard price at Pak N Save Mill St is $2.49. I go in and buy 4 trays (48 cans) start of every month, along with heaps of packets of rice, trays of eggs and mixed veges. All the muppets shop there but its worth grinning and bearing it for the money you save :grin:

What is chop chop?

[Mrbig]

chicken in a can my buddy its the best thing since protein powder haha I reckon your budget is pretty good I try to spend the same amount and I get in around 5000kcals a day

p.s the best chop chop is the shredded 1 with lite mayo love dat shit

[boostinggtir]

O man I've gotta get back to paknsav mill street, that's a great saving. :nod:

[severe]

buying whole chickens and cooking is way cheaper.

sure, time is a factor, but if you want to have more creative control over your life, buying in bulk, cooking at home is the way to go.

A whole cooked chicken can be dinner, breakfast and lunch, when combined with vegetables and grains.

I have a family, both my wife and I cook, and it is awesome.

As a single guy many years ago, I would go for convenience, but seriously... if you are on a budget, get some cooking lessons.

oh yeah! \:D/

[SoaringSwine]

I wish I had $150 a week to spend on food . Well I do at the moment but not when I go back to uni. Like others have said: rice, eggs, oats are my staples. I buy chicken breast in bulk when it's cheap and freeze it. I need to invest in a bigger freezer though. Current one is tiny and flatmates put their damn bread in it.