People always talk about how expensive it is to eat “healthy”. I am in the process of doing an experiment, not just to structure my eating habits better but also to show you first hand how simple it really is to eat a solid diet at an affordable price.
Things to consider with a structured plan:
1. Don’t expect to be all gourmet with your food. I mean we all love to have a variety but when you are training with a purpose and watching your bucks, it pays to be boring.
2. Think about what you enjoy eating and work with that. If you enjoy eating pizza all day, find another food to enjoy, as pizza every single day will most likely be counterproductive to your goals unless your goal is being obese
3. I suggest using a macro plan to fit the food to meet your macro-nutrient needs. If you don’t like macros, relax, you only really have to do this once. The rest is just making the same shit (or a slight variety of it) day after day. Of course it is boring, but what do you want, variety or to meet your goals? If you are doing this on a budget, that choice should be crystal clear.
So I figured mine out last night and here is the breakdown:
This is not broken up into meals, it is broken up into the overall plan.
2 cups of oatmeal
2 tbsp of peanut butter
2 scoops of whey
16 ounces of egg whites
345g of whole wheat pasta (that is a box of pasta a day, yes you read that right)
2 apples
3 large eggs
16 ounces of 90% lean ground beef
That breaks down to about
102g of fat (23% of daily calories)
462g of carbs (47% of daily calories)
276g of protein (30% of daily calories)
3933 calories
Edit: I eat a hell of a lot less today. 1000 calories less as a matter of fact. Damn a lot changed in 4 years with how much I eat.
This breaks down to about 66 grams of fiber and 65 grams of sugar, give or take a few
I hate vegetables and no matter how I try to spice them up, choking them down is a pain in the ass, so they are off my list. I love apples and I can eat everything else on my list daily, as I have done it before.
Edit: my palate changed since 2014 and I actually eat my vegetables now. THE HORROR.
Today when food shopping I spent less than 60 dollars for an entire week’s worth of food between Walmart and a local butcher who charges $3.79 a pound for lean ground beef when you buy it in 5 pound packs.
Edit: prices are now 5.39 a pound and up
As you can see, this will fit in with my goals, keep my food costs down and will fuel me for my workouts and recovery.
If you are eating 6000 calories a day, your costs will be higher for sure. I am a shade less than 4000 so mine are going to be what they are.
This cuts out stuff I love like cupcakes, cereal, milk and ice cream.
Is it hard? For sure, eating regimented is never easy but if you pick foods you enjoy and allow yourself ONE DAY a week to have a few extra pieces of shit food, you will help yourself greatly.
And if you know how to shop for food, you will save money. People who bitch about food costs being higher for something like this are not shopping correctly.
You don’t need to buy the bag of 5 dollar fresh pasta, my whole wheat pasta was 1.00 a box. Apples were 1.77 a pound, egg whites were in the carton and they were 3.98 for 32 ounces. Eggs vary in price as does meat. I mean if you are going to try to bullshit me that you can’t afford it, I am going to tell you yes you can.
Edit: I’m gluten free now so no more cheap pasta for me but rice and potatoes are still wicked affordable. Apple prices are slightly higher and egg white cartons are in the high 5’s now.
I spent a lot less than most people think. Maybe it’s time for you to prioritize food costs instead of food convenience.
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