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Cheapest food sources to fill out my macros?

I am looking for some cheap food sources

Rebellious_Saiyan
Rebellious_Saiyan g Reece Palmer
14 Post(s)
14 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: January 1, 2017
Posted

Hey guys, I am going to become a platinum member in a few days to use the meal planner, so I just wanted to get some ideas on what foods are cheap but fit your macros well? I am on a budget and don't mind eating the same thing everyday as long as I see progress.
I'm not sure if this will help at all but these are the macros I'll be using:

220g Protein (880 Calories)

350g Carbs (1400 Calories)

90g Fat (810 Calories)

 

Total Calories = 3090


Any advice would be appreciated, thanks! :)

Limitless_Derek
Limitless_Derek g Derek Libenstein
21 Post(s)
21 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: February 2, 2017
Posted

Rice and quinoa are pretty cheap and easy to prepare carbs, plus quinoa is relatively high in protein so even better.

 

For protein I tend to stick to chicken and pork chops.

 

My fats tend to be a little more expensive but like you I have 90g of fat a day so it's not so bad. I usually have almonds and pistachios. Sometimes a little peanut butter if I need it.

jorgeegroj
jorgeegroj g Jorge Villarreal
106 Post(s)
106 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: January 1, 2017
Posted
Posted By: Rebellious_Saiyan

Hey guys, I am going to become a platinum member in a few days to use the meal planner, so I just wanted to get some ideas on what foods are cheap but fit your macros well? I am on a budget and don't mind eating the same thing everyday as long as I see progress.
I'm not sure if this will help at all but these are the macros I'll be using:

220g Protein (880 Calories)

350g Carbs (1400 Calories)

90g Fat (810 Calories)

 

Total Calories = 3090


Any advice would be appreciated, thanks! :)

I used to be on the grind. I'm going to hit you with some truth from my experience with this.

I was broke. Like, can't afford chicken breasts broke. I used to live on ~$40/week.

My protein came from shakes and chicken. Not breasts, not thighs, not actual chicken. It was the terrible processed chicken in chicken tenders and nuggets that happened to be on sale at my local store. I know they have a bunch of terrible things in them, but I was getting a huge amount of protein and some carbs as well so it really was the best bang for my buck at the time. (I remember actually checking. Buying hamburger patties was a close second).

 

My carbs were mostly bread and rice. (since white bread is a tiny bit cheaper I would sometimes go with white, but other times I would do whole grain because it's just so much better for you and only like a dollar more expensive. However, every single cent mattered back then so some weeks it was white bread). As far as rice, I would suggest getting brown rice and just throwing some sort of seasoning on it (I used italian seasoning on everything because my roommates bought it and I didn't have enough money to buy one of my own). I would get fats from peanut butter and mayo for my sandwiches. My sandwiches usually had a LOT of PB or some ham (these are the ones with the mayo). I used to go through tubs of PB like it was nothing. It's hard to do at first but you get used to it.

 

Now that I've grown out of that and have a better paying job, I eat a lot more meats (steaks, chicken breasts, pork chops), I've heard quinoa is AMAZING for gains, but I have not yet tried it. So you could obviously try those, but I feel like chicken's dark meat is probably the best bang-for-your-buck as far as protein from actual meats (not chicken tenders and the like). Maybe look into that.

 

Lastly, when I was feeling too depressed with my life and had no energy left to grind at the gym, I would make myself pasta (get the extra protein kind) and just get a HUGE meal of pasta and chicken. (Nowadays I do more salmon and stuff like that, maybe some shrimp if I'm trying to impress a lady friend or something). However, if you're on the grind you need to get your macro counting on point. Practice IIFYM and spend hours at the grocery store just figuring out how you're going to pair things so that you meet your macros.

 

Back then I used to count only protein and was at a calory deficit (because I didn't want to spend more money for a bulk) I got shredded but rarely put on any mass. However, I did gain a lot of strength and now with proper diet and a bit of a surplus, I'm able to kill it at the gym and get a bunch of gains really easily.

 

 

I don't know how tight your budget is, but maybe these ideas will help you out.
Another thing you can do is get potatoes and just boil'em or cut them into tiny slices and sautee them. It will give you a bunch of carbs.

 

 

 

I would NOT suggest you try these things if you're not in a super tight budget. I was in a really hard spot in my life. I literally spent more money on my gym membership than I did on food. However, maybe take some of the IIFYM practices or take some of the advice and if you have a bit more money than I used to have spare enough for a lean bulk.

 

 

best of luck and let me know how it goes!

Frat bro turned barbell boss. Two black belts. (Tae-Kwon-Do and Ai-Ki-Do)
Rebellious_Saiyan
Rebellious_Saiyan g Reece Palmer
14 Post(s)
14 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: January 1, 2017
Posted
Hey guys, thanks for your responses, I appreciate the help!
Limitless_Derek
Limitless_Derek g Derek Libenstein
21 Post(s)
21 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: February 2, 2017
Posted

I just started a new meal plab myself and financially it's extremely difficult trying to afford 300g of protein a day. I'm trying to stick to chicken as it's the cheapest and when I can't get breast I just remove the skin so I don't get too much fat. And quinoa is excellent. Definitely recommend but because of how high my caloric intake is ( 4,000 calories) rice is just more affordable.

muscular strength
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