Budget Building ?

[RedV]

Any tips on how to get big on a minimum amount of bucks per month worth of extras ?

Knowing that my grocery bill alone is 200/week. How do you guys get all the protein and low fat foods and supplements to make real gains ?

I currently spend about 100 bucks a month just on basics: protien, vitamins, creatine. Sometimes MRP's, PH, or No2....

whats your low cost secrets ? Inversely what are you actuals ?

TIA
GK

[bigsd67]

For me i just keep it basic...only use whey protein, no creatine, MRP's, PH or No2...i would rather eat solid foods anyway....i just pack lunch with me all the time instead of drinking lunch so much...also if my grocer has Ground Turkey at by 1 get 1 free (quite often) ill pick up a bunch of those instead of more expensive steaks...eggs and tuna are cheap too...

[mfenske]

Hey Red V I feel you on the grocery thing. I end up spending about 700 a month on groceries, not including supplements. I stick to the basics too. Just whey blend (Pro-Rated or Optimum) and whey Isolate (AST VP2). For keeping costs down I buy in as much bulk as I can (stupid small freezer). I hate to admit it, but I actually read the grocery store ads. Also, if you are a hunter that's a great way to get fresh lean protein. Well other than that, welcome to AR. Mark

[RedV]

Looks like my wife is going to need to be a more savvy shopper hehehe. The bars are pretty decent for meal replacement but man are they loaded with sugar and cholesterol. Its really hard to put together a good diet and be able to eat it.

I think the optium/gnc 100% whey (I am told they are the same) is one of the best buys. The mrp's run about 25 bucks/20 servings for GNC's elite with the gold card. Man they are almost two much too handle at one sit down tho. I mix one MRP with 3 cups of milk (otherwise its like concrete) it ends with a full blender.

So maybe the ideal 5 meals a day thing should be:

Breakfast:

wheat/cereal + protein shake

50G of protien
___________________
Early Lunch

Meat, soup very small snack

20G Protien
___________________

AfterNoon Lunch

Fruit, Cheese (I know pure fat, but man I love cheese), Protein shake

50G Protein

Dinner

Meat Veggies

30G of protein
___________________

Before bed

MRP

40G protein

totaling about 200G of protien per day seams light, hmmm

[mfenske]

If you haven't already done as such I would definitely check out either
www.allsportsnutrition.com or www.dpsnutrition.com Either site will send you supplements at a great price. Mark

[cb25]

yea, allsportnutrion is great...i've had great service and the sales deals on whey are usually pretty good...

kinda like everyone else said...try to focus on whole foods, whey protein and vitamins for supplements...no need to get too fancy, especially if you're on budget...

start cutting coupons and reading grocery ads...i know it's stupid and takes time, but it can really add up...

[syd]

stay away from GNC, you can do so much better $ wise when you order online...