This edition is for anyone tight on cash but trying to keep growth fueled reasonably well. My introduction to lifting and the foods to eat for strength/growth came via me being a “bad kid” and getting sent away to live with kin . I was in junior year of high school. I was fortunate to attend a very small (400) high school in a rural farming area. I was able to wt train M-F at school that year. Besides the wt training I was instructed to eat all the farm milk, beef , eggs and poultry I could as often as possible. It worked well. I had never even heard of protein powder at that time. So my stay was less than a year as I still had some bad kid behavior to get worked out.
So now I’m on my own well before nishing school. Had to keep training and eating for results . It’s what I wanted to do. I married at 18. Now I have kid and wife to take care of and try to do my thing while being a dad and husband. My protein staples were cheap lean beef. Cheapest lean I know of today is eye of round , round steak, sirloin. Sometimes I will see other good cuts on sale. I look for prices under $4.50 a lb. Chicken leg quarters I nd really cheap at times .70 per lb and it’s on. Yeah I know much of that weight is bone and fat. But it’s still a deal after that is removed. Turkey after the holidays can get very cheap if you look. Once it’s under buck a pound I get interested. Fish can get cheap if you watch. Tilapia and cat are my cheaper favs. Eggs can be had for under a buck a doz at times from aldi’s and other warehouse style grocers. White or light tuna in water under $1.20 a tin is a good one. Yes I nd tuna under .50 a tin at times but that is that tuna mush as I call it. Cottage cheese in big containers at places like Sam’s can be very reasonable. OK. That should cover basics in the protein dept.
Next up good cheap carb sources . Pasta is really cheap. Very easy to make pasta ahead for the week. Boil up 3-5 days worth ahead of time bag into desired portions freeze last two days rest in fridge ready to go. Throw in a strainer and dump some boiling water over or microwave it and you?re ready. Prebake potatoes sweet and regular spuds. Microwave them warm when you want them or let them warm in the oven if you are cooking something else.
Beans and legumes. Nice big pot of whatever type beans you like. Just warm up and use with your meals.Nice steady complex carbs. Bulk rice is ne and is cheap. Yes I know brown or wild or whatever may be better than good ole white rice but this is a on a tight budget write up.
Now all we need is vegetables . Frozen or fresh is ne. If you have to eat canned veggies try to do that as infrequently as possible. MY instinct says that canned veg’s have all the life and many of the nutrients cooked out of them. The exception being food you can from your garden. Fruits. Well fruit is very seasonal for many of us. Get it while the getting is good. Good cheap apples are around a good part of the year. Bananas under about .60 cents lb I’ll buy. Other fruits are cheap at certain times of the year. Nice post work out hit of simpler carbs. A favorite hot weather post w/o hydrator is good watermelon. It gets down under .10 sometimes. That is a deal! I did not mention breads . I feel like bread is not the most desirable bodybuilding food unless you drop some coin for the good stu ff. Remember this is for those of us with low dollars. There is nothing here about cooking recipes etc. That is well covered in forums. Our friend BigChef has way more great recipes than I could ever work through. If you are broke or really pinched it is easier to eat fairly healthy than to jam yourself with shitty calories. That can get pricey and yield some unwanted results.
I will tell you that circumstance does not have to slow down your ambition to better your body and mind one bit. Now the “back in the day” speech.
I was 18 training every night after work and saw Mike Mentzer for the rst time. I had a baby daughter a wife , rent and car payments etc. I took home well under $200 dollars a week. That was peanuts even in 1980. After seeing Mentzer I knew I’d nd a way to eat and keep training seeking out getting muscle like that for myself. Some of the golden era icons were really good hearted guys that understood a broke ass kid wanting what they had. Lance Dreher(jeez what a back!) once told me eat all the apples you want you won’t get fat. Just stay away from simple sugars. I think I first tryed protein supps about 4 yrs into serious training. Made great gains into my initiation to this way of life until I had money for supps etc. Managed to put on about 90-100lbs in about 5 yrs. So remember there is a way if you want it -despite circumstance. When tight on food it’s always better to spread it over the day rather than 2-3 too full type sittings. You’ll get the most out of what you have available that way. Hope this has been helpful for people newer to training that may have limited funds for the foods needed for recovery and growth.
Until next time happy eating and happy training ~Turbobusa
**From the 3rd issue of the AnaSCI Newsletter
So now I’m on my own well before nishing school. Had to keep training and eating for results . It’s what I wanted to do. I married at 18. Now I have kid and wife to take care of and try to do my thing while being a dad and husband. My protein staples were cheap lean beef. Cheapest lean I know of today is eye of round , round steak, sirloin. Sometimes I will see other good cuts on sale. I look for prices under $4.50 a lb. Chicken leg quarters I nd really cheap at times .70 per lb and it’s on. Yeah I know much of that weight is bone and fat. But it’s still a deal after that is removed. Turkey after the holidays can get very cheap if you look. Once it’s under buck a pound I get interested. Fish can get cheap if you watch. Tilapia and cat are my cheaper favs. Eggs can be had for under a buck a doz at times from aldi’s and other warehouse style grocers. White or light tuna in water under $1.20 a tin is a good one. Yes I nd tuna under .50 a tin at times but that is that tuna mush as I call it. Cottage cheese in big containers at places like Sam’s can be very reasonable. OK. That should cover basics in the protein dept.
Next up good cheap carb sources . Pasta is really cheap. Very easy to make pasta ahead for the week. Boil up 3-5 days worth ahead of time bag into desired portions freeze last two days rest in fridge ready to go. Throw in a strainer and dump some boiling water over or microwave it and you?re ready. Prebake potatoes sweet and regular spuds. Microwave them warm when you want them or let them warm in the oven if you are cooking something else.
Beans and legumes. Nice big pot of whatever type beans you like. Just warm up and use with your meals.Nice steady complex carbs. Bulk rice is ne and is cheap. Yes I know brown or wild or whatever may be better than good ole white rice but this is a on a tight budget write up.
Now all we need is vegetables . Frozen or fresh is ne. If you have to eat canned veggies try to do that as infrequently as possible. MY instinct says that canned veg’s have all the life and many of the nutrients cooked out of them. The exception being food you can from your garden. Fruits. Well fruit is very seasonal for many of us. Get it while the getting is good. Good cheap apples are around a good part of the year. Bananas under about .60 cents lb I’ll buy. Other fruits are cheap at certain times of the year. Nice post work out hit of simpler carbs. A favorite hot weather post w/o hydrator is good watermelon. It gets down under .10 sometimes. That is a deal! I did not mention breads . I feel like bread is not the most desirable bodybuilding food unless you drop some coin for the good stu ff. Remember this is for those of us with low dollars. There is nothing here about cooking recipes etc. That is well covered in forums. Our friend BigChef has way more great recipes than I could ever work through. If you are broke or really pinched it is easier to eat fairly healthy than to jam yourself with shitty calories. That can get pricey and yield some unwanted results.
I will tell you that circumstance does not have to slow down your ambition to better your body and mind one bit. Now the “back in the day” speech.
I was 18 training every night after work and saw Mike Mentzer for the rst time. I had a baby daughter a wife , rent and car payments etc. I took home well under $200 dollars a week. That was peanuts even in 1980. After seeing Mentzer I knew I’d nd a way to eat and keep training seeking out getting muscle like that for myself. Some of the golden era icons were really good hearted guys that understood a broke ass kid wanting what they had. Lance Dreher(jeez what a back!) once told me eat all the apples you want you won’t get fat. Just stay away from simple sugars. I think I first tryed protein supps about 4 yrs into serious training. Made great gains into my initiation to this way of life until I had money for supps etc. Managed to put on about 90-100lbs in about 5 yrs. So remember there is a way if you want it -despite circumstance. When tight on food it’s always better to spread it over the day rather than 2-3 too full type sittings. You’ll get the most out of what you have available that way. Hope this has been helpful for people newer to training that may have limited funds for the foods needed for recovery and growth.
Until next time happy eating and happy training ~Turbobusa
**From the 3rd issue of the AnaSCI Newsletter