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seanf76
10-07-2008, 01:32 AM
Bodybuilding Diet Tips On A Budget
by: "The Muscle Nerd" Jeff Anderson
The body building diet has proven to be one of the most elusive keys to success for every natural body building enthusiast. Sure, we all know it is the most important factor in growing new muscle…but following a body building diet and STILL having enough money left over for that leopard-skin thong you've had your eye on can be a challenge for anyone! (Ok…I need that visual to get out of my head!).
Here are 5 powerful tips for supporting your diet and still having enough money left over for your 401k:

Budget Tip # 1: Use A Grocery List

Wouldn't it be great if your local grocery store had its very own “Bodybuilder Aisle"? Think about it…shelf after shelf of raw meat, fresh vegetables and 6-packs of testosterone!

Ok…you can dream, right? But instead, go armed with a plan for HOW you will attack those grocery aisles by bringing along a list of all the foods you need to support your diet and DON'T buy on impulse…stick to your list!

Budget Tip # 2: Buy Carbs In Bulk

Every natural bodybuilder's pantry should be stocked with the right kind of complex carbs and fortunately you can buy potatoes, brown rice, oatmeal and beans in bulk.

If the bulk bins are not available, by all means buy the larger sized containers when they're on sale. Stock up! A full pantry loaded with the essentials is a must.

Budget Tip # 3: Buy Generic

Shop for VALUE! Brand loyalties are a thing of the past as many store brand items are just as good as the highly marketed name brand foods…just CHEAPER!

Budget Tip # 4: Fruits & Veggies Are Your Friends

Fresh fruits and vegetables contain more vitamins and minerals than processed foods and are a healthy and economical staple for a body building diet.

Become chums with your produce expert at the local grocery and ask for the best current deals.

Budget Tip # 5: Shop The “Outer Ring”

Remember when I said how great it would be if each grocery store had its own “Bodybuilder Aisle"?
Well, guess what? It DOES!

In fact, just about the entire “outer ring” of the store can be considered a “body building diet aisle”!

Here's what I mean…

Think about your own local store and what's located around the perimeter of the store. Most likely this is where you'll find your dairy, meats, vegetables, fruit, and fresh fish…all of which are essentials of a healthy body building diet, right?

Processed and “junk” foods are mainly found in the middle aisles so stick to the “outer ring” as much as possible and you can't go wrong.

About the Author:

Jeff Anderson "The Muscle Nerd" is the author of this revolutionary new training book called Optimum Anabolics. REVEALED! Muscle "Programming" Strategy Guaranteed To DOUBLE...TRIPLE... even QUADRUPLE Muscle Growth Every Month Or You Keep The Program For FREE!

CreatineAmonster
10-09-2008, 02:46 AM
CLIFF NOTES

body building on a budget = big bag of oats,eggs and tuna :)

good article though

gordi
10-09-2008, 02:56 PM
Nice article!

It's amazing how much money you can save by going generic, paying attention to sales, and planning ahead! This is definitely something my wife has taught me. My grocery bills before getting married, shopping only for myself, were around $250-300 higher PER MONTH than they are now... and I'm eating MUCH better now, including relatively costly stuff like omega 3 eggs, chicken breasts, and probiotic yogurt.

For example, when chicken breast go on sale, we buy kilos and kilos of them, wrap them, and freeze them.

Definitely good advice to do the majority of your shopping in the meat and produce sections. (Or at the butcher shop and farmer's market, if you've got good ones near-by).

Here's the list of stuff I go into the "junk aisles" to buy. The trick is to just stick to this stuff and not get distracted or tempted by the processed, packaged garbage you'll see:

- Steel cut oats
- Canned tuna and salmon
- Frozen berries
- Frozen veggies
- quality olive oil
- flax oil
- cold milled flax seeds
- garlic chili flax oil (made by Omega, this is a delicious way to get more Omega 3s in your diet).
- Pesto sauce made with quality olive oil (as an acceptable treat)
- various vinegars for salad dressings
- whole almonds
- sliced almonds
- mixed nuts (no peanuts)
- beans (dry and canned, but absolutely not the kind with sticky-sweet sauces)
- lentils (dry)
- whole wheat noodles (not when I'm dieting)
- brown rice (not when I'm dieting... and my wife ALWAYS has a rice cooker full of Japanese rice on. That's a big temptation sometimes)
- Quinoa (not when I'm dieting)
- Whole wheat tortillas (not when I'm dieting)
- green tea (actually, we stocked up like crazy last time we went to Japan, and my mother-in-law sends us amazing high-quality Japanese green tea pretty regularly... but everyone should have some on hand)
- coffee beans (This month: Kicking Horse Sumatra and 454 Horsepower)
- greens powder
- fish oil
- mineral supplements (magnesium, zinc...)
- protein powder (though I'm more likely to pick that up at a supplement store or order it online)
- spices (black pepper, chili powder, cayenne, curry, cumin, cardamon, basil, oregano, cinnamon...)

That seems like a lot... but that is probably EVERYTHING that I will buy that isn't outside-aisle stuff like fish, meat, eggs, dairy, or produce of some kind (or a bodybuilding supplement).

If anyone is serious about losing fat, I'd seriously recommend clearing your whole house of anything that ISN'T fish, meat, produce, eggs, dairy, or something on that list, or a bodybuilding supplement (...there may be other healthy exceptions that I didn't think of)... and GETTING RID OF IT. Give it to the food bank, or to a poor relation, or throw it away. The re-stock your kitchen, fridge, and pantry with ONLY those things that will contribute to you meeting your goals.

Lets face it, if it's unhealthy and it's in your house, there's a good chance that it's going to end up in your body. It takes a lot of willpower for me to keep from dipping into my wife's chocolates, rice crackers, and other treats... She's really supportive, but she isn't on a diet like I am, so I need to let her keep some treats in our kitchen... (It's probably even tougher for people with kids).

Anyway, having healthy alternatives like almonds, canned tuna, fruit, beef jerky, and avocados around makes it much easier to resist the temptation.

Being intentional about my shopping is pretty much the only way I can stick to a diet... it also makes it way more affordable to eat well.

slick rick
10-09-2008, 03:38 PM
Cheap - oats/tuna/eggs/egg whites/beans/ground beef.. even protein powder when you really look at how much protein your are getting/$. Trust me I'm a cheap fuker

gordi
10-09-2008, 04:09 PM
...and with ground beef, if you wait 'till the good stuff goes on sale, buy big family packs, wrap it and freeze it, you can get extra-lean for almost the same price as the cheap stuff.

gsxr750
10-09-2008, 05:03 PM
I was buying alot of ground beef for my current diet... until I found Pork Tenderloins..

You can get a $12 Hunk of the stuff that weighs like 7 pounds, cut the outer layer of fat off, and make a good 14+ chop servings.

Tastes much better than ground beef too!!!!

Also, 8oz of the stuff is only 290 Cals and more than 50 grams of protein.

http://www.zenreich.com/ZenWeb/images/porktender1.jpg

So my cheap-ass diet now consists of eggs, tuna, pork tenderloin, olive oil, salad :D


Good recipe:

http://www.zenreich.com/ZenWeb/porktenderloin.htm

gordi
11-09-2008, 01:16 PM
Great tip, gsxr. I love pork tenderloin! It absorbs marinade really well, too. From time to time, you can get beef tenderloin on sale at T&T (or whatever that awesome Asian marketplace store is called). Cut that up yourself, and you get semi-affordable fillet mignon!

gsxr750
11-09-2008, 03:25 PM
Mmmmm. All this meat talk. Going to go throw some pork in the smoker! :D

gsxr750
12-09-2008, 03:00 PM
And I found an even better deal. Eye of Round Roast - $1.99 a LB. I got 6.5 Pounds for $12.. just cut the outer layer of fat off, marinade in your choice of low fat dressing etc.. spice it up and grill it. Can't beat that! It made about 15 steaks!!!

Nutritional Information / 100g:

163 Cals
1g saturated fat
45mg Cholesterol
0 carbs
0 sugar
30g protein


Here's what $12 got me:

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/9761/img00040of8.jpg

Genetic Lifestyle
12-09-2008, 07:24 PM
OMG...I'm friggin' starving now guys. Thanks, all I got here right now is a damn shake!
I'm gonna binge when I get home in a couple hours! Big feed of pasta and beef!