I can't afford enough protein to grow muscle

[buckeye_momof4]

@sarah_beloved How am I presumptuous? Chicken, milk, and eggs are all cheap.

 

[sarah_beloved]

@buckeye_momof4 You presumed that this kid is full of shit.

Milk is not cheap. Where I live, it's about 6 bucks for 4L of milk. Chicken is not cheap (neither is literally any meat), it's nearly 50 bucks for a weeks worth of chicken if I eat it 4 times in the week.

You presume that everyone has the same financial position as you and that's fucking ridiculous.

Edit: but I'm not surprised. Your reddit post history is literally comprised entirely of you being a dickhead to people for no reason.

 

[buckeye_momof4]

@sarah_beloved Milk in the US and Canada goes for $3.86 American a gallon

https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/milk-prices-adjusted-for-inflation/

That's about 36 grams of protein for ~80 cents. Plus fat and carbs.

You are full of shit too.

Also chicken goes for less than $2 a pound.

https://pos.toasttab.com/blog/on-the-line/chicken-thigh-prices

You're saying 20 pounds of chicken is a weeks worth? Be for fucking real please.

 

[sarah_beloved]

@buckeye_momof4 I live in Vancouver you presumptuous fuck. Everything is triple the price of the national average.

Christ you're an insufferable asshole. I'm just gonna block you now.

 

[egwpisteuw]

@mcl123 I buy protein powder, the cheapest I can get, which for me is costco brand/canadian protein from costco.

I know it seems like a big cost upfront, but honestly if I were to try to eat all of my protein intake it would cost me triple as much money.

I do 2 shakes a day, one in the AM post gym and one at bedtime and when mixing with the milk I use (natrel 18g of protein per cup), I get about 100 grams of protein a day just from those.

 

[willstone2424]

@mcl123 Soya Chunks have more than 50 gm protein per 100 gm. They are made from soybean after extracting oil. Good source of fiber too. Not costly at all. Tons of ways to cook and eat. Check if you find it in your area or online.

 

[gypsyjill88]

@mcl123 Relax, if you try your best, that is almost certainly good enough!

 

[mcl123]

@gypsyjill88 I do try my best, I lift until failure or close to it. I wish I had the means to get more protein, but I guess that lifting without ideal protein is better than nothing. Thank you!

 

[gypsyjill88]

@mcl123 Well, lets say something is always better than nothing. As long as you can get in the calories it should be fine.

 

[anonymous18]

@mcl123 Any exercise is better than none! Very few people can aim to be as optimal as possible - you basically have to be an established professional bodybuilder to be able to focus on just training, eating, and resting.

How much protein are you able to eat daily? Any helps, and you’ll be fine for any muscle building eating 110-120 g per day

 

[barrym]

@mcl123 Hey bud!! I remember those days lol. As others have said, dont stress too much, just lift, eat well, and sleep. If you're worried about protein intake, these were some of my go-to cheap protein meals that are still in my rotation. If you get the cheapest ingredients, they're less than a dollar per serving. [sup]-^[/sup]

Migas- 3 corn tortillas toasted in oil until golden brown (can be done with only a small amount of oil in a fry pan) mixed with 3 scrambled eggs, shredded cheese, and salsa to taste

Pinto bean tacos- boil beans with fatty meat like turkey or pork with onions and garlic. Dont forget to salt the water for the beans. Add cilantro and tomatoes if you can afford them. Boil for like three hours. Serve mashed with a potato masher in a tortilla with shredded cheese and white rice (or rice cooked with chicken stock if you can afford) to get complete protein

Juevos rancheros- toasted flour tortilla with a can of black beans, salsa, topped with fried eggs

Pork chops- season and bake at 375f until internal temp reaches 135f, then sear in a pan with cheap oil until the outside is crispy and internal temp is 145f. You can skip the sear to save on oil

Picadillo- ground beef (grain the grease if its the fatty cut) and onions cooked in pan until beef is browned and onions are translucent and fragrant, add garlic, salt, cumin, diced potatoes. Then add chicken broth and cheap store brand canned tomato sauce until the food in the pan (if you can't afford the broth, buy it in the cubes and rehydrate it as needed or skip entirely and just use stewed canned tomatoes.

Last but not least, you can get affordable protein powders at Aldi, Target, Walmart, and Lidl

Hope these help, friend!!

 

[lutherprinciple]

@mcl123 Pepperoni and cheese sticks are a cheap snacks with about 7-9 grams per serving but I don't know how much is really cheap as I am but a child who has never bought my own groceries

 

[kepha23]

@mcl123 I aim for 170g of protein a day. Honestly, I probably only hit that 3 or 4 times a week. If you eat enough, and try and eat as healthy as you can, you'll do alright. As said before, don't overthink it. Eat and train, you'll grow.

 

[benglobal]

@mcl123 Big bag of whey protein to supplement your diet, it's very cheap per serving. Mix with milk if you can to boost it a little bit more

 

[asperd]

@mcl123 A Planet Fitness membership would go way further for you than the grocery bill for more protein (and Planet Fitness is one of the worst gyms possible for people who actually train hard and grunt from time to time and drop the weights. Planet Fitness is the cheapest. But if you really want to look good lean and not just look skinny or skinnyfat, you want to train at a better gym with more relaxed rules and more free weights, benches, cables, machines and calisthenics equipment). You're doing a bro split at home limited to just dumbbells and calisthenics. You would essentially be setting your money on fire stocking up on skinless chicken breast, tuna, egg whites, Greek Yogurt, etc. for not much benefit tbh. Majoring in the minors. You will make significant newbie gains eating lots of carbs and some fats. Just don't expect to look jacked with limited equipment regardless of your macros. Training is #1. Calories is #2. Sleep is #3. Macro split is a distant #4. Macros need to be dialled in if you are stepping on stage. Otherwise they are extremely overrated in recreational bodybuilding. Eat lots of carbs (cheap) before and after your workout. Try to get protein in after your workout. And some protein prior if you can.

 

[kindness1]

@mcl123 Chic peas. I make an absurd amount of hummus, and there are a ton of recipes out there to choose from. 100 gram serving is approx 19g protein. I use vegetables like carrots, celery, and bell peppers with it.

 

[arkwright]

@mcl123 Cans of Tuna can be as cheap as $.99-$2.00 depending on grocery store and/or bulk discount. Roughly 25g protein per serving. I like mine with hot sauce.

 

[stacid88]

@arkwright Just make sure you balance this out and eat other stuff too. Eating nothing but canned tuna can have negative effects if you do it for too long

 

[hischild1002]

@mcl123 Whey protein is the best bang for your buck source of high quality protein, especially if you invest in a large 10 lb bag at once.

From a cost-efficiency perspective, nothing beats it. Tuna can come somewhat close, but not everyone likes tuna or wants to eat it all the time.

But as long as you’re consistently lifting and making sure your total daily caloric intake is in a surplus (carbs are important for muscle mass, too), you can meet the minimum recommended intake and be fine.

 

[tabularasa]

@mcl123 Its not all or nothing. Even if you are getting less than half your optimal protein (so 60 grams), you will still get a lot of benefit from weight lifting. It might take a little longer but that's all.