Protein intake on rest days?

[truthisfreedom]

Hi everyone! I’m 23F and 5’1, 110 lbs. I need some help managing protein intake with a very low budget.

The amount of protein I need to build muscle mass is 0.8 x my body weight in pounds, so around 90 grams.

Currently I can afford enough protein to have 90 g for every day of the month that I strength train (4x a week -> 16 times a month).

If I eat significantly below 90g on the days I’m not working out and/or on cardio days, will this negatively affect my muscle gains? Should I be aiming for 90 g every single day or is it mostly important for the days I strength train?

It gets discouraging knowing that my fitness goals depend 80% on diet and in the kitchen which is the part I can’t financially control very much at the moment.

I’m trying not to let low budget be an excuse for not exercising any longer, but I’m also worried my gains will be stunted due to low protein. Any help is appreciated, thank you!

 

[johhny]

@truthisfreedom Canned tuna is cheap and high protein. Also different kinds of nuts, Greek yogurt. Usually all of these are on the more affordable end at the grocery stores here. Good luck!

 

[dawn16]

@truthisfreedom I have the same macro goals every day, workout or not. Your muscles need protein to rebuild between lifts IMO.

 

[mayne70]

@truthisfreedom Lentils - cheap and easy.

I try for my protein goal everyday!

 

[lokielizabethstrange]

@truthisfreedom You can get protein from sources other then meat, pea protein as an example, tofu also has protein, buying a protein mix to put in shakes is also a great way to add protein into your diet at not too expensive of a price tag. You will need to be eating the same amount of protein everyday you train regardless of what you are training that day, it’s important for your body to have the protein to rebuild. Goodluck.

 

[peppapixl]

@truthisfreedom Beans and rice. Rice and beans. Dave Ramsey preaches it for debt reduction but it's also very filling, protein loaded and CHEAP!!!! A bag of rice is like $1.50 and dried beans are about that for a while bag. Takes a bit of preplanning but works. You can top with pico or avocado depending on what you have on hand.

 

[saintcody777]

@truthisfreedom You should definitely try to hit that protein goal every day; protein is just as important on recovery days. Maybe you could rework your food budget so that you’re buying more protein and less of other macros (carbs, etc.). Are you mainly getting your protein from powders/shakes, eggs, meat?

 

[jamesrabbit]

@truthisfreedom I drink a protein shake on days I’m not getting enough from food. Protein powder can be pretty cheap (you can find some around $20) and it lasts awhile

 

[gundy22]

@truthisfreedom I highly recommend True Nutrition protein powder in bulk. Cheaper than the other brands (I choose unflavored unsweetened vegan protein powder) and the texture isn’t gritty at all. Every morning I blend 1 cup of West Soy, 1 cup coffee, 1.5 scoops of True Nutrition and coffee creamer to get almost 50g of protein in for the day.

I try to eat around 100g of protein/day, and I don’t think I can do that easily without protein powder.