It is completely and entirely possible to fuel new muscle growth and diet properly even when your funds are tight. While a scarcity of cash can impact your fitness progress, properly planning around your budget will enable you to give your growing body its nutritional needs without completely draining the bank account. If you constantly look and plan ahead while following the tips outlined below, your fitness goals will continue to move forward without you breaking the bank!
Tip 1: Create Your Budget
Many fitness enthusiasts completely skip this step of the process and consider it to be unnecessary. However, following this step will help you to avoid having to live in a refrigerator box on the side of the road, in addition to feeding you like a beast of course. In creating a budget, first consider the basic and necessary expenses in your life. This includes costs such as rent, utilities, tuition, phone bills, etc. These expenditures are obviously non-negotiable. Calculate the total expenditure from these money sinkholes to gain clarity with regards to the flexibility of your food budget. You will be left with a sum of money that you will have left after paying for your needed amenities. This now makes it much easier for you to form a game plan wen you walk into the grocery store. Now, you can organize a grocery list and do your shopping when you’re not hungry (otherwise who knows what tasty and fattening snacks you’ll buy) in order to preserve your reserves. When grocery shopping on a budget, it is crucial to stay within the budget so that you know you are not shorting your nutritional need by month’s end.
Tip 2: Focus on the Essentials
If you do not keep a close eye on your money, it will always manage to find away to eject itself from your pockets, wallet, and bank account. Thus, it is essential to focus your mind on spending only on the absolute essentials in your life. Think about it. Remember that random night you went out with your friends and had a pizza and some beers? Remember the cab ride there and back? The unnecessary expenditures of that night could have fed you nutritious meals for several days! It’s a simple argument of opportunity costs, and, for any serious gymgoer, the appropriate decision is obvious! Be smart with your money. Sort out your priorities. If going out and partying is a priority of yours, then account for it in your initial budget. Try to find low cost things to do for entertainment. You’ll be surprised what options are available to you. These cheaper alternatives will help you to stay on course with your budget and diet!
Tip 3: Opt for Nutrient-Dense Foods
Plan all of your meals with the majority of your diet coming form nutrient-dense foods. Nutrient-dense foods are very satiating (meaning that you’ll be less hungry) and are full of essential macronutrients and micronutrients for an aspiring fitness superstar. This dense profile will keep your body functioning at its highest level of performance! Focus on the low-cost, dense, and cheap foods for each of the three macronutrients (fat, protein, and carbohydrates). Peanut butter and avocados are good options to add fats to a diet. Tuna and eggs are the lowest cost options for protein. And oats, rice, and bananas are nutritious and affordable options for carbohydrates.
Tip 4: Be a Smart Shopper
Look for sales and coupons! Realize that, since protein may swallow up the largest chunk of your food budget, it may be helpful to buy these products in bulk. Hashtag Sam’s Club. Check your mail religiously. You’ll be shocked at the stacks and stacks of coupons and deals that you’ll find buried in the depths of your mailbox! Now that you are more conscious of costs and how to stay cost-effective, you may encounter and try new foods that you’ve never explored before!
Tip 5: Think About Adding Supplements
Many people have a huge misunderstanding of supplementation and assume that the practice is always a huge money drain. In actuality, however, many protein powders and meal replacement shakes can be found quite cheap and provide a convenient source of protein. If you take a good look at all of the available supplements, you’ll see that there are many shakes that can take a few meals off of your diet plan. Oftentimes, these supplements are sold in packages that will last a month or longer. When shopping for such supplements, try to find the offers that sell in bulk so that you can get the biggest bang for your buck. Also, do not completely disregard whole meals; meal replacement shakes are simply one convenient option that may fit in to your hectic schedule and regimented diet plan.
Tip 6: Fast Food is BAD
Fast food menus can be very tempting to a money-lacking dieter due to the fact that they offer lists of foods that are extremely cheap, sometimes even priced at less than one dollar! While these foods are fast, cheap, convenient, and somewhat tasty, you should consider the cost on your health. What you save today on a cheap burger can come back to haunt you in medical bills down the line! Also, these meals typically will not fit your macronutrient requirements.
Tip 7: Pack Your Meals in Advance
Time is an incredibly valuable commodity. Whether you have to attend classes, go to work, or sit through meetings, it can sometimes be difficult to run through the kitchen throwing together haphazard meals between life obligations. Due to poor time management, you may not be able to fit meal preparation onto your agenda. Stop managing your time poorly! You can limit your progress and spend extra money if you do not have your meals packed up and ready to go for the day! Before you go to bed every night, pack your meals for the next day so that you will be ready to run out the door in the morning. This single step can save you a lot of money over the course of time! Many people do not realize how fast meals out can add up; they are left at the end of the month scratching their heads and wondering where all of their money went.
There you have it! Enjoy your guide to becoming a beast on a budget.