When I was a college student, I couldn't afford to eat steak, chicken breast, and salmon every night. And the same can be said of working families who have children and are on a tight budget. The Body for LIFE method of eating (Eating for LIFE by Bill Phillips) afforded me an easy way to eat healthy, feel satisfied, and support my muscle gains and fat loss. It teaches healthy eating habits that you can use for the rest of your life, not just while "dieting". And when I am preparing for a competition I still eat in a similar way, just smaller portions and eat more green vergetables in place of carbs
The two "tricks" to eating healthy to lose fat and gain muscle are (#1) portion size and (#2) eating every 3 hours throughout the day. When I talk about this I am referring to people who may not have control of their eating and are in the first year of strength training and weight loss. This is also good maintenance for off-season athletes and fitness competitors such as myself.
Portion size - Eat a carb and a protein with EVERY meal, even the last meal of the evening. Eat green vegetables with at least 2 of your meals. A portion is the size of your open palm or clenched fist. That will probably be from 2/3 to 1 cup. For meat, a portion that is usually weighed, comes out to approximately 4-6 ounces of lean meat like chicken breast, fish, or steak. So eat a portion each of protein and carbs at each meal. How often - Depending on how long you are awake during the day, you will eat 5-6 times a day. On those long all-nighters, eat again for a seventh time. If you are late eating your meal then eat as soon as you can, and the clock starts over again to wait another 2 1/2 to 3 hours from the time of your last meal. And allow yourself one day a week as a free day to eat WHAT YOU WANT, or not as much.
What makes this way of eating one that saves you money isn't just because you may be eating less food. In fact, for some people you'll actually be eating MORE food. The savings comes in the quality of the food choices you are making. There's no more expensive junk food. It's very important to eat as much whole foods as you can and not rely on bars and shakes.
For competitors, however, when you get very selective and limited to just a few food choices it's important to invest in higher quality foods which cost more. For instance, I eat mostly fish and chicken for protein and because I am ingesting so much of it I am very concerned about eating the highest quality I can find. That's why I eat Vital Choice salmon and Smart Chicken which is the purest quality available. It's worth the long term investment in my health and fitness career.
If you are interested in getting more help with your nutrition plan, training plan, or getting ready to compete, take a look at the services I have available and ask me any questions you might have.
As you'll see below it's not impossible for someone of limited means to transform their physique and even prepare to hit the stage as a competitor. I've made a list of authorized proteins, carbs, and vegatables from least expensive to most expensive and put in an approximate cost of each PER PORTION.
For the best quality in wild caught fish, I use and recommend Vital Choice seafood. Canned or frozen sent to your door. They also have berries, spices, and fish oil supplements. Click above to check out what they offer. I recommend shopping their specials, sales, and buying larger quantities to get the best deals.