# Body building diet on a budget



## Gerry_bhoy

Moving into a flat with a mate next month.

Is it a bit ambitious to try and have a decent clean diet on £100 a month?

Any folk in a similar situation want to give me some tips...


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## Suprakill4

Its all about being clever with what you buy mate. Tesco's own rice, oats, eggs all really cheap. The meat will be the most and i know theres not a chance i would ever be able to even survive on £25 a week let alone follow my current diet.

The meat i have costs me £5 a day alone, then theirs protein, oats, sweet potatoes, pb, olive oil, WMS.

Good luck lol.


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## sizar

find bulk supplier for food .. you be ok .. chicken , rice, tuna veg bulk powder and oat .. job done


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## Guest

Id say its a bit tight.

I budget around

Chicken £2/day

beef is about £1.50/day

Veg £1/day

whole carbs £0.5/day

Supps £0.5/day

so £5.50/day or £165/month. I recon most on here spend alot more!

cnut, forgot me eggs lol

Plus eggs, 50p/day so £6


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## sizar

i eat so much steak i might turn into a cow lol


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## Guest

make friends with a chef of large restaurant/hotel they buy in bulk dirt cheap- no skin off their noses to tack on a few kilos


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## doylejlw

Would struggle on that budget mate.

Aint really on a budget but my food prob costs me about £100 a week.


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## baggsy1436114680

you dont really need meat every day yes it helps but i get most of my protein from tuna, eggs and whey. i have some meat around 4 meals a week only and i have made some good lean gains.

Most of my carbs mainly come from oats very cheap source of carbs


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## Jimmy1

that is a tight budget

apart from tuna/rice/eggs/frozen veg...i cant help

but tbh as long as you stick with it through the hard months...you will return well when the cash is more abundant

dont just let go and start eating icelad pizza is my best advice


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## PHMG

I found i could have a basic one mate but it requires £120 a month.


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## rs007

Controversial perhaps but

You won't get cheaper, per gram of quality protein provided, than bulk unflavoured whey, so I would (and have in the past) make this your main protien source. Drip feed in throughout the day, sip with solid meals etc.

Get some cheap meat in, and cheap carbs as mentioned in other posts.

Not pretty, not fashionable, but damn does it work.


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## Suprakill4

baggsy said:


> you dont really need meat every day yes it helps but i get most of my protein from tuna, eggs and whey. i have some meat around 4 meals a week only and i have made some good lean gains.
> 
> Most of my carbs mainly come from oats very cheap source of carbs


From what i have read, tuna is a very poor source of protein which is why i prefer to get mine from poultry, red meat, eggs milk etc.


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## Jimmy1

tuna is fine....esp if other protein sources are present that day


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## Gerry_bhoy

Cheers folks.

Im thinking 4 meals a day. Eggs are sorted for morning with some wholemeal bread. I can move on to thighs etc rather than chicken breasts. Oats as people have said. Frozen mixed mixed veg is fairly cheap, and rice + pasta are affordable in large quantities.

Im not on a super high cal diet atm anyway. Bout 3k tops at the moment.



rs007 said:


> Controversial perhaps but
> 
> You won't get cheaper, per gram of quality protein provided, than bulk unflavoured whey, so I would (and ahve in the past) make this your main protien source. Drip feed in throughout the day.
> 
> Get some meat in, and cheap carbs as mentioned in other posts.
> 
> Not pretty, not fashionable, but damn does it work.


Dairy intolerance or I would be right with that lol.


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## baggsy1436114680

tuna is not the best protein source there will be no harm in having 3-4 tins a week and is cheap when on a budget. agree with rs007 make whey your main protein source, i used to eat chicken everyday sice things have changed my main protein source is whey protein to be honest i have made just as good as gains as before when i was eating chicken everyday.


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## Suprakill4

Jimmy said:


> tuna is fine....esp if other protein sources are present that day


I agree as it would make it a complete protein but its not something i would rely on as my main protein source.


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## carly

Aldi do some good bits like canned tuna and veg, quark, cottage cheese etc... but dont be tempted with the first isle SWEETS SWEETS and more SWEETS hahaaha xx


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## Suprakill4

carly said:


> Aldi do some good bits like canned tuna and veg, quark, cottage cheese etc... but dont be tempted with the first isle SWEETS SWEETS and more SWEETS hahaaha xx


Ha ha ha, they are within his budget a bit better than bodybuilding foods though eh lol.

Looking as good as ever in the avi Carly.


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## Blood&amp;Sweat1

anab0lic said:


> Dont forget olive oil 135 kcal of goodness per tablespoon and 2 quid gets you a pretty huge bottle.


...I had no idea, wondered why peeps where putting EVOO into there diets, if I did I would have been using olive oil rather than milk in my shakes


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## BigDom86

if you can find a butcher buy from there. i get 5kg chicken breast for £20 down my way. so thats me for the week. the rest i make up with whey.


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## DAZ4966

carly said:


> Aldi do some good bits like canned tuna and veg, quark, cottage cheese etc... but dont be tempted with the first isle SWEETS SWEETS and more SWEETS hahaaha xx


I often shop at Aldi & pick up the bits mentioned here, so to the OP go & have a look in your local store.

Sorry to go off subject, but you are the same Carly who was on the Active channel with Dean Ash recently? I found this an entertaining show, but probably for the wrong reasons:whistling: Good on ya!


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## RACK

If there's a Costco or some other wholesalers near you get a self employed mate to get you a members card for there. All good quality stuff and pretty cheap. I go there all the time


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## glen danbury

all the crap about this protein not being a good source etc - if you eat a mixed diet its fine

to the OP - kidney beans and rice - complementary proteins and dirt cheap as a meal (carb heavy yes but still a good kcal source of decent grub)

go for legs of chicken - slightyl higher fat content but infintely cheaper. if you can stomach it - pork liver 500g costs about 70p and its a good nuitritional profile for a cheap meat

£100 per month would only be difficult if you where dieting - bulking its very doable


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## Jimmy1

baggsy said:


> you dont really need meat every day yes it helps but i get most of my protein from tuna, eggs and whey. i have some meat around 4 meals a week only and i have made some good lean gains.
> 
> Most of my carbs mainly come from oats very cheap source of carbs





kieren1234 said:


> From what i have read, tuna is a very poor source of protein which is why i prefer to get mine from poultry, red meat, eggs milk etc.





Jimmy said:


> tuna is fine....esp if other protein sources are present that day





kieren1234 said:


> I agree as it would make it a complete protein but its not something i would rely on as my main protein source.


the reference to tuna was made with the poster eating eggs and whey in conjunction with tuna

i see the aim of your post...but i am highlighting it only to confirm to less knowledgable members ,that with these three protein sources consumed in the same day, the amino pool will be better than red meat alone

with regards to the necesity of red meat and pultry....these are a valuable proein source to eat....but the OP is on a very tightbudget....and cannot aford to use them

one last point to remember...

our bodies use amino's for many different requirements. consuming what are seen to be qualityproteins due to high amino profiles can and often are used firstly for other functions to which the body requires....and muscle building comes out far less a necesity, in comparrison to these other needs

so our perfect proteins dont always seem so important for the fact that we know not the order our body will prioritise for the use of amino's when we eat

i myself and others i know have used tuna only durin weeks/months of tight budget...and i can say that we all noticed significant gains durin this time


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## Suprakill4

Jimmy said:


> the reference to tuna was made with the poster eating eggs and whey in conjunction with tuna
> 
> i see the aim of your post...but i am highlighting it only to confirm to less knowledgable members ,that with these three protein sources consumed in the same day, the amino pool will be better than red meat alone
> 
> with regards to the necesity of red meat and pultry....these are a valuable proein source to eat....but the OP is on a very tightbudget....and cannot aford to use them
> 
> one last point to remember...
> 
> our bodies use amino's for many different requirements. consuming what are seen to be qualityproteins due to high amino profiles can and often are used firstly for other functions to which the body requires....and muscle building comes out far less a necesity, in comparrison to these other needs
> 
> so our perfect proteins dont always seem so important for the fact that we know not the order our body will prioritise for the use of amino's when we eat
> 
> i myself and others i know have used tuna only durin weeks/months of tight budget...and i can say that we all noticed significant gains durin this time


Great Post Jimmy, thats really helped me actually and cleared up alot of things i thought i knew from reading what others have said , but clearly not.


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## Wee G1436114539

Tinned baked beans, drain sauce, rinse, heat in water, done

Kidney beans - as above

Both 2:1 ratio of carbs to protein, both 1/3 of the carbs from fibre, both 9-15p per tin.

Offal - as Glen said, cheap, nutritious, tasty...lots of protein and minerals.

Chicken thighs, beef brisket, beef mince are all cheap and economical.

I'd plunk for something like....

1. Oats, milk, bulk whey, multi-vit, instant coffee.

2. Tin of beans, 1 egg.

3. chicken thighs, baked with some seasoning, rice, 1/2 bag frozen mixed veg.

4. Whey in water post workout.

5. OAts and whey again, add olive oil.

I used to live on £35 a week including all my travel, going out, EVERYTHING and managed fine. £25 for fod alone should be no probs.


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## Jimmy1

kieren1234 said:


> Great Post Jimmy, thats really helped me actually and cleared up alot of things i thought i knew from reading what others have said , but clearly not.


its not that your miss informed, we do the best we can...and when we are able to afford expensive meats we do so

1 because they are better tasting

2 because they are often higher on protein content per 100g

but its always good to remember that when situations arrise....cheaper protein will be adequate


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## Suprakill4

Jimmy said:


> its not that your miss informed, we do the best we can...and when we are able to afford expensive meats we do so
> 
> 1 because they are better tasting
> 
> 2 because they are often higher on protein content per 100g
> 
> but its always good to remember that when situations arrise....cheaper protein will be adequate


Completely agree, i hope i dont get into the position that i cant afford my £100 a week food budget but if i do, i will stock up on tesco's own tuna for certain!! Thanks Jimmy.


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## adamdutton

i do know tesco do a bag of frozen chicken breast for £3.70 or something and that gets you a kilo of skinless breasts, they also do a 2 kg bag of thighs and legs for £2.79.


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## Slayer_666

Liver and onions, (Pork liver 500g £0.80 and onions £0.50 for 4-5 good size onions) as mentioned previously. Both cheap as chips!

Cooks eggs from asda (£2.99 for 30) or other value eggs (eg farmfoods do 6 large eggs £0.69)

Oats in bulk (value range) approx £1.50 for 2kg

Raisins about £1.50 for 1kg bag

Mince meat (I usually go for morrisons value at £2.00 for 800g, with similar nutritional profile to more expensive mince meats)

98% burgers (check label) if you shop around can get these dirt cheap ie I recently got asda quarter pounders 98% beef with the rest as seasonings 4 burgers £1.00.

Own brand rice in bulk

Peanut butter from lidl (97-98% peanuts I think) £0.99

Bags of frozen veg 1kg for around a £1.00 most places

Own brand wholemeal bread £0.80

Nurnberg sausages 350g (90% pork) £1.50 from aldi

Bacon 600g £2.50 from farmfoods

Fresh carrots £0.50 for 500g

Aldi and lidl for fruit and veg deals, they had melons, cherries etc for £0.69

Basa fish fillets £2.99 for 1.1kg from Farmfoods

Butter £0.99 most places own brand

Its quite easily doable if you shop around. Have lived on around £20 to £25 a week for months as was a student (now qualified and searching for work!) and have very limited funds after bills. It helped that I stockpiled with whey previously though!

If you dairy intolerent you could try brown rice protein 2.5kg for £29.00 ish. Not sure on how it tastes though...

http://www.myprotein.co.uk/products/brown_rice_concentrate

or

Pea protein isolate £11.99 for 908g

http://www.newimagesupplements.co.uk/product38777_696159.aspx

or

soy protein £9.99 for 908g

http://www.discount-supplements.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=14537&utm_source=GoogleBase&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GoogleBase


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## DNC

Turkey mince is cheap mate,throw a little cumin on there with coriander and got some lovely tasting burgers:thumb:

It can be done but you really have to plan it out and shop around for a bit.

Would also try and get invited to a few 18ths,21ths or any other do going,chicken legs and salad all week for free mate:thumb:


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## Galtonator

If you can find a mate that goes to Booker or Makro tag along and you can save a fortune on meat. Carbs are cheap. To be honest protein powder hepls a great deal as it's cheap and tastes nice but its not essential. Eggs are very cheap i think Tesco do 30 for a few quid. Just have to smell of egss lol


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## JamStyle

Look for your local Frozen Food Distributor. I get 10kg box of chicken for £35. The chicken breasts are huge as well atleast 50g of chicken in them. I have no doubt them chickens where on AAS!!


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## Gerry_bhoy

Someone suggested baked beans (drained and rinsed of sauce). But do they really have a decent protein content?

Also would this be a whole tin and are really cheap ones okay?

This could be my lunch with some wholemeal bread. Although im not sure how healthy this would be to eat everyday?


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## Rossy Balboa

Pilchards/Sardines,dirt cheap and high protein...also good fatty acids


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## Cliff

adamdutton said:


> i do know tesco do a bag of frozen chicken breast for £3.70 or something and that gets you a kilo of skinless breasts, they also do a 2 kg bag of thighs and legs for £2.79.


although mixed with dextrose and bulked with water, you do get 19g of protein per 100g and only minimal carbs from the dextrose. :thumbup1:


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## SenorSteve

rs007 said:


> Controversial perhaps but
> 
> You won't get cheaper, per gram of quality protein provided, than bulk unflavoured whey, so I would (and have in the past) make this your main protien source. Drip feed in throughout the day, sip with solid meals etc.
> 
> Get some cheap meat in, and cheap carbs as mentioned in other posts.
> 
> Not pretty, not fashionable, but damn does it work.


Hi mate,

is this true? I always thought mince was cheapest?


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## aseeby19

Nutrisport 90+ for protien -- 40£ at 200 g ,should last u 25 days

Morissons oats 68 p. For 500 g = workout how much u need ,I am not ur mummy 

U said clean diet ,don't go banging on about it being taste less

Oh and for fats go to poundland and buy olive oil 2 ltrs for a £


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## rs007

SenorSteve said:


> Hi mate,
> 
> is this true? I always thought mince was cheapest?


Nah mate, common misconception.

Typical pack of mince is 500g, giving around 100g total protien.

Using morrisons turkey mince as an example as it is pretty cheap - costs around £1.80.

To get 100g actual protein from WPC you would need to consume approx 125g powder (assuming 80% protein content) and that currently costs around a quid inc delivery, and some would argue it is a far superior protein source...

So for mince to be better all in, it would have to be less than a quid a pack while supplying 100g protein and as low in fat as WPC which it won't be - even the turkey mince example above which is classed as a lean mince is still around 10% fat IIRC.


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## chrisj22

I'm on a budget, although I spend more than £100 a month on food for me.

As Rams say's, unflavored whey is pretty cheap - 5kg for about £38?

Four 75ml scoops provided 100g protein and only like 15g carbs or something.

Tesco/Asda eggs - 30 for £3

Tesco are doing Extra Lean Mince Meat x2 500g packs for £5. So there's 200g protein overall for £5.

TBH, all I live on at the moment is whey, eggs and mince meat and I'm doing ok.


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## Jimmy1

Gerry_bhoy said:


> Someone suggested baked beans (drained and rinsed of sauce). But do they really have a decent protein content?
> 
> Also would this be a whole tin and are really cheap ones okay?
> 
> This could be my lunch with some wholemeal bread. Although im not sure how healthy this would be to eat everyday?


the mix of beans and wholewheat bread are quite good for amino's

as is veggy chilli with rice

dont forget milk as well...pretty cheap imo

i used to drink 2l of chocolate skimmed milk pwo when on a budget....protein and sugar....all good pwo


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## hilly

u boys need a decent butcher. i get 5kg chicken breasts fresh or turkey crown of 4 quidish a kilo. they will mince it if i like so much leaner than tesco turkey mince.

i also get steak for around 5.50-6 quid a kg if i buy 60 quids worth. this is amix of fillet/sirloin with a kg of mince and a kg of tail end beef. mainly sirloin.

then hit tesco for their won brands of tuna, myprotein for whey and my local butchers does 30 large eggs for 3 quid.

carbs are cheap as chips and so is olive oil


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## DNC

Liver is really cheap mate if you can stomach it??

I did a thread on it a bit ago where a few people put how they do theirs,have a look if you want to give it a go.


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## Ryan16

Bulking can be cheap if you know where to look

Asda is probs one of the chepest places,

2 quid for 400g of uncooked chicken breat chunks or the same price for 375g of cooled chicken strips, half a pack of each can do you a meal and give 45-50g of protein

Asda also do 1kg of lean beef mince for 5 quid, buy it and cook it in 5 200g bits and theres 5 meals so say 1 each day

Myprotein flavoured whey you can get 5kg for 35 quid like i did, i got strawberry and its ace! although you need to use the price matcher thing and put in the bodybuildingwarehouse sit link to get it up

Carb sources are real cheep from asda- 57p for 1kg of smartprice oats, 32p for 500g of smartprice pasta,

They have 15 eggs for 1.45 atm too

And just something to get your fats with i.e EVOO

The way my diet ends up working is 3 meals solid foods and 2/3 meals shakes/solids so usally my first 2 meals are shakes and oats or bananas because i usually train in the morning, then my lunch, my dinner then maybe another meal sometimes then pre bed but i usually have 5 meals and aim for 50g of pro a meal which gets me 250g of pro then add probs another 30-40 throughout the day due to indirect protein intake from some carb sources and things like PB

Hope that helped


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## Fbjoey

hilly said:


> u boys need a decent butcher. i get 5kg chicken breasts fresh or turkey crown of 4 quidish a kilo. they will mince it if i like so much leaner than tesco turkey mince.
> 
> i also get steak for around 5.50-6 quid a kg if i buy 60 quids worth. this is amix of fillet/sirloin with a kg of mince and a kg of tail end beef. mainly sirloin.
> 
> then hit tesco for their won brands of tuna, myprotein for whey and my local butchers does 30 large eggs for 3 quid.
> 
> carbs are cheap as chips and so is olive oil


Wow. but we only have a pork butcher


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## Gza1

i spend about 25quid a week

aldi chicken legs 550g £1 x 10

Eggs 10 £1 x 3

Rice and oats and cheap frozen veg with whats left, and maybe some dry roasted nuts if i have change


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## Galtonator

On a kind of different note. Went to Booker today the 5kg bags of chicken were 9 quid instead of 17 quid. I now have 50kg of chicken breast for under 100 quid.


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## Fbjoey

Galtonator said:


> On a kind of different note. Went to Booker today the 5kg bags of chicken were 9 quid instead of 17 quid. I now have 50kg of chicken breast for under 100 quid.


That's incredible!


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## Galtonator

it took me ages to bag it up in twos but it was an amazing deal and the chicken is as good as you would get in a supermarket


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## rs007

Galtonator said:


> On a kind of different note. Went to Booker today the 5kg bags of chicken were 9 quid instead of 17 quid. I now have 50kg of chicken breast for under 100 quid.


Is this dependant on location? Been in and out of bookers umpteen times and never seen this.

What exactly is it? Fresh? Frozen? Cooked? Got cooked stuff one itme as looked like a great price but was utter gash and pretty soon I couldn't face it.

I pay 36-39 for 10kg fresh fillets.


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## hsmann87

Im doing a keto diet at the moment. It is 2500 calories

All i need to buy for the diet is:

Unflavoured whey protein from myprotein (much cheaper than flavoured)

Whole eggs

Broccoli

Almonds

Chicken breast (go to a butchers instead of supermarket - its cheaper and better quality meat IMO)

If you are on about 3000 cals you can top up with oats which others have already said is as cheap as..


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## tonyc74

Try shopping in London, butchers are trendy its £11 for a chicken!

Best i can do is 1kg of chicken for £7 in waitrose on offer...least its not full of water like Tescos crap!


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## hsmann87

tonyc74 said:


> Try shopping in London, butchers are trendy its £11 for a chicken!
> 
> Best i can do is 1kg of chicken for £7 in waitrose on offer...least its not full of water like Tescos crap!


I live in Twickenham which isnt London city, but still moreorless London. I pay £5.99 per kg of skinless boneless chicken breast.

It has minimal water in and the butchers are kind enough to cut the meat up exactly how i want (small pieces if im BBQing on kebab sticks or thin fillets for pan frying etc)


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## Galtonator

it was fresh no added water Rammers. The butcher had markert it down as the best before was the 19th. Not a problem for me as i bag it up and freeze it


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## chelios

As stated already, butchers is probably the best place to go, or look for supermarket special offers, even use mysupermarket to compare basket price, and then just go into store.


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## -tommyboiii-

tesco value peanuts 200grams for 29p !!! 50 grams protein per bag, 1200 cals and 102 grams of fat


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## Joshua

> You won't get cheaper, per gram of quality protein provided, than bulk unflavoured whey, so I would (and have in the past) make this your main protien source. Drip feed in throughout the day, sip with solid meals etc.


+1

Whey and oats with water is pretty cheap.

Veg either from the market or from asda an hour before closing (prices drop down to 2p per item in mine).

A few eggs and fishoils for fats. A pack or two of liver for treats,

A box of tea

Comes in at under 100pm.

J


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## tonyc74

hsmann87 said:


> I live in Twickenham which isnt London city, but still moreorless London. I pay £5.99 per kg of skinless boneless chicken breast.
> 
> It has minimal water in and the butchers are kind enough to cut the meat up exactly how i want (small pieces if im BBQing on kebab sticks or thin fillets for pan frying etc)


Thats not too bad mate, im going to be in sheen soon so might try going over to Twickenham, do you mind droppping me the details?

Thanks

Tony


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## 54und3r5

[No message]


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## DB

12 poundland eggs -99p

1kg oats -60p or so

chicken from a market at around 4quid a kilo

potatoes

sorted


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## Guest

15 large eggs - £1.50 (Iceland).

Tuna - Can be found for as little as £2 for 4 cans.

Banana's - 6 for £1.

Shape low fat yoghurts 4 for £1 (Coop)

Mackeral/Salmon can be found cheap as in all supermarkets.

Chicken - £3.50/4.50 a kg.

Pilchards - I'd add them to my diet & eat them all the time if i could actually eat them within wanting to spew my guts up.


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## Gerry_bhoy

Doing not bad at the moment. Im 5 mins from CO-OP and Iceland. Iceland is pretty cheap.

4 chicken Breasts for 4 quid. And about 3-4 portions of Lean Mince Beef for 4 quid also.

They also have the big frozen bags which are ridiculously cheap, but they look a big dodgy. Probably cheap for a reason.

But aye, carbs are cheap and at the moment they make about 50% of my cals. I think I can live on £30 a week.


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## jameweights

wow this thread is useful  Since going paleo I can't seem to keep my shopping bill below 50 quid a week!


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## 1manarmy

i get lunches provided by work and it still costs me arround 25/30 per week...i think if i went to a wholesaler and bought bulk i could do it for way less tho but i have no way if using one!


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## Kloob

Seems slightly tight mate. I'm just shy of 100 dolla bills a week.


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