By Todd Lee M.D.

Bodybuilding Grocery Shopping  on a Budget

We all fall on hard times. Maybe you have kids, or ex wives, or you lost your job because you skipped work to many times to play COD Ghosts on double experience point weekend.

No matter what the reason, you may not have a ton of money to blow on food. This is an expensive lifestyle after all, and Whole Foods might as well be called Whole Paycheck!

$15.99 for grass fed Buffalo? Fugetaboutit!

So here are 10 steps to stretch your buck and even grow mass. What other option do you have? Watch years of hard work go down the toilet as you pee out your hard earned gains? No way!

STEP 1: Cost Co. Membership
Either get your mom to add you to her account or get two other friends together and share an executive membership. That way it's 33$ not 99$. Trust me, I grew up in West Bloomfield, I know how to stretch a buck.

STEP 2: When To Shop
Go during the normal work hours or right before they close at 8:30. Do NOT go after 5 pm before 7:30!

If you go on the weekend bring a meal in your pocket and take some Xanax so you dont Hulk out from being hangry and kill people. I have never seen so many children off leash before!

STEP 3: Protein
Chicken tenderloins are only $2.99 here. Since its chicken there are supposed to be no added estrogens. So its cheaper and in theory safer than beef or fish. There are 6 1 pound pouches, so each pouch is about 100g of protein. which is about 4 meals for a woman or 2 for a man. So for $20 a woman gets 24-30 meals and a guy gets 12-18. I bake mine on foil in the oven at 350 for 19 minutes assuming i don’t preheat my oven. Then i store 3 days worth in the Snap Wear and refrigerate.

The eggs are easier: you get 7.5 dozen for about $7 and the liquid egg whites are about $8.
If you eat beef the best priced item per gram of protein is the frozen 5 pack of 1 pound ground sirloin. its 90/10 beef, which means per 100g its 10 g of fat. Since meat is 70% water that means there are 23g of protein left or so per 100g grams of beef. So each tube is 80-90g of protein and 40 g of fat.

STEP 4: Carbs
Rice is the cheapest, a 20 pound bag is about $20 for brown or basmati rice. Pick up a cheap rice cooker while you're here, you'll thank me later.
Sweet potatoes are seasonally cheap so get the white if their cheaper. I wrap my sweet potatos in foil and bake for 2 hours on 350. Then I add cinnamon, nutmeg and depending on my macros almond butter to make a dessert mash. For white I use the knives I just bought to slice them into chips and bake them at 400. But watch them, the burn fast.
I use the frozen Broccoli florets. Kind of expensive and not important but its what i do to get some green in my diet. Pick up a steamer while you're here

STEP 5: Fat
They have cheap Coconut oil here, $15 for a 6 month supply. Its ideal for frying. I Use a food scale and place the container on it and scoop out 15g and use that to fry my food. Yes, I got my food scale and people scale here.
This is the only place where you can get the Maranatha almond butter without the crap like sugar and palm oil in it. $9 for a huge container.

STEP 6: Disposables

Unless you have someone special in your life, you may want to get biodegradable paper plates and possibly plastic flatware. Doing all your own cooking, cleaning, shopping, laundry, food prep, is almost a job in itself so save time on not having dishes.

Pick up toilet paper and paper towels, laundry detergent, dryer sheets, aluminum foil, plastic sandwich bags, and plastic cups while you're here. Pots and pans and a set of knives may be a good idea as well. A set of bad ass scissors is a must. You trim your meat with them. Fuck Cut Co., buy at Cost Co.!

STEP 7: Tupperware

Nothing is a better deal here than 36 piece snap wear for 24 bucks! They have a good deal on Smart Shakers here as well.

STEP 8: Vitamins
They actually have high quality stuff cheap. Vitamin D3, Multi, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Cinnamon, Probiotic, Glucosamine, and things like deodorant, toothpaste, razors, shaving cream, soap can all be gotten in this area. $200 here on the above items last 6 months to a year.

STEP 9: The Line
Here is where you exercise your Jedi meditation techniques as you sit in line. Its like being in a padded cell, time seems to freeze. Pick a line with single men, those move fast and the men have their cards and money ready and dont talk much. You can pay with cash, Debit, and AMEX… no credit cards accepted. After you're through grab some boxes because you dont get grocery bags.

STEP 10: Get Gas
CostCo. gas Is cheap so get it while you’r here. That alone pays for the membership.
There you have the 10 steps to stay bodybuilding when your broke!