Help on strict budget

[Aldethar]

So long story short, I saw a financial advisor and sadly I am in a deeper money pit than I thought.

One of my biggest spenders is food and in order to now finally pay of my cards I need to bite the bullet and do some cost cuttings.

I am paying the person I stay with to get supper, so that is sorted. Over weekend I am with my partner so food is generally sorted out as well.

I have a budget of roughly R300 a week and here are my ideas so far:

For breakfast:
Peanut Butter Protein Shake
Ingredients & Costs:
Free milk: 400ml (Free as work supplies it)
NPL Diet Pro: 1 scoop (~R17.50 per portion)
Peanut butter: 1 tbsp (~R1.25 per portion)
Total Cost: ~R18.75

Nutrients:
Calories: ~290 kcal
Protein: ~28g
Carbs: ~5g
Fat: ~8g

For lunch I would alternate between these 2:

Tuna, Half Cucumber, and 100ml Yogurt
Ingredients & Costs:
Tuna: 1 tin (~R22)
Cucumber: Half (~R14 each, ~R7 for half)
Yogurt: 100ml tub (~R20 for 6 tubs, ~R3.33 per tub)
Total Cost: ~R32.33

Nutrients:
Calories: ~182 kcal
Protein: ~26g
Carbs: ~11g
Fat: ~2.5g



Egg and Cucumber Bowl
Ingredients & Costs:
3 boiled eggs (~R70/18, ~R11.67)
Half cucumber (~R14 each, ~R7)
1 tub of yogurt (100ml, ~R3.33)
Total Cost: ~R22

Nutrients:
Calories: ~233 kcal
Protein: ~20g
Carbs: ~7g
Fat: ~15g

If I have eggs on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and the tuna Tuesdays and Wednesday it would come to around R230 which is within my budget. with around 50 grams of protein.

So my questions are as follow:

Would this be enough? Any other suggestions to maybe alternate?

One think I could do is add a second protein shake for 80 grams of protein a day at R320 a week... slightly above my budget

 

[neilarey]

@Aldethar hi
What is your goal? To add muscle or to lose weight? Also, how tall are you and what is your current weight? What's your protein total for the day, every day?

 

[Aldethar]

Hi @neilarey, definitely important questions

I am currently 115 KGS at 178 cm.

I have a pretty heavy bone structure and my ideal weight is around the 90-95 KG mark.

In an ideal world I would like to lose weight while also getting some muscle mass, but that is not always as easy.

Regarding the protein: I was never one to fully count my macros but I am aiming for around 100-120 grams of protein in the long run.


As another small background. Food has always been my comfort go to so it has always been over the place.

I hope that answers all questions

 

[neilarey]

Oh I totally get it, tracking macros is a pain. Food is one of my comforts, too, so I share the sentiment. Unfortunately, if you have specific goals, it's unavoidable. Since you also have financial constraints (I've been there, I ate beans from a can all day every day) it's probably one more reason to track. I use cronometer app myself, it's free and it'll can give you a really good picture of where you are at. You can absolutely recomp (gain muscle and lose body fat at the same time), it just usually takes double the time to get to where you want to be. I am on the same road right now but I have 6 months to do it.

Back to your original question. Yeah, you'll need to hit at least 90-95 grams of protein a day. That's difficult on a budget. The cheapest and the most efficient way is probably to use protein powders, as you already mentioned. The issues is... this doesn't look like a lot of food. I won't survive on that and I am 164 cm, 53 kg. Even if you have a large dinner it still looks like snacks to me. Have you thought of adding complex carbs to this? Boiled potatoes, canned beans, lentils, oats? They will add to your protein intake and they are relatively inexpensive. Just a thought.

 

[Aldethar]

Thank you for that insight @neilarey .
I can always have oats for breakfast with a scoop of protein powder in it and have another shake later that day with an apple and peanut butter as a snack if I get hungry.

So it would be :
11h00 1 scoop protein powder with half a cup oats and 250 ml milk (385 kcal, 26g protein, 40g carbs, and 1100 fat)
14h00 - Tuna or egg with cucumber (+- 200 kcal, 24g protein, 6g carbs, 12g fat)
16h00 - 2 scoops protein powder (+- 321 kcal, 33g protein, 13g carbs, 9g fat)
19h00 Supper - whatever is served that day

That would make the total (without supper) 900 kcal, 83g protein, 58g carbs, 33g fat) at the cost of around R320 a week.

 

[neilarey]

It's looking better already

I doubt that whatever you have for supper is over 1000 Calories, though. You need at least 2000 to function, exercise properly and recover. Sure, you can go below that but you will be tired all the time, you won't be able to concentrate on daily tasks and your NEAT (non-exercise activity) will also decrease (that's extra 300-500 Calories a day). 2000 is quite low for your weight and height. You will lose weight this way but I don't think there will much muscle building happening. You also won't be able to sustain it for very long, this a short-term solution. Throw some rice and/or potatoes in there. You can top potatoes with yogurt or cottage cheese mixed with protein powder. Add some vinegar (1/2 tsp) you'll have a healthy mayo. Your current plans looks good but it still seems too low to me for quality progression.

It's up to you of course

 

[Aldethar]

Hmmm. I will need to have a look than.

usually supper is pretty large though. Yesterday it was 2 chicken burgers with cheese.
More often than not we have sweet potato mash, so it pretty calorie dense.

Adding a snack of a apple with 2 tbsp. of peanut butter might actually be a good idea.

Maybe that is the reason I keep on giving up on my diet as I said the bar to low... as that seems like a lot of food for me

 

[neilarey]

Ok, suppers sound alright, maybe 700-800 Calories's worth. Try tracking your macros for 5 days just so you have a better idea. Seriously, it makes a big difference. We usually give up when something is waaaay, waaay out of our comfort zone. You'll have better results if you go slow and stay consistent. I know, I know, everyone is tired of hearing this... but it's how it works. You can lose weight in 2 weeks, get ripped and then put x2 of what you lost in a week, guaranteed. Give yourself 3-4 months and the kind of diet you can actually stick to without feeling like it's a punishment.

I like your apple + peanut butter idea, btw. Add some cinnamon to it

 

[Aldethar]

ohhh... I usually add cinnamon if I have yoghurt with apple, but will try it with the PB.

So I had another look at what I could get and came up with this (although it does mean some cooking)

breakfast - protein powder - oats2100 and milk (432 kcal, 22 g protein, 41g carb, 11g fat)
lunch - salad with 150g chicken, 2 eggs, 1/2 avocado and some spinach - 300 kcal, 36g protein, 9g carbs, 21g fat)
protein shake - 321kcal, 33g protein, 13g carbs, 9g fat)

Total
1060 kcal
91g protein
62g carb
42g fat

hmmm to many possibilities. Will have a good sleep over it and mull it over.



I just realized that 2 or so years back I went to a nutritionist. looking back in my mails I actually found the report and she recommended the following.

2100 kcal
147 grams protein
184g carbs
86 grams fats

Seeing that my supper cant be perfect I will try to get the following for my other meals if my supper is 1000 calories

Calories: 1,100 kcal
Protein: 85g
Carbs: ~60.5g
Fats: ~57.5g

 

[Mamatigerj]

@Aldethar, it is really difficult trying to figure this out, especially with the additional constraint of a tight budget.

I wish you well, and i will be cheering you on!