Cost effective diet?

[Kentucky Fried Chokin]

I am trying to loose 50lbs.

Just stop eating. You'll lose a ton of weight.

[TheRuss]

They might have membership limitations - I don't know. My advice would be to call them and ask. Also, take into account whether there's one nearby (so you don't waste gas), and whether you've got enough storage space (incl. deep freeze room) to buy in larger quantities. No sense paying more for a membership than you can save with it.

[isol8d]

Anybody got one? I have a pretty solid diet plan, but its expensive. I can stick to a diet plan with ease. But when I am shopping, I see Brocoli $4 apound and a pizza is just $1. So if anyone can point me to a cost effective diet, I would greatly appreciate it.

what kind of diet plan do you want to follow? eggs are cheap, frozen veg is relatively cheap, dried beans are cheap. Whole chickens cost @$4, and you'll get a couple meals out of them.

The difference is that $4lb broccoli is for food, and $1 pizza is for prepared food substance.

[Skillful]

"If man made it, don't eat it" -Jack LaLanne

seasonal fruits and veg are typically cheaper and better than stuff that's been stored and preserved by artificial means. You just only get peaches now (in my part of the world), apples soon, mission figs were done about a month ago, etc.

Eat these with cottage cheese (stock up when it's on sale) and you've got an awesome meal that's even Gracie Diet approved.

Beans are the cheapest and best form of protein and fiber from veg. Meats are worth spending a little bit for quality, but get good chicken or lean cuts of boneless pork chops rather than beef tenderloin. Buy in bulk whether at the supermarket or wholesale club, buy cheap plastic bags/saran wrap and store in individual servings in the freezer.

Really it's not rocket surgery. Get to know your produce department and meat guy, let them know what it is you like and want, and you'll get hooked up.

[Big Dozer]

Al right thanks for the advice guys. Maybe I will look into the Luke Cummo diet plan lol

[Asriel]

I remodeled my diet a few months ago, and Costco has been the wind beneath my wings. Examples of purchases I've made:

Premier Nutrition protein bar: 72g, 300kcal, 7g fat/25g carbs (mostly sugar alcohols)/30g protein, $1.09 (packs of 12)
Ocean's wild pink salmon (canned): 213g, 310kcal, 16g fat (mostly polyunsaturated)/0g carbs/46g protein, $1.25 (packs of 6)
Naturegg egg white (carton): 500mL, 250kcal, 0g fat/0g carbs/50g protein, $1.93 (packs of 3)

Costco also has big boxes of frozen chicken breasts - 4kg for $32.29 last time I was there. The price per box isn't as good as the brands that other grocery stores up here will put on special, but if you look at the nutritional value, the Costco ones tend to have significantly more protein per kilogram of chicken.

Skim milk also gives good bang per buck in terms of protein (about $0.03/gram protein, IIRC), although if you're carbohydrate-restricted, you can't drink too much of it. Cottage cheese has less carbohydrate, but is more expensive per gram of protein.

In terms of veggies, if you're paying $4/pound for broccoli, you're getting totally hosed. Back to my Costco price list:

Veggies: 2.5kg of frozen broccoli and cauliflower florets with some carrots mixed in for $6.59.

What's the carb content like for Skim Milk?

[adouglasmhor]

I live in rip off Britain, 69p a kilo for broccoli around 57cents a pound - they saw you coming mate.

[TheRuss]

What's the carb content like for Skim Milk?

Off the top of my head:
250mL of skim milk = 90kcal, <1g fat/13g carbs/8.8g protein

The protein's 20% whey and 80% casein, and the carbohydrate is lactose. Lactose is a disaccharide that takes a while to break down - lactase splits it into glucose (readily usable) and galactose (requires further metabolism).

Once I'm done losing excess fat and resume weight maintenance, I plan to drink between two and four litres a day, probably with a few scoops of chocolate whey protein powder mixed in. The idea here is to:
1) make it sweeter so I don't pig out on other stuff
2) bring the whey/casein ratio closer to 50/50
3) bring the protein/carb ratio closer to 50/50

[Asriel]

Ah I see, Cheers Russ.

So I probably shouldn't be drinking several pints of it in the evening if I'm trying to shed some fat huh?

[TheRuss]

That would depend on what else you're eating and what your strategy for fat loss is.