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Poor Vegan's Bodybuilding Meal Plan


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Let's be honest; it is way cheaper to eat unhealthy. Vegan or non-vegan, you pay more for organic whole foods (at least here in Colorado, this is the case). Have you guys ever seen the prices on some of those veggies in Whole Foods? You can break the bank easily, and every meal plan I have ever made was costly in order to get all vitamins and minerals from whole foods. So this time around since I am super serious but have dire money issues, I decided to give in, and use a multivitamin... Which means I can basically make a much cheaper meal plan. I also happen to be allergic to banannas and avocados darn it!!

 

So I need 2128 calories on a workout day. 1 cup of raisins, 1 cup of sunflower seeds, 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of oats. does it. Then I want a BCAA and protein supplement to mix with it; 30 grams of BCAA mixed with 45 grams of protein (70%rice, 30% gemma [yellow] pea), taken in seven doses.

 

I have this awesome juicer and I will add greens from papa's garden at least three times per week. I will buy fruit occsionally but I honestly feel best when focusing on greens, plus fruit is EXPENSIVE here. Also I know it is really gross but I swear fresh garlic juice gives me a huge energy boost (15 capsules per serving.) Most will never try this for obvious reasons but hey, it works. IDK if my testosterone is raised like with those rats in that one study but who knows? lol

 

I know this isn't IDEAL but the fact that I take a minimalist approach to this (expect the BCAA/protein/garlic) means that I can afford organic ingredients! Does anyone see any major flaws in this diet plan and how can I fix them CHEAPLY?

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I think you have the right idea to keep things simple.. especially at the beginning of your journey.

 

Raisins are fairly high in sugar and sunflower seeds really high in fat. I don't know if you will want to eat that much of them daily.. they are more snack foods than meals imo (albeit healthy ones). Beans lentils and rices/grains are about as cheap as you can get so you may want to add those into your plan. Dry beans are cheaper than canned.. and no can = less environmental impact too. Beans and lentils have very good protein content. Unprocessed grains have better protein and nutrient content than processed... so avoid all the white grains.

 

Fruit is expensive in Canada too, but I find I can buy it much cheaper if it is frozen. Frozen is likely cheaper because there are less issues with 'timeliness' of delivery and ensuring everything doesn't get bruised an beat up in transport. Or you can buy local fruit in bulk and freeze them yourself. Frozen fruits are great in smoothies with your greens. Yams, potatoes, and squashes tend to be cheaper than other veggies so you can throw those into your plan too. I think it is best to have some variety ... and you can still do that on the cheap.

 

I will buy organic here and there... but cost does play a role. But buying non-organic fruit and veggies is better than no fruits or veggies.

 

Men on plant based diet in general have higher testosterone than omnis so you don't have to worry about that. (sorry I don't have sources but I know in past I saw many studies showing this).

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I think you have the right idea to keep things simple.. especially at the beginning of your journey.

 

Raisins are fairly high in sugar and sunflower seeds really high in fat. I don't know if you will want to eat that much of them daily.. they are more snack foods than meals imo (albeit healthy ones). Beans lentils and rices/grains are about as cheap as you can get so you may want to add those into your plan. Dry beans are cheaper than canned.. and no can = less environmental impact too. Beans and lentils have very good protein content. Unprocessed grains have better protein and nutrient content than processed... so avoid all the white grains.

 

Fruit is expensive in Canada too, but I find I can buy it much cheaper if it is frozen. Frozen is likely cheaper because there are less issues with 'timeliness' of delivery and ensuring everything doesn't get bruised an beat up in transport. Or you can buy local fruit in bulk and freeze them yourself. Frozen fruits are great in smoothies with your greens. Yams, potatoes, and squashes tend to be cheaper than other veggies so you can throw those into your plan too. I think it is best to have some variety ... and you can still do that on the cheap.

 

I will buy organic here and there... but cost does play a role. But buying non-organic fruit and veggies is better than no fruits or veggies.

 

Men on plant based diet in general have higher testosterone than omnis so you don't have to worry about that. (sorry I don't have sources but I know in past I saw many studies showing this).

 

Awesome advice. I forgot to mention thay there is a large variety of veggies from papa's garden. Yams, squash, greens, several types of beans and onions. I will rely on this garden until everything is eaten! As far as the fruit, I will try to sneak in some here and there but honestly it is just too expensive and for some reason I never liked frozen fruit and I dislike fruit smothies... i know, i am weird.

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I pretty much lived on lentils brown rice and spinach for months and made solid gains. I was extremely poor and I never gave up. You do what you can now, try not to worry about protein powders if thats going to be your main source of protein. Spend that money on actual foods that are high in protein. Dry lentils and beans, opt for pumpkin seeds instead of sunflower seeds. If you can afford protein powder after youve scored enough food than go for it.

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my favorite cheap food to work with is chickpeas, so much you can do with them

make burgers

make curries

make sauces/dips

add to salads

or just on their own they taste good

fast to work with, and good protein content

 

cost about 80c (possibly less) for 400g in a tin, and less if you buy dry and soak+cook yourself

 

black beans are nice also, but not really as versatile

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A little more detail about why I chose some foods and not others. I chose only complete protein sources for my food, that are also very easy to increase calory intake with. Chickpeas have decent calories, but I believe the protein quality is lower and incomplete. As much as I love to cook, I will be commuting via the bus to and from work, and it just makes sense to pack things I can eat on the go that do not require cooking. I like to cook, and will be cooking papa's garden veggies sometimes. He has all kinds of greens beans, squash, carrots, onions and more! But I would like to simplify my cooked items so I don't have to worry about buying more or different items. Right now, this meal plan is less than $330/month. If I add just one more item, that will put me over $350/month and I cannot afford that. Gotta stick to budget. The protein will last a long time/ I plan to ise it in combination with BCAA because it makes sure your body does not convert them into other amino acids. Eventually I plan to add spirulina powder to the diet with a second job, along with a solid variety of greens. If you buy it in bulk, you can get it at $8/lb!

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I have revised my meal plan in an attempt to get all my vitamins and minerals without eating a bunch more stuff/paying a ton of money. I even made it using only using 11 ingredients! It is still based on a 2000 calories/day diet, so I will have to slightly adjust the servings, but here it is:

 

•1 cup cooked spinach >$1

•1 cup raisins $1.88

•1 cup sunflower seeds >€38

•1 cup rice bran €78

•1 cup sweet potatoes with skin $1

•2 tbsp blackstrap unsulphured molasses €33

•2.5 tsp yeast extract $1

•1 tsp dried sage, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp dried basil (or any combo of 3 tsp) >$1

•30g sunflower lecithin €71

 

Folks, that is $7.37/day for a 2000 calorie/day RDA of EVERYTHING YOU NEED. Because of this I am not even worried about calories. My body will have all it needs if I adjust my portions for my size. I do this by multiplying everything by the same factor that represents my percentage of o 2000 calorie diet, for my size, sex and energy level. With proper adjustment, this price is more like $8.52.

 

Now if I add BCAA/protein powder to that, it gets expensive, fast:

 

30g BCAA $5.50

Protein powder $2.35

 

So that adds $7.85 DAILY and messes up the budget BADLY. I will only supplement after getting a second job, because the meal plan alone is awesome and I will see great gains for a while with no supplements. I would get the protein powder before the BCAA to help keep me fuller and it is cheaper. Also to help me stock up on any shortage of amino acids. And yes, I want the sunflower seeds and raisins. Life saving and delectable, and I can munch on them throughout my entire day, mixed in a little baggy.

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if you were on a tight budget and want protein, you should consider buying bulk unflavored protein

 

here, my local bulk supplements site will sell 20kg of rice protein for $279

that's approximately 500 servings, equalling about 56c per serving- pea protein is listed at the same price

 

if you're using vega or sunwarrior or something like that, it will be way more expensive, and from my experience, unflavored generic proteins taste much much better than sun/vega, just make sure it's a reputable source

 

i've never bothered with BCAA's myself, i like to keep it simple

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if you were on a tight budget and want protein, you should consider buying bulk unflavored protein

 

here, my local bulk supplements site will sell 20kg of rice protein for $279

that's approximately 500 servings, equalling about 56c per serving- pea protein is listed at the same price

 

if you're using vega or sunwarrior or something like that, it will be way more expensive, and from my experience, unflavored generic proteins taste much much better than sun/vega, just make sure it's a reputable source

 

i've never bothered with BCAA's myself, i like to keep it simple

That is awesome! I am going to be getting everything in bulk sooner or later. But seeing as I am poor (hence the title), I will have to save. You are absolutely right though; I should buy protein in bulk just like everything else! Where do you get your protein in bulk? I prefer my protein with nothing in it as well. And I know it is best to keep things simple but I am convinced most people do not see the value I see in them. I would never waste money on other supps that are not worth their weight in gold or muscle.

 

8oz peanut butter

4oz jelly

8oz wheat bread

 

2230 cals, 82g protein, $5/day

 

Lol cool, more than half of my daily food allowance with less than 1/8 of the nutrition! I would not typically eat any of those ingredients (except mama's homemade jelly on occasion) because every one of them is processed. IDK if you caught this but I stick mainly to raw veganism. Health first, strength second, looks third.

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8oz peanut butter

4oz jelly

8oz wheat bread

 

2230 cals, 82g protein, $5/day

 

Lol cool, more than half of my daily food allowance with less than 1/8 of the nutrition! I would not typically eat any of those ingredients (except mama's homemade jelly on occasion) because every one of them is processed. IDK if you caught this but I stick mainly to raw veganism. Health first, strength second, looks third.

 

Well you can get pure peanut butter, which is very minimally processed, you can get all fruit jellies, and you can eat as many veggies with the plan as you want, since they are basically calorie free, so that would cover your vitamin needs.

 

But I was being sarcastic.

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Hi, the place i get my stuff from is bulknutrients

http://www.bulknutrients.com.au/view/bulk-nutrients-protein-products/Protein

this is an au/nz site, but if you live in the US, i'm sure you could find something similar, US has way better mailing system, so someone's bound to be able to post you something

 

i could also guess it's alot cheaper elsewhere, AU stuff is always overpriced... in everything

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8oz peanut butter

4oz jelly

8oz wheat bread

 

2230 cals, 82g protein, $5/day

 

Lol cool, more than half of my daily food allowance with less than 1/8 of the nutrition! I would not typically eat any of those ingredients (except mama's homemade jelly on occasion) because every one of them is processed. IDK if you caught this but I stick mainly to raw veganism. Health first, strength second, looks third.

 

Well you can get pure peanut butter, which is very minimally processed, you can get all fruit jellies, and you can eat as many veggies with the plan as you want, since they are basically calorie free, so that would cover your vitamin needs.

 

But I was being sarcastic.

 

My bad, I thought you were being serious!! lol

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Here's mine, around $180/month for 3,300 kcal (including supplements w/ no calories) I feed mom and I on $240.00 month including my protein powder and supplements.

 

#0 and #2 90g Pea/Rice Protein 350/75/2/2

 

#1

100g Oats w/ 28g Flaxseed and 12g Coconut 700/25/55/20

1/2 Block Tofu w/ 225g Veggies 340/33/15/17

 

2#

Pea/Rice Protein

28g Nuts or PB 200/8/4/16

 

#3

450g Pea/Bean Stew w/ Veggies and Nutrtional Yeast 1,650/120/160/5

 

3,300kcal/260/235/65

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

25# Split Peas $33.00 or 30# $40.00

AND/OR Beans $7.00

5# Alt. Beans $7.00

15# (5 Bags) of Broccoli $18.50

8# of Carrots $5.50

3# Oats $7.40

2# Flaxseed $9.50

1# Nutrtional Yeast $9.00

16 Blocks of Tofu $20.50

1 Jar of Coconut Oil $8.00

2 Jars of Peanut Butter $10.00

---------------------------------------------------------

$128.00 (+50 for supplements)

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