Quality Macros on Budget

One of the most burdensome issue for long-term gym and gainz maintenance is covering food costs, especially as your caloric needs increase.

Yeah, that dirty-bulk with the $5.00 ramen bulk pack and downing it down with a 69¢ 2-liter of Coca-Cola is a sweet 150 calories but the fat bloat and massive sugar spikes aren't all that worth it when you feel like shit and have to go on a cut for 2 months after doing it long enough.

Healthy food can cost a lot but not if you shop smart and shop bulk. And most of these foods can either be stored dry for a while or refrigerated or frozen if need be. Getting JACKED doesn't have to break your bank and you can actually cook cheaper than people who aren't bulking if you shop smart.

If you have a gym partner / gym friend (or several) who you can split large orders on it can make a lot of these a lot more practical.

Note: obviously, these exact options (purely examples) might or probably might not exist in your area but hopefully serve as inspiration that you can find such deals in your area.

Carbohydrates

Bulk White Rice

$25 for a 50 LB bag of white rice with 504 servings of servings at about 5¢ per serving (1/4 cup 45g) | 35g carbs at 160 calories per serving.

White rice is EXTREMELY cost effective at 5¢ per serving! Fast-digesting carb that just needs to be rinsed in water a few times to remove excess starch before cooking.

*Rice can be wrapped in seaweed or burritos to retain moisture. Use a good rice cooker for best results.

Bulk Oats

50 LB $30 bag of oats with 503 servings at 16¢ per serving (1/2 cup 45g serving) | 30g carbs, 4.6 grams fiber at 172 calories

Sweet Potatoes/Potatoes

5 lbs of sweet potatoes for $3.85 (which amounts to about 15 servings) with each serving at around 26¢ | 269g, 54g carb, 8g fiber at 260 calories

Bananas

3lbs of bananas at $1.74 with 11 servings at about 16¢ per serving | 22.8g carbs and 2.6g fiber per one 100g and 89 calorie serving of banana

Bulk Pasta

10 LBS with about 160 servings about 15¢ per serving | (56g serving) 41g carbs at 200 calories

Protein

Chicken

Bag of 4 LBS for $9.99 at 16 servings of protein at 62¢ per serving | 23 grams of protein per serving at 100 calories.

Package of 9 LBS of protein at 36 Servings of protein at about 75¢ per serving | 24 grams of protein at 110 calories.

Ground Beef

7 LB package of 88% lean beef at 28 servings of protein at 86¢ per serving | 200 calories and 22 grams of protein and 14 grams of fat at 210 caloires

Whey Protein Isolate

5 LB container with 48 servings of whey protein at $1.15 per serving | 35 grams of protein at 190 calories per serving.

Occasionally you can find clearance whey isolate that is substantially marked down (likely an unwanted flavor you could blend in a smoothie) or you can internet search "clearance" as well which will bring up a lot of search results.

Fats

Virgin Coconut Oil (cold pressed)

$16.99 for 170 servings about 10¢ per serving | 14 grams of fat (12g saturated | 0.5g monosaturated) at 120 calories per 1 tbsp

MCT Oil (coconut product)

Coconut oil that has been processed into only medium chain triglycerides and in a liquid state. MCT oil is rapidly metabolized and provides energy.

$25.00 40oz (1.18L) bottle of MCT oil of 120 servings at about 21¢ per serving | 9g of saturated fat at 90 calories per 2 tsp,

Avocado Oil (cold pressed)

$16.99 1 liter bottle of oil with about 66 servings at 26¢ per 15ml serving | 14 grams of fat (10g monosaturated | 2g saturated) at 130 calories

Peanut Butter (no palm, no sugar)

There are a lot of very cheap peanut butters loaded with 50% palm oil, these are terrible for your health. This will focus only on nearly pure peanut butter

3.5 LB container package of peanut butter (only other ingredient: sea salt). 100 servings at about 10¢ per serving | 15 grams of fat (2.5g saturated | 12.5g unsaturated fat) at 180 calories.

Nuts (peanut example)

Using two examples because not many people by large quantities

5 LBS of peanuts for $17.25 with 80 servings at about 22¢ per serving | 14g of fat (2g saturated fat | 7g monosaturated fat | 4g polyunsaturated fat) at 160 calories.

30 LBS of peanuts for $90 with 480 servings at about 19¢ per serving | 14g of fat (2g saturated fat | 7g monosaturated fat | 4g polyunsaturated fat) at 160 calories.

Flavor

This isn't intended to be an macro section but a lot of people might complain that bulk and healthy foods don't taste "good" without some kind of kick.

There are a lot of options for seasonings, flours (crusts) and other spices that can easily make food taste powerfully good. This is personal preference and most are cheap and last forever. You don't need bottle after bottle of sauces that cost a lot, some good spices and a spritz of a healthy oil (virgin avocado| virign olive) and a seasoning or hot sauce can go a very long way for restaurant quality flavor with almost no calorie impact or sugars.

Invest in a spritzer and put your favorite healthy oil in it, it is a lot better AND CHEAPER than buying can after can of propeller-based oil that usually has other garbage in it.

You can also infuse these spritzers with whatever you want (fruits, herbs, spices, peppers) to get whatever flavor profile you want as well as avoiding so much of the oil just ending up on the bottom of your plate and wasted or with more calories than you wanted, especially if you are on a cut.

#JackedPact