Dine Like a Prince, Spend like a Pauper: Quick Tips for Muscle-building & Fat Loss on a Budget

So umm...I'm kinda poor.

I'm not saying that I'm living on the streets, blogging on my laptop from a dark alley somewhere downtown, eating the freshly discarded half of a bearclaw in a fort made of cardboard and a cloak made of pigeon feathers; just that I work in a sandwich shop and have no other source of income at the moment.

"I'll do anything for a an electrical outlet.  Anything!"

I make slightly more than minimum wage and as you probably very well know, living a healthy lifestyle and having the goal of becoming simultaneously fit, strong and incredibly hawt has its price, both psychologically and financially.  In the past I made the mistake of living far beyond my means.  I bought supplements that were both unnecessary and ineffective, and I bought carts full of expensive groceries without realizing there was a better way to go about things.

It's absolutely possible to eat like a king (a healthy, awesome-looking one) and not break the bank, and here are a few tips to help you get started so you don't make the same mistakes I made:

1.  Buy meats & veggies in bulk.

I buy somewhat large amounts of chicken breasts, seal them in individual freezer bags and keep them in the freezer.  It's possibly the most versatile food on the planet, so you can just defrost a couple of them overnight and use them to make dinner the next day.  I also buy ground sirloin in large quantities for burgers.  Just mix in your seasonings and whatnot, form them into burgers, and seal them in individual baggies (just like the chicken breasts) and freeze them.  You can defrost them in the microwave and cook them up whenever you want in a jiffy, which works really well for a quick lunch or dinner.

For vegetables, I usually just buy big bags of things like frozen broccoli and cauliflower, which work great on the side of your burgers.  Just steam, season with lemon juice and sea salt, and you're golden, Pony Boy.

2.  Don't buy a bunch of supplements that you don't need.

Pretty early on after I was bitten by the fitness bug, I thought that a massive pile of pills would solve all my problems.  I didn't bther to realize that supplements are just that: supplements.  They're for supplementing what should already be a fairly solid diet; they won't make you lean and strong when you're scarfing down Snickers and Golden Grahams all day.

Also, don't get caught up in the hype of certain "wonder" pills.  Acai extract won't help you lose fat any more than banging your best friend's mother will, and spending $30 on a bottle of mangosteen juice will only result in giving you permission to be slapped in the back of the head.

(On second thought, banging Mrs. Anderson would probably be condusive to fat loss.  Especially when you're on the run while being hunted down like a dog by your best friend.)

As far as I'm concerned (and people far more qualified than me will back me up on this), the supplement staples are:

Fish oil

Greens/superfood

A good multivitamin

Vitamin D (normally the multi won't have nearly enough)

I also take zinc because most people (especially athletes and people who work out intensely) are generally pretty deficient unless they're eating a lot of organic nuts and oysters and such.

I consider protein powder to be more of a food than a supplement, so that's why I didn't include it in the list.

I do take more than what is listed depending on the situation, but I'm only listing the supplements I take every day no matter what.  I might blog about everything I take in the future, but for the purpose of this post, these are what's important.

So there you have it.  Two tips to help you get fit, tough and further out of debt if you're financially challenged  like I am.

Any advice to give on how to get muscle on a budget?  Comment!