When you get started with P90X and crack open that nutrition guide, you may be taken aback at the amount of groceries you feel like you need to buy. Don’t worry! This is part of the reason there are a few approaches to the plan. If you have the extra money in your budget and time to spend in the kitchen, the meal plan approach would be appropriate. If, however, you like simplicity and don’t want to have to make multiple trips to the store, the portion approach may be better.
With the portion approach, you decide which foods to eat and how diversified you want to make your diet. If your budget is a concern, limit your food choices. Just because the list is extensive, doesn’t mean you have to buy everything or even close to everything on it.
Here are some simple tips for saving cash:
1. Buy in bulk- Bags of chicken breasts are great for protein just like cartons of oatmeal can last weeks for your breakfast carbs.
2. Limit your choices. For instance, you only need one fruit per day in the fat shredder stage. Buy a bag of apples or bunch of bananas and call it good for the week.
3. Freeze leftovers. Soups and casseroles freeze easily, allowing you to shop and cook in bulk.
4. Always make a grocery list to avoid impulse buying.
We would all love fresh seafood everyday for our protein or even a sirloin every night for dinner. For most of us, however, this is just not financially feasible. Take a look at the available foods and make a grocery list that can get you through the week.
Maybe you can save steak for Friday nights and seafood for on the weekend. Limit your week night selections to more budget friendly choices and simpler recipes.
It is very possible to make the P90X Nutrition Plan work on a budget. It may take some practice but when you get discouraged think of the money you are saving by not eating fast foods and also how good you will look when the 90 days is over!
Jul 01, 2009 @ 20:54:50
Here are some budget-friendly specifics that I have found in addition to the general guidelines of this post:
1) Club stores maximize your ability to buy in bulk. Repackaging bulk items in 1-2 serving sizes allows you to avoid throwing away uneaten leftovers, or they can be prepared and frozen per the recommendations above.
2) Frozen vegetables (no sauce) are a less-expensive alternative to fresh and can be prepared quickly. They lose some nutrients in the freezing process, but are nealry as healthy as fresh and require little preparation.
3) Tilapia is a fantastic fish for p90x because it is inexpensive, lean, usually sold frozen and packaged in individual portions of 3-5 oz, and it also has a very mild flavor that can be seasoned in a wide variety of ways.
4) Spend money on (low salt) seasonings, not on premium proteins. Season chicken breasts with chili powder and cumin, curry, italian herbs, lemon-pepper, or thai spices, etc, to add variety to “plain old” chicken. Scrambled egg whites can be seasoned in a variety of ways, too.
5) Water-packed tuna, especially low-salt tuna, is inexpensive, portable, and filled with protein and healthy fish oil. Similarly, egg whites are one of the cheapest protein sources available, if you can find ways to keep them interesting.
6) Shop sales. Clipping coupons will not help much on p90x, since most coupons are for packaged foods that aren’t on the nutrition plan. However, scour your grocery store’s sales fliers for sales of meat and veggies, and shop on the day the sale begins for the best selection (most store’s sale cycle begins Wednesday or Sunday)