Smart Bodybuilding - Less Expensive Protein Alternatives for Bodybuilders

Appetite may not be the only obstacle that's keeping your calories lower than you need to make the gains you want. Consuming meat and protein drinks several times a day can really dent your budget. Ultimately, it comes down to your budget and your priorities.

Here are some less-expensive protein alternatives for the truly dedicated, but cost-conscious, bodybuilder ...

Use canned tuna and salmon as the base of your diet instead of cooking fresh meat such as steak and chicken. Canned meat is an excellent source of protein, although it may be less pleasing to your palate.

Drink skim milk instead of protein drinks. A quart of milk contains about 36 g of protein, but it also has about 48 g of sugar. While its protein content is excellent the protein/carb ratio isn't as desirable as the ratio in protein drinks. For its price, though, skim milk is hard to beat.

Buy meat in bulk. Instead of rotating several different types of meat throughout the day, join a cost-saving food club and buy chicken breasts and fish fillets in large quantities. Buying in bulk usually cheaper than grocery store prices. Wrap and freeze individual servings that you can cook as you need them.

Substitute nuts and peanut butter. These foods are high in fat, but it's healthy fat. Nuts and peanut buffer may tend to bulk you up a bit but since that's your goal, it shouldn't be a problem.

Eat the whole egg. Many bodybuilders waste yolks because they're higher in fat than the whites. As with nuts, it's OK, since your goal is to bulk up - and yolks provide plenty of healthy fats and other nutrients not found in the whites.

Buy eggs from a farmers' market. Prices tend to be lower than at grocery stores.