I am moving out of my home early next year, and so I need to keep an eye on my finances as I am currently living at home for a fraction of the cost. I’m currently in the UK, and like a lot of countries, we are experiencing insane inflation on everything, including groceries.
At the moment I am aiming to lose weight whilst also building some muscle at the same time (I’ve heard mixed things about whether this can work). I do weightlifting 3-4 times a week, alternating between upper body and lower body days and then I do half an hour of cardio at the end.
I see mixed opinions on how much protein is needed for muscle growth, I’ve seen it ranging from anywhere from 1g per kg of body weight to 1g per pound of body weight.
I currently aim to eat about 120g of protein a day and about 1600 calories to ensure I’m in a deficit. Currently I weight 175lbs and I am 5’3, I initially started the year at 194lbs. I’ve been on this journey since about February, however I plateaued over summer as I was going out a lot and got lax with cardio.
I get a lot of my protein from meat (mainly chicken and ham) as it has high protein for not many calories, however I am worried I will not be able to afford these when I move out. Everything has gotten so much more expensive and I don’t know how I’m going to read my protein goals whilst not spending too much money. I do have protein powder which I have before I go to the gym, as well as creatine and EAAs.
Cheaper foods like tinned foods (soups etc) don’t have much protein in them. Essentially I’m wondering what is the bare minimum protein I would need without hindering my goals. I don’t want to be a bodybuilder or anything but I would like to eventually look toned, I can already see some muscles showing in my quads and arms and I am gradually increasing the weight on machines so I know I’m getting stronger. I don’t want to think “oh I can’t buy this soup and have it for lunch because it doesn’t have enough protein”. I know protein is important for everyone regardless of muscle goals but I don’t want it to hinder my budget or eating habits. Sometimes I just fancy some tomato soup, y’know? Meat is just getting so expensive nowadays, and I won’t be able to afford as much of it on top of my protein powder and supplements.
Anyone in a similar position?
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/ya9t3z/how_much_protein_do_i_really_need_to_maintain/
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