for canadians doing bb

I don't eat at 3500 cal/day, but how much it costs is going to vary based on where you are and what you eat. I've never lived in Quebec and am unfamiliar with food prices or grocery chains there. I looked at some Stats Canada numbers for the last few years and the average amount spent on food per person per household in 2012 in my area was $65/week.

I definitely could not do $65/wk at the farmer's market, buying organic, etc. I can still do it at the grocery store shopping meat sales and reduced produce racks, and I don't buy much cheap starch (rice, potatoes, etc.) to fill out my plate either.

If you're on 3500 cal/day, you could probably do well with some of the cheaper cuts of meat -- they are often fattier, but you have the calories to spare. Also lots of rice, potatoes, pasta, etc. especially when they go on sale, because they keep so well.

When I was cutting, I was on 1650 cals/day. Now I'm maintaining on ~2000. For myself, I could do $60/wk. But when you throw my husband into the mix...lol...he maintains on 3200/day and has different tastes (he likes pricier cuts of meat, more beef, and is a diehard Coca Cola addict). I think $120-125/wk is a good starting point, but I am having to watch sales more to get there while providing for his taste. But if you can do lots of potatoes, rice, dried beans (SO. CHEAP.), eggs, etc. that will help a lot. He also eats more fast food, vending machines, etc. but that comes out of fun money and not groceries (he estimates $10-20/wk on average).

One thing that really helped me get a handle on our grocery costs was to calculate the per serving cost of a recipe. Just take the cost of the ingredients used in it and divide by number of servings, and you know how much it really costs to make. Generally I try to keep our per serving cost to $2.50 or less.