How exactly do muscle gainers get 100+ grams of animal protein a day without being rich?

I eat 180 to 200 grams of protein per day and only 25 grams comes from a protein shake after I lift, and my goal is cutting currently.

I have had no issues with the cost of things. Eggs are a great source of protein and cheap. I buy my chicken breasts from Sam's club which I can't remember the weight of it but I eat about 8 to 10 ozs a day and I can get 6 days out of it and its between $13 to $15 a pack. Comes out to $2 to $3 a day for lunch for the chicken. A dozen of eggs is maybe a $1 and I eat 2 dozen during the work week.

I also buy beef and other meats when its on sale and freeze a bunch. Make my own beef jerky, which is pretty much protein itself. Cottage cheese has alot of protein like 12 grams per 1/2 cup and relatively inexpensive. Don't know what else to tell you but if you are breaking the bank trying to eat, doing something wrong. Look at grocery ads for items that you need that are on sale to save money.

For time, use a crockpot. Buy whole turkeys and chickens or just the breasts with bone on, beef roasts, pork loins, stick it in while you are "at work" and its done and hot ready to eat when you come home. I meal prep on Saturday mornings for the work week and I am never in the kitchen past noon.

100 grams of my cottage cheese has 10 grams of protein.
2 x 175 gram individual-serve yogurts have 16 grams of protein, in total.

That's 26 grams of protein right there, hardly even trying. 1/4 of the way there.

I spend about $150 a month on groceries/food. I eat approx 1800 calories per day with 100g of that protein. Greek yogurt, chicken, turkey, pork, beef, tuna, shrimp, sausage, eggs, milk, cheese, beans, whole grains, nuts, vegetables. It's not that hard and it's not that much protein.

I eat on average three meals per month out at a restaurant, and it's only things I can't make easily myself like fish and chips or fried chicken.

Greek yogurt for breakfast, beans & grains for lunch, tuna or tofu for dinner.

Protein powder. I use the naturally flavored one with Stevia from Gold Standard=whey. When you earn points, you get money off with the Vitamin Shoppe. About $5 every other canister. Each scoop 24 grams of protein. I buy chicken from the butcher at 10 lbs and cook it all up at once. $1.99 a pound boneless, skinless. I fill in with peanut butter and an addition here and there of something else.

Vegetarian, 133g of protein in my diary for today, only 14g of that is non-animal. If I can do it, a meat eater surely can.

Buy in bulk and when it's on sale.

Yes, meat is more expensive than carbs but you don't have to be eating filet mignon. However, expect to spend a decent amount on meat if that's what you prefer to eat. You might find there are other things in your diet (any supplements that are expensive??) that you can reduce the cost on.

When my boyfriend and I buy meat, we'll buy regular chicken breast from the butcher's counter. But, we'll do a couple heads of raw broccoli (cheap) and a couple potatoes (cheap) with olive oil and whatever all-purpose spice is at home. It's about 10 dollars total and it's even less if those items are bought in bulk beforehand. However, almost 80% of that is coming from the meat.

My protein goal is not that high but I see according to my log that I might get about half of my protein from meat and half from other sources on a typical day. I don't know what "clean" protein is. I would just expand your sources of protein if you are concerned about cost or prep time.

I suppose I spend 4-7 hours a week cooking food but not all of that is me standing over it. I can put something in the oven or slow cooker and do other things while it cooks.

sethbrandeis wrote: »

According to calculations and what I've read, I should be getting at least 120 grams of protein a day, primarily from animal sources.

For lean non-red meats, that is the equivalent of roughly 1 lb of meat a day (e.g. chicken breast, etc.). I recently cooked 4 lbs of chicken breast and it lasts about 5 days. And I just finished a batch of 3 lbs of turkey, which would only last another 4 days at most...

I have an incredibly hard time believing most people building muscle are able to cook 100% of their meals cost effectively. I am lucky to have access to a full kitchen with no roommates, I work from home most days so I can cook while on break, and have a very healthy salary. I believe this can't be true for majority of people...

Short of being rich enough to hire a personal chef or buy all your clean foods prepared, how do normal people get clean animal protein without going broke and spending hours each week cooking?

No one I have talked with about their muscle gains ever mentions the effort involved in eating and cooking the right foods. Am I overthinking this? Can you explain how you make it work? This is honestly more time consuming than the actual workouts.

I think you're starting from a weird place with this. Normal people buy the food/meat they can afford and cook daily - you don't need an abundant amount of time, money or space to cook and feed yourself. Spending hours each week cooking isn't an unrealistic, unattainable feat - it's what you do if you can't afford or don't want convenience food.

Getting clean animal protein, magicked onto a plate without spending time, effort or money to get it there isn't a "most people" expectation I don't think. You prioritize your time and money on what's important to you. It's the best you can do.