Building Muscle on a Budget: Three Affordable and Healthy Protein Sources

How much protein you need in your diet depends on your fitness goals, as well as your current weight and your daily caloric intake. An average, sedentary person needs approximately 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight, according to U.S. dietary recommendations, but people who regularly exercise with the intent of building muscle mass need more.

Most fitness experts recommend at least one gram of protein per pound of body weight. For a person that weighs 150 pounds, that means eating 150 grams of protein daily. The easiest way to get this much protein on a daily basis is to eat meat. However, there are other, more budget-friendly sources of protein you can buy at most supermarkets. The following are three examples.  

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 1. Eggs Eggs are cheap, widely available, and packed with protein. One large egg provides six grams of protein, and two eggs contain as much protein as a serving of meat or fish. Eggs also provide 14 different nutrients, including vitamins A, B-12, D, and E, and is a good source of folate. Don't forget to eat the yolk, too. Egg yolks contain half the protein found in eggs and the lutein in them may actually even help prevent heart disease.

2. Peanut butter If you're not allergic, peanut butter is a great plant-based protein source. Just two tablespoons provide eight grams of quality protein, as well as a variety of other vitamins and minerals. While peanut butter contains a large amount of dietary fat, most of it comes in the form of monounsaturated fat (MUFA), which promotes heart health. In addition, a study of more than 83,000 women in the U.S. found that those who ate peanut butter regularly had a 21 percent lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Make sure to buy regular, full fat peanut butter as reduced fat versions typically have more sugar in them to make up for the missing fat.

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3. Garbanzos Garbanzos or chickpeas provide a lot of bang for your buck: 100 gram serving contains approximately 15 grams of protein. It also provides 15 grams of fiber as well as magnesium, folate, calcium, iron, and vitamin B-6. Use pureed chickpeas to thicken and add flavor to soups and stews, or mash them and use them to make hummus or falafel. However, you can't live on protein alone. The key to improved athletic performance, better body composition, and better health is a balanced diet rich in whole foods that contain a variety of nutrients.

I'm Annie Joubran, a health and fitness enthusiast. Subscribe to my blog for more tips on healthy eating and exercise.

REPOST: 15 Fitness Tricks And Tactics For 2015

Want to get in shape this year? Check out the following scientifically based fitness hacks, tricks, and tactics from MensFitness.com.

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Calculate your “fitness age” so you can hit the ground running.

Determined using your VO2 max and waist size, your fitness age fluctuates with your general health, not years, and is a primo indicator of mortality. Visit mensfitness.com/fit-age for the formula, then go knock a few years off at the gym.

Work out with people fitter than you to improve 20% more.

Watching a partner do an exercise better than you spurs you on to perform it better yourself.

When running, focus on a target to get there faster.

Keep your eyes on a faraway object such as a tree or sign, and you’ll get to it faster and with less effort than if you allow your attention to wander.

Use custom running-shoe insoles to lower your risk of injury.

Podiatrist-prescribed custom insoles allow less force to impact your feet than prefabricated insoles.

Stop feeling selfish for going to the gym.

Don’t ditch your workout because of guilt. The happiest family men find that their “me time” improves the health of the entire family.

Bench press fast to hit a new PR.

Speeding up the concentric (pushing) phase of the bench press results in accelerated strength gains.

Work out in the sun to slow weight gain.

Moderate UV exposure (while wearing sunscreen, of course) releases nitric oxide in the skin, which can help you shed pounds and lower diabetes risk.

Run at a 10% incline for double-fast conditioning.

Interval runs on a moderate hill or a treadmill set at a 10% incline up your VO2 max and jumping ability in half the time it takes with level training.

Compress to progress faster.
Wearing compression gear for 24 hours post-workout speeds recovery and cuts muscle soreness.

Blast music during HIIT.

A power playlist will boost performance. Plus, the longer you listen to music during a session, the more enjoyable it becomes.

Don’t let extra pounds discourage you from sticking to your fitness plan.

No workout is in vain—even if you don’t lose all the weight you want, you’ll still have a healthier heart and stronger metabolism if you consistently strength train.

Design a “PRISE”-winning workout formula.

Eat protein (P) daily and do a four-hour mix of resistance training (R), intervals (I), stretching (S), and endurance (E) weekly—called the “PRISE” plan—and in 16 weeks you can lose up to five pounds more than people who do just one type of exercise.

Drink milk—it does the body (in motion) good.

Milk provides more effective hydration, energy, and protein after exercise than run-of-the-mill sports drinks.

Work out for more than just looks.

Exercise boosts sleep, mood, and memory.

For more squat reps, lift weights first, do cardio after.

For more squat reps, lift weights first, do cardio after. Saving the cardio till after you’ve done your resistance training boosts lifting performance.

Annie Joubran blogs about fitness and nutrition. Catch her on Twitter for more health and wellness tips.