First time poster
 

Good afternoon fellow members :)

This is my very first time being on this website and would love to join your community, the only problem is i don't have a lot of money and was wondering what foods i could by for cheap for a weight loss diet? my aim is to lose the fat and eventually put on the muscle. Any tips or advice you have would be greatly appreciated, thanks! :)

Inexpensive diet foods
 

That's a tall order, but I can help out a bit and maybe others will follow suit.

Cheap, healthy foods to help with weight loss:

WATER! WATER! WATER!
bananas
ground turkey (in place of ground beef)
eggs (in moderation)
carrots
iceberg lettuce salad
peanuts (honey roasted or dry roasted)
pickles (just watch the sodium)
soy nuts
popcorn (homemade from hot air machine)
Zesty Peas (my recipe: http://www.fitday.com/fitness/forums...ked-fiber.html)
chicken (skinless)

In my local supermarkets, there are always discount bins for vegetables, marked down because they aren't as fresh. But they are perfectly good and not SO old that they aren't nutritious and tasty. I'd load up on those and eat them fairly plain (not cooked in something, other than broth, for example). They are filling, nutritious, and the fiber, vitamins and minerals will help you with your diet.

Around here there is an awesome farmer's market. I usually try to hit it at the end of the day, the sellers would rather unload it for less money than put it back on their trucks for another day. I also will offer to buy more for less money. For example Mr. Orchard (that really is his name) sells peaches and apples, mostly in 3 and 5 lb bags. The peaches are like $1/lb and the apples about .50/lb. So I'll offer to buy a bushel of peaches for .75/lb or maybe a bushel of apples for .40/lb. He likes to sell out early and go home, so he's always game to barter with me. There is a Chinese lady farmer that will give you a little extra something if you buy more than $10 worth, and 2 extra somethings when you hit $20, so forth and so on. I can always find something to take me up over the $10 mark. Usually it's something in season that is going gang busters. Last week it was broccoli, at the end of the season it will be onions, apples or potatoes.

Another place to get really good deals on healthy food is at your local meat market. Right now certain meats are going really cheap and others are expensive. Right now turkey is really low, beef is high and pork and lamb are in between. Now granted it's a bit of a hassle, you buy the animal live, it costs more than your average meat purchase up front, you also have to arrange your own butcher (usually that can be accomplished right after the sale), but it is the way to go if you use a lot of meat. I have a freezer full of organic beef and lamb, and a shelf full of Amish chickens, and none of it cost more than $1-2/lb. So I won't have to buy any meat until Spring.

The other thing you might consider is using coupons. It's difficult to find them for fresh foods, but if you use them for things like toiletries and paper products you'll have a few dollars extra to buy groceries with. I use coupons religiously and have managed to cut our food bill down by roughly 60-75%. Believe it or not I spend approximately $50-75/week to feed a family of 5+, and it's all very healthy stuff.

egg whites for protein, canned tuna, chicken is cheap, and buy grains by the pound where they sell them in bins.

Turkey, and lowfat packaged slice hams, and my absloute favorite is no fat cottage cheese, it is only 2.19

beans!
 

i agree with what every1 has said, but would just like to include BEANS!
They are cheap and healthy. The most economical form you can buy are dry beans. You just soak them overnight and cook as usual. My favorite kind are lentils. You buy them dry in a bag but can cook them immediately.
You can also buy canned beans which are usu a little over a $1 a can.
What Vito said about calories in/calories out is absolutely correct. You can lose weight eating exactly what you are already consuming by reducing your portion. Certain foods may make you feel more filled/satiated but weight loss is all about calorie consumption and expenditure.

I live in Alabama. My family's income is mostly earned during November and December. We normally stock up on meat in January and that lasts us through September. Well, our area was very close to the parts of AL hit by the tornadoes. Our area was without power (and ice) for days. All exits were either blocked by fallen trees or the national guard. Our meat reserves of course spoiled. We have lived for months without hardly any meat and gotta say, it has remained a healthy diet by having beans and the vegetables grown by my family.
Btw, if you like rice white is cheaper, however I feel like brown rice is more filling so I tend to justify such a purchase. Oatmeal, grits, and cornmeal can really stretch a food budget too.

Good luck! Remember, ya dont have to have a big budget to eat 4 weight loss. Please let us know if you have any questions or need of recipes :)