Cost of Protein

My friend Shawn wrote this little tidbit for the site because he thought it was interesting. I agree and it’s a good look at daily cost of eating well when training hard.

Money Wasted Looking Great
by The Law Dragon

Last night I was doing some budgeting — because my life isn’t a fucking game — and I broke down what it cost me to be a Greek statute incarnate. What I discovered nearly rocked my face off.

Several months ago, I stumbled on a website selling naturally produced, organic meats to bodybuilders (www.eattogrow.com). I immediately mocked the site and wannabe bodybuilders who bought into this shit solely because some slack-jawed faggot like Jay Cutler endorsed it. But then I realized the benefits – namely the cost efficiency and quality of the products – and ultimately decided I would spring for ordering a months supply of chicken breast*. After ordering the chicken, I ordered my protein powder for the month. After shopping around – I spent as little as I could – and here is what I spent:


$2.08/chicken breast ~ 30g
$1.03/whey shake ~ 50g
$0.10/egg ~ 6g

When I first started working out (not training) with Justin, I ate 6 whole eggs every morning for breakfast. I did this for an entire school year. Now, I fucking hate eggs. You couldn’t pay me to eat 6 in a sitting, but if I did – I would spend about .60 total on protein for that meal – and that would yield 36g of protein.

Assuming that I drink three shakes a day, I would be spending $3.09 on the powder alone – assuming it was with water – and it would yield 150g of protein (note: I bought the 10lb bag). Assuming I eat two chicken breasts in a day, I would spend $4.16 and it would yield about 70g of protein.

In order to ingest 256g of protein in a day (Shawn weighs around 230), I would need to spend around $7.85 a day. This is before any other costs. This is as basic as it comes. This is fucking no frills protein. This doesn’t factor in milk for a shake, cooking costs, or any delicious sauce for your chicken breast for those of you who can’t handle eating unseasoned meat (Shawn regularly eats meat plain because he’s stupid).

For a month’s supply of this most basic protein, you’re going to spend about $235. For your convenience, that’s $2,820 in protein per year. That is of course, not including eating out – no steaks at Outback (Tom), no smoothies at the gym, and no fucking double-meat burritos at Chipotle (which cost $10/burrito).

Now, I know none of you will follow this. Most guys eat out every once in a while. And we all eat at restaurants occasionally too (see what I did there). The point is you’re either (a) not paying for your daily protein consumption, (b) you’re paying a significant amount more than I just outlined above – because you’re eating something more expensive – i.e. steak, fish, lamb, or (c) you aren’t getting enough protein.

Swanson knows protein.

In the event you spend less and manage to get higher quality protein, maybe its time to stock being Scrooge with your protein source and share that shit with the rest of us. My point in all of this is that it is one thing to say – ‘I need more than a gram of protein per pound of body weight each day’ and think ‘I can do that y’all!’ But it is something entirely different to say ‘I will spend about $3,000 per year doing this.’ It isn’t that $3,000 is a lot to me, its just that it isn’t being spent on rent, utilities, a cell phone bill, gas, or saved or invested – it’s being spent on something I’m likely not even going to enjoy ingesting unless I spend more. If you’re financially conscious then use this to think twice next time some chick asks you to go out for ice cream or to get a cup of coffee at Starbucks – you can afford it, but do you really want to waste your hard earned money?

*Although you pay less up front in the store for Perdue/Tyson – you actually get less product. The Perdue I use to purchase was 12-20% broth/stock. Thus, if I bought chicken (normally for $5 on average) I am paying $1 on shit that cooks out. If I get 3 breasts per pack – that’s .33/per breast that is wasted. As I’ve stated, this isn’t a fucking joke – next time you sit down to a chicken breast imagine throwing $0.33 across the room and shouting out, ‘I don’t need it!’ because that’s basically what you’re doing. If you want to be a tough guy and shop at Costco/Sam’s – congratulations, you typically get chicken with more than 20% broth/stock.

The protein choices here are pretty lean (especially cause he doesn’t eat a lot of eggs), which may or may not be good for you. Typically more red meat is necessary when you’re trying to gain mass. Let’s ignore his particular choices and instead share what your protein sources are each day. If you know the cost, especially the cost per serving/meal/day/month/year, then share that as well. I’m sure we’ll see some interesting tidbits.