A common complaint heard from people after losing an eating competition is that they didn’t have the money to train enough to win the competition beforehand. While it may be true that he or she is not loaded with money, using your low bank account as an excuse for not preparing well enough is not really a valid argument. In just about any kind of activity you do, there are ways to make it expensive and there are ways to make it pretty inexpensive. There is a difference between wanting and needing. You may want to increase your stomach capacity using steak and crab legs, but you only need a large watermelon and a large cup of free tap water. Here are ways to increase the size of your stomach without really decreasing the size of your precious bank account:
Cheap Fruits & Melons – Prices of different items always vary depending on where you are out shopping. Produce may be cheaper at one store while all of the other items you need are cheaper at another store where the produce is a little more expensive. You may have to briefly shop around, but typically you can find large melons for an inexpensive price. You can usually buy a large watermelon for the same price as a small bag of apples and oranges. Cantaloupe and honeydew melons are typically cheaper than other fruits too. This is not always the case, but typically the larger the fruit, the less expensive it is after factoring how much you need to train with. 3 cantaloupe melons may cost the same as 6 grapefruit, but it may take 12 grapefruit to add up to the size of the 3 cantaloupe, causing the use of grapefruit to cost twice as much. As mentioned in Lower Calorie Stomach Training Foods, pineapple, oranges, and other fruits can be used, but they are a little more on the expensive side if you factor in how many you need. Watermelon is typically the best value if available.
Cheap vegetables – While watermelon and other melons are typically cheaper than vegetables because it takes a large amount of vegetables to equal the weight of the melons, there are still some pretty inexpensive vegetables that you can train with. The most popular inexpensive vegetable is cabbage which can be eaten raw, cooked, or steamed. Spinach is usually a little more expensive but iceberg lettuce is usually pretty cheap too. Sometimes, it just depends on what deals are going on at the grocery store. You may be able to buy multiple different vegetables cheaply that all add up to form a significant and low calorie stomach training meal.
Water is typically FREE – While it is not recommended to train with water only, it is recommended to train with both food AND water. The most important thing is that you eat a significant amount of food, and it doesn’t really matter what it is. It may not even fill you up, but it greatly reduces the amount of water that will fit into your body that has to be processed. Eat a significant meal and then finish your stomach stretch with water. Just make sure to not go overboard though and make yourself get sick and throw up. Even if you are trying to minimize your calories, having a large higher calorie meal topped off with a large amount of water may be less calories than an extra large meal using a less caloric food. You just have to figure out what works for your body and budget, but don’t forget tap water is free. Water is your best friend, so use some to help you safely expand your stomach.
Find cheap all-you-can-eat buffets – These are not as plentiful around the world as they are in the USA, but try to find a restaurant that hosts a cheap all-you-can-eat buffet. Typically the weekday lunch price is the cheapest time of the week, but make sure to check with the restaurant. Even if you are watching your calories, you can still find healthy options to eat a lot of no matter where you go. All buffets have at least some fruits and vegetables. By doing this, you are able to eat as much as physically possible for a cheap fixed price. There are expensive buffets (sushi), and there are some cheap buffets (pizza or Chinese). You just have to find one that fits your budget. Many buffets offer coupons, so look for those and try this for a cheap stomach training meal.
Find cheap all-you-can-eat specials – Some restaurants may not offer an actual buffet, but they may offer particular all-you-can-eat specials where you get to eat as much as you want of a particular item. Some of these specials can be really cheap depending on the restaurant offering the special and the day of the week. Keep your eyes and ears open and try to find any really good all-you-can-eat specials that exist in your area whether they be for tacos, fish, ribs, pancakes, or anything else. This may fit your budget too and be a very satisfying and effective training meal. There are always some ways to save money. You just have to search a little harder!!
Finances may be a reasonable excuse for not being able to travel to a contest 3 hours away, but it is not a valid excuse for not being able to train for it. If you decide to do a challenge but you cheap out on the training meals and don’t really ever have any bigger meals with water to stretch your stomach, you will most likely fail the challenge. Yes you may have saved a few dollars by not training, but you spent all of that money plus more paying for the challenge you lost, which would have been free if you trained harder the week beforehand. The math doesn’t really make sense does it? If low finances are actually an issue for you, that is no big deal and it should not stop you from training. Be resourceful!! Remember that you can finish any meal you have off with a significant amount of water to help increase your temporary stomach capacity so that you are ready for your competition. If I you have a cheap way to train that is not mentioned, comment below and I will add it above.
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