It's probably one of the biggest diet myths going - 'eating clean costs a fortune'.
We've all probably thought this while out doing the weekly shop at some stage - and dodged a few salads because of it.
But some new information about the
real cost of eating health may just have killed off this nutrition fallacy and ended our salad-dodging ways for good.
Rather than costing you the earth, a well-balanced diet will actually save you money (as well as making you look good in Speedos) according to a comparative study of diets by
Voucherbox.co.uk.
It found that athletes spend around half the amount that couch potatoes do on their diet.
It could actually be £7,000 (approximately €8,860) cheaper to eat clean over a year than if you were shelling out for junk food.
The study calculated the annual cost of a number of eating plans, including the 'before' and 'after' diets of couch potato-turned-bodybuilder Sebastian David.
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He had previously spent up to £247 (€312) a week on his unhealthy eating habits but his weekly outgoings today on food and supplements now stand at less than half, at just £117 (€148) per week.
The study finds that that anyone with a similar diet of convenience foods and takeaways to Sebastian will double outgoings, with a costly annual food bill of
£12,844 (€16,255).
This is in stark comparison to just
£6,084 (€7,700) he now spends on a five-meal-a-day diet that includes chicken, potatoes, beef, rice and white fish.
If the junk food diet is compared to that of a fitness model, the savings are even higher, topping £7,000 a year.
Eating six planned meals a day at an annual cost of
£5,460 (€6,910), these male athletes embrace healthy meal choices, such as a mid-afternoon snack of brown rice, lean red meat, vegetables and an apple. That's just £105 (€133) a week.
The expenditure was compared to Sebastian's pre-2013 diet, which includes a mid-morning snack of two Greggs pasties, a jumbo sausage roll and a two-litre bottle of fizzy drink.
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Sebastian, who gave up Junk Food in 2013 to start training and eating healthy, said: “My main motivation for getting into shape was a health and lifestyle choice, however many people are completely unaware just how much cheaper it can be to adopt a lifestyle like mine.
Even just a few small healthier changes can make a big difference to your waist measurements and your bank balance.”
The eating behaviours of other professional athletes, including bodybuilder Kirk Miller, professional strongman Terry Hollands and St Helens RFC rugby players Jon Wilkin and Jonny Lomax were also analysed for the study.
Over a 12 month period they undertook diet regimes developed for athletes alongside supplement company MyProtein.
The results may come as a surprise to many, as healthier diets are often cited as costing far more when compared to readily available convenience food.Even the most expensive professional athlete, the rugby player diet, came in at nearly two-thirds of the couch potato cost at
£7,332 (€9,280).
Jenny Watt, MyProtein nutritionist, said: “A major factor and key characteristic of an athlete’s diet that is key for supporting heavy training regimes whilst keeping costs to a minimum, lies within the fact that everything is planned and freshly prepared in advance at home.
"This not only allows the individual to consume key nutrients at key times but also actively cuts out the costs of buying pre-packed ready-made food or somebody else doing the food prep."
This article originally appeared on JOE.co.uk. 
