Eating out

RobinAlex666

Hi everyone! I want to start losing weight by cutting back on eating out, but my husband isn't on board. We eat home cooking all week but eat out about 4-5 times over the course of a weekend- what can we do so that this isn't an issue? I still want to eat meals together, just less at restaurants.

jemhh

A few options:

1. Continue to eat out 4-5 times but pick food that is within your calorie budget
2. Don't eat out as much
3. Stay home while your husband eats out
4. Eat less M-F so you have more calories to eat on the weekend (this could mean a smaller deficit on the weekend or no deficit on the weekend.)

tcunbeliever

You can eat out and still eat healthy.

I like places that offer breakfast all day long because eggs are delicious for dinner or lunch and totally fit my food plan.

Salads are another favorite of mine.

Portion control is key - fast food kid meals are really plenty of food for most adults. Bonus - you get a fun toy that you can give away or donate or keep and play with (not that I ever do that, really I don't, those are my collection).

corinasue1143

Or get something you can use next week. For instance, steak on Sunday, cut it in half, put 1/2 in a to go box, next week, put it on salad. Fajitas, take 1/2 the meat, onions and peppers for a frittata next week, etc.

vingogly

Chain restaurants usually have nutritional info online, and you can find them in the MFP database as well. You can choose one of the lower calorie items or a smaller/half portion. Drink water or diet soda. If I order something that isn't in the MFP database, I look for similar dishes and use that instead. For example, a mom & pop restaurant near me has fish tacos: grilled tilapia or fried, breaded cod. The database has entries for both grilled tilapia and fried fish tacos - I'll choose one in the middle of the calorie range. I don't eat their chips & guacamole or the rice and black beans (get the tacos a la carte rather than the whole meal), and have water or diet soda with my meal. Another example: there's a Greek restaurant nearby that has great grilled Greek chicken -- I'll order a quarter chicken and skip the cole slaw and Greek potatoes that come as sides.

taunto_

Meal prep, meal prep, AND meal prep. If you want to cut down on eating out, prepare your weekly plan and cook in advance or at least prep it so during the week you don't have to spend more than 10 minutes on preparing a meal. Most of the time we eat out because we are tired and don't wanna cook. This solves that issue.

Also, you can eat outside and still lose weight btw. Its not optimal since eating outside is usually something that makes most of us overeat but if you are counting calories very carefully, you can make it work. However, please remember that every restaurant will have varying number of calories in a dish. One restaurant might have a dish for 400 calories while the other can easy make it 600 calories and you won't even notice it!

Unknown

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Go_Deskercise

Coming from someone who has "Pizza Mondays" and only cooks on Tuesday - Friday and then eats fast food Saturday on Sunday .... it's possible to eat what you want and still lose weight. I commend your choice for wanting to cut down on the fast food though!!

I have a husband that is underweight and needs to gain weight while I am trying to lose my last few pounds to reach my goal and then maintain. Super tough sometimes as he orders a lot of food and I "have to" order less to be under my calories for the day.

What I did starting out and still do now is pre-log all my food before I eat it so I can decide if it's going to be enough food and if the calories are too much/too little. Take your normal fast food portion and downsize it.

Take Taco Bell as my husband and I frequently eat here lol:

I use to order: beefy 5 layer burrito, cheesy potato burrito and sometimes a soft taco too .... yikes!
Total Calories: 1030-1220

What I order now: 1 burrito of my choosing and sometimes a soft taco
Total Calories: 510-700

Much more manageable for the day considering my calorie goal is 1360!

My atrocious, unhealthy food diary is public too

toxikon

4-5x over a WEEKEND? Not meaning to sound judgy, I'm just kind of amazed. Would that be something like... dinner out on Friday, breakfast/brunch on Saturday then dinner out on Saturday, then breakfast/brunch on Sunday and dinner out on Sunday!?

My fiance and I go out to restaurants maybe twice a month, so that number is quite shocking to me! Doesn't that end up being quite expensive?

Anyway. This honestly sounds like more of a husband problem than a food problem. It's natural to not like change, but there must be some compromise you two could reach. Maybe eating out twice a week/end and if he wants more, he can go out solo with his friends?

RobinAlex666

It's lunch and dinner out and we have every other Friday off so I was adding that in too. He used to eat out for every lunch of the work week and weekend and sometimes dinners on weeknights, so this was already a cutback for him. It does add up but it's nowhere near a hardship.

kommodevaran

If you want to eat less at restaurants, but your husband doesn't want to eat less at restaurants, you just have to eat fewer meals together.

Or you could ask him what's so appealing about restaurants - is it the selection of meals, the range of choices, the athmosphere, the setting? - and make your own version at home.

lucerorojo

Maybe try a meal recipe delivery service? You could cook the meals together on the weekends. Are you eating at higher end restaurant s or fast food? I'm a good cook and have gotten even better since using one of these services. Now cheap eating out doesn't appeal to me anymore because I can make something tastier at home. To get the same level I'd have to spend at least 30 dollars on the meal out (for one person) which I cannot afford to do regularly. If I eat out it's now mainly for salads and gourmet sandwiches. It's hard for me to make good salads at home without a lot of the veggies going bad and wasted since I'm single and I don't buy bread. The occasional recipe delivery adds some variety to my cooking and also is cheaper than eating out.

Francl27

tcunbeliever wrote: »

You can eat out and still eat healthy.

I like places that offer breakfast all day long because eggs are delicious for dinner or lunch and totally fit my food plan.

Salads are another favorite of mine.

Portion control is key - fast food kid meals are really plenty of food for most adults. Bonus - you get a fun toy that you can give away or donate or keep and play with (not that I ever do that, really I don't, those are my collection).

Fast food kid meals are a ridiculously tiny amount of food. I really wish I could get full on so little food, as some of you do.

OP, I only eat out when I crave something specific now. No point in spending $15 for grilled chicken and veggies.

ETA: again, I never feel satisfied having just a small portion of a regular meal. I need to make better choices of more food for less calories, and it limits eating out options greatly.

aganey

Maybe he can call in a to-go order at his restaurant of choice while you prepare a meal for yourself at home. He can pick it up and bring it home and you both eat what you want, together!

Sometimes my husband and I do this for lunch. I’m ok with scrounging up anything we have at the house, but he is pickier. So he will get fast food while I eat something we already have. However we still eat together.

DISCIPLINEEQUALSFREEDOM

Giggity

sarasmiles124

We don't eat out a lot during the week but when we are going to eat out I look up the menu on the restaurants website and see what options they have. At times I will ask them to place half in a to go container and have the rest at the table or I look for the fish or chicken meals and see if they allow substitutions, for example a salad instead of fries (dressing on the side) or an extra side of veggies instead of the rice or mashed potato. I am not always perfect and there have been plenty of times where I go over in my calorie counts but I have smaller portions the next day and I go for an extra walk around my neighborhood. I am a work in progress just like everyone else.

ladyhusker39

Strike a compromise? That's pretty much what marriage is all about. How can you arrange it so that you both get what you need? Work it out with him so you both feel good about. Don't make it a win/lose thing.

Need2Exerc1se

Sounds like compromise is in order. Marriage is full of compromises. Would your husband really go out to eat without you if you wanted to switch a couple of your weekend meals to homemade?

WinoGelato

Others have offered good advice already. It would be good to sit down and talk about:

Why does he enjoy eating in restaurants - is it certain places that are part of a routine, do you go to different places all the time? Is it food you don't normally cook at home? Is it about ambiance - like a sports bar vibe so you can watch games, or something like that?

What are your goals - you said weight loss. Are you losing weight currently? Are you tracking all your food intake accurately now, and are you able to stay within calories? How specifically would less restaurant meals impact that?

Suggested compromises: reduce by one restaurant meal/week, bank calories to use on the weekend, focus on staying within calories at the restaurant, try replicating favorite restaurant meals at home but with a calorie friendly approach, cook the meals together, get a meal delivery service, order takeout for him and you eat a home cooked meal, etc.

Go_Deskercise

DISCIPLINEEQUALSFREEDOM wrote: »

Giggity

Seriously was waiting for this ...... took longer than I expected LOL

Lounmoun

RobinAlex666 wrote: »

Hi everyone! I want to start losing weight by cutting back on eating out, but my husband isn't on board. We eat home cooking all week but eat out about 4-5 times over the course of a weekend- what can we do so that this isn't an issue? I still want to eat meals together, just less at restaurants.

Well, you have to talk to him and figure out a compromise on amount of meals out on weekends (1 per day maybe) or be okay not eating together all 4-5 meals.
Maybe you can compromise on what restaurants you go to. Look at restaurants in your area that offer more choices you can fit in your calorie goal and tell him these places are where you prefer to eat.
What's does he want to eat out so much? Is it to socialize? Are you guys not good at cooking some things?
Can you make homemade versions of restaurant favorites? Do you plan meals? Is it a clean up issue? Is it a time issue?

My family eats lunch out on Sundays together. The rest of our food is prepared at home. I look up nutritional information for restaurants and make choices that fit my goals. Some restaurants are easier than others.
We don't eat out more because of money and time. It takes too long to go to a restaurant and costs a lot more. I'm a pretty decent cook and can make most things my family wants to eat.

TonyB0588

RobinAlex666 wrote: »

It's lunch and dinner out and we have every other Friday off so I was adding that in too. He used to eat out for every lunch of the work week and weekend and sometimes dinners on weeknights, so this was already a cutback for him. It does add up but it's nowhere near a hardship.

Interesting. I find being on MFP to be a great eye-opener to how the rest of the world lives. For you it's "nowhere near a hardship", while for some other people they never know where the next meal is coming from.

It appears that prosperity in some parts of the world has led to unhealthy eating habits. We don't starve at home, but my son has been hinting that he wants to be able to eat "like some of his other friends". And "peer pressure" works on both children and adults.

CiaraRebello

I am trying to eat more at home but when I do go out I find if I get meat and veggies I'm in my calories. I just have to skip the bread, potatoes and dessert! I ask for extra veggies to make sure I do not get hungry later. Some restaurants are generous with the veggies but some do charge me extra.

Salads can work but you need to be careful with the portions of added yummy bits and amount of dressing.

My sister is really supportive and will ask for the bread and dessert menu not to come to the table at all which helps a lot!

TonyB0588

RobinAlex666 wrote: »

Hi everyone! I want to start losing weight by cutting back on eating out, but my husband isn't on board. We eat home cooking all week but eat out about 4-5 times over the course of a weekend- what can we do so that this isn't an issue? I still want to eat meals together, just less at restaurants.

You have a few options:

Still eat out, but choose where you go, and what you order. I don't eat out, but it appears to me there are different types of restaurants, and different types of menus. If portion sizes are massive, maybe you can share instead of buying two meals (subject to husband's cooperation of course).

Where do you live, and what can you do to make home life interesting? Is your husband simply needing to go out because he finds it boring to be at home? Do you have children, or is it just you two alone?

Continue to eat as you are, but increase exercise activity. The concept promoted here on MFP is Calorie Deficit. That's the net balance of your daily Calories In (what you eat or drink), and your Calories Out (what you burn through exercise or other activity). It can be as simple as a regular 30 minute walk on some (or all) days of the week, or a full gym membership with personal trainer included.

Burning more calories will have the same net result as eating less high calorie food.

Anon2018

Hi OP - my BF and I are somewhat similar to you. We both eat out every day at work for lunch - For me - usually salads, but occasionally soup or something like tacos. Local places, no real chains, but still "grab and go" type. For dinner we get takeout maybe once a week, and on the weekends we typically eat out, either socially or just us.

So, I've decided to basically cut out the 1 night a week takeout, OR let my bf order a pizza or whatever while I eat a simple meal at home, and for the weekends I told him I'd go out for either lunch or dinner - not both. But I started cooking more special meals at home - for example one thing I do is make buffalo chicken wraps for him and buffalo chicken salads for me - since going out for wings was something we'd do often, this is a good compromise. On the weekends I run smaller deficits, and I also have more time to exercise. I'm relatively healthy and trying to lose 20 pounds, so it's not an emergency for me. I figure I'm more likely to keep it off if I work weight loss into my lifestyle.

Ultimately, for me it's about making good choices - only "treating myself" when it's something special, and learning to enjoy sides and appetizers for my main meal. I also limit carbs, which really helps limit calories in restaurant meals out - just taking the bread off a burger and refusing fries takes it from a 1200 calorie meal to a 700 calorie one, which is a whole lot easier to fit in my day. All in all, meat and veggies with minimal sauce doesn't set me back too much. Basically, I knew our lifestyle was going to change, but it wasn't going to be COMPLETELY different, so I found ways to make it work.

Hope this helps!

FattieBabs

I rarely have a starter when I eat out. Drink plenty of water with a meal as if helps me to feel full and then have the main which is usually chicken or fish. With curries I eat slowly, stop when full and take the rest home. I do treat myself to a sorbet for dessert sometimes but avoid the cheese! In the morning I will have oatbran and a very light lunch and save the cals for dinner when eating out. Good luck!