Dume ? - How did you stop eating out?

I watched Super Size Me and vowed to never eat fast food again. After knowing what's in fast food and what it does to your body it's been easy to resist. And knowing how many calories are in restaurant food is enough for me to stay away.

I guess honestly- it's just a matter of choices. If that is your downfall and that is what you really feel has contributed to your weight gain....then....you have to stop doing it...or limit it. Or I am afraid you wont see much of a change. You could commit to eating healthier when your out, or limiting the times per week you go out. Or trade a night out for an extra night at the gym.

I say this often. You have to really WANT change, and then CHANGE to SEE changes.

That's one area where I consider myself pretty lucky. I love to cook and very rarely ever have the desire to eat out. (My problem is that I like to eat what I cook while I'm cooking it, and then eat it again at the meal.) I used to eat out quite often when I was younger, but it cut a huge hole in my budget so I learned how to cook, which gave me a sense of achievement, and I quit eating out. A homemade hamburger is so much better than McDonalds or whatever. I'm sure it's easier to just grab something, though. Good luck and you can add me as a friend, if you want.

I'm a big fan of frozen dinners. Some people here rail against them, but they're a low calorie alternative to eating out, especially when you don't have the desire to cook. Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones, Healthy Choice, and Marie Callender's all make a number of great meals, most between 250-400 calories. I used to eat out all the time, because I don't really cook. Now that I've been committed to losing weight, I keep my freezer stocked with frozen dinners, and they've helped a ton.

The only meal I ever really ate out was lunch. I have had a lot of success using the Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice and WW Smart Ones for lunch. A lot of people will say they are too high in sodium but they are significantly less then that of a fast food meal. When I first started I kept them to 300 calories or less. When I got in the habit of eating them I went down to 250 calories or less. They are really good and there are a lot of great options! I buy them when they are on sale and use coupons and it's usually costs me around $1.50 to $2.00 per day. What do you spend per day on fast food??

Speaking from someone that ate out everyday for lunch and dinner, I know where you are coming from and this was huge change for my family. i started my journey back in August and you can see my before and after pics in success stories thread.

You just have to stop making excuses and do it, I know it's hard but you have to take charge and make the decision to change! My life did not stop and we ate out due to convenience with 2 boys in activities every night it was so much easier. I learned to prepare certain things in advance, like I would take one day of weekend and prepare meals for week. This was hard because my hubby and kids were not ones on diet and didn't want to eat same things I was eating. I would also prepare my meals too, so that meant cooking my brown rice and chicken in advance and if I had time i would pre-portion them off in baggies. That way if I was on the go I could grab some baggies of chicken to eat on road.

I carried a soft-side cooler everywhere with me, full of healthy foods to get me through the day. When I say everywhere I mean to baseball fields, football games, etc. Things like mustard, 100% whole wheat tortillas, tuna cups, pre-portioned cooked chicken, apples, jar of natural peanut butter, sugar-free jello cups, crystal light packets, raw broccoli or cauliflower, almonds, etc.

You can do it, just have to make the choice to do it!

Eating out really contributed to my weight gain (and regain) as well. One of the reasons I ate out so much (besides the fact I had more money than I do now!) is that I was so busy and didn't feel I had time to cook. After a long day at work it was so much easier to just go out somewhere.

Eating out is still my downfall and I still go out to eat much more than I would like to. I am eating out less than I was before though. I do like to cook, and one thing that has helped me immensely is planning out my suppers for the week in advance. With just a family of 3, that leaves me with at least one night of leftovers too so I do get a bit of a break. When I do go out to eat, I have learned to look at the nutrition information online and plan out what I am going to eat in advance. If that isn't possible (like it isn't going to be this week eating out with a friend -- no nutrition info on the webpage), I at least try to find a menu and plan something semi-healthy. I also try to only eat about 1/2 of my food (unless I've preplanned to eat more) and box up the rest.

I will say that even though I think I still need to cut back on eating out, I am glad that I haven't completely cut it out. Sometimes I see people on here who are really concerned because they haven't eaten out in months and are afraid one meal out is going to be a huge setback. I look at eating out as part of the new lifestyle changes I am making, and learning to stick to my nutrition goals while eating out is part of that. It *is* harder to eat healthy when you are not the one cooking (especially because of that sodium!) but it is not impossible to fit into a good (well, maybe decent) eating plan. I guess what I am trying to aim for is letting eating out be something that I plan for and enjoy, not just a default solution on a bad or hectic day.

how did you get both tickers on your profile.

I don't know if this will help, but the problem I have with eating out isn't so much me, but my family. I have found that I can 'let' them eat out, but I'll give myself a dinner from home. I do like to cook, but sometimes I just say forget it and do a DIY day. That's where my son and husband and I 'forage' for dinner. It might be left overs or soup or something we can just heat up in the microwave.

The freezer space can be a problem, but if you can overcome it, it is nice to have frozen single serving food (often just homemade soup or just left overs). Sometimes we just have to chose to not eat what the rest of the family is eating... or modify it in a healthy way.

I know it's tough... I hope this helps. In any event, I feel for you. I get that's it's easy to say, "just don't do it", but saying it is easier than doing it.

I can relate to this. I don't like to let my family eat out often because take out doesn't provide the same "comfort" and "love" as eating home-cooked foods. It's kind of like how some of us miss out mother's cooking (or whoever's cooking you grew up with). This is the same feeling you can provide to your family, if possible. I don't always eat the same as my family does because I am the only one who is not a picky eater. Because I can't cook so many different meals, I have turned to mostly healthy, low-calorie microwavable foods for myself. This way, everyone wins.

I do a lot of "Cook once, eat twice (or even three times!). Whatever I'm cooking, I make sure to cook more than I need. It doesn't go into the freezer, it goes immediately into leftover containers and into the fridge. I usually don't eat it the very next day, but it will get eaten before the week is up. I know this doesn't work for everybody, but it works for me. It takes a little bit of organinzing, but once it is a habit I find it to be very easy.

I've posted about this cookbook before, but I like it so much. It's Bill Phillips's "Eating for Life". His recipes are designed for what he calls "Planned-overs". You cook, eat, and put the leftovers in the fridge that you plan to eat sometime during the week.

Hope this is helpful!