Motivation to Not Eat Out

Make and enjoy home cooking or choose options in your calorie budget.

Welcome back to the community!

If you haven't already, read the stickies at the top of the getting started forum. Very informative and helpful.

I fill out the food diary a few days in advance. I know which foods I have in the house, so it's a way to avoid food waste, as well as knowing exactly what's in my mealss since I'm making them myself. Perhaps you could try that.

Good luck with your journey!

Nothing wrong with eating out, but it saves money cooking meals at home. Planning and prepping in advance helps a lot. Sometimes if you prep ahead, it’s easier to stick to your plan.

If you prep your evening meal the day before then it will only need cooked/heated up when you get in. Planning ahead is key. And just think of the money you'll save.

I learned to make soups. Chicken Tortilla Soup. Thai Rice Noodle Chicken Soup. Vegetable Soup. Get on the internet and search those terms, then print out the recipes that have 4 or 5 star ratings that look simple to make (like, they take 20 minutes to chop vegetables and meat and 20 to 30 minutes to cook). Go shopping for the ingredients on the weekend. Make one of the soups. Eat the soup. Put the leftovers in the refrigerator. Have the soup for the next night's dinner. If you get bored, the next night add some rice and salad. Repeat.

I like to set guidelines for myself. I try not to be too hardcore about it "NEVER eating out" would not be realistic AT ALL for me. But my husband and I try to plan/cook at home Sunday through Friday whenever possible. My one exception is a standing lunch date w/ my dad during the work week.

On Saturdays, we go out. We typically look forward to that and plan ahead. So it's not a blah fast food pickup, but something nicer like trying a new restaurant or traveling an hour to another city to do an activity & dine out there. We TRY to make it just one meal (lunch or dinner) but we both understand that it could be more practical to dine out twice if we're going out of town, or if we're entertaining friends...and that's ok! It's just the nightly dining out type of thing that we're both trying to avoid in order to eat healthier AND save money.

One of the major ways I gained a lot in the past was when I went from being on a tight budget to having more extra cash. It became habit to go out for sushi or ice cream to "treat myself" after a stressful day at work or dealing w/ personal stuff. Those special treats turned into a habit - and that meant I was dining out or getting takeout all the time and for little or no "reason". My ex was the same way and we both gained a lot of weight (and were overweight to start with). Fortunately my current husband is more disciplined and a good influence on me to do the same...cooking at home has become our go to instead of dining out.

Planning ahead is really important IMO, and be sure you are eating enough food prior to dinnertime too! I find that if I eat at least 400 calories at lunchtime, I'm not "starving" after work and dying to stop and get something for dinner...but if I'm to eat less than that, I've found I'm just so hungry by 5-6 pm that the very idea of going home and cooking a meal is exhausting! I know a lot of people swear by meal prep and don't mind eating the same things night after night, but I like to mix up my at-home meals so that I'm not bored and actually look forward to dinners at home. It doesn't have to be exotic & thrilling though...to me "breakfast for dinner" or homemade pizza is something to look forward to through the Sun-Fri week.

We used to eat out all the time before I lost weight. I learned that it wasn't worth the calories to me. Once I had a repertoire of dishes I liked to make that were more satisfying it became easier. I agree with cooking in bulk. I tend to make things that can be transformed. For example if I am cooking chicken I will cook extra for another dish in the next day or two. If I fry ground beef I cook extra. One serving will be for say tacos the other half for spaghetti. The chicken could be sauteed breast with potatoe and veg the next one might be a chinese stir fry. This reduces the amount of time cooking and creates variety at the same time. The other option is to pick a couple of restaurants that have lower calorie dishes that you can work in to your calorie budget. We have a chicken place that does broiled chicken with a side of veggies that I can easily have as a dinner without breaking my calorie bank.

I leave my cash and credit card at home. That way, I can’t go thru drive thrus or pick up something on the way home. Then once I’m home, it’s hard for me to get motivated to go back out.

Why do you want to eat out? Is is the social aspect? Don't like cooking? Are you really hungry at the end of the work day that you just want to eat and not have to cook?

I personally fall into all 3 of these categories. I despise cooking, and then the eventual clean-up. When I started my weight-loss endeavor, I signed up for a food service (Freshly) that sends me fresh prepared meals that I just need to pop in the microwave. This has really worked for me as there is no clean-up and it doesn't take any time to make so it's just as convenient as grabbing take-out or eating out. I have a few, quick/easy recipes that I use for the remaining days of the week.

I still eat out a couple times a week though because my husband and I enjoy the social aspect of eating out with friends. I will usually check the menu ahead of time to find something that fits within my calorie budget. Pre-planning what I eat really helps me stay on track!

Honestly? I just eat out usually. I don't cook and am not crazy about eating alone, so I'll take any excuse to eat somewhere other than over my own kitchen sink. I lost 60 pounds and have maintained most of that loss for 3 years now--all eating out 3-5 times a week. Like one of the other posters, I order meals from Freshly for my lunches and home meals. When I either get tired of those or get a better offer, I just go out. As long as I stick to my "restaurant rules", it's not a problem.

acpgee wrote: »

I love to cook but also love eating out. Eating out gives me ideas to expand my kitchen repertoire sometimes. Other times I love eating out at places where I just can't replicate the food at home in a domestic kitchen. Restaurants that cook over open fires, use wood burning smokers, or wok asian food at extremely high temperature.

I make room for restaurant meals on the weekend by doing an extra big cardio workout beforehand.

Agree with this.

For OP, I understand the impulse when one is tired, etc., and what has worked for me is having ingredients I can cook from at home, making enough for leftovers so there often is something available if it's extra late or I'm extra tired. And, most of all, just making myself do it, and be creative with what I have in the refrigerator. What I found way back when I first started cooking regularly is that the more I did it, the more I found it relaxing and tended to prefer my own cooking for daily meals. And if you aren't tied to recipes and are willing to work with what's on hand and experiment and also to just cook pretty simply much of the time, it feels easy and is fast. I usually think about what I am going to make earlier in the day so that I get excited about it and am craving it on the way home. I do plan ahead as to the protein I will use, so it's in the refrigerator and ready for me.

I sometimes read cookbooks or cooking websites for ideas, and that helps me be excited or inspired to cook too, although I rarely follow recipes because it's tedious IMO.

That said, unlike some others I'm not anti restaurants at all, and there are tons of excellent restaurants (from the somewhat higher end with great chefs, to many focused on local, in-season cuisine, to many specializing in a wide variety of cuisines) in my city, from which I get ideas or try things I haven't had before or eat a style or cuisine I'm not skilled with, etc. I really like trying new restaurants or going back to old favorites, but indeed it is expensive so it's more part of my social life, something we do once a week (occasionally twice) before a play or the symphony or the like. I tend to use the cals from my weekend long run or else just eat super light the rest of the day so as to fit it in.

Transfer the money you would have spent to a savings account, then at the end of the month buy something to treat yourself - new outfit, mani/pedi, new book, whatever floats your boat.

I've usually planned my dinner out ahead, and I'm looking forward to eating it when I get home.

I'm cheap, and restaurants are costly by the time you add on a decent tip. And with fast food, I find I often don't feel very well afterwards. What I will do if the mood hits is stop at the grocery store for a pre-made salad instead, bonus points if it's at the expiry date and 30% off. lol