Happy New You: The guide to (not) eating out

One of the major hurdles in weight loss is the fact that most of us have incredibly busy lives that forces us to eat out quite often. With countless meetings, classes, and work assignments, who has the time to cook a wholesome meal every single day let alone twice a day? A friend has an interesting theory to defend her frequent eating out habits – it takes two hours to prepare a dish that takes less than 20 minutes to consume, she says.

While this might be true, and eating out might be the convenient option for many, it's definitely not the healthier choice. And it's most definitely not good for those who want to lose weight. My weekends, and some weekdays too, are populated by affordable food adventures – pizza at Roadhouse, momos at The Bakery Café, and delicious biryani at this newly opened place in Naxal. It's a gastronomically pleasing lifestyle but the calories add up and don't forget all the money you end up spending at restaurants. Even when you choose to dine at affordable restaurants, you end up spending quite a significant amount each month if you happen to do it regularly.


My husband and I decided to challenge ourselves to one month of eating in. I wanted to lose weight. And he wanted to save some money. The challenge turned out to be fruitful for both of us. My tummy felt slightly flatter, and his wallet was a bit fatter at the end of the month. Also, we're both now better cooks than we were before.

But I'm not asking anyone to completely abstain from eating out. That's just not possible. But, just like us, you can reduce the number of times you eat out. However, if you tend to eat out a lot (for whatever reasons), making a few key changes to how you order off the menu can drastically contribute to your success in

getting and staying healthy.

While my husband and I succeeded in our goal of eating in for a month, we fell back into our routine of eating out as soon as the month was over. It was as if both of us couldn't wait to sit back, order, and be served as opposed to shop, chop, cook, and do the dishes. What our month of eating in did instill in us was a love of home cooked food and we did reduce our visit to these restaurants from twice or thrice a week to just once a week.

Now when we go out to eat, we fill up on soups and salads first and then order a dish that the two of us can share. We skip dessert. For instance last weekend we went to one of our favorite joints and had tomato soup and bean salad before ordering a grilled chicken with rice to share. We skipped our usual carrot cake with ice cream routine.

My friends and I have also made a pact to try new restaurants, and different types of cuisines when we eat out. This has two benefits: One, you'll sample new dishes and get a taste of different kinds of food every time, and two, you'll be less likely to gorge on food as you will be in experimentation phase.

You might think that it's not as easy as I'm making it sound. I thought so too. But in reality, it is that easy. You just have to make up your mind. Most of the things you want to accomplish, especially where healthy life and weight loss are concerned, are possible if you just set your mind to it. The benefits of eating out less (or eating in more) are aplenty. From a healthier digestive system to a happier waist and wallet, there are many reasons why eating in is the best way to get to that happy
new you.

The writer weighed 74 kilos and ate out thrice a week, at the least. She now enjoys her once a week dinner dates with friends and weighs 51 kilos.

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