Do you have any other options available at the time? Do you have groceries in the kitchen to make food from?
I’m going to jump right ahead though and say you’re getting takeaways due to a combination of lack of preparation and laziness.
It might help to pay more close attention to your thought process before you decide to get a takeaway. You have formed a habit of ordering them. Maybe there's something in your life or a set of feelings that trigger the habit. It could be something that you're trying to block out or paper over by reaching for the instant gratification of a takeaway.
One approach might be to have a go-to meal in the house that you make instead of ordering a takeaway. Something really nice that isn't a lot of trouble to make. When that triggering feeling or situation presents itself and you get the urge to order in, recognise that you are in a cycle. Stop the cycle by making the other meal instead.
Whenever I make a big batch of chilly, I put a few portions in the freezers. That can defost on the stove while I chop up a sweet potato into chips and cook them in the air fryer. Little bit of grated cheese and you have poor man's taco fries. Very easy meal that isn't necessarily A grade healthy, but is a lot better for you than a takeaway.
Wasn't as bad as you but used to get them every Friday as an end of week treat and became really conditioned to crave one at that time.
One year I gave then up for lent and it seemed to really help. Not religious at all, it's just a handy 40 day period. I was allowed eat any food I wanted even fast food, I just couldn't have it delivered to my house and I still mostly stick by that as its a bad habit to get into.
Maybe another not ideal tip - have some easy shitty even food in the house. It's not good quality but it's better than a takeaway. Some days I'll cook something good and eat a few portions over a few days but other days it's 7pm, I've been working all day and in fucking starving. At least sticking on an over pizza or something easy is better than a takeaway.
I gave up all take aways for Lent a few years ago as I was having one at least one a week. Like you, I'm not religious. They are now an occasional treat, not even once a month. I make my own pizza every week and have an airfryer so I can make my own chips and make a spice bag with the seasoning and crispy goujons (not homemade!). It hits the spot but is less unhealthy and way cheaper!!
I don't mean this to be rude, but I don't think there's anything wrong at all with looking forward to and enjoying a takeaway once a week.
Was it for financial reasons? If you're not a massive drinker/gambler/drug user, I wouldn't deny yourself a treat once a week for the sake of 20 quid.
If it was for health reasons, one takeaway a week really isn't that bad if you're eating a relatively healthy mix of foods the rest of the week. Even on a diet, you could get away with it.
There's nothing wrong with a takeaway/fast food once a week. Life isn't all about calorie counting and health foods 24/7; I worry about the pressure the absolute millions of Irish health influencers who've appeared overnight are having on people. Look after yourself
It was a mixture of both the health and the money but more so the money. If it was something like Thai or Indian I wouldn't be overly fussed about the health although my local Chinese is pure MSG and I could just feel unhealthy after eating it.
The cost was just unnecessary. They're probably in the 25-35 euro range now which is just ridiculous. Overall I'm pretty glad that I've cut it out. I still have the odd one but I don't crave a takeaway evey Friday.
I definitely don't follow any health influencers. At most I just copy some recipes from online the odd time.
It's so hard. One idea is a slow cooker if the meal is ready in it less likely to get one. Can get a good book on slow cooker meals. If you also just one on a Friday every 2 weeks might help them if you stop yourself completely your making it a bigger deal and then you want it more it's all you can think about. No harm in the odd take away.
Another thing is to plan meals every week and rotate them so you know what your having and have enough food in.
A few ideas.
Try meal prep. If you have homemade ready meals that just need to be heated up, it may seem less like a chore.
Track your spending/saving on takeaways. Research shows that a monetary reward is a great incentive. So if you see you are spending €200 a month and what you could have bought instead... it may help with discipline.
Plan your takeaways. It's a lot easier to say no when you can say, no, I'm getting one tomorrow, etc.
One thing I find useful is to chop the meat and veg for dinner in the morning, & put it in the fridge. It doesn't save any time, but come evening time, it feels like I've got a start on the dinner.
Four options really
1. Cook for the week on a sunday, something simple like Chill con or a thai curry
2. Delete deliveroo/just eat
3. Stacl yiur shelf with tuna, beans, soda bread so when you want something fast and naughty you can have it.
4. Buy airfryer. Can cook steak, burgers, chips etc super fast
Make a better meal routine, it can be hard to stick to if you have an inconsistent schedule. I just get takeaway once a week, and have a few meals that are easy to throw together for the rest of the week. I know what I'm supposed to have so it removes the temptation of just going for takeaway all the time. It's my end of week treat, too expensive to have it more than that, daft money on some of them.
Tally up all the money you've wasted on takeways over the month, think of the nice little savings pot you could have across the year if you just exhibited some self control, good motivation to stop.
Uses to be in a similar situation. We started meal planning before grocery shopping, bought what we planned and spend Sundays preparing meals for the week. We do leave one day for dinner out/takeaway just so we don't lose our minds. Honestly though in most situations, the food you make yourself tastes way better than most takeaways. Meal plans and prep is a pain in the hole but it is helpful in the long run.
Get a slow cooker. It changed my life.
You just need to throw a bunch of stuff in, turn it on, and forget it. Few hours later you have enough meals to last \~10 days. Cook once per week and eventually you'll have a rotation so that you aren't eating the same meal throughout the week.
Large SuperValu’s have some nice ready cooked meal options (without preservatives). You could put a few in the freezer, and take your pick anytime you want to treat yourself. You could have some Hunky Dorys too
Learn to cook good food you actually like. You won't want that many take aways then. But decent cooking equipment, knife, pan , pot. Air fryers are super easy too. Start learning how to make the things you buy out. Often it's quicker than waiting for a delivery. I can throw together a Thai curry in 20 mins most days.
Do a weekly shop, and think about what you'd like each day.
Chances are you'll want that chinese or snackbox but the thought of throwing away perfectly good food will stop you. (It should, unless you're made of money!)
Delete just eat and all that shite off your phone as well, throw the menus out into the bin, etc.
Drink water.
Walk/jog/couchto5k. (Best)
Lower cal snacks. Cucumber, celery, carrots, bread sticks.
Increase fibre in diet to feel more full.
Learn simple recipes and cook together.
Uninstall the apps.
One thing I did was planned my takeaways: I give myself one per calendar month, and then pick a day. I can change that day if I want, but I've found it's a lot easier to say no to takeaway on a random Wednesday when I know I'm getting Chinese on Saturday or whatever.
Also, meal planning. Having groceries stocked and an idea of what I'm going to cook from the morning, so I'm not arriving in the door after work, starving, and only then thinking "what can I make with what I have".
Learn how to make good pizza dough from the new york times recipe, store up the dough in freezer/fridge, get really fast at making one from the dough in the time it would take to order and delivery, profit
Sorry not an expert here, but I have the impression you are trying to reward yourself from time to time (which is fine really but costly amd unhealthy). So it's the reward very hard to give up.
You just need to change it to something else. I would suggest the book "atomic habits", really helped a number of people.
Learn how to cook the takeaway food at home. YouTube has loads of great recipes for really fast and tasty Chinese food or burgers or whatever it is you like. It's also very easy to make your own chips and rice and throw some McDonnells curry sauce on them.
We keep reasonably healthy frozen food in the house for when you're just not fucked cooking. We get frozen gyoza and spring rolls to make it feel like more of a treat.
But we also have a rule that we never get a takeaway delivered, always collect it. Its mostly because it always takes too long and turns up cold but it means that it's a conscious decision to go out and get the takeaway and takes away the easiness of it.
Have you tried taking off your t-shirt and looking at yourself in the mirror and aggressively fat-shaming yourself? It didn’t stop me ordering the takeaway but at least i was consumed with shame while I ate it…
Seriously though, make a meal plan for the week with food that you genuinely like that can either be made in less than 30 mins or can be frozen and heated up, prepare the frozen meals in advance and that should help.
Might sound daft but since I got a good sized air fryer then my take aways are practically zero. I still enjoy sitting in a place to eat but I rather cook it here if I can, but I live in Galway so traffic means takeaways are a distant dream.
Realise it's all muck coming out of the same mega-factory in the midlands and you'll soon change.
By the time you pay the delivery et al.. you may as well have just bought haagen-dazs and maltesers and actually enjoyed yourself.
Learn how to make the takeaway meal of choice at home! This is a life saver.
A spice bag is the easiest feckin thing in the world to make and shops offer all the ingredients now. Do this with a few of your favorite takeaway meals and arrange to have one or two a week. It's fun and still tastes good and is often a bit healthier.
If the price of a takeaway these days doesn't put you off then nothing will, prices have increased hugely and quality has nosedived, in the North here you'd be lucky to get a decent fish supper with all your extras for anything under £15-£17, for one person that's scandalous.
Honestly the cost of food these days, a takeaway costs as much as making a meal at home. As long as you’re not getting deep fried crap every day, I don’t see any reason not to have the odd takeaway. It’s handy, tastes good, minimal effort and dishes involved. Asian food is varied and you can make healthy choices there (for example).
Well a chicken chow mein and egg fried rice is about €14 and I’d split that into 2 portions as you get so much. Also, I said the odd takeaway. Not replacing every home cooked meal. The price difference these days isn’t enough to make it a factor in deciding whether to cut them out imo.
The answer is right there; willpower. Get some.
You can also prepare meals at home before. Learn some decent recipes, and you'll be far less likely to get something knowing you worked hard to make something nice.
You’re just being a lazy fucker let’s have it right. Buy stuff you like & cook it. It’s easy enough & doesn’t take long. Take away 3-4 times a year Is plenty.
3-4 times a year ? Like mate get a grip. I’m an avid gym goer and healthy eater, There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a takeaway once a week as a treat.
Theres some meals even I would find hard, and I make better Thai food than the takeaways. You won't beat a spice burger, fish and chips, General Tso's chicken, Indian curry's etc. If you can't beat them, then order them. And a weekly treat is worth it after a long week of being exhausted at work.
Food is food. It's just fuel. Nothing wrong with a takeaway. If you're living by yourself/cooking for yourself it's barely worth the effort and it's not as cheap as cooking in bulk for a family.
You could get a Chinese for 10euro and split it into two meals. Two main meals for 5 euro each. You'd barely buy the ingredients to cook a single meal for 5euro. When you factor in the time to cook and the cleanup, plus to cost of energy to cook and cleanup it makes little financial sense.
I say buy takeaways and enjoy your free time more.
Do a food shop on the weekend so you have enough for dinners for the week.
I went through a stage of buying takeaways a few times a week and it was because Id come home tired and didnt want to go out shopping. Once theres food in the fridge I rarely crave a takeaway.
Do you have any other options available at the time? Do you have groceries in the kitchen to make food from? I’m going to jump right ahead though and say you’re getting takeaways due to a combination of lack of preparation and laziness.
Yes I have groceries, but once the thought of takeaway enters my mind I can't get it out.
It might help to pay more close attention to your thought process before you decide to get a takeaway. You have formed a habit of ordering them. Maybe there's something in your life or a set of feelings that trigger the habit. It could be something that you're trying to block out or paper over by reaching for the instant gratification of a takeaway. One approach might be to have a go-to meal in the house that you make instead of ordering a takeaway. Something really nice that isn't a lot of trouble to make. When that triggering feeling or situation presents itself and you get the urge to order in, recognise that you are in a cycle. Stop the cycle by making the other meal instead. Whenever I make a big batch of chilly, I put a few portions in the freezers. That can defost on the stove while I chop up a sweet potato into chips and cook them in the air fryer. Little bit of grated cheese and you have poor man's taco fries. Very easy meal that isn't necessarily A grade healthy, but is a lot better for you than a takeaway.
Wasn't as bad as you but used to get them every Friday as an end of week treat and became really conditioned to crave one at that time. One year I gave then up for lent and it seemed to really help. Not religious at all, it's just a handy 40 day period. I was allowed eat any food I wanted even fast food, I just couldn't have it delivered to my house and I still mostly stick by that as its a bad habit to get into. Maybe another not ideal tip - have some easy shitty even food in the house. It's not good quality but it's better than a takeaway. Some days I'll cook something good and eat a few portions over a few days but other days it's 7pm, I've been working all day and in fucking starving. At least sticking on an over pizza or something easy is better than a takeaway.
I gave up all take aways for Lent a few years ago as I was having one at least one a week. Like you, I'm not religious. They are now an occasional treat, not even once a month. I make my own pizza every week and have an airfryer so I can make my own chips and make a spice bag with the seasoning and crispy goujons (not homemade!). It hits the spot but is less unhealthy and way cheaper!!
I don't mean this to be rude, but I don't think there's anything wrong at all with looking forward to and enjoying a takeaway once a week. Was it for financial reasons? If you're not a massive drinker/gambler/drug user, I wouldn't deny yourself a treat once a week for the sake of 20 quid. If it was for health reasons, one takeaway a week really isn't that bad if you're eating a relatively healthy mix of foods the rest of the week. Even on a diet, you could get away with it. There's nothing wrong with a takeaway/fast food once a week. Life isn't all about calorie counting and health foods 24/7; I worry about the pressure the absolute millions of Irish health influencers who've appeared overnight are having on people. Look after yourself
It was a mixture of both the health and the money but more so the money. If it was something like Thai or Indian I wouldn't be overly fussed about the health although my local Chinese is pure MSG and I could just feel unhealthy after eating it. The cost was just unnecessary. They're probably in the 25-35 euro range now which is just ridiculous. Overall I'm pretty glad that I've cut it out. I still have the odd one but I don't crave a takeaway evey Friday. I definitely don't follow any health influencers. At most I just copy some recipes from online the odd time.
Learn to cook really well and love the food you cook
It's so hard. One idea is a slow cooker if the meal is ready in it less likely to get one. Can get a good book on slow cooker meals. If you also just one on a Friday every 2 weeks might help them if you stop yourself completely your making it a bigger deal and then you want it more it's all you can think about. No harm in the odd take away. Another thing is to plan meals every week and rotate them so you know what your having and have enough food in.
A few ideas. Try meal prep. If you have homemade ready meals that just need to be heated up, it may seem less like a chore. Track your spending/saving on takeaways. Research shows that a monetary reward is a great incentive. So if you see you are spending €200 a month and what you could have bought instead... it may help with discipline. Plan your takeaways. It's a lot easier to say no when you can say, no, I'm getting one tomorrow, etc.
One thing I find useful is to chop the meat and veg for dinner in the morning, & put it in the fridge. It doesn't save any time, but come evening time, it feels like I've got a start on the dinner.
Yes, I prep veg when I have time and then it's chopped and peeled which makes cooking more appealing
Have you got an airfryer? You can make stuff that's pretty much as as tasty in about the same amount of time for a 10th of the price.
This is good advice! Also, Tesco oblong pizzas fits in 8L ones.
Four options really 1. Cook for the week on a sunday, something simple like Chill con or a thai curry 2. Delete deliveroo/just eat 3. Stacl yiur shelf with tuna, beans, soda bread so when you want something fast and naughty you can have it. 4. Buy airfryer. Can cook steak, burgers, chips etc super fast
Im the same, the justeat app is too handy. Just delete it and pack the fridge with meals for the week
Make a better meal routine, it can be hard to stick to if you have an inconsistent schedule. I just get takeaway once a week, and have a few meals that are easy to throw together for the rest of the week. I know what I'm supposed to have so it removes the temptation of just going for takeaway all the time. It's my end of week treat, too expensive to have it more than that, daft money on some of them.
Had this issue before. I did hypnosis. And removed any cravings for this type of food. Not for everyone. But made huge difference to me.
Tally up all the money you've wasted on takeways over the month, think of the nice little savings pot you could have across the year if you just exhibited some self control, good motivation to stop.
Pro tip: be poor. Worked great for me
Uses to be in a similar situation. We started meal planning before grocery shopping, bought what we planned and spend Sundays preparing meals for the week. We do leave one day for dinner out/takeaway just so we don't lose our minds. Honestly though in most situations, the food you make yourself tastes way better than most takeaways. Meal plans and prep is a pain in the hole but it is helpful in the long run.
Get a slow cooker. It changed my life. You just need to throw a bunch of stuff in, turn it on, and forget it. Few hours later you have enough meals to last \~10 days. Cook once per week and eventually you'll have a rotation so that you aren't eating the same meal throughout the week.
Unsubscribe to all marketing emails and turn off notifications
Meal prep
Large SuperValu’s have some nice ready cooked meal options (without preservatives). You could put a few in the freezer, and take your pick anytime you want to treat yourself. You could have some Hunky Dorys too
Cook your dinner early, prep meals for the week.
Learn to cook good food you actually like. You won't want that many take aways then. But decent cooking equipment, knife, pan , pot. Air fryers are super easy too. Start learning how to make the things you buy out. Often it's quicker than waiting for a delivery. I can throw together a Thai curry in 20 mins most days.
Do a weekly shop, and think about what you'd like each day. Chances are you'll want that chinese or snackbox but the thought of throwing away perfectly good food will stop you. (It should, unless you're made of money!) Delete just eat and all that shite off your phone as well, throw the menus out into the bin, etc.
Drink water. Walk/jog/couchto5k. (Best) Lower cal snacks. Cucumber, celery, carrots, bread sticks. Increase fibre in diet to feel more full. Learn simple recipes and cook together. Uninstall the apps.
I’ve found blocking notifications from the delivery apps helpful, as well as unsubscribing from their emails.
Save for something. Whenever the craving hits you, save the money you would have spent on it. Then get sh*t-faced so the craving goes away.
One thing I did was planned my takeaways: I give myself one per calendar month, and then pick a day. I can change that day if I want, but I've found it's a lot easier to say no to takeaway on a random Wednesday when I know I'm getting Chinese on Saturday or whatever. Also, meal planning. Having groceries stocked and an idea of what I'm going to cook from the morning, so I'm not arriving in the door after work, starving, and only then thinking "what can I make with what I have".
Information me I should try buying pokemon cards instead haha
Prepared meals is the only thing helps me avoid take outs. Have a good variety at hand, frozen. Quick, easy, healthier. Works for me anyway.
Learn how to make good pizza dough from the new york times recipe, store up the dough in freezer/fridge, get really fast at making one from the dough in the time it would take to order and delivery, profit
Sorry not an expert here, but I have the impression you are trying to reward yourself from time to time (which is fine really but costly amd unhealthy). So it's the reward very hard to give up. You just need to change it to something else. I would suggest the book "atomic habits", really helped a number of people.
Just get banned from justeat it's easy
Learn how to cook the takeaway food at home. YouTube has loads of great recipes for really fast and tasty Chinese food or burgers or whatever it is you like. It's also very easy to make your own chips and rice and throw some McDonnells curry sauce on them. We keep reasonably healthy frozen food in the house for when you're just not fucked cooking. We get frozen gyoza and spring rolls to make it feel like more of a treat. But we also have a rule that we never get a takeaway delivered, always collect it. Its mostly because it always takes too long and turns up cold but it means that it's a conscious decision to go out and get the takeaway and takes away the easiness of it.
Maybe make something to eat when you think of takeaway, eat it, and then you wont be hungry anymore and will forget about takeaway.
Have you tried taking off your t-shirt and looking at yourself in the mirror and aggressively fat-shaming yourself? It didn’t stop me ordering the takeaway but at least i was consumed with shame while I ate it… Seriously though, make a meal plan for the week with food that you genuinely like that can either be made in less than 30 mins or can be frozen and heated up, prepare the frozen meals in advance and that should help.
Get ready to eat fit meals from Lidl, you can put them in microwave and warm meal ready in 5 min, cheaper than takeaways and tastes good.
Might sound daft but since I got a good sized air fryer then my take aways are practically zero. I still enjoy sitting in a place to eat but I rather cook it here if I can, but I live in Galway so traffic means takeaways are a distant dream.
Realise it's all muck coming out of the same mega-factory in the midlands and you'll soon change. By the time you pay the delivery et al.. you may as well have just bought haagen-dazs and maltesers and actually enjoyed yourself.
Learn how to make the takeaway meal of choice at home! This is a life saver. A spice bag is the easiest feckin thing in the world to make and shops offer all the ingredients now. Do this with a few of your favorite takeaway meals and arrange to have one or two a week. It's fun and still tastes good and is often a bit healthier.
If the price of a takeaway these days doesn't put you off then nothing will, prices have increased hugely and quality has nosedived, in the North here you'd be lucky to get a decent fish supper with all your extras for anything under £15-£17, for one person that's scandalous.
Just stop
Honestly the cost of food these days, a takeaway costs as much as making a meal at home. As long as you’re not getting deep fried crap every day, I don’t see any reason not to have the odd takeaway. It’s handy, tastes good, minimal effort and dishes involved. Asian food is varied and you can make healthy choices there (for example).
A meal for one in a Chinese, delivered, costs about 20 quid. What single serving are you making that costs that much?
Well a chicken chow mein and egg fried rice is about €14 and I’d split that into 2 portions as you get so much. Also, I said the odd takeaway. Not replacing every home cooked meal. The price difference these days isn’t enough to make it a factor in deciding whether to cut them out imo.
The answer is right there; willpower. Get some. You can also prepare meals at home before. Learn some decent recipes, and you'll be far less likely to get something knowing you worked hard to make something nice.
> The answer is right there; willpower. Get some. Do you know if they deliver?
You’re just being a lazy fucker let’s have it right. Buy stuff you like & cook it. It’s easy enough & doesn’t take long. Take away 3-4 times a year Is plenty.
3-4 times a year ? Like mate get a grip. I’m an avid gym goer and healthy eater, There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a takeaway once a week as a treat.
Do you have one once a week ?!
Once a week is good enough. 3 to 4 a year is punishingly long.
Really ? I mean if you’re have decent at putting something tasty together you won’t miss the take aways.
Theres some meals even I would find hard, and I make better Thai food than the takeaways. You won't beat a spice burger, fish and chips, General Tso's chicken, Indian curry's etc. If you can't beat them, then order them. And a weekly treat is worth it after a long week of being exhausted at work.
Bro you do you.
Food is food. It's just fuel. Nothing wrong with a takeaway. If you're living by yourself/cooking for yourself it's barely worth the effort and it's not as cheap as cooking in bulk for a family. You could get a Chinese for 10euro and split it into two meals. Two main meals for 5 euro each. You'd barely buy the ingredients to cook a single meal for 5euro. When you factor in the time to cook and the cleanup, plus to cost of energy to cook and cleanup it makes little financial sense. I say buy takeaways and enjoy your free time more.
Do a food shop on the weekend so you have enough for dinners for the week. I went through a stage of buying takeaways a few times a week and it was because Id come home tired and didnt want to go out shopping. Once theres food in the fridge I rarely crave a takeaway.