And a Diet Coke please
Here we go again! I hope you had fun trying out new things for the challenge last week. You can't let yourself get locked into doing the same thing all the time. You should never stop learning, physically or mentally.
So here is the challenge this week. Cut the number of times you eat out in half. And yes this includes ordering food to your house, getting a drink from the drive thru, and picking up a snack at the vending machine or gas station. Even though you aren't technically eating out for this challenge it will be considered eating out.
Places that sell you food do not have your best health and fitness interests in mind. They are concerned with giving you the best tasting food for as cheap as they can make it. Sugar, fat, and salt are the magic combo of ingredients. These ingredients combined can be as addictive as heroin.
I have never tried heroin, but I have had McDonald's fries and they are tough to kick! How many times have you left any fries uneaten? You know there is obviously fat and salt in their fries, but did you know there was sugar in there? Your taste buds know.
Fast food deservedly has a bad reputation for unhealthy food, but sit down restaurants can be just as bad. A study found that teens who eat at fast food places took in an extra 310 calories per day, while the sit down place wasn't that far behind with an extra 267 calories a day.
Another motivation for you could be money. CNN ranked dining out as their 7th biggest money waster. The average American spends nearly $2500 a year eating out. Makes the healthy foods at the grocery store not look so expensive now.
So the more you cook and prepare your own meals the healthier you will be. So cut out the number of time you eat out this week in half. I know some of you are going to need a BIG effort to complete this challenge, but you can do it!
It requires more effort and planning, but you will be much better off the less you eat out. Gain money, lose pounds.