Why Eating Out is Counterproductive...

When time is short eating out seems to be the answer. But, eating out is counterproductive. That is to say that eating out is inhibiting you from attaining your goals rather than supporting you in reaching them. So, we should start with understanding what goals are being thwarted by eating out. Here are popular goals related to this article:

1. Losing weight (we're just 35 days from the infamous #1 New Year Resolution)
2. Building savings for anything from a vacation to buying a new vehicle to retirement
3. Eliminate debt
4. Get in shape
5. Eat Right
6. Reduce Stress

For lists of more goals see: USA.gov and RIS Media.

Linking each goal to the counterproductive impact eating out has looks like this:

1. Losing weight is foiled by eating out because restaurant food tends to emphasize the taste and not the nutrition. Hidden calories and irresistible temptations abound in restaurants. Additionally, people tend to drink weight-adding calories

1. while sitting in a restaurant for service.
2. Eating out at modest restaurants tends to cost twice to five times as much as eating a home. Although we love our coffee at the Productivity Cafe, this is vividly illustrated in a simple calculation on the cost of a cup of coffee at home vs out. Say a pound of good coffee (Starbucks Casi Cielo used in this example) costs $13 and you can make 35 cups from that pound. The cost per cup is: $0.34. Paying $1.50 for a cup out is $1.16 over making it at home or $312.50 per year. That is $4,119 every ten years. Go to the hugh's coffee calculator for your own savings. Now multiply one cup of coffee times multiple cups, full meals, soda, and other foods in your life.
3. In addition to point 2 above, these little expenses add up to money owed versus money saved or applied to reducing debt.
4. Getting in shape does not happen when eating out. Typically people spend just under an hour at restaurants during lunch hour and 1½ or more for dinners. That compares poorly to whipping up something in your kitchen for a fraction of the time (including shopping since you can shop for a week's worth of meals in one trip). So sitting around in a restaurant consumes loads of time diminishing your fitness and keeping you from activity which would enhance your fitness whether it's walking around the neighborhood or working out with your trainer.
5. Eating right or healthfully is tremendously difficult when eating out. First of all you don't know what is in the food so it could be good stuff or bad stuff. Secondly portions in America are geared to satisfy a 200+ lb. person so if you don't want to be 200+ pounds, you're getting served tpo much when you eat out and you're probably eating it. And eating at home you know clearly what ingredients are going into your recipes and can make healthful choices easily.
6. Eating out can increase your stress if you're busy because that becomes one more thing that you have to do. It's more time that evaporates rather than having a return on your investment of time.

For ways to make eating time less unproductive time, come back next Monday.