I eat out quite a bit but mainly its because I'm a single male. It's cheaper to eat at home but damn it sucks cooking for one. You have to eat a lot of the same shit for majority of the week when I do.

The shitty thing is when restaurants are putting 20% to 25% as suggested tips. That is the real bullshit IMO.

That ain’t no lie. Hell, just the shopping for groceries is a pain.

Freeze the leftovers. Before you know it you'll have a nice variety of ready to eat food. Just heat and serve.

I loved the home delivery options when it was cheap during Covid, but don't use it any more now that it's like $10 (and goes along with the tipping thing that's been talked about, too).

Last I knew, WalMart at least still had free curbside pickup, even though they're pretty terrible at substitutions and what not, where as Costco would actually text you and ask about them.

There was also that time Costco accidentally delivered 10 dozen eggs... LMAO

I meant specifically shopping for a single person. Outside of that PITA aspect, grocery shopping is actually one of the forms of shopping I actually enjoy.

People that don’t wanna do dishes

When I go on poker trips I usually lose about 7 or 8 pounds. Cuz it's just too difficult to find and eat food in a timely manner. Just drink alot instead.

Yeah I just cross it out and tip 10%. Ive been told it was normal to tip 10% before like 1985.

I pay $99 a year for Walmart+ and they delivery to my door 13 miles away. Between the fuel discount and not having to drive to the store, I've saved $426 and 36 hours of my time in the past year. Also, Paramount+ is included for free.

Taco Bell today for lunch. I've got my cheap ass order down. Got a spicy potato soft taco(surprisingly good) and a cheesy bean and rice burrito. And a water.

It's not the best, but it's not the worst.

$2.15

Taters, beans, rice and cheese with a couple flour wraps... yeah that will definitely get you through until dinner, pretty great for $2.15 actually

I'm one of those who generally want meat with every meal, but I'd be smart to start making super inexpensive fare like that once in a while to stretch those dollars out a little bit

Sorry BW, messing with you a little.

but no, I can't eat like that. I mean, physically could my digestive system put up with that? Probably. But life's too short to eat like crap. And there's probably a dozen different ways I can prepare a chicken breast in 30 minutes or less that will actually taste like real food, not nuked water chicken.

Hell, you can take a chicken breast, cut a slit in the fat end to make a two-three inch deep pocket or whatever, and just fill it loosely with chunks of cheese (like those snack packs of cheese chunks), maybe some sliced olives or just some capers, season, toss that into a hot pan with some EVOO for about 6 minutes a side, dinner/lunch is served.

Don't want to clean a pan? No prob. Put the chicken in a foil packet with a couple tablespoons of water, spray/brush/dab with a little oil, toss in 375 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Eat as is, or cut it up and serve over rice/pasta/roasted veggies, or just some bread.

Or, slice breast thin, put in a bowl, add a couple tablespoons of soy sauce, rice wine (or beer), teaspoon of garlic (those squeeze bottles of garlic work great), red pepper flakes, ginger if you have it, and marinate for 20 minutes, then saute in hot pan for 5 minutes? Quick semi-Korean chicken bul gogi. Heck, they even sell pre-cooked rice bowls now, so you don't even have to cook rice anymore.

Lolz, I just need my food to taste like actual food.

Made chicken pot pie today

Got a walmart rotisserie bird

Meat for pot pie

Carcass on stove to make killer broth

carrots, celery, onion, flour and a little lard

**** the fast food folks

'merica

I had Taco Bell too.

Perfect, love it... my breakfast this morning was two day leftover chicken tetrazzini made with a whole plucked rotisserie bird, just sub in peas for the carrots basically

Its breakfast again tomorrow because I made a big batch, goes nice with coffee

He ordered the squirrel cage option on his Tesla so he gets a workout and recharges the battery while he commutes.

I'm going to try that tomorrow instead of my usual $4 Sonic order for lunch. Our sales tax is a little higher, so it'll probably be $2.20.

I routinely spend 200-300 dollars on like weekend dinners.

I am dumb.

"like weekend dinners"? What are those?

Don't know if this has been mentioned already but many restaurants out here in Denver are also adding a "service fee" to your meal. Check your receipt next time.

tonights grub
 

Pork loin in the slow cooker with ginger and thyme, homemade mashed potatoes with gravy made from the pork broth, broccoli, and biscuits with honey.


burp.

I wanna party with BWillie

$5 Cravings Box special on the Taco Bell App is fire. The Crunchwrap Supreme is $5 by itself.

Join me on 50 cent cashew night.

I noticed you can now get that at the drive thru as well,which is nice cause i hate ****ing with the app haha. I spent $7 cause i also added a $2 burrito.

We'll hit Culver's, Cain's, local burrito place, and Panera. Outside of that, we don't really go anywhere.

You can?

I didn't know that. Thanks for the tip, sir.

November 23rd is National Cashew Day.

Join me where we feast on 75 cent cashews and dine like kings on that day

We rarely eat out unless we're meeting friends or on vacation. We just spent 4 days in San Diego, eating out two meals a day and it was insane what we spent. About $150-200 per day at normal restaurants or even pizza joints. Most entrees in the $25-30 range.

Grocery bill runs about $800/month for two adults and a toddler. I do digital coupons and try buying a lot of what's on sale, but I'm not eating like shit either. I used to be able to keep it around $600.

A new place opened on the end of the block, supposed to be a local chain that does well in the college area of my city. Ordered a sandwhich, onion rings and a coke and was shocked that the tab was $36. I still think about how confusing that is to me that I used to fill my gas tank for less than the price of a modern sandwhich.

I think they charge more for the extra ‘h’ in your sandwich

The 'h' stands for High Roller

That would happen only once with me. Like was said earlier in this thread, just put the price on the ****ing menu what shit costs.

I mean no offense. But you are either a biological phenomenon with the metabolism of a Kryptonian. Or you're completely full of shit. Your entire existence as represented by your posts on this forum is a real enigma.

If true, I cannot fathom spending what you do on just food for a month just for yourself. That's straight up insane to me. I mean, how do you not cook any meals at home? That's just incomprehensible. Are you aware that you could literally save a thousand dollars a month? I love to cook. It gives me a great deal of satisfaction. I prefer my own prepared meals to most restaurants. It depends on the situation, with regards to travelling and vacations and such. But there are many months when I bet I don't eat outside of home cooking but maybe 3-4 times per month. And I eat very well, almost no frozen processed crap.

Regardless, it's pretty baffling seeing the difference in diet habits in this thread.

Cooking costs me a ton of time. I literally never cook. I cooked a Snake River Falls Wagyu in 2018 but other than California Pizza Kitchen pizzas. Never. Its such a waste of time.

If it wasn't for dishes I would love to cook. I only take in like 3300 to 3400 cals I would estimate. You have to realize I was 125 lbs as a junior in HS and Im just in avg shape now as a 185 pound 5'11" guy since I dont work out anymore. Im sure once I hit 200 lbs at 45 or something Ill start giving a shit

They started doing that in Minneapolis too, as a way to itemize the cost of the additional benefits the city started requiring them to provide. I am in favor of anything that illustrates to people that nothing is free, and the costs of all this stuff will always be passed directly on to you.

Servers have very little value. You can automize the food delivery. Be able to order remotely from the table. This would work easily for all restaurants except the 5 star places.

Prices are way to high, even at fast-food joints.

I treat myself once a week at Arbys. I love the French Dip and the regular roast beef sandwiches. And when they have coupon specials I can get two roast beef sandwiches for $5.25. I eat one and put the other in the fridge for tomorrow. Outside of that, no fast food.

Get the McDonalds app on your phone. They often have a coupon for $1 Large Fries.

Noticed that was well.

YW,well at least in KC you can.One loaction had it advertised at the drive thru.The other one didnt,but i asked them about it and they let me order it there.I always hate those app only specials,but i suppose they have their reasons for doing it.

I'm with you, cook for myself. Luckily in the winter I love homemade soup and am good with it five days a week. That plus pasta with my homemade sauces and veggies are staples I just don't get tired of.

Yeah, I can't recommend Walmart at all for the reason you state - terrible at substitutions.

I mean, our Walmart is exceptional. Order qty 1 bananas and they deliver ONE banana, not 1 BUNCH. They substitute tea for coffee. I mean, I could go on but I think you get the point.

We have Walmart+ as well. We live 8 miles away so delivery is nice. The fuel discount is also nice.

But as I said in my previous post, you just never know what they're going to deliver and how wrong it is compared to what we ordered.

How old are you?

I too was 120 lbs as a junior in HS. In fact, when I got back from Germany my senior year of college, I was 140 and about as healthy as I could be after riding an old 3-speed bike up a mountain every day.

Then I got an office job after college and didn't change my eating habits. I ended up having surgery at 45 to correct all the damage I did to my body in the 20 years in between.

Your eating WILL catch up with you. Everybody ages, you can't avoid it.

You probably eat 250-300 g of fat a day and 400 g of carbs. Can’t say even imagine how much sodium. That is ridiculously unhealthy and unstable. You may feel the scale doesn’t see this but your body is absolutely feeling the affects.

The ****? ROFL Finally found a bigger rip off than Fraud Guys

Truth.

I've always hovered between 200-210 when I did physical labor at 6'3. My business grew and I hired young guys and now they are doing the heavy labor. Even with the cutback in calories I weigh 230, and that's with a transfer from muscle mass to fat.

Now that I'm closer to 50 than 40, it's hard to motivate when you bust ass in the gym for weeks, look in the mirror and don't see that puff. Younger years you see results almost immediately and it keeps you coming back for more. Also, you aren't ready for another workout the next day. It takes a LOT longer to recover.

Getting old doesn't suck, but it requires changes. Caloric intake is one of them.

Im really worried now. I really didn't think I ate THAT unhealthy. Its not like I eat donuts everyday or go to McD all the time. I used to eat alot worse tbh. I would eat breaded chicken fingers out of the bag, tons of cereal, lots of stuff off the dollar menu. Very surprised that everyone thinks that Im about to die

Im 38.

Surgery for what? I mean what kinds of shit should I be eating for lunch and dinner (non cooking options)

Whats so bad about Chipotle, Twisted Fresh, Panda,Hawiaan bros or breakfast places? Its real cooked food.

Sugar and salt. All food establishments add these two ingredients. This is why we keep coming back

It's chock full of sodium to make it taste good


As I explain to my chid, that makes it a "sometimes" food, not an "all the time" food

People who eat better than you are considered to have a terrible American diet, you have the diet of a teenage stoner, you're going to have a heart attack if you keep doing that.

Yeah, that's a lot of sodium, cholesterol, sugars, etc. By your mid-40s you'll actually feel that becoming a problem. Your best option is to start eating cleaner sooner rather than later. Doesn't mean you have to quit eating fast food completely, but you're going to have to begin changing your eating habits before too long or the health issues like hypertension, digestive issues, and so on will start cropping up by your mid-40s.

Combine this with watching the Chiefs and you have a ticking time bomb.

Hell, you can eat a perfect diet and they will still make your heart stop.

Could someone who its rather healthy but doesn't cook alot give me examples of what they eat in a week? Even if my GF does cook, which is rare these days I feel like the food we eat out may even be more healthy than what she cooks and slathers in butter and salt anyway.

And butter, lots and lots of butter

Well just plain grease....mmm grease

Sodium, saturated fats, the full-fat versions of all ingredients, cooked with the most unhealthy oils and methods possible. They attract people with taste obviously, not food that is healthy for daily consumption.

And all that is to say nothing of all the energy drinks

I eat probably 3 sticks of butter per day, is that bad?

I lived in the DMV from 2007 - 2017 and really liked it. Reston, Fairfax, Herndon, Ashburn was the order of where I lived.

I spent 2 years in Ashburn, living just one road off Ashburn Village Blvd and the Dulles Toll Road intersection where the shopping center is at. Ashburn is awesome location and tons to do.

If you ever need any recommendations on fun things to do or where to eat, let me know.

I'm sure you'll be fine

Not right away, at least.

Seriously dude, take better care of yourself.

Ah F it. No one gets out of this alive anyway.

I'm not proud of the money I've wasted while enjoying great meals, but I've had years where I spent $25,000 - $30,000 on eating or drinking as a single person.

When I lived in San Fran and Silicon Valley I ate at tons of great restaurants.

Did the same when I lived in Toronto and in NoVA.

I went a little crazy when I first moved to Scottsdale but have been very limited in last 3 years.

It's the hookers that really add up

Just don't add a fourth and you'll be good

Oh good. It's not as important to my daily meals as say the the dozen bacons I eat every morning with my fried chicken and waffles and eighth cup of maple syrup, but still.

Pfft, that would be ridiculous!

You left out MSG.

If you're lazy and one person, which is usually me during the work week, I'll buy some precooked chicken from the store, low carb tortillas, and a bag of shredded lettuce. I'll actually grate my own cheese because that bag shit sucks. Mix in a variety of other ingredients to change things up and wah lah tacos/burritos for lunch*

Obviously not as good as Chipotle but a low effort healthier alternative.

*I don't eat breakfast and don't really value lunch so the redundancy doesn't really bother me.

Do you fry your chicken in the bacon grease? Heaven on a plate!

I remember during the Atkins fad I'd go to the food court at work and see some tub order a double cheeseburger with a pile of bacon on the side, but with no bun, and they called this a "diet"

You said you eat almost 3500 calories a day. That's almost DOUBLE what you probably need, for one. You're not an athlete, at least from what I've gathered, so it's not like you're fueling mega-workouts or anything. Those excess calories are a problem, even if they're all coming from technically "healthy" foods.

You're not about to die but you're also only 38 years old. You said you drink one or two energy drinks per day. They're absolutely terrible for your body. Are they all low-calorie or calorie free? Because if they're not, you're drinking a bunch of sugar as well and that's bad.

Also, your Friday diet looks awful. You make up for a week full of decent food decisions (I mean Chipotle isn't bad as far as fast food goes) by doing this:

Fri breakfast: Ihop eggs, bacon, waffle via Door Dash $25, Red Bull $3
Fri lunch: Five guys burger and fries $15
Fri dinner: Stockhill Ribeye & glass of wine $80
Fri late: Crumbl Cookies $12, Red Bull $3

Heh.. I stopped my keto-ish ways because my cholesterol shot up due to so much red meat and cheese (granted, wasn't THAT bad).

Thanks man! I don't have to go to Ashburn or Cary very often anymore but I'm always looking for stuff to do when I'm in either place.

Simple diet for being healthy...

Eat Food
Mostly Plants
Not Too Much

Food classifies as something that doesn't come out of a can or a bag from fast food joint. Something that will actually go bad if you leave it out for more than a couple of hours.

When I was younger, eating a big steak, big portion of potatoes and a salad was one of my favorite meals. I still enjoy it however it's a small steak, a salad, additional grilled veggies and some good crusty bread.

I hate to do dishes so I mostly use the grill for everything.

Being willing to make a large pot of something (chicken and dumplings, beef stew, etc) and eat on it for a while also saves a lot. I'm one of those people who only uses salt to cook; afterwards I just load up on the pepper.

It's all made up, no one is that reeruned or would be 185lbs at 38yo with that diet.

If not for the try-hard reerunedness, a huge giveaway is always the aw-shucks questions after said reerunedness... iS tHaT bAd?!?

FYP

I already responded to most of this in my other post but I wanted to specifically address the surgery because even though I'm not proud of it, I'm also not one to hide the fact that I had surgery to resolve my weight problem.

It's a cautionary tale. I eat mostly good foods. My average daily diet was actually a little better than yours in terms of healthy foods. The problem is that, like you, I was consuming about double the amount of those healthy foods per day and didn't think what the excess calories would do to me.

Like you, I continued eating like I did in high school/college without taking into account any of the other mitigating factors that were present at the time. There were so many little things I was doing back then that I didn't even realize it when I stopped doing them. And of course, I was climbing the corporate ladder early in my career as well. 8 hours days turned into 10, then 12, and then sometimes even 16. I had to travel a lot.

I never really gave it any thought until about 4 years ago. I saw a picture of myself and almost didn't know who I was. Like I said, I was 140 when I graduated college. I was 180 when I got married for the 2nd time.

After 20 years of all the things I described above, I weighed 285 pounds. I was making good, conscious decisions about food most of the time, especially later in that period but I was simply eating too many calories a day.

So yeah, my problems were pretty drastic. At least bad enough that I felt the need to have 3/4 of my stomach removed, which is what I did.

Again, I'm not proud of it but I'm also not going to hide it. It's part of who I am. And I''m glad I did. I weigh the same now, 3 months from my 23rd anniversary, as I did when I got married.