I used to eat out almost every night and it cost me nearly as much as my rent.

Since then, I learned some cooking, some 10-min stuff, and did a lot of personal work on emotional eating. I really tried to treat it like an addiction, learning alternatives but also, recently I moved to a less urban area where I’d have to walk 10-15mins to get decent food, when I used to have an all you can eat sushi place on my street. That helped more than anything else!

Finally, I gave myself a couple of special things: given how much I was spending on restaurants I never hesitate to spend a lot on cookware or ingredients, and when my partner comes over we often choose a cool recipe to try out, in order to prove to myself that food can be really great even if it’s not made by someone else.

Now I go out for dinner only if I’m with someone, and I make sure it’s always a special occasion (including a date with my partner, it doesn’t have to be super special, just not “I don’t feel like cooking”). It’s still very hard not to go out when I’m having a tough day but I’ve never done so well :)