Eating Out Less

So in June I ate and drank out WAY too much.  I totaled it up, and if I don't count eating at other people's houses, I went out 16 times (I'd forgotten to list a work lunch).  I don't think it was necessarily showing up on the scale, but it certainly would if the trend continued, and even if it didn't, it's just not a healthy or economical way to do meals. 

My goal for July was to correct that, despite it being summer, which makes me want to go out more -- because of both more social invitations and because of less desire to cook.  So even if it meant being less social, I wanted to stop going out so often.  I think best of all would be to plan more social things without food. 

Anyway, here's my attempt to track July eating out:

July 1 at a restaurant for brunch after our long run with a whole bunch of my running buddies
July 4-8 meals at my in-laws' houses in Pennsylvania, but I'm not counting that as eating out since we were out of town and we weren't in restaurants. 
July 7 out for dinner with the in-laws after mass (this counts, we were at a restaurant)
July 8 dinner at our neighbor's house for my first official Chinese lesson (not counting, home-cooked Chinese food)
July 10 popcorn for dinner at the movies (Take This Waltz, which was okay but not great)
July 11 drinks at happy hour for my law school alumni group
July 12 drinks and enough appetizers to make a meal with my undergrad alumni group, oddly enough at the same place as the night before
July 14 two wine bars with a new friend I met running and her cousin
July 17 drinks and dinner for a birthday surprise party (turned into an engagement celebration)
July 21 breakfast from a taco truck
July 24 sandwich picnic at a concert at the arboretum

So only 9 times!  A big improvement I'd say.  It actually feels like I went out way less than that, I guess because I did so little the last week of the month after I committed to doing yoga every day (which usually meant after work).  That meant I missed out on one happy hour and one dinner with friends, but I'm happy with the yoga choice!  I was very close to walking across the street to Chipotle when I got home after yoga one night this week, but fortunately it just so happened that hubby had swung by Whole Foods that day, so there was pre-cooked brown rice and mixed steamed vegetables.  I added black beans and salsa and it was not only amazingly nutritious, it just hit the spot. 

Tomorrow we're going out for tacos for lunch with our neighbors, but August is likely to be even fewer occasions eating out than July, again, thanks solely to a commitment to yoga 4-5 nights per week (and daytime classes the other 2-3 days).  But what will hammer me in August will be going out of town for the Hood to Coast relay at the end of the month, and then having my best friend in town the following weekend (and my birthday in between).  So best to be good about eating at home up until those events happen!