5 habits that can help you avoid ordering food

Do you often doom scroll, look at an enticing food reel and quickly order it for yourself through a food delivery app, even if you just ate your last meal and your stomach is full? This boredom, fake excitement, doom scrolling and apps on the tip of your fingertips heighten online food ordering, to an extent that it slowly starts taking the shape of an addiction. If you want to control this or are consciously looking for methods to reduce ordering online, here are five tips that may come handy.

This may not happen overnight but slow and steady wins the race. Plan your meal schedule. Say breakfast at 7 am, lunch at 1 pm, evening snacks around 5 pm and dinner by 9 pm. Try to stick to these timings and avoid eating anything in between. This would automatically channelize your body clock, you will feel hungry around these times and not beyond it, and most importantly it will help kill unnecessary cravings. Once your meal times are fixed, you would automatically not feel hungry or the urge to order food online at odd hours.

One of the most common reasons why you order from outside is the laziness to make food at home. For such situations, it is ideal to collect a few 3-4 steps healthy recipes and keep basic ingredients stocked. This enables you to cook a meal quickly, at home and avoid ordering high priced meals from outside.   

Ordering food online and eating becomes a quick response to your boredom. Thus, when not having your actual meals, sleeping, or working, try to keep yourself engaged with some productive work or the other. This can include pursuing hobbies, cleaning the home, spending quality time with friends and family, journaling and others. This would keep your mind diverted and you would not start feeling hungry quite often.

Keep some food prepared at home which can last a few days on the shelf. These can include nuts and grain bars, porridge, muesli, and breakfast or fruit bowls. These are healthier to eat than the food that comes from outside. You can also pre-chop / slice some fresh vegetables and keep them frozen or quick use.

If you have been ordering food from food apps it will be a herculean task to let go it in a day. It is suggested that you establish a routine to slowly let go of this habit. You can limit yourself to two orders a week and then bring it down to one order a week before letting go of the habit altogether, unless if it’s an absolute must situation. You can also keep a certain budget every month for online ordering and start bringing it down month by month and until you have neither an online budget nor the interest to order online left.   

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