Nearly a grand on ordering food in less than two months, please help

are you overweight ? A little or a lot ?

Are you in debt ? Can you afford this habit ?

can you cook stuff for you or even buy microwave meals if not sure how to cook

Are you ordering that on top of, or instead of, a weekly food shop?

Do you work? Are you bored?

Hi there, very brave of you to open up about such a personal issue x
Have you tried recreating your favourite takeaways at home? May buy your self some cook books from amazon or utube is wonderful to research.
We all love a cheeky takeaway but maybe you could start with tweeking yours a little :) maybe order a child size meal to start with.

Also the fees you pay for ordering in are ridiculous. One simple thing which might help is to say, ok I know I need to comfort eat but I'm going to walk to the shop to get the food instead.

You'll save a chunk of money just from not ordering in to start with and the physical exercise may help ground you too.

I would agree with others about looking into taking mounjaro. My SIL is overweight with what she describes as constant “food noise” and it has completely taken that away so she can concentrate on eating healthily. I would pick a time frame that you think would work (ie six months) and just do it for that amount of time as a reset.

Make a list of 14 dinners that are healthy, quick and easy to make so that you will REALISTICALLY make them when you are hungry. If they are too complicated you will be tempted to reach for the take aways again. Things that are barely cooking eg smoked salmon with a poached egg, or heating up a fresh ready soup from the supermarket. Buy them in rotation, one week on one week off. This way you will already know they are a healthy choice and you won’t be veered off course by unhealthy options (in theory).

On Sunday night delete all the apps you order food through so you can start the weekly food plan on Monday. New week. Fresh start. You can do this without it needing to be overly complicated.

good luck. Food addiction is real and very tough xx

I agree with all those that say pay for private therapy put of the money you use on take aways.

Hi op have a look at overeaters annonomous- you may find it helpful

Well I suppose because she's only just realised that she potentially has that money to use.

Also you make it sound so simple, like it's a straight choice between feeling sad & ordering take away vs therapy.

She has an eating disorder, that makes it much much harder.

@HelpIsOverdue I'm sorry you're having such a horrendous time at the moment. While I don't have personal experience of eating disorders, I've read and listened to enough personal accounts of the experience of them to recognise the absolute torture they subject a person to and I'm so sorry you're suffering so much.

The amount you've spent has clearly shocked you and if you think you can use that shock to get help by paying for some private therapy then absolutely do so. I would also suggest you speak to your gp and share with then the impact on your finances - it might help push you up the queue or open up short term crisis support.

You don't gp into detail about your eating disorder or how it affects you so apologies if advice is trite...But if you're able to recognise your triggers for eating and why / how it helps you emotionally in the moment, then you may be able to replace some of the behaviours.

Some people overeat because they're numbing emotions or trying to ground themselves. There can be healthier ways to deal with strong emotion in the moment. A burst of exercise can help - a brisk stomp around the block or taking up a sport. There are grounding exercises online too, the 5 things, 4 thing, 3things, 2 thjngs, 1thjng is quite good. Sometimes a hot (not scalding shower) can help - or a cold one.

You could also try replacing some foods with others so that you consume less. Try to identify what it is about the foods you choose which help in the moment - are you sensory-seeking? - and look for an alternative. Eg crackers instead of crisps, posh hot chocolate instead of packs of chocolate biscuits.

I'm making some assumptions about the nature of your eating disorder and how it affects you, so apologies if I'm completely barking up the wrong tree.

What I would say is don't try to change everything all at once over night. Make a couple of manageable changes this week, and then some more the next.

Break it down. If you're ordering food everyday then you probably aren't going to start cooking from scratch.

So try going to the supermarket and getting some really nice ready meals. Things you only have to put in a microwave or an oven - like a posh pizza etc.

When I lived in Central London, there was a marks and spencers food hall that I walked past every night on my way home. That was a time when we had hardly any food waste because we bought dinner each evening on the way back home. Not cheap but cheaper than a take-away.

So maybe if you can build a new routine - if you drive or walk past a supermarket- maybe you can stop off to buy dinner and treat yourself to a magazine/book/candle as being the incentive to go.

Maybe aim to do it 2 or 3 times a week. Maybe one of the days you go is a Friday night or Saturday. Then you can get 2 meals for the weekend.

This. The Priory has eating disorder consultant psychiatrists who would do an assessment for about £300 and can then refer you for therapy and/or to see a dietitian.
Best of luck. I have BED and know how horrendous it is.

I doubt a jab would help with something like bulimia

If you can use that £500 towards therapy that seems like a good next step. You’ll need to do some research, eg to see if you want to go down the CBT route that has historically been used by NHS to treat eating disorders (my knowledge is at least 15 years out of date) or talking therapy to get to the bottom of why you are doing this. People do recover from eating disorders, and you can as well.

More immediately, have you tried circular breathing or breathing exercises when you experience a craving or impulse to order food? Maybe that could help in the moment. And affirmations like “I am safe, I am enough” can help too. You could try mindfulness and being really present in your body (but stop if it’s unpleasant - it doesn’t work for everyone.) Good luck OP.

Are you bulimic or is it comfort eating

Spells too well to be Becki

Just buy the jab. Significantly cheaper privately than your food budget.

Hopefully once you see you don't need crap food to make you happy you can break the habit

Except o/p admits she has an eating disorder.

plus we don’t even know if she’s overweight or needs to lose weight.

so it’s a bit irresponsible for people to be recommending it.

If you have binge eating disorder, my friend had huge success with overeaters anonymously.

Hi Op
Try not to beat yourself up. We all have our weaknesses / addictions, for me its perfume these days but used to be alcohol and that was v unhealthy.

Try and love yourself and your body and you will start to make better choices eg not eating when you are full / stopping eating when you are full.
Also I have lost weight this year but just getting up and doing stuff regularly, housework, etc. Every hour or so I decide something else needs doing (I work from home). It's a method that works for me xxx

This. I found diet chef really good as I didn’t need to think about food, what I was going to eat, I had my set amount of daily food provided.

it was actually a lot cheaper as I wasn’t buying food except for fruit and veg. Having everything provided took the decisions away from me which is what I needed to reset.

if you’re not wanting to lose weight as pl said there will be other meal plan options.

That's very true. You could have a therapy session a week and still have some left for one takeaway!

That's true, I had not thought about that.

I've done the same in the past OP (I'm still 'bad' - but not that bad!)

What really helped is getting the same meals I'd get delivered, from the supermarket. So keep plenty of good quality, frozen pizzas around, and breaded chicken/burger toppings. Jarred curries (nice, not budget, ones!), microwave rice and naan. If you don't have an air-fryer, I'd buy one - it can really replicate the kind of meals you could get as a takeaway!

Are those takeouts just for you or for family members too?

To save money, can't you start by getting quick, oven food like pizza and ready meals like curry? It will be slightly healthier because portions are smaller but in any case cheaper.

The op has an eating disorder, and you’re not supposed to use mounjaro if you do; she’s not stated what kind, or her weight so I think thr recommendations for it are premature,

Can you get a private session & therapy ?
No matter how much it costs, it will surely be better for you (and cheaper) in the long run.