How Often Should You Eat Outside Food to Stay Healthy?

December 18, 2025 •

4 min read

According to research published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, dining out twice or more per day is associated with an increased risk of early death, highlighting the critical importance of understanding how often you should eat outside food. This guide will explore how to balance your restaurant and home-cooked meals for optimal health.

Quick Summary

Balance restaurant meals with home cooking to achieve your health goals. This guide provides expert tips on making mindful choices, controlling portions, and planning your meals effectively for a healthier lifestyle.

Key Points

Practice Moderation: Aim for eating outside food no more than two or three times a week to avoid the negative health impacts associated with relying on it heavily.
Increase Home Cooking: Prioritize preparing meals at home to gain control over ingredients, portion sizes, and nutritional content, which saves money and improves health.
Plan Your Meals: Before dining out, review the menu to select healthier options. When cooking at home, plan ahead and meal prep to minimize the temptation for takeout.
Make Smart Choices: Opt for grilled, steamed, or baked dishes over fried ones. Ask for sauces and dressings on the side and choose water over sugary drinks.
Mind Portion Sizes: Be aware of oversized restaurant portions. Share an entree, or ask for half to be packed for leftovers to manage calorie intake.

The Health Impact of Eating Out Frequently

While eating out offers convenience and enjoyment, a diet heavily reliant on restaurant or takeout food carries several health risks. Understanding these potential downsides is the first step toward finding a sustainable balance.

Lack of Nutritional Control

When you prepare your own food, you control every ingredient, from the type of oil used to the amount of salt and sugar added. In contrast, commercially prepared foods, including those from fast-food chains and casual dining restaurants, are often loaded with excess saturated fat, sodium, and calories to enhance flavor and reduce costs. This lack of control can make it challenging to maintain a healthy diet, even when you believe you are making good choices.

Increased Calorie and Sodium Intake

Many studies show that restaurant meals tend to be higher in overall calories and sodium compared to home-cooked meals. Oversized portions further contribute to this problem, leading to excessive caloric intake and weight gain over time. The high sodium content can also increase the risk of high blood pressure and other cardiovascular issues.

Exposure to Harmful Chemicals

Dining out frequently may also increase your exposure to phthalates, which are synthetic chemicals used to make plastics more flexible. Researchers suspect that food in restaurants can come into contact with these chemicals through plastic packaging and handling gloves. Frequent exposure to these endocrine disruptors has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Home-Cooked vs. Restaurant Food: A Comparison

Choosing between cooking at home and eating out has significant implications for your health, finances, and well-being. This table provides a clear comparison of the key differences.


Feature	Home-Cooked Food	Restaurant/Takeout Food
Nutritional Control	Full control over ingredients, preparation, and nutrient content.	Limited control; often high in hidden fats, sodium, and sugar.
Cost	Typically more economical; allows for bulk purchasing and budget planning.	Significantly more expensive on a per-meal basis due to markup and convenience.
Portion Size	Easily controlled to match individual nutritional needs.	Prone to "portion distortion," leading to excessive consumption.
Ingredient Quality	You choose the quality and freshness of all ingredients.	Ingredient quality can vary and may include more preservatives and additives.
Preparation Method	You can opt for healthy methods like steaming, grilling, or roasting.	Often uses higher-fat methods like frying and heavy, creamy sauces.

How to Find Your Personal Balance

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to how often you should eat outside food, as it depends on your individual health goals, budget, and lifestyle. However, experts generally suggest that relying on restaurant meals for more than two or three meals per week may begin to take a toll on your health. The key is to treat dining out as an occasional treat rather than a daily routine.

Making Smarter Choices When Dining Out

Plan Ahead: Check the menu online before you go to find healthier options. This prevents you from making impulsive, hunger-driven decisions.
Focus on Preparation: Look for keywords like "grilled," "baked," "steamed," or "broiled" and avoid those like "fried," "creamy," or "breaded".
Control Your Portions: Ask for half of your meal to be boxed up for later before you even start eating. You can also share a large entree with a dining companion.
Request Modifications: Don't hesitate to ask for sauces, dressings, and toppings on the side. You can also request an extra side of vegetables instead of fries or rice.
Choose Your Drinks Wisely: Opt for water or unsweetened iced tea instead of sugary cocktails or sodas, which add empty calories.

Tips for Transitioning to More Home Cooking

Stock Your Pantry: Keep a well-stocked pantry with staples like canned beans, whole grains (quinoa, brown rice), and spices. This makes throwing together a healthy meal much easier.
Embrace Meal Prep: Set aside some time each week to wash and chop vegetables, pre-portion proteins, and prepare ingredients. Having healthy options ready to go can reduce the temptation for takeout.
Start with Simple Recipes: Begin with your favorite dishes and find simple, healthy recipes to recreate them at home. There are many apps and websites dedicated to quick, healthy cooking ideas.
Utilize Appliances: Kitchen appliances like slow cookers, air fryers, and pressure cookers can make meal preparation faster and more convenient.
Plan for Leftovers: Purposefully cooking a larger batch of food ensures you have healthy leftovers for lunch the next day, saving both time and money.

Conclusion: Finding the Right Frequency for You

Ultimately, the optimal frequency for eating outside food is a personal choice influenced by lifestyle and health goals. While there's no harm in enjoying a restaurant meal occasionally, relying too heavily on takeout can negatively impact your health due to higher calorie, fat, and sodium content, along with larger portion sizes. By making mindful choices when you do eat out and intentionally incorporating more home-cooked meals into your routine, you can strike a balance that supports your long-term wellness. Remember, consistency is more important than perfection. Prioritizing home cooking allows for greater control over your nutrition and helps make dining out a special experience rather than a daily habit. Finding a rhythm that works for you is the most important step.

For more in-depth information on diet and nutrition, you can consult resources from the National Institutes of Health.(https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8953831/)

Frequently Asked Questions

For most healthy individuals, eating out once a week is perfectly fine and unlikely to have a significant negative impact, especially if you maintain a balanced diet and regular exercise routine otherwise.

Request that sauces and dressings are served on the side, opt for grilled or steamed protein instead of fried, and increase your vegetable intake. You can also portion out the food onto your own plate to better control what you eat.

Cooking at home offers better control over ingredients, fewer added preservatives and sodium, and more affordable meals. It also allows you to manage portion sizes more effectively and experiment with healthier recipes.

Yes, frequent dining out is strongly associated with weight gain. Restaurant and takeout meals are typically higher in calories, unhealthy fats, and sugar, and come in larger portions, making it easy to overconsume.

Look for options that are grilled instead of fried, choose water over sugary drinks, and consider a salad with vinaigrette dressing. Skip the value meal upgrades and be mindful of high-calorie sauces and toppings.

Some studies suggest consuming a larger meal earlier in the day may be better for metabolic health, potentially making lunch a slightly better choice for a heavier meal out. However, the most important factors are the quality and quantity of what you eat, regardless of the time.

Yes. While a busy schedule can push you toward takeout, meal prepping, simple one-pot recipes, and stocking your kitchen with healthy staples can make home cooking fast and stress-free. Planning ahead is the most critical step.