Not a "Lifestyle Change"
Replies
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kommodevaran wrote: »I dislike expressions like "lifestyle change", "weightloss journey", "clean eating" and all variations over getting on/off "wagons", "tracks", "horses".
Small adjustments in habits. I still eat the same things as before, but some of them more regularly, and others a lot less often. I cooked meals before too, but I cook more often now. I moved before too, but now I move a little every day. I still overeat, but not at every meal anymore.
Large changes in attitude. I liked to eat before too, but now I love food (because I'm less confused, and I eat a more varied diet and more appropriate portions). I used to try to not care about my weight and health, now I don't worry so much.
I would only add to that list of expressions: eating "healthier".
But I digress..
It both was and wasn't a change for me. I still eat a lot of the same foods, but I stopped getting fast food at lunch everyday and started prepping and bringing my own lunches. That was a big habit change for me. Making exercise and fitress a higher priority was as well. I used to work out some, but not nearly as much as now. Most importantly, I've learned how to feel satisfied with less. I don't need giant portions or second helpings anymore...and I like that. It allows me to deliberately enjoy my food, rather than just seeing it as a way to stuff myself.1 -
Anyway, now that we've defined "lifestyle change"
.... my question actually was ...
Just wondering if there are others here who lost their weight or are in the process of losing weight through minor adjustments rather than a full-on lifestyle change.
...
Just wondering if there have been others who have gone through a similar process. Nothing earth shattering ... just a few small adjustments.
your definition of "lifestyle change" does not jive with mine or others so it's hard to answer that question....
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That's OK, if the question doesn't resonate with you, you're not required to answer it.
but I did answer it...I consider what I did a lifestyle change even tho they were small incremental changes.
I didn't just bam do it all at once.....just a bunch of small changes (except that quitting smoking thing that was huge) but it's still a lifestyle change...
my point is using a term which you define differently than the dictionary makes it hard to answer the question3 -
Just wondering if there are others here who lost their weight or are in the process of losing weight through minor adjustments rather than a full-on lifestyle change.
Pretty much the same for me, or just getting back to my normal lifestyle, which is why I think of it as getting back on track. I agree that other times of my life represented much more of a true lifestyle change, and watching what I eat is a pretty minor part of my lifestyle (which is much more determined by job, friends, family activity, and hobbies and social life). That I ate in a pretty healthful way (just too much) before, and already cooked a lot also contributed to this sense.So when I started with MFP, I made the following changes:
-- I changed almost nothing about what I ate between the time I got up in the morning and the time I arrived home from work. The only thing I did change was to drop one snack. I had been eating a handful or two of cashews in the middle of the afternoon, so I stopped doing that. I had started noticing some allergy symptoms when I ate them anyway ... congestion, tingling mouth and tongue, digestive issues, etc. ... so no big loss.
What I did, mostly, was cut out snacking between meals, which I'd done mainly out of emotional/stress eating or just because it was there -- food is always around at my place of work (I don't really overeat at home except for the occasional "crap day, will compensate with special food," which I mostly stopped).
I made some adjustments to food choice to make it more filling and counting calories caused me to reduce things like oil and cheese, but nothing that fundamentally changed how I ate.
I got back to cooking from a CSA box whenever possible (something I had done for years and then quit because I let my life get unmanageable in some ways), which got me really excited about the low cal cooking possibilites and just eating even more vegetables than I had before (but I always ate lots of veg).
Most importantly, I got back into activity, which I'd let drop off a lot. Increased my walking (always okay, since I'm in a city and don't have a choice), started running again and signing up for races, and started bike commuting again, as well as doing longer rides on the weekend. I reconnected with some of my old loves like biking groups and tri training groups and joined a masters swim group, so in this sense I exchanged some of my more sedentary social life (my other group of friends is big into theater) for a more active one -- this could be considered somewhat of a lifestyle change but it felt more like reclaiming a part of my life I'd been neglecting.
I also did all this somewhat gradually, a step at a time, which is also why it felt like smaller changes.3 -
I was astonished when I first started using MFP that so many people don't own food scales, because I do a lot of baking and we don't use cup measurements in the UK. At the moment, while I am getting back to racing weight, I am using my scale to weigh my all of my food; when I'm maintaining I will stop doing that (temporary lifestyle change)?
I was NOT about to continue past the first 16 weeks here on a net-1250 cal diet!! But I did that to lose a certain amount of weight and reach a particular goal ... which I did. If I had thought I'd be on net-1250 forever, I wouldn't have done it. But 16 weeks was manageable.
Maybe I'm just a bit hungry today, but I was just thinking 'if I thought this was permanent I probably just wouldn't bother'!0 -
Shadowmf023 wrote: »I prefer to call it a change of habits. I actually hate the term "lifestyle change".
Although, it should be permanent of course. But I see it in the same way as brushing my teeth every day.
This is very much how I think of it.0 -
Anyway, now that we've defined "lifestyle change" .... my question actually was ...
Just wondering if there are others here who lost their weight or are in the process of losing weight through minor adjustments rather than a full-on lifestyle change.
...
Just wondering if there have been others who have gone through a similar process. Nothing earth shattering ... just a few small adjustments.
Then yes. I was active and fit back in the day. Let it slide for a long time and then got fit again. Never knew I would want to get as fit as I have now as I just wanted to lose weight at first.0 -
kommodevaran wrote: »I dislike expressions like "lifestyle change", "weightloss journey", "clean eating" and all variations over getting on/off "wagons", "tracks", "horses".
Small adjustments in habits. I still eat the same things as before, but some of them more regularly, and others a lot less often. I cooked meals before too, but I cook more often now. I moved before too, but now I move a little every day. I still overeat, but not at every meal anymore.
Large changes in attitude. I liked to eat before too, but now I love food (because I'm less confused, and I eat a more varied diet and more appropriate portions). I used to try to not care about my weight and health, now I don't worry so much.
I don't have trouble maintaining, so I did a similar "tweaking". My weight came on gradually over the years so I'm making small adjustments ex. cutting out breakfast which is a 300 calorie cut right there. So far I've kept the weight off. It doesn't take too many calories to get the creep up. I figure that I might as well creep down in weight the same way. I am a slow loser anyhow so this is much less painful for me.0 -
No...I pretty much changed the way I live my life which has allowed me to lose weight and now maintain that weight for over three years without logging. Basically I eat a lot better than I used to and exercise regularly and otherwise do the things that healthy and fit people do...I wasn't doing any of that before.1
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lemurcat12 wrote: »Just wondering if there are others here who lost their weight or are in the process of losing weight through minor adjustments rather than a full-on lifestyle change.
Pretty much the same for me, or just getting back to my normal lifestyle, which is why I think of it as getting back on track. I agree that other times of my life represented much more of a true lifestyle change, and watching what I eat is a pretty minor part of my lifestyle (which is much more determined by job, friends, family activity, and hobbies and social life). That I ate in a pretty healthful way (just too much) before, and already cooked a lot also contributed to this sense.
I like this ... especially the bolded bit.
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And so goes the ruining of another thread due to a nit picky definition.4
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For me it took a major lifestyle change to lose the weight and maintain a level of fitness to keep it off. I first went vegan for about 6 years, and began a fitness program that was planned. For the first time in my life I began to look seriously at the effects of my diet, and planned, scheduled, and executed a diet and fitness routine. 18 years later, I am still doing the same thing, but it has become so ingrained, I couldn't see myself not doing it. So, to your point, although my day to day diet and routine evolves and changes as my needs and interests do, the initial decision to become healthy WAS a major lifestyle change that continues to this day.1
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I do still think definitions are important, but it's surprising that people always insist so much that you have to call it what THEY call it!lemurcat12 wrote: »Just wondering if there are others here who lost their weight or are in the process of losing weight through minor adjustments rather than a full-on lifestyle change.
Pretty much the same for me, or just getting back to my normal lifestyle, which is why I think of it as getting back on track. I agree that other times of my life represented much more of a true lifestyle change, and watching what I eat is a pretty minor part of my lifestyle (which is much more determined by job, friends, family activity, and hobbies and social life). That I ate in a pretty healthful way (just too much) before, and already cooked a lot also contributed to this sense.
I like this ... especially the bolded bit.
I like this too - the idea that your lifestyle is about other things and losing or maintaining weight contributes to that but isn't the main focus. Food is actually a major part of my lifestyle, but the part that likes cooking and baking and having meals with friends and family, not the part that occasionally tries to eat a little lighter to avoid putting on weight.
I also did change my lifestyle as an indirect result of losing a bunch of weight a few years ago: I had loads more energy so I started running more. Now I'm pretty serious about it and I train 6 or 7 days a week and race competitively. So I have a lifestyle that is based around sport. But the focus there is on the athleticism, and the calories are incidental.1 -
I think what's annoying about 'lifestyle change' is when you get told to say that instead of 'diet' - I'm currently on a diet because I'd like to lose a little bit of weight and when I have, I won't have to be 'on a diet' any more because I'll be maintaining my weight and that won't involve having to be in a calorie deficit. I'll be able to eat more food, think less carefully about my choices, and there's no getting away from the fact that that will be a bit more fun than running a deficit. So I find it quite encouraging to think of this as temporary rather than permanent.
It's actually amazing to think how different people are, psychologically. I can see how that mentality would work really well. But the second I think of myself as being on a diet, I cave. No matter how temporary it’s supposed to be! Even thinking about going on a diet tomorrow makes me want to get take out tonight!0 -
I do still think definitions are important, but it's surprising that people always insist so much that you have to call it what THEY call it!lemurcat12 wrote: »Just wondering if there are others here who lost their weight or are in the process of losing weight through minor adjustments rather than a full-on lifestyle change.
Pretty much the same for me, or just getting back to my normal lifestyle, which is why I think of it as getting back on track. I agree that other times of my life represented much more of a true lifestyle change, and watching what I eat is a pretty minor part of my lifestyle (which is much more determined by job, friends, family activity, and hobbies and social life). That I ate in a pretty healthful way (just too much) before, and already cooked a lot also contributed to this sense.
I like this ... especially the bolded bit.
I like this too - the idea that your lifestyle is about other things and losing or maintaining weight contributes to that but isn't the main focus. Food is actually a major part of my lifestyle, but the part that likes cooking and baking and having meals with friends and family, not the part that occasionally tries to eat a little lighter to avoid putting on weight.
I also did change my lifestyle as an indirect result of losing a bunch of weight a few years ago: I had loads more energy so I started running more. Now I'm pretty serious about it and I train 6 or 7 days a week and race competitively. So I have a lifestyle that is based around sport. But the focus there is on the athleticism, and the calories are incidental.
Wouldn't that still be a change of lifestyle? You're doing something that you weren't before. I don't think the change in lifestyle has anything to do with calories or losing weight or whatever...when you go from leading a less healthful lifestyle to a more healthful lifestyle, that would be a lifestyle change would it not?
I don't pay attention to calories at all...I eat well...I enjoy life...I celebrate life with friends and family...I exercise regularly. I used to eat less than stellar and never exercised...so basically since I now do those things that would be a lifestyle change would it not?1 -
I don't think that all lifestyle changes have to be huge. I still eat the things I always ate, I just modified my portion sizes and some things I eat less frequently than before. I still eat out so it isn't a lifestyle change in the sense that my lifestyle is completely different than before, it has just been a minor adjustment. But it is a lifestyle change in that I am more aware of what I eat and the amounts I eat. I do log all my food now which I never did before and I have started eating more Greek yogurt and concentrating on getting enough protien where I never really paid attention to that before. I am also exercising now so that has changed my routine after work and that is more of a major change for me than what or how I eat. I have just recently moved to maintenance so I'm not sure that I will always log, but I have no plans to stop. I find logging pretty easy and it is just part of my routine now. I do like to think of this as a lifestyle change rather than a diet because to me a diet is something that you will eventually stop. In the past when I stopped dieting I started gaining weight. I think I will always need to be aware of how many calories I am eating on average. There may be times I need to eat in a deficit and there may be times I need to eat in a surplus, but I plan to always be aware of my CICO and try to keep them about equal. I have no plans to change my way of eating and I probably won't change it unless there is a medical reason to change. So I do consider my new woe to be a lifestyle change, but I wouldn't really consider it a drastic lifestyle change.0
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Maybe I should ask this ... have any of you been fit and healthy most of your lives?
Then did you have a moment (a few months or years) where your activity level decreased and your eating increased and you gained a bit of weight.
And now you're back to the usual fit and healthy you?
I'm curious how many people there might be here who went through that pattern.2 -
By OP standards, get a college degree, move to a new continent, travel the world on bicycles and begin post-grad work, no. These are, of course, experiences she rightly shall treasure all the days of her life. By my standards, yes. I had to learn what I was eating, learn what I needed, learn how to apportion it, and learn to not eat due to boredom.2
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JeromeBarry1 wrote: »By OP standards, get a college degree, move to a new continent, travel the world on bicycles and begin post-grad work, no. These are, of course, experiences she rightly shall treasure all the days of her life. By my standards, yes. I had to learn what I was eating, learn what I needed, learn how to apportion it, and learn to not eat due to boredom.Maybe I should ask this ... have any of you been fit and healthy most of your lives?
Then did you have a moment (a few months or years) where your activity level decreased and your eating increased and you gained a bit of weight.
And now you're back to the usual fit and healthy you?
I'm curious how many people there might be here who went through that pattern. 0 -
Maybe I should ask this ... have any of you been fit and healthy most of your lives?
Then did you have a moment (a few months or years) where your activity level decreased and your eating increased and you gained a bit of weight.
And now you're back to the usual fit and healthy you?
I'm curious how many people there might be here who went through that pattern.
I was fit and healthy in childhood and my teen years, despite some poor eating habits. In my twenties it started catching up to me so I started making small changes to stay on top of it. That worked well for quite some time. Then there were major changes to my weight in my late twenties and early thirties (desk job, motorcycle accident, followed by four pregnancies - having four kids counts as a lifestyle change, no? Lol). The incremental changes proved not enough at that point and a major overhaul was necessary. Now I'm back to the weight I was at 16, but with a healthier lifestyle.
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cwolfman13 wrote: »
I also did change my lifestyle as an indirect result of losing a bunch of weight a few years ago: I had loads more energy so I started running more. Now I'm pretty serious about it and I train 6 or 7 days a week and race competitively. So I have a lifestyle that is based around sport. But the focus there is on the athleticism, and the calories are incidental.
Wouldn't that still be a change of lifestyle? You're doing something that you weren't before. I don't think the change in lifestyle has anything to do with calories or losing weight or whatever...when you go from leading a less healthful lifestyle to a more healthful lifestyle, that would be a lifestyle change would it not?
I don't pay attention to calories at all...I eat well...I enjoy life...I celebrate life with friends and family...I exercise regularly. I used to eat less than stellar and never exercised...so basically since I now do those things that would be a lifestyle change would it not?
Yes - my lifestyle did change (about 5 or so years ago), but I suppose what I mean is THIS is not the lifestyle change (and certainly not MFP or logging etc. as that's not how I lost the weight). My lifestyle also changed when I moved countries like the OP, when I got a new job, when I lived with other people or alone, etc.
I actually did use to run and cycle regularly when I was fatter, though I wasn't as fast, and I ate pretty much all the same foods.
OP - I'm here losing some weight (on a temporary diet!
) at the moment because I gained a bit after moving to a colder climate and then after being injured last winter so I couldn't run. So once I've shifted it, I will go back to my ice-cream-every-day habit. 1 -
Maybe I should ask this ... have any of you been fit and healthy most of your lives?
Then did you have a moment (a few months or years) where your activity level decreased and your eating increased and you gained a bit of weight.
And now you're back to the usual fit and healthy you?
I'm curious how many people there might be here who went through that pattern.
None of the above for me. I was a bit more active when I was younger, but I always ate too much and I was overweight, even as a kid. It's only been within the past two or three years of my life that I've been anywhere close to a healthy weight...certainly the only time in my adult life that I was under 200 lbs.0 -
I made a "lifestyle change" (if I'm allowed to use that word!) in my early 20s when I started regular aerobic exercise (besides walking) and lost a lot of weight. Then in my late 20s, I got a new, stressful job, stopped exercising regularly, but kept eating as if I still were running or cycling almost every day. I put on a lot of weight; however, when I got back into the habit of regular exercising, the weight stayed on. I got fit again, to the point where I could ride a 200K brevet, but I stayed fat.
When I decided it was time to lose that weight (back problems, blood pressure getting worse, etc.), I didn't make any major changes. I was already active. My diet was pretty good. I was just eating too much, so I cut back on portions. The only major change was to eat less breakfast cereal, since I discovered that a slice or two of buttered toast keeps me sated far longer. Otherwise, it was just a matter of eating a bit less and being mindful about whether I was eating out of hunger or simply because food was in front of me. I've been maintaining for the last year and a half, and that hasn't involved any major changes.
I did get back into running in 2014, halfway through my 23 months of weight loss, but that was a separate decision to get into an activity that's easier to do when traveling than cycling or rowing. And I might start swimming again this fall, but again, not in connection with weight loss, just overall fitness.
(P.S. I think I know you from BikeForums, though it's been a while since I have participated regularly over there.)0 -
Anyway, now that we've defined "lifestyle change" .... my question actually was ...
Just wondering if there are others here who lost their weight or are in the process of losing weight through minor adjustments rather than a full-on lifestyle change.
...
Just wondering if there have been others who have gone through a similar process. Nothing earth shattering ... just a few small adjustments.
I'm confused...are you just doing a shout out to people who only had to lose ten pounds and therefore didn't have to change their life? Cause most of us had to change our lives, behaviour, and way of thinking about ourselves, the world and our place in it to achieve our goals (or head in that direction).7 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »
I also did change my lifestyle as an indirect result of losing a bunch of weight a few years ago: I had loads more energy so I started running more. Now I'm pretty serious about it and I train 6 or 7 days a week and race competitively. So I have a lifestyle that is based around sport. But the focus there is on the athleticism, and the calories are incidental.
Wouldn't that still be a change of lifestyle? You're doing something that you weren't before. I don't think the change in lifestyle has anything to do with calories or losing weight or whatever...when you go from leading a less healthful lifestyle to a more healthful lifestyle, that would be a lifestyle change would it not?
I don't pay attention to calories at all...I eat well...I enjoy life...I celebrate life with friends and family...I exercise regularly. I used to eat less than stellar and never exercised...so basically since I now do those things that would be a lifestyle change would it not?
Yes - my lifestyle did change (about 5 or so years ago), but I suppose what I mean is THIS is not the lifestyle change (and certainly not MFP or logging etc. as that's not how I lost the weight). My lifestyle also changed when I moved countries like the OP, when I got a new job, when I lived with other people or alone, etc.
I actually did use to run and cycle regularly when I was fatter, though I wasn't as fast, and I ate pretty much all the same foods.
OP - I'm here losing some weight (on a temporary diet! ) at the moment because I gained a bit after moving to a colder climate and then after being injured last winter so I couldn't run. So once I've shifted it, I will go back to my ice-cream-every-day habit.
I haven't logged in over three years...I always looked at MFP as a tool, not a lifestyle....the things I'm doing with my life overall are the lifestyle.0 -
Maybe I should ask this ... have any of you been fit and healthy most of your lives?
Then did you have a moment (a few months or years) where your activity level decreased and your eating increased and you gained a bit of weight.
And now you're back to the usual fit and healthy you?
I'm curious how many people there might be here who went through that pattern.
Yes...I was involved in athletics most of my life growing up and a pretty decent athlete at one point in time. In high school I was a track and field sprinter and ranked 3rd in my state for one brief moment in time in the 100 M sprint. I also played football and wrestled. After that I went into the Marine Corps and then finally to college where I didn't really workout per sei, but I was pretty active...hiking with friends, playing ultimate frisbee, riding my bike everywhere because I didn't have a car, etc.
After college I took a desk job working 12+ hour days 6 days per week and traveling 25 weeks out off the year...I became sedentary for the most part and was so for about a decade. I still have a desk job so deliberate exercise has become a part of my life where as before it was mostly just me being recreationally active. My diet is also better than it's ever been in my entire life.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Shadowmf023 wrote: »I prefer to call it a change of habits. I actually hate the term "lifestyle change".
Although, it should be permanent of course. But I see it in the same way as brushing my teeth every day.
This is very much how I think of it.
Count me in on this one.0 -
eveandqsmom wrote: »Anyway, now that we've defined "lifestyle change" .... my question actually was ...
Just wondering if there are others here who lost their weight or are in the process of losing weight through minor adjustments rather than a full-on lifestyle change.
...
Just wondering if there have been others who have gone through a similar process. Nothing earth shattering ... just a few small adjustments.
I'm confused...are you just doing a shout out to people who only had to lose ten pounds and therefore didn't have to change their life? Cause most of us had to change our lives, behaviour, and way of thinking about ourselves, the world and our place in it to achieve our goals (or head in that direction).
I have lost 95+ lbs with mfp. I didn't change my life that much to lose it, mfp just helped me track my calories. My diet remained the same, I just ate less.
I didn't change my life, behavior, or self perception, the world or my place in it. I just ate a bit less.
So for me, I can't really relate to all the "journey" comments, or "lifestyle change" ones on a personal level. But I have experienced major changes in my life over the years, and I get why some folks would frame their experience that way. I don't generally comment on people's choice of how they describe their experiences.3 -
eveandqsmom wrote: »Anyway, now that we've defined "lifestyle change" .... my question actually was ...
Just wondering if there are others here who lost their weight or are in the process of losing weight through minor adjustments rather than a full-on lifestyle change.
...
Just wondering if there have been others who have gone through a similar process. Nothing earth shattering ... just a few small adjustments.
I'm confused...are you just doing a shout out to people who only had to lose ten pounds and therefore didn't have to change their life? Cause most of us had to change our lives, behaviour, and way of thinking about ourselves, the world and our place in it to achieve our goals (or head in that direction).
I have lost 95+ lbs with mfp. I didn't change my life that much to lose it, mfp just helped me track my calories. My diet remained the same, I just ate less.
I didn't change my life, behavior, or self perception, the world is my place in it. I just ate a bit less.
Fair enough. I think you are rare. For the record, I hate the sound of lifestyle change too but for me to fit in to my deficit, it required a big change including eating less, moving more, drinking less, etc. I had to really think about WHY I ate what I did and what in my life was worth this level of sacrifice. I had to quit procrastinating (with everything) and start acting, I joined a gym, and I changed the activities I did with friends (because apparently all we did before was eat and drink).1 -
Losing weight wasn't a lifestyle change for me.
I got fat pretty suddenly after a dozy car driver smashed my knee (depression/inactivity/boredom etc..).
In reality I maintained fat for 20 years (shameful really!).
Losing weight was just a phase eating the same diet but in smaller proportions. Now I maintain slim instead of fat but being at maintenance just feels normal. I probably eat more now than when I was heavier.
The lifestyle change for me was really the children growing up and becoming more independent which gave me back free time for my activities instead of supporting theirs (youth rugby coach, kid's taxi driver). That's had a bigger impact on my fitness but that's a separate issue from weight loss.
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Well, I think it really depends on how much you have to lose. If its a relatively small amount, I guess that it wouldn't be a life style change, but mostly little ones, I agree. But if you have (or had like me) a very large amount to lose, then yes it is most definitely a lifestyle change, although I don't think I've ever used the term myself lol.1
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