what is a "lifestyle change"?

HoneyBadger302

In my little world, a "lifestyle change" is something that:
a) is a change to how I have lived my life the past several years
b) is something that is meant/needed to be sustained long term
c) will change how my life is lived

For me, personally, diet doesn't fall into this too dramatically as I've always tended to eat healthier and have never restricted foods. For temporary periods I will track calories and weigh and measure everything if I'm focused on dropping some weight, but that is not a lifestyle change for me as it's not a long term solution. The portion control that results from those temporary times, however, IS a lifestyle change.

The bigger one for me is movement in general. Going to the gym, moving more during the day, returning to fidgeting - those things are lifestyle changes over the past 6+ years of my life. Those are things that I are becoming a part of my life, but they are NOT temporary, even after a long injury that laid me up both physically and mentally, it was what I returned to.

For me, that is the key to my weight and shape as well. I like to eat too much and do not deal with the hangries very well!!

stanmann571

If you're using the phrase to acknowledge that hitting your goal weight is the end of the beginning of the process and not the ultimate finish line then it is a valuable and useful phrase.

I've always been relatively active and healthy and strong, and weight has not been a priority.

Seeing, and recognizing, and embracing the reality that if I want to make it a priority, it's a rest of life priority and not a until I hit 220 priority and then I can go back to doing whatever. Means it's "a lifestyle change" for me. Putting that into practice and application is still a moving target/work in progress.

kshama2001

PAV8888 wrote: »

I've been debating posting or not, cause I am not sure. And yet.

Effortless and unconscious? I am most certainly not there yet. In my mind there still exists a decision that I have to manage what I do by monitoring myself and adjusting and making changes and being aware and conscious of the level of my eating and my activity.

So is this a diet? Or is it a lifestyle change? Or a journey?

Four years ago I would jump in the car to drive down the block to go through the drive through to drive back to eat my two value menu sandwiches and large fries with pop lunch while working on my computer. In the evening I would more often than not drive out to a Pho place and get a large Pho with 2 deep fried spring rolls. Unless it was one of the two or three nights a week where I would head out for AYCE fish and chips, or sushi (because fish is healthy, right?). Or Thai, or Indian, or Chinese, or burgers...

For entertainment I would either read a book on my e-reader, or watch TV and I would always combine eating with reading, or watching TV, to increase efficiency!

Two or three times a week I would take the dog for a long 5000 to 6000 step walk which would take me a good hour and was often celebrated with a well earned tub of Haagen Dazs in the summer. Or some TV time with a well olive oiled salad eaten with a (family sized) bag of tortilla chips.

And I am not kidding that the fish and chip place would see me at least twice a week for AYCE... cause AYCE fish and chips and regular pop (avoiding artificial sweeteners which everyone knows are unhealthy and cause diabetes!) was just $8 (it is now $11, by the way).

Not, on reflection, that 7 pieces of fish and two plates of chips were likely to be substantially more calories than the better part of a family bag of tortilla chips used to scoop up olive oil and lemon!

Yesterday I walked as much as I used to walk in a week. Actually, 13.5% of the past 1166 days for which I have records, I have walked more than the 25000 steps I believe were my approximate average weekly steps 4 years ago.

I no longer watch TV or read books. I listen to audio-books instead. The current dog was out for 2 hours yesterday. In a forested, hilly, trail.

I still visit the fish and chip place. In fact I am planning on going there with some friends next week. It will be my second time there this year. I have been to an all you can eat sushi place once this year. This was with family.

I have not gone through a McDonald drive through even one time this year. But I was down at McDonald's twice these past two days. Once to get a coffee and a vanilla cone on my way out with the dog for one of her walks, and once to get a decaf coffee while walking to the grocery store where I bought some artificially sweetened jello pudding powder that I whisked with some skim milk to make half a litre of pudding for 290 Cal.

For lunch yesterday I nuked a ready made Indian vegetarian meal (Pav Bhaji, without a Pav but with 2/3 of a roti instead). To which I added 130g of fresh tomatoes and 151g of grilled eggplant. Together with the 51g of Ipanema Banana brownies (compressed boiled bananas), the total came to less than 550 Calories.

Later in the day I grabbed a slice of pizza at Costco for 600 Calories! I note that I didn't grab a large or medium pizza for myself and that instead of having ice cream later on I made the aforementioned sugar/fat free pudding. Had I not been logging I would have happily eaten a second slice. And possibly a tub of ice cream.

I do not consider the changes I've made to be temporary and I intend to continue with them indefinitely.

Am I on a "diet" or am I in the midst of a "lifestyle" change?

Oh, lifestyle change for sure. Look at all the things you are doing differently now