Is anyone else sick of hearing the work 'diet'?

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Letshopeforthebest
Letshopeforthebest Posts: 85 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I guess it's because I've spent so many years on some type of diet.
And I just grown to hate the word, and the way it's used. Diet is a word that's suppose to describe your eating patterns. I feel like society associates the word diet with weight loss pills, quick-fix diets, yo-yo diets, low carb or low fat diets, I could go on and on.
Does anyone else feel this way?
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Replies

  • donyellemoniquex3
    donyellemoniquex3 Posts: 2,384 Member
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    I've never heard of the work diet. How do you do it ?
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
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    diet is the food eat.
  • Letshopeforthebest
    Letshopeforthebest Posts: 85 Member
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    diet is the food eat.

    I know it means that. But people that eat a regular amount of food and aren't watching their weight don't say
    ' I'm On a diet' . This is what frustrates me.
  • Letshopeforthebest
    Letshopeforthebest Posts: 85 Member
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    I've never heard of the work diet. How do you do it ?

    The word diet****
    Simple mistake.
  • _celesse
    _celesse Posts: 75 Member
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    My issue is less with the word itself and more with how people use it.

    "Oh, she's on a diet, she can't eat that."
    "I thought you were on a diet!"
    "I guess she's not dieting this week."

    Like..STFU with that noise! What I'm doing isn't a diet in the way they think of it - which is almost always the stupid **** like you mentioned. I'm changing my diet to something that is healthier and sustainable. There is no going back, unless I want to be fat and miserable. THAT's my issue.
  • Biggirllittledreams
    Biggirllittledreams Posts: 306 Member
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    I've never heard of the work diet. How do you do it ?

    The word diet****
    Simple mistake.

    When I talk about being healthier, I tell people that i'm not embarking on a diet, because (like was mentioned) a diet = the food we consume. I do tell them that I'm making dietary changes and improvements, which will last a heck of a lot longer than their diets, and most likely work a heck of a lot better as well.

    Diet culture is sadly very much so prevalent in our society- it's going to take a lot more than challenging the concept of 'a diet' vs. 'our dietary intake' to change that.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    My issue is less with the word itself and more with how people use it.

    "Oh, she's on a diet, she can't eat that."
    "I thought you were on a diet!"
    "I guess she's not dieting this week."

    Like..STFU with that noise! What I'm doing isn't a diet in the way they think of it - which is almost always the stupid **** like you mentioned. I'm changing my diet to something that is healthier and sustainable. There is no going back, unless I want to be fat and miserable. THAT's my issue.
    This. We all have a diet because we need it to survive.

    However, I grew up during the 60's and 70's when the verb diet meant you didn't eat certain foods, you ate crash diets and/or took over the counter appetite suppressants, It mean everybody got steak and potatoes and pie for desert and I got salad, vegetables, and no desert.

    Getting rid of the word "diet" in the context of what it takes for me to lose weight has completely changed my relationship with food. However, this is just me and may not be true for others.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,068 Member
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    English is a complex language - words can have more than one meaning.

    Is usually obvious from context which meaning is meant.

    Eg ' she is on a diet to fit into her new clothes'
    'Rice is a staple part of the diet of many people in Asia'

    Surely people can tell which sentence relates to trying to lose weight and which does not.

    Seems a non issue to me or at best an issue of semantics.
  • yungibear
    yungibear Posts: 138 Member
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    I feel you... u_u

    As soon as I turn down a cookie or something because I'm full or if I wanted to save my calories for something more satisfying, I get asked, "oh, so you're on a DIET now?"

    The confusion happens when I try to explain myself. I say, "I am watching what goes into my my diet," meaning, I don't eat crazy portions like before and would rather make intentional decisions between what I do or do not eat. However, people hear it as, "I am on a diet, I'm torturing myself. Please, try to test my mental willpower by peer pressuring me into eating the cookies."

    Then I start getting the "What are you doing on a DIET?! You're not fat! A cookie isn't going to kill you for Christ's sake!" or something along those lines. o_x

    The good intentions are there but ... I'm leading a perfectly happy lifestyle. Please leave me and my eating habits alone.
  • AwesomeGuy37
    AwesomeGuy37 Posts: 436 Member
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    Diet, to me and many others, means something temporary and restrictive.
    I'm not totally against restriction, but for just weight loss it isn't a factor. If you have a mental or physical health issue that calls for something restricted, then sometimes you don't have a choice. I'm fervently against the idea that this is something temporary.
  • manicautumn
    manicautumn Posts: 224 Member
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    It's the best when people equate diet with just eating salad. I'm like "screw that, if I eat salad it means that I can drink more later or treat myself to dessert". Hell, people don't even need to know you're working to lose weight if you eat what you want in moderation.

    (**I try to eat healthy, but it's so much easier to stick to my calories when I allow myself a glass of wine or gummy worms when I want them.)

    I also make a point to eat at more of a deficit on days that I'm not in social situations so that it's less of an issue if I have an extra drink or split some chicken wings.

    Diet reminds me of being 16 and not eating for a day until I got bored of it and saw ice cream. It's not about the food, it's a lifestyle thing. (Also, thank god for not being in high school anymore.)
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
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    I prefer to think of how I eat as an eating stratergy.

    To me the word diet makes me think of counting my calories and restricting the amount of food I can eat (basically being hungry and not being allowed to eat).
  • kellyskitties
    kellyskitties Posts: 475 Member
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    I have come to hate the words "lifestyle change" - because I've heard it too much and too many times when somebody says it - it isn't. It's just applying those words to another extreme plan.

    I can't even say I am doing a "lifestyle change" as I keep tweaking - what I try this week may not be permanent. It's more of a life in progress LOL

    Diet - to me is just how somebody eats - we're all on a diet, even if it's an unregulated eat like a hedonist diet.
  • scb515
    scb515 Posts: 133 Member
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    I think Weight Watchers call it a lifestyle change, which sounds better than diet. Diet has temporary connotations, and we have to permanently eat better to not revert to previous heights of fatness. I don't really have a name to describe what I'm doing, labelling anything can put pressure on.

    I just know what I'm doing is for me, and it's working, so I'm keeping at it. It's about getting a healthier BMI, but also feeling generally better within myself.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,454 Member
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    I like "diet", because it reminds me that what I eat is important! And it's just easy to say that I'm dieting, rather than that I'm having a lifestyle change (what does that even mean?). I know I'll always have to watch my diet, regardless of what I do with other aspects of my lifestyle, and the word reminds me of that.
  • crissi725
    crissi725 Posts: 82
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    I prefer to think of how I eat as an eating stratergy.

    To me the word diet makes me think of counting my calories and restricting the amount of food I can eat (basically being hungry and not being allowed to eat).

    ^^^ yes! I love this. I hate the word "diet" too. I don't want to give up anything. You are so spot on! Its a strategy. I've managed to keep eating full fat cheese and yogurt and enjoying a crazy indulgent French recipe just by being strategic. I'm still losing the weight steadily and the inches are melting off and the best part is having energy for my workouts!
  • Spiderkeys
    Spiderkeys Posts: 338 Member
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    Yes, to me it means "hunger and eating restrictions", despite the painful 4 letter word, I've lost over 120 pounds.
  • pseudomuffin
    pseudomuffin Posts: 1,058 Member
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    Yes, to me it means "hunger and eating restrictions", despite the painful 4 letter word, I've lost over 120 pounds.

    Woah, congrats!! 120 lbs is impressive. :drinker:

    Diet is just a word. If you don't like it you never, ever have to say it!
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    Guess when you have a sweet tooth, nobody ever asks you if you're on a diet :cry:
  • JSE81
    JSE81 Posts: 114 Member
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    Whatever word you use to describe it, it's only temporary. Remember you're eating at a caloric deficit to lose weight. It should not be a permanent lifestyle change. You'll be off your *insert whatever word you use to describe this* when you hit your goal weight, even if that is the same foods but an increase in portion.

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