Life style change vs. dieting

Anna_Banana

Okay I read on here tons of you say that you are not dieting, but doing a life style change. I do think that there is a difference. I personally am dieting and doing a life style change.

To me a life style change is changing the way you do things. For many of us this is eating healthier food and exercising. With this I don't think you should have weight loss as a goal. Just living healthier is the goal. After you meet your goal of living healthier you continue doing the same.

To me dieting is consuming less calories than you need daily in order to lose weight. You keep track of the amount you consume so you can stay under your "limit". And you exercise with the goal to burn calories. Once you meet the goal, you then will consume a slightly higher calorie amount that will let you maintain that goal.

So to me dieting is trying to lose weight (sometimes the means is a life style change). vs a life style change is changing things that you normally do.

Love to hear what you think

discuse.

Anna_Banana

Okay I read on here tons of you say that you are not dieting, but doing a life style change. I do think that there is a difference. I personally am dieting and doing a life style change.

To me a life style change is changing the way you do things. For many of us this is eating healthier food and exercising. With this I don't think you should have weight loss as a goal. Just living healthier is the goal. After you meet your goal of living healthier you continue doing the same.

To me dieting is consuming less calories than you need daily in order to lose weight. You keep track of the amount you consume so you can stay under your "limit". And you exercise with the goal to burn calories. Once you meet the goal, you then will consume a slightly higher calorie amount that will let you maintain that goal.

So to me dieting is trying to lose weight (sometimes the means is a life style change). vs a life style change is changing things that you normally do.

Love to hear what you think

discuse.

kerrilucko

agreed. But when people say dieting they tend to be doing particular things to lose weight, such as exercising or eating more vegetables. They do this with the goal of weight loss in mind not with the goal of a healthier lifestyle in mind. This is only a temporary change. I think that is why people use he term life style change, because they have made a permanant change in how they manage their bodies. Yes, eating at a caloric deficit IS dieting but it's part of a larger change, not simply a diet.

3babybeans

hahaha with the "discuss". You're funny.

I agree with you & actually had this conversation with my husband the other night. Right now my goal is weight loss so I am more actively "dieting" but with "lifestyle change" as my ultimate goal. The two kind of go hand in hand. Once I get to my maintenance weight, then the "dieting" will be over & I can be a little more liberal about watching every single calorie that goes in my mouth, kwim? That's just my opinion on it. It'll (hopefully) forever be a lifestyle change, but for now, I need to "diet"...still, that's just an ugly word I think. :laugh:

Anna_Banana

Like I said. I feel like I'm doing both. Yes I am eating healthier and exercising and hope to make it permanant in my life. But for right now I'm also dieting, because I am eating at a deficit on purpose, not just because of the life style change.


I'm kind of board today I was hoping somebody with strong opinions on both side would hop in and argue and be entertaining.

Anna_Banana

but for now, I need to "diet"...still, that's just an ugly word I think. :laugh:

Should we use the term "slim down" for you?:bigsmile:

3babybeans

LOL Yes, thank you very much. How about "downsizing"? HA!

Would you like me to pretend to disagree with you? That might be interesting. :laugh:

Chellekk

I agree with you. At first I didn't, because I don't feel that I'm on a diet. I have always eaten pretty healthy and just needed to "tweak" my food choices and bit and not eat as much.

I'm here because, I myself just want to eat a well rounded and balanced diet, which is a life change, but then realized that my goal (for now) is to lose a few pounds, which is a diet.

I can't deny your thinking. It's the truth and I see it as the same. I believe this means we're on a diet until we reach our goal weight and then we're managing the life style change that got us there.

lessertess

Although I understand what you're saying, and I'm sure it works for you, for me I have to disagree. I am not dieting. This may all just be semantics but dieting has such negative connotations. Dieting implies a level of deprivation; that there are foods you can not eat or that you have to starve yourself. The normal understanding is to cut calories drastically, normally by denying certain foods. I can eat whatever I want as long as I maintain a SMALL deficit. If I decide to have a Big Mac, I can do that. It would never be allowed on a diet.

For most women 1600 -1800 calories a day is necessary to maintain. a healthy weight . That is, of course, assuming a healthy activity level. I'm eating that now but because I'm overweight, it represents a deficit. As I get closer and closer to my goal, my weight loss will slow down because, even though I'm eating the same amount, it will represent less and less of a deficit. Especially if you consider that your metabolism slows as you get older and the same calories that will maintain weight now may cause weight gain in the future.....:grumble: (Yet another good reason to continue strength training......)

As I'm on this journey I'm learning how to control myself at restaurants, make better choices if I have to go out to fast food, enjoy a thanksgiving meal, have dinner and drinks with a friend and popcorn at the movies and still maintain my weight (or weight loss). People who are thin do this automatically. I've had to learn. On a diet, I would simply avoid all of those situations in the short term and reward myself with these experiences after I've reached my goal.

A lifestyle change means that we are changing our relationship to food. Dieting implies a short term effort but no change in how you approach your relationship with food. In fact, the lifestyle change that so many of us are working towards is to stop the yo-yo dieting behaviors. The lifestyle change means controlling portions and making healthy choices forever. The "diet" doesn't end when I reach my goal weight. If it does, I'll be right back to where I started in a few years.

For me, I never reduced the amount of food I ate. In fact, I eat more now than I ever have. My calories were reduced more as a result of healtheir choices than from deliberate cuts. Interestingly, when I have a baked potato with salsa, it has less calories than french fries with ketchup and a grilled chicken breast is just as filling but a lot less calories one that is deep fried.

Weight loss was/is the short-term goal of this program. The long term goal is to maintain that weight loss.

Great discussion. It will be interesting to see what others say! Love a good debate

Renae_Nae

right now I still feel like I'm "dieting" because I haven't done it long enough to make is a completely lifestyle change. I'm still having to really watch what I do and treat it more as a "diet" so I stay on track.

Anna_Banana

So here is the difinition of diet

1 a: food and drink regularly provided or consumed b: habitual nourishment c: the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for a special reason d: a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one's weight

Now I'm on a diet an I do eat movie theater popcorn once a week. Since I'm on a diet, I can cut calories else where and/or exercise to add extra calories so I can indulge in treats. If I was completely on a life style change I would not be able to eat that because it is unhealthy and not part of a healthy life style. I am trying to live healthier, but I'm also trying to not change things so much that I wouldn't be able to maintain my goals once they are acheived. I follow a "regimem of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one's weight". I eat about 1200-1300 calories a day. When I'm no longer dieting I will be eating that 1700-1800 calories to maintain.

ranaelynn

Although I understand what you're saying, and I'm sure it works for you, for me I have to disagree. I am not dieting. This may all just be semantics but dieting has such negative connotations. Dieting implies a level of deprivation; that there are foods you can not eat or that you have to starve yourself. The normal understanding is to cut calories drastically, normally by denying certain foods. I can eat whatever I want as long as I maintain a SMALL deficit. If I decide to have a Big Mac, I can do that. It would never be allowed on a diet.

For most women 1600 -1800 calories a day is necessary to maintain. a healthy weight . That is, of course, assuming a healthy activity level. I'm eating that now but because I'm overweight, it represents a deficit. As I get closer and closer to my goal, my weight loss will slow down because, even though I'm eating the same amount, it will represent less and less of a deficit. Especially if you consider that your metabolism slows as you get older and the same calories that will maintain weight now may cause weight gain in the future.....:grumble: (Yet another good reason to continue strength training......)

As I'm on this journey I'm learning how to control myself at restaurants, make better choices if I have to go out to fast food, enjoy a thanksgiving meal, have dinner and drinks with a friend and popcorn at the movies and still maintain my weight (or weight loss). People who are thin do this automatically. I've had to learn. On a diet, I would simply avoid all of those situations in the short term and reward myself with these experiences after I've reached my goal.

A lifestyle change means that we are changing our relationship to food. Dieting implies a short term effort but no change in how you approach your relationship with food. In fact, the lifestyle change that so many of us are working towards is to stop the yo-yo dieting behaviors. The lifestyle change means controlling portions and making healthy choices forever. The "diet" doesn't end when I reach my goal weight. If it does, I'll be right back to where I started in a few years.

For me, I never reduced the amount of food I ate. In fact, I eat more now than I ever have. My calories were reduced more as a result of healtheir choices than from deliberate cuts. Interestingly, when I have a baked potato with salsa, it has less calories than french fries with ketchup and a grilled chicken breast is just as filling but a lot less calories one that is deep fried.

Weight loss was/is the short-term goal of this program. The long term goal is to maintain that weight loss.

Great discussion. It will be interesting to see what others say! Love a good debate

I land squarley on the same side of this debat as you. For me a diet is something you start and stop. It's a time when you don't let yourself have certain foods. I eat what I want but understand what it means when I eat it, I make CHOICES about food now. I drive by the fast food places more often then not but if I stop well then I stop. Mine is a life style change, not so much about a healthier life style, while that certainly is a nice side benefit. I have made a change in my lifestyle to ensure I never look in a mirror again and feel nothing but pure discust.:sick: My lifestyle change is about putting me first and doing what makes me feel good about me. When I finally shed the full 100lbs if all I have done is diet then I would fear that 100lbs would simply come right back - I have been there done that, this is different, this like teaching yourself a new language, or taking up a new carrer, it is a change in how I live.

arewethereyet

:flowerforyou:

I have had entire arguements in my head about this very subject (btw I always win!)

I call this a journey.

The 1st part of my journey I learned what foods where healthy, added exercise, and changed my entire life. I was eating carry out food 6 nites a week, and almost everything else was processed.

This leg of my journey I am restricting my caloric intake in order to reduce my weight.

The last leg (the rest of my life) will be to maintain said weight, and continue to make healthy choices so I can live a long, long life.

I always think of a diet as taking a pill, eating grapefruit 3x day, making cabbage soup, etc.

This feels more like a forever thing, not a die t.:flowerforyou:

shorerider

Nope, for me it's been all about the life change. I completely changed how I did things. Never exercised before--now I do 5 days a week and now can't imagine not exercising. I also changed how, when, and what I eat. I have cut back my calories but that is a permanent life thing, not a temporary adjustment.

The goal, for me, was weight loss but it's also been more of a "side benefit" of my life style change. If that makes sense.

HealthyKt78

Although I understand what you're saying, and I'm sure it works for you, for me I have to disagree. I am not dieting. This may all just be semantics but dieting has such negative connotations. Dieting implies a level of deprivation; that there are foods you can not eat or that you have to starve yourself. The normal understanding is to cut calories drastically, normally by denying certain foods. I can eat whatever I want as long as I maintain a SMALL deficit. If I decide to have a Big Mac, I can do that. It would never be allowed on a diet.

For most women 1600 -1800 calories a day is necessary to maintain. a healthy weight . That is, of course, assuming a healthy activity level. I'm eating that now but because I'm overweight, it represents a deficit. As I get closer and closer to my goal, my weight loss will slow down because, even though I'm eating the same amount, it will represent less and less of a deficit. Especially if you consider that your metabolism slows as you get older and the same calories that will maintain weight now may cause weight gain in the future.....:grumble: (Yet another good reason to continue strength training......)

As I'm on this journey I'm learning how to control myself at restaurants, make better choices if I have to go out to fast food, enjoy a thanksgiving meal, have dinner and drinks with a friend and popcorn at the movies and still maintain my weight (or weight loss). People who are thin do this automatically. I've had to learn. On a diet, I would simply avoid all of those situations in the short term and reward myself with these experiences after I've reached my goal.

A lifestyle change means that we are changing our relationship to food. Dieting implies a short term effort but no change in how you approach your relationship with food. In fact, the lifestyle change that so many of us are working towards is to stop the yo-yo dieting behaviors. The lifestyle change means controlling portions and making healthy choices forever. The "diet" doesn't end when I reach my goal weight. If it does, I'll be right back to where I started in a few years.

For me, I never reduced the amount of food I ate. In fact, I eat more now than I ever have. My calories were reduced more as a result of healtheir choices than from deliberate cuts. Interestingly, when I have a baked potato with salsa, it has less calories than french fries with ketchup and a grilled chicken breast is just as filling but a lot less calories one that is deep fried.

Weight loss was/is the short-term goal of this program. The long term goal is to maintain that weight loss.

Great discussion. It will be interesting to see what others say! Love a good debate

I agree with you also. I am not on a diet. I am not limiting my self from eating anything. I am allowing myself to eat whatever I crave just in smaller portions and only if i'm still within my calorie limit. The portions are my biggest problem and just eating smaller until I lose all my weight is in no way a benefit to me. If I went back to eating the way I used to then I would just be in the same place I started. That's why 'diets' don't really work. You have to completely change the way you think and go about food and exercise or you never made any progress. That's how I see it.

AJCM

One thought to add.....

One can eat healthfully, yet still consume too many calories of that healthy food, so there is a difference between "eating healthfully/living healthfully" and "dieting" or for those that don't like that term, "creating a deficit between calories consumed, and calories expended".

ranaelynn

One final comment from me - well may be :glasses:

Anyway all I know is that with 60lbs gone people around me have noticed and so I am often asked "what are you doing" When I start to explain to them that I have changed everything about my life, what I eat, when I eat, plus exercise, every time their eyes just glaze over and they lose interest. I have found that what they really mean is 'what quick and easy diet did you use' They want me to tell them - oh I cut out all bread, or I only eat salad, or I am doing the south beach, south pole, or whatever crazy fad diet , or that I am popping this pill or that drink. Because everyone is looking for that quick fix diet. I'm doing what you hear all the expects tell you to do, eat right, exercise and be patient, never the answer they are looking for, but certainly the answer that is working for me :blushing:

jenninsocal

I always say I'm dieting, even though it is also a life style change. I actually posted about this in my blog. I see a lot saying "Im NOT on a diet", but I looked up the definition of diet, and pretty much it is watching what you eat for healthy reasons, lol. So I just say diet, even though the word scared me. Im not sure why. I guess society has pinpointed the word diet as something that fat people do to get skinny, and I hate that that is how it is viewed. Really being on a diet is changing what you eat for better health and wellbeing!

keiko

Anna, I'm curious, don't you think you will gain weight back when you up your calories?
Kelly

I eat healthy most days. Popcorn is one of my favorite snacks, I eat it a few times a week. I don't think of popcorn as unhealthy. It is way better than chips....

3babybeans

One final comment from me - well may be :glasses:

Anyway all I know is that with 60lbs gone people around me have noticed and so I am often asked "what are you doing" When I start to explain to them that I have changed everything about my life, what I eat, when I eat, plus exercise, every time their eyes just glaze over and they lose interest. I have found that what they really mean is 'what quick and easy diet did you use' They want me to tell them - oh I cut out all bread, or I only eat salad, or I am doing the south beach, south pole, or whatever crazy fad diet , or that I am popping this pill or that drink. Because everyone is looking for that quick fix diet. I'm doing what you hear all the expects tell you to do, eat right, exercise and be patient, never the answer they are looking for, but certainly the answer that is working for me :blushing:

HA! The south pole diet! Does that consist of ice cubes & an occassional penguin? LOL I get the same reaction. My SIL asked me what my secret is & I told her "I bust my *kitten* every day! I watch what i eat & I exercise like crazy." She looked at me like it was some sort of foreign idea. People are looking for that magic pill. I couldn't agree with you more on this!!

ranaelynn

One final comment from me - well may be :glasses:

Anyway all I know is that with 60lbs gone people around me have noticed and so I am often asked "what are you doing" When I start to explain to them that I have changed everything about my life, what I eat, when I eat, plus exercise, every time their eyes just glaze over and they lose interest. I have found that what they really mean is 'what quick and easy diet did you use' They want me to tell them - oh I cut out all bread, or I only eat salad, or I am doing the south beach, south pole, or whatever crazy fad diet , or that I am popping this pill or that drink. Because everyone is looking for that quick fix diet. I'm doing what you hear all the expects tell you to do, eat right, exercise and be patient, never the answer they are looking for, but certainly the answer that is working for me :blushing:

HA! The south pole diet! Does that consist of ice cubes & an occassional penguin? LOL I get the same reaction. My SIL asked me what my secret is & I told her "I bust my *kitten* every day! I watch what i eat & I exercise like crazy." She looked at me like it was some sort of foreign idea. People are looking for that magic pill. I couldn't agree with you more on this!!

Always cracks me up - don't they think that if there really was an quick / easy way to do this we would be screaming it from the roof tops. Heck we would be bottling it and selling it ! :noway:

arewethereyet

One final comment from me - well may be :glasses:

Anyway all I know is that with 60lbs gone people around me have noticed and so I am often asked "what are you doing" When I start to explain to them that I have changed everything about my life, what I eat, when I eat, plus exercise, every time their eyes just glaze over and they lose interest. I have found that what they really mean is 'what quick and easy diet did you use' They want me to tell them - oh I cut out all bread, or I only eat salad, or I am doing the south beach, south pole, or whatever crazy fad diet , or that I am popping this pill or that drink. Because everyone is looking for that quick fix diet. I'm doing what you hear all the expects tell you to do, eat right, exercise and be patient, never the answer they are looking for, but certainly the answer that is working for me :blushing:

HA! The south pole diet! Does that consist of ice cubes & an occassional penguin? LOL I get the same reaction. My SIL asked me what my secret is & I told her "I bust my *kitten* every day! I watch what i eat & I exercise like crazy." She looked at me like it was some sort of foreign idea. People are looking for that magic pill. I couldn't agree with you more on this!!

Always cracks me up - don't they think that if there really was an quick / easy way to do this we would be screaming it from the roof tops. Heck we would be bottling it and selling it ! :noway:

I tell them Oh Yeah... I am on the broccolli diet. Ooooh Ahhhh they say, what is that one. OH I eat Broccolli instead of potato chips!! :huh: they are not happy:bigsmile: I am

Crystal_Cherry

agreed

but personally.. i think when we change our eating habbits a nd exercise.. that in itself is a lifestyle change which eventually leads to a healthier happier you

so thats a step.. towards a happy life

Anna_Banana

Anna, I'm curious, don't you think you will gain weight back when you up your calories?
Kelly

I eat healthy most days. Popcorn is one of my favorite snacks, I eat it a few times a week. I don't think of popcorn as unhealthy. It is way better than chips....

Like I said before I'm doing a life style change and dieting. I hope not to gain weight back. Yes I will be eating more calories than I am now, but now I'm eating at a rate that will allow me to lose weight. When I eat more calories I'm hoping to eat at that healthy medium where I'll maintain weight and not lose or gain. The main reason I gained weight in the first place was due to a medical problem and now everything from that is pretty much balanced out.

Okay. Here is my question for you lifestyle change people. If your lifestyle has changed why do you still eat junk, but in smaller amounts? See to me that sounds like a diet, because you are just eating less of the same thing.

Now I know there are people out there like rider that are doing things that they never have done before and have completely changed their life. And as a result lost weight. But I have alway exercised and ate fairly healthy, the only thing I'm really doing differently now is just eating less and drinking more water. Eventually I'll eat more, but not as much as I was before, but not as little as I am now.

Phoenixflame

I like to see myself as a corporation that has changed direction and is experiencing a period of downsizing.

Anna_Banana

I like to see myself as a corporation that has changed direction and is experiencing a period of downsizing.

lol:laugh: :laugh:

GTOgirl1969

My journey may have started out as a "diet"...let's not sugarcoat it, I was too big and needed to lose some weight...but it has turned into a new lifestyle for me. I look at food as "fuel" for my body now, not as a reward or punishment system. I guess I eat to live, not live to eat.

lessertess

Anna, I'm curious, don't you think you will gain weight back when you up your calories?
Kelly

I eat healthy most days. Popcorn is one of my favorite snacks, I eat it a few times a week. I don't think of popcorn as unhealthy. It is way better than chips....

Like I said before I'm doing a life style change and dieting. I hope not to gain weight back. Yes I will be eating more calories than I am now, but now I'm eating at a rate that will allow me to lose weight. When I eat more calories I'm hoping to eat at that healthy medium where I'll maintain weight and not lose or gain. The main reason I gained weight in the first place was due to a medical problem and now everything from that is pretty much balanced out.

Okay. Here is my question for you lifestyle change people. If your lifestyle has changed why do you still eat junk, but in smaller amounts? See to me that sounds like a diet, because you are just eating less of the same thing.

Now I know there are people out there like rider that are doing things that they never have done before and have completely changed their life. And as a result lost weight. But I have alway exercised and ate fairly healthy, the only thing I'm really doing differently now is just eating less and drinking more water. Eventually I'll eat more, but not as much as I was before, but not as little as I am now.

Hi Anna,

Nice to see the debate continues! For me the "lifestyle change" was not that I would eat healthy 100% of the time. In the past, I thought little about what/how/when I ate. I'm an emotional eater and a binge eater. Although I understood nutrition, I seldom if ever applied it to what I ate. Over the years I've found myself existing on TONS of refined carbs, lots of sugar etc. Whereas before I might eat 80% junk and 20% healthy now I eat 90% healthy and 10% junk (if that).

There are a number of reasons for this. In today's society eating 100% healthy is nearly impossible....or at least it takes a level of effort that I'm not willing to employ. I like food and I enjoy the social aspect of food. I enjoy going out with friends and I like exploring foods. My lifestyle goal was to achieve a more balanced approach. This is an approach that is realistic in my life, allows me to become healthier without becoming one of those annoying people who constantly obsess about every bite that they eat.

Everyone in the world is on a diet....some on a calorie deficit diet, some on a healthy diet, some on a colorie rich diet, etc. Any food regimen is considered a "diet" by definition. But as I said in my earlier post, the connotation is very different. The common definition of a diet implies that it is short term, involves a short term change, and usually involves deprivation. The psychological effects of deprivation cause most people to go on binge/starve cycles. They binge for the "one last fling" prior to starting the diet, then are extraordinarily disciplined for about 2-4 weeks, and then feel frustrated and deprived and give up. The normal result being that they gain weight.

I think one of the primary differences in our approaches has to do with why we are doing this.

You gained weight as the result of a medical condition not as the result of a poor lifestyle choice. Whereas, I got to where I am today through poor choices. A "diet" won't fix it for me in the way that it will for you. I had to change how I approached food. Although the majority of us have the same goal: to lose weight, our motivations and approaches differ as do the reasons for how we got here.

I think you'll find that the majority of us that are trying to loose 30 pounds or more have a story similar to mine, if they are being honest with themselves. We ate too much, ate poorly in terms of nutrition, went on yo-you diets that exasperated the problem, and exercised too little. For us, diets are part of the problem.

lessertess

One final comment from me - well may be :glasses:

Anyway all I know is that with 60lbs gone people around me have noticed and so I am often asked "what are you doing" When I start to explain to them that I have changed everything about my life, what I eat, when I eat, plus exercise, every time their eyes just glaze over and they lose interest. I have found that what they really mean is 'what quick and easy diet did you use' They want me to tell them - oh I cut out all bread, or I only eat salad, or I am doing the south beach, south pole, or whatever crazy fad diet , or that I am popping this pill or that drink. Because everyone is looking for that quick fix diet. I'm doing what you hear all the expects tell you to do, eat right, exercise and be patient, never the answer they are looking for, but certainly the answer that is working for me :blushing:

HA! The south pole diet! Does that consist of ice cubes & an occassional penguin? LOL I get the same reaction. My SIL asked me what my secret is & I told her "I bust my *kitten* every day! I watch what i eat & I exercise like crazy." She looked at me like it was some sort of foreign idea. People are looking for that magic pill. I couldn't agree with you more on this!!

Always cracks me up - don't they think that if there really was an quick / easy way to do this we would be screaming it from the roof tops. Heck we would be bottling it and selling it ! :noway:

Have to agree with you on this one. Whenever someone asks me what I'm doing they are hoping I have some magic pill or belong to a secret society that has cornered the market on a weight loss elixer. They just glaze over when I mention anything else. I've just given up trying to explain.

joann

It really doesnt matter what its called as long as it is working for you. Life style change yes..healthier eating yes....some people as myself will have to do this for the rest of my life to keep the weight off..so do I want to be on a diet for the rest of my life...heck no...Ive already been on a diet for 50 years and I am still fat....so I guess dieting didnt work for me..but since I have been eating healthy and change my life style I have lost over 40 lbs...but like I said that works for me...

psantacruz

Well said, lessertess.

You know, when people have asked me about my weight loss, I've told them "Dieting and exercise", but I think I'll start saying "A lifestyle change". Really, that's what it is. I'm eating things I'd never eat in the past (veggies, turkey burgers), but that's because I've chosen to SUBSTITUTE items, not cut them out completely.

For example, I *love* pizza. Love love love it. But now, rather than get 5 slices of my favorite pepperoni on regular crust, I might get a veggie lover on an ultra-thin one and split it. Or if I do get that a piece of that regular crust one, I only get one or two slices max. Rather than deny myself things, I just try to be smarter about it.