It's Not a Dirty Word

Cameo530
Cameo530 Posts: 155 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I hate the way "Diet" has become such a negative and now we all have to say "Lifestyle Change" instead. According to Merriam Webster, I have a diet, which (if you look at the last couple of lines) means MANNER OF LIFE:

Definition 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 <going on a diet>
2
: something provided or experienced repeatedly <a diet of Broadway shows and nightclubs — Frederick Wyatt>
Origin of DIET
Middle English diete, from Anglo-French, from Latin diaeta, from Greek diaita, literally, manner of living, from diaitasthai to lead one's life
First Known Use: 13th century

Sorry, just a minor rant because buzz-words tend to irritate me.

Replies

  • GnochhiGnomes
    GnochhiGnomes Posts: 348 Member
    I agree. Diet doesn't always mean a temporary fix to weight loss although it unfortunately has become to mean the same thing.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    Minor correction: "diet" does not mean "manner of life". You're looking at its Greek origin.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Me too!!! I cringe every time I read "it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change". I'm on DIET!! And I'm proud of it. :love:
  • Cameo530
    Cameo530 Posts: 155 Member
    Okay, yeah. I worded the part about "Manner of Life" poorly. The word CAME from a word that meant "Manner of Life". When I think about my diet, I tend to think more along the lines of habitual nourishment. My diet is everything I eat, good and bad.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Me too!!! I cringe every time I read "it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change". I'm on DIET!! And I'm proud of it. :love:

    Guilty. But - in my defense - I say that almost always when someone says they want to do something crazy with what they're eating to lose weight really, really fast.

    Yeah, we all have a diet - it's what we put in our mouths. But being 'on a diet' means you are doing something specific for a delimited period of time usually to achieve a specific goal.

    You can say 'gluten-free diet' and mean you're on it for the rest of your life. But often people say they're on diet who mean they are changing what they're eating until they achieve a specific weight loss goal and then going back to their old habits. All the research says that won't help. They'll take it all off and then put it back on again.

    (I'll duck now).
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    You are easily offended :flowerforyou:
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Me too!!! I cringe every time I read "it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change". I'm on DIET!! And I'm proud of it. :love:

    But being 'on a diet' means you are doing something specific for a delimited period of time usually to achieve a specific goal.

    This ^^ is pretty much true. I am on a diet to improve the quality of my life and hopefully lengthen it. It is for a specific period of time, because once this life is over, so will my diet be over. Any time someone asks if I am on diet my answer is "Always".
  • KIMBAILEYWILLIAMSON
    KIMBAILEYWILLIAMSON Posts: 258 Member
    I like what nxd10 said.

    (no need to duck LOL)

    I feel like I am watching my diet not on a diet. (if that makes sense it does to me)
  • Cameo530
    Cameo530 Posts: 155 Member
    Not easily offended, actually not offended at all.

    Easily irritated? :blushing: Guilty. Gotta quit letting little things irk me, but the demonizing of words is sort of a pet peeve.
  • Cameo530
    Cameo530 Posts: 155 Member


    I feel like I am watching my diet not on a diet. (if that makes sense it does to me)

    This is more like how I feel. I want a healthy diet instead of a diet consisting of Whoppers and Fries.

    Well, no. What I really want is for Whoppers and Fries to be healthy so I can include them in my diet! Sorry, leaving Dreamland now.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    I've never seen anyone here demonize the word "diet".

    They frown on the idea of being on a diet since it has been shown over and over again that temporarily changing eating patterns to achieve weight loss does not keep the weight off for long.

    People enjoy hearing about healthy changes to a person's diet.

    This is the first thread I have seen to ever accuse "diet" of being a bad word.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Why must a diet be temporary? Whether you call it a lifestyle change or a diet, if it's temporary you will likely be right back where you started.

    I've been on my current diet for over 35 years.
  • Cameo530
    Cameo530 Posts: 155 Member
    It's just that I swear whenever I read the word "diet" in someone's post on here, at least half the following responses will include the words, "It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change."

    Well, if I'm changing what I eat for the purpose of gaining, losing, or maintaining weight, then I'm on a diet and that diet will not remain static. It will change as my weight and activity levels and metabolism and age all change, with one underlying theme. I want to be healthy.

    I understand that people are just trying to encourage others to understand that eating healthy is something they need to do for the rest of their lives, not just for 3 months or a year or whatever. The "It's not a diet" thing still irks me, but that's just me. I'll just keep trying to skip the phrase if I see it coming. :)
  • Cameo530
    Cameo530 Posts: 155 Member
    This is the first thread I have seen to ever accuse "diet" of being a bad word.

    I'm not accusing it of being a bad word, I'm saying I wish others would quit treating it like it is.
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
    I figure whatever works for people, and sometimes using a different way of phrasing something helps relieve anxiety over whatever it that is happening. I don't usually say the word "diet" because it implies that I am following some kind of prescribed eating plan for a limited time in order to reach a (temporary) goal. I call it "eating clean."

    "Diet" sounds way to temporary to me. But "lifestyle change" also sounds to restrictive. "Eating clean" is the best description I can think of to describe what I'm doing to become healthy. I also include "Free Day" when I don't limit myself at all and eat whatever it is I want to eat.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member


    I feel like I am watching my diet not on a diet. (if that makes sense it does to me)

    This is more like how I feel. I want a healthy diet instead of a diet consisting of Whoppers and Fries.

    Well, no. What I really want is for Whoppers and Fries to be healthy so I can include them in my diet! Sorry, leaving Dreamland now.

    Exactly.
  • millyvanilli321
    millyvanilli321 Posts: 236 Member
    The word diet has now lost all meaning to me having read it so many times. Say it over and over again, it's funny.

    diet diet diet diet diet diet diet diet diet...

    On a slightly more mature note - I often get the response "Oh! you're not DIETING are you?" when i go out for dinner with friends and chose the not-fried option...I generally just say "no, just trying to eat and be a little healthier", which is exactly what i'm trying to do :)

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