Lifestyle Change

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AglaeaC
AglaeaC Posts: 1,974 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
What does lifestyle change mean to you? I'm not looking for a great debate here, but simply to get an idea of what people do perceive by these two words.
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  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    What does lifestyle change mean to you? I'm not looking for a great debate here, but simply to get an idea of what people do perceive by these two words.

    Changing the way I do things naturally so I exercise portion control, what i choose to eat i.e more healthily and take a bit of exercise. I would do them without thinking as a matter of habit and as a nornal every day thing rather than it being soemthing exceptional.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    i think its different for everyone - it very much depends on what you feel you need to change...

    for me, the biggest change was exercising regularly, i went from doing nothing to workign out at least 3 x a week, usually 5. and i am more aware of food choices.
  • Snip8241
    Snip8241 Posts: 767 Member
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    Taking the things I have learned here and doing them until they become habits. Consistency with exercising and eating properly will eventually become the way I live my life.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    Honestly it's such a cliche at this point that it's become basically meaningless to me.

    But in the beginning it meant making small changes that would be permanent. Instead of cutting out sugar, gluten, diet soda, and a dozen other things that would make me so miserable I'd fall off the wagon, just trying to build a diet that has its base in nutrient dense foods and that's flexible. Instead of running 2 hours per day 7 days per week, lifting 3 days per week and taking appropriate rest so as not to burn out.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
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    Lifestyle change is a fancy term for diet but it makes it feel better as it's implied it's a long term deal. But reality is, just as many people will fail at their lifestyle change as they would diet.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    Lifestyle change is a fancy term for diet but it makes it feel better as it's implied it's a long term deal. But reality is, just as many people will fail at their lifestyle change as they would diet.

    But exercise and moving more isnt diet and id say they were included.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
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    Lifestyle change is a fancy term for diet but it makes it feel better as it's implied it's a long term deal. But reality is, just as many people will fail at their lifestyle change as they would diet.

    But exercise and moving more isnt diet and id say they were included.

    Fair assumption, but the majority of time I hear lifestyle changes on this board, it's in reference to the diet portion. But even if you want to take the approach its fine.
  • mymodernbabylon
    mymodernbabylon Posts: 1,038 Member
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    For me it's the changes I've made to my life which I'll carry on for life:
    - eating an appropriate amount (not under-eating when I want to lose some weight & not over-eating when I want to maintain)
    - weight lifting - to keep as much muscle as I can through middle age and beyond
    - other exercise to keep fit and have fun
    - doing appropriate relaxation methods
    - eating more whole foods
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,021 Member
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    I agree it is bit of a trendy buzz word, basically meaning a long term diet ( and, yes, possibly long term exercise plan )
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
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    Thinking about it, I guess it is just mostly semantics. Catch words that I am guilty of using myself.

    For me, it was/is a change of eating habits and moving more. Educating myself about nutrition. Learning portion control and making better choices. Trying not to overindulge. Going from morbidly obese to "normal" weight. From sedentary (and I mean moving only when I absolutely had to) to working out in the gym 5 days a week and at least going for a walk the other two days.

    So eating habits and exercising regularly are the only two aspects of my "lifestyle" that have really changed.
  • timberowl
    timberowl Posts: 331 Member
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    Lifestyle change is the difference between your "morning routine" and a "day off".

    The difference between an "ocassional treat" and "staples."

    What goes in your grocery cart on "everyday ocassions" versus on a special ocassion.
  • AglaeaC
    AglaeaC Posts: 1,974 Member
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    Interesting replies so far! I had intended to put my own contribution in the OP, but it was more complex than expected, so had to ponder a bit more. Here goes:

    - Balanced nutrition; portion control, regular meals (I get cranky if I go too long without eating after which it's easy to go overboard), great macros (still struggling with enough protein), and moderation in everything (no "cheating" but baking something "unhealthy" such as ice cream or baked things into the daily calories without guilt).
    - Balanced movement; cardio and strength.
    - Moving instead of eating in response to stress and frustration.
    - Regular sleep; enough hours and regular hours.
    - Calm, balanced mind; daily meditation and mindfulness.

    Lifestyle change to me is something profound and what I aim to establish with the rest of my life in mind. To me it isn't semantics nor a trend or buzz word :)
  • gypsy_spirit
    gypsy_spirit Posts: 2,107 Member
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    In the simplest terms: This is now my healthy life in every way. No more, no less.
  • RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle
    RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle Posts: 1,349 Member
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    Today, it means getting off the pity pot and pushing myself to excel. Today it means going for it.
  • vegwrangler
    vegwrangler Posts: 143 Member
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    To me, a lifestyle change is restructuring the way I think about and pursue my perceived ideal on a daily basis.

    Replacing the "I can't wait to...[blank]...agains" with "I remember what...[blank]...was like and I don't want to feel/look that way again."

    Also, I look at lifestyle change as an opportunity to fill in the "blanks" with wholesome, healthy replacements. Happy hour? Sure, I'll go to the gym. Potato chips? Sure, I'll devour an entire bin of cherubs.

    When I started looking at it as what I put into my life, rather than what I am omitting, it suddenly sounded more appealing.
  • lthames0810
    lthames0810 Posts: 722 Member
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    I agree it is bit of a trendy buzz word, basically meaning a long term diet ( and, yes, possibly long term exercise plan )

    Yep, I agree with this.

    Your lifestyle is dependent on where you live, who you live with, your responsibilities to them, the demands of your job and the constraints of your budget among many other things. A divorce...that's a lifestyle change. Eating differently...that's a habit change. Exercising...that's a schedule change.

    The ordinary meaning of "lifestyle change" on these boards seems to center on eating and exercising, but also to mean wholesale changes in those areas. I don't recommend making too many changes all at once. It quickly becomes all consuming and a burden that's hard to sustain. The more you can stay with the "lifestyle" you enjoy while still achieving your goals, the greater your chance of success.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    It's a change in attitude about your life and your health. Those that are saying it's just a fancy term for diet are either missing the point or miss using the phrase. Diet has the same relationship to a lifestyle change that grain of sand has to a beach. It's a tiny element the same way activity is or being aware of your attitude to environment. You do not need to change your diet to have a lifestyle change you just need to be aware of it. Not all elements in the change will come together at once as it's a progression it's not like an on off switch it's a more organic process
  • rightoncommander
    rightoncommander Posts: 114 Member
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    To me, "lifestyle" in this context is a big pile of the healthy or unhealthy habits that add up to what you see in the mirror every morning. Lifestyle change, therefore, is an approach to weight loss that avoids temporary measures and adds healthy habits or removes unhealthy ones.

    That's why it's a shame when diets rebrand themselves as lifestyle changes, when really they're the opposite. They're just a way of fooling yourself that you can have a healthy body with an unhealthy lifestyle by going on a weight loss kick once in a while. If you look at food and wish you were allowed to eat it, you're on a diet. If you make plans for what you'll do/eat when you get to your target, you're on a diet. If you say or hear the words "keeping it off", you're on a diet. Let's be honest, if your weight loss plan doesn't involve physical activity, you're on a diet. And diets are just setting you up for failure.
  • MsHarryWinston
    MsHarryWinston Posts: 1,027 Member
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    To me a lifestyle change, ANY lifestyle change, is when a person changes their pattern of behavior that pertains to the way they live their life. On MFP lifestyle changes tend to revolve around nutrition, health and fitness. But that doesn't mean it's the ONLY lifestyle change a person implements.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,021 Member
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    It's a change in attitude about your life and your health. Those that are saying it's just a fancy term for diet are either missing the point or miss using the phrase. Diet has the same relationship to a lifestyle change that grain of sand has to a beach. It's a tiny element the same way activity is or being aware of your attitude to environment. You do not need to change your diet to have a lifestyle change you just need to be aware of it. Not all elements in the change will come together at once as it's a progression it's not like an on off switch it's a more organic process

    Meh, I changed my diet to reduce my calories, I exercised bit more than before, I got to my goal weight, I maintained that for nearly a year now.

    I know some people are saying lifestyle change is so profound etc etc - and for them maybe it is - but for me losing weight was just long term eat less, move more, anything else is just fancy terms for that IMO.
    Perhaps I am misusing the phrase but I don't think I am missing the point of weight loss.

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