Diet vs lifestyle

Yes it is. I don't see it as a diet. You have to maintain a healthy and good eatingschedule for live. It's a way of live. otherwise it won't be helpfull.

I knew the moment I decided to lose weight that my life was going to change. Food choices happen every day and feed into (pun intended) so many of our emotional needs. I think that's one reason it's so hard. But definitely if you want to be healthier and then maintain it, you will need to develop different habits and change your lifestyle. A diet ends and then your bound to slip back into your old ways again... It's human nature as we are creatures of habit.

Just tell yourself: "I don't (_________) anymore." I stopped drinking soda and would tell people, "no thanks, I don't drink soda." Eventually, I just became the person that didn't drink soda. Or tell yourself: "I have to go to the gym, b/c that's what I do." Eventually, you just become that person.

For me it is just repetition that becomes habit. We're all naturally creatures of habit and if we stick to a routine for a couple of weeks it becomes just part of the pattern of our daily choices. I also have to incorporate real world activities that require fitness and give me something competitive to work at. I suck at losing weight for the sake of losing weight, but if I incorporate the mindset of "I'm training in martial arts, or I want to build my way up to competing in triathlons", then the exercise and eating habits I've developed turn into something that is required for those goals and are not just something I arbitrarily decided to do to make my overall mass a smaller number.

My diet has become a life style within the month of starting. Simply because I don't deprive myself from foods I like, rather, I eat in portions now. I also found out that there was nothing wrong with the way I used to eat, but more so what I ate.
I also have not had a binge yet.

For example:
I eat a piece of chocolate here and there. Preferably dark chocolate, since I prefer that over milk chocolate. And since I know how to cook pretty good, I make sushi on my "cheat days" since its my favorite food ever.

My advice is not to deprive yourself from foods you like, but go with the healthier alternative rather than the same grind every time.
For instance, I don't typically fry my foods. I boil my meats before I bake them, and I weigh and measure everything. Cooking actually has become funner since I started this.

I think the difference between having a dieting mentality and making a lifestyle change may vary from person to person, so my thoughts are based on my own experiences.

For me, a dieting mentality is when I focus on the details of dieting. It oftentimes involves me being very focused on numbers and data - how many calories I am eating/burning, how much weight I can expect to lose in a given amount of time, how long until I reach my goal weight, etc. It is having "good days" and "bad days". It is feeling elated when the number on the scale matches or exceeds my expectations and being worried or even devastated when it does not. For me, a dieting mentality is kind of a can't see the forest for the trees type of thinking.

A lifestyle change is me letting go of that hyperfocus on numbers (but by no means ignoring them altogether). It is looking at the big picture. It is acknowledging when my way of thinking doesn't match reality, such as seeing the many shades of gray in situations rather than black and white thinking. It is trusting and enjoying the process rather than looking at the process as simply a means to get to an end as quickly as possible. It is making choices because they are healthy ones that I enjoy rather than because they will result in the best possible weight loss. It is being able to clearly see my stumbling blocks and find solutions that help me navigate around them effortlessly. I can still see the trees, but I recognize that they are pieces that fit together to make a breathtakingly beautiful forest.

To get my lifestyle mentality I focused on what I wanted to add into my life as opposed to things I wanted to cut out. For example I had the hardest time with vegetables - but I made it a goal that I wanted to have at least a serving of vegetables at every meal and a serving of fruit. It's taken a bit of practice, and much trial and error with different veggies and different cooking methods (I've finally settled on a brussel sprout/kale salad for lunches with lean protein that I love). I easily eat 3-5 servings of veggies a day and fruit as snacks now, which has helped me lose 30 pounds because I'm getting full on veggies instead of chips. After doing that for a few months I find that I crave veggies and fruit. Even on my lazy Sunday mornings my boyfriend will have his fried eggs, bacon, and hasbrowns but I'll still have my poached egg, arugula, roasted red pepper, and a little piece of bacon. Like other commenters have said after a few weeks/months of NOT having so much junk food you actually start to crave natural healthy foods.

IMO a diet is something that you do temporarily. It ends once you hit your goal weight. Do you think that once you lose weight you will continue to eat your "diet food"? Diets don't work long term for long term weight loss. That's why people on here talk about finding balance, not giving up a whole food group like sugar or wheat. You are creating an eating pattern that has to work for the rest of your life. If not, you are just on a diet and your loss will likely be as temporary as the diet was.