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What to call a diet that is just based on reduced calories?
Replies
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lemurcat12 wrote: »Yep. I don't mind the term diet.
problem is it just means "what you eat".
problem is that we've already forgotten the OP
"What should that way of eating be called, when one is not following or incorporating any other food specific woes (like paleo, LCHF, vegan) in their diet?"
I would go with "standard diet"0 -
Gianfranco_R wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Yep. I don't mind the term diet.
problem is it just means "what you eat".
problem is that we've already forgotten the OP
"What should that way of eating be called, when one is not following or incorporating any other food specific woes (like paleo, LCHF, vegan) in their diet?"
I would go with "standard diet"
But a weight loss diet is not a standard diet, it has less calories, and usually more nutrient dense for those calories. A "modified standard diet", maybe.0 -
kommodevaran wrote: »Gianfranco_R wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Yep. I don't mind the term diet.
problem is it just means "what you eat".
problem is that we've already forgotten the OP
"What should that way of eating be called, when one is not following or incorporating any other food specific woes (like paleo, LCHF, vegan) in their diet?"
I would go with "standard diet"
But a weight loss diet is not a standard diet, it has less calories, and usually more nutrient dense for those calories. A "modified standard diet", maybe.
well, if someone says "I've lost 50lb on a standard diet" we can assume that it was calorie restricted
I think that incorporating "more nutrient dense" food already describes a WOE.
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lemurcat12 wrote: »Yep. I don't mind the term diet.
problem is it just means "what you eat".
Depends on context. The context is rarely if ever difficult to understand.0 -
Gianfranco_R wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Yep. I don't mind the term diet.
problem is it just means "what you eat".
problem is that we've already forgotten the OP
"What should that way of eating be called, when one is not following or incorporating any other food specific woes (like paleo, LCHF, vegan) in their diet?"
I would go with "standard diet"
Why standard diet? Standard to whom? We aren't assuming people eat any particular diet or that they don't change up their diet when losing weight (as most probably do, even flexible dieters).
WOE is a dumb term that most off of MFP would likely not understand. They'd understand "I'm dieting" or "I low carb" or "I'm doing the Zone" and so on. This stress on everyone having some special way of eating that needs a name and the idea (expressed especially offensively by lisawinn... above) that if you don't you don't pay attention to nutrition or even normal American ideas of what a balanced meal should look like (for example, meat, veg, starch) and just gobble down Twinkies willy-nilly is, IMO, the problem with communication on this board.0 -
It is going to be labelled though. It may not need a label, but it's most likely going to be labelled.
No, it isn't. Maybe you have some driving need to "label" it, but the rest of us are fine with simple cutting calories/eating less, whatever.
Good grief. The things people worry about.0 -
I can honestly say I haven't really thought about what to name what I'm doing. I changed jobs november last year and someone recently asked if I was on a health kick because they saw my lunches a few times in a row (basically a ton of vegetables with hummus or similar) and I basically said not really I have been eating like this for years (which is true) not sure why it hadn't been noticed before I tend to eat a pretty veggie dense lunch every day be it soup, salad or veg with dip kind of format. It's become a way of life so can you then still call it dieting? I don't know....
When people ask how I lost the weight I simply say calorie counting and if they want more detail I mention mfp. Do I eat differently? Sure but that's mainly due to the fact I can get more bulk out of fruit and veg than bread and snacks, I still eat them but less often. It's definitely been a gradual thing so it doesn't feel like I've changed eating habits, but looking back I have. I won't change back to my old habits so I suppose it would be called a lifestyle change (I'm hoping my recently aquired fitbit will do the same to the activity side).0 -
EvgeniZyntx wrote: »CARPE DIEM
Calorie Assumption Regarding Protein & Energie Diet Including Exercise Metabolism
Nice. Or even CARPE DIET. T=thermogenesis
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In defense of using Way of Eating (WOE) instead of Dietwhen describing food decisions.
I think diet (as a verb) is often associated with a dieting with a specific end goal. It tends to be associated with a plan to lose weight quickly and not necessarily as a lifelong commitment. As an 80's kid, I associate "diet" with the yo-yoing my mom did, weird prepackaged foods, and a short-term commitment to weight loss, not necessarily health.
Now is this the literal meaning of the Diet as a verb? Not necessarily, but it is a colloquial usage familiar to many. If I told people I was dieting, they would question why as I am already slender and healthy. When I say I have a WOE, it's accepted as life choice.
Whether you are eating solely at a calorie reduction, eating clean, vegan, Paleo, or whatever else, you can refer to your diet as Way of Eating so it's not excluding any form of dieting as long as the individual intends to make the choices they believe are healthier as a lifelong decision. Thus, it's not offensive. Any way of eating is a WOE.
Another word which tends to be associated with "diet" is "cheating." I can't "cheat" on a WOE. It's just a choice I made and can adjust my choices in the future to maximize personal wellness. (I hate the moral implications of the word "cheat" in relation to food as well...)
Feel free to use diet (as a verb) if that is your preference. We all still have our respective diets (as a noun).0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Yep. I don't mind the term diet.
problem is it just means "what you eat".
If I tell people I'm "on a diet", I'm sure the majority knows exactly what this means..0 -
JustMissTracy wrote: »I just call it eating. Less.
+10 -
Diet as a verb means eating with a calorie deficit.
Diet as a noun is what's really meant by way of eating (I think "way of eating" is unnecessary and pretentious, but it's specifically the acronym WOE that I was saying was silly).
Most "ways of eating" or "diets" that are more than individual or broadly cultural are easily described by what they are without use of either term: I am a vegetarian. I prefer to eat low carb. I am paleo (that one might need explanation, depending on who you are talking to).
The vast majority of people likely feel no calling to define their "way of eating," but that does not mean they don't think about or care about how they eat or that they aren't concerned with health (or that the way they eat isn't influenced by sensible health advice). For example, I have a co-worker who would probably say he follows no special diet, but I know he's read and paid some attention to Walter Willett's book Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy.
No one can cheat on a diet as a noun unless it's some special diet with rules from outside (like paleo). That's actually one reason I dislike named diets. I think diets ought to be largely individual, not based on what someone else prescribes.0 -
JustMissTracy wrote: »I just call it eating. Less.
Yeah, I was going to say, isn't it just 'a diet'? Sorta like "What do they call Boston lettuce in Boston?"0 -
Has anyone actually been asked if they mean the verb or noun when they tell people they are on a diet? :huh:0
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Christine_72 wrote: »Has anyone actually been asked if they mean the verb or noun when they tell people they are on a diet? :huh:
Anyone that's asked me doesn't really care beyond "I'm eating less". They're more concerned about me eating desserts and Naughty Carbs.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »I think diets ought to be largely individual, not based on what someone else prescribes.
I totally agree with you! With that said, some people prefer the restriction of "named" diets when they are initially starting. It creates an initial roadmap, one that can be adjusted as one moves forward. It reminds me of writing essays in school. For example, I was told not to use contractions in formal writing. Of course, by university, it became the norm to break that rule for the sake of voice or to just not sound like Data from Star Trek.
Jack Kerouac broke all the rules when he wrote On the Road and created a masterpiece, a 13-year old attempting the same would create a very poor blog.
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fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »It is going to be labelled though. It may not need a label, but it's most likely going to be labelled.
No, it isn't. Maybe you have some driving need to "label" it, but the rest of us are fine with simple cutting calories/eating less, whatever.
Good grief. The things people worry about.
LOL I'm not worried. I am just hoping to have a term so I am not corrected on MFP. 0 -
fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »It is going to be labelled though. It may not need a label, but it's most likely going to be labelled.
No, it isn't. Maybe you have some driving need to "label" it, but the rest of us are fine with simple cutting calories/eating less, whatever.
Good grief. The things people worry about.
LOL I'm not worried. I am just hoping to have a term so I am not corrected on MFP.
I suspect after 5 pages, you are no closer to an answer. On MFP, everyone gets corrected :laugh:0 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »It is going to be labelled though. It may not need a label, but it's most likely going to be labelled.
No, it isn't. Maybe you have some driving need to "label" it, but the rest of us are fine with simple cutting calories/eating less, whatever.
Good grief. The things people worry about.
LOL I'm not worried. I am just hoping to have a term so I am not corrected on MFP.
I suspect after 5 pages, you are no closer to an answer. On MFP, everyone gets corrected :laugh:
LOL Good point.0 -
I have used calorie counting, eating in moderation, but nowadays I just say I am being mindful. No one really cares anyway as all of theses things sound so boring.
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