What's the difference between a lifestyle change and a diet?
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Lifestyle in my mind implies something automatically done, a daily action or habit. You know what you need to do, and you just do it. For example I get up and do some form of exercise every morning. If I'm short in time, I'll cut it short but I never blow the whole thing off. That's my life. Yesterday at Trader Joes I automatically went for the nutrtion data to check calories and servings. Then I started thinking of how these foods would fit into my day. Calorie counting became my lifestyle.0
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GoCleanGoLean wrote: »I know I'm supposed to be doing a lifestyle change, but if the new lifestyle is counting calories, isn't that just a diet? If I decide to count calories for the rest of my life, does that count as a lifestyle change? How much has to change before a diet becomes a lifestyle?
Paying attention to what you eat is the 'lifestyle change'. Logging my calories every day helps me build that habit with some accountability or feedback.
I think I will log calories through 1-2 months in maintenance mode, so I'm stable at the higher calorie count and don't revert to old habits. I expect I'll then be able to ballpark my daily calories in my head, before I decide to grab an extra doughnut.
They say research shows it takes ~66 days for something to become an automatic habit.
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The trope "It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change" has become so embedded that people use it preemptively. I recall a few threads where new posters wrote something in the vein of "I'm on day 3 of my 'new lifestyle' and..."3
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GoCleanGoLean wrote: »ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »Diets DO work. Just not the "diet" we see mentioned. When people say they are ON a diet this usually implies a short term change in their way of eating for what they hope to be a permanent result which usually is not permanent because they did not make a permanent change.
When we hear someone say something like, "MY diet i consist of...." or "My diet is mostly...." they are usually referring to their diet as a permanent change which is a part of a lifestyle. Not just a temporary change.
While the word semantics seem absurd they matter in this case. When I say, " My diet is low carb" I mean that this is my lifestyle. Not "I am on a low carb diet" as a temporary fix. When we stop thinking of adopting a temporary change such as "going on a diet" and adopt a permanent change with a sensible diet we then change our success. So you may not want to "go on a diet" that is just going to end and land you right back where you started but rather change your existing diet to promote health, weight loss, relief from gastrointestinal woes etc...
I see what you mean. Going ON a diet implies that the diet itself is not an integral part of your being. But saying something is MY diet implies that the diet is a part of who you are.
Why is this sounding so wishy washy and mushy!? I promise it's not.
I don't know. It's all mental I suppose. When a commitment towards a healthy diet and we look towards changing how we eat as a part of our life it's more meaningful. Think of dating. Some people date with no intentions of a serious relationship. Others are looking for a commitment with that person who makes their life complete. When we do enough shopping around for the wrong people ( or the wrong diet) we start to see where we are going wrong and eventually opt for the right one. Some people are content always looking for love (or health or weight loss) in all the wrong places. Others settle down with "the one".0 -
The trope "It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change" has become so embedded that people use it preemptively. I recall a few threads where new posters wrote something in the vein of "I'm on day 3 of my 'new lifestyle' and..."
Yeah...and to add, people tend to talk a good talk but most often actually fail long term to implement any meaningful change to the way they live their lives...3 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »The trope "It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change" has become so embedded that people use it preemptively. I recall a few threads where new posters wrote something in the vein of "I'm on day 3 of my 'new lifestyle' and..."
Yeah...and to add, people tend to talk a good talk but most often actually fail long term to implement any meaningful change to the way they live their lives...
I'm in a group of people losing 100+ lbs, so I invite newbies who post they've started their change and want support. This allows me to go back and see who didn't accept the invitation after a week. Most came to MFP for a couple days/posts and haven't been back.
It would be interesting to do some analysis on the data collected by MFP2 -
Diet vs lifestyle change is nail polish vs tattoo.
Diet and nail polish you put on with the intent f it lasts a few weeks and it lasts 3 days. Tatoo and lifestyle changes are with you for the rest of your life.2 -
Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »I've also heard people finding the word "Journey" annoying lol
I think it is a bit of a cliche term.. but i guess it all depends on how the word hits you... i can't stand the word blouse lol
"Journey" is my biggest pet peeve on these boards. I mean, get over yourself, people, it's not a "journey", it's just a thing you are doing to get healthy. You don't get a gold star at the end either. End rant.1 -
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Ditto for me on "lifestyle" and "journey" being annoying. I'm on a diet. I will be on a diet of my choosing for one reason or another the entire 2nd half of my life. For me, diet does not equal deprivation. Diet is what I chose to eat, and I feel so fortunate to be able to chose from an abundance of healthy foods available to me.1
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I think "lifestyle change" gets overused and is pretty annoying. I never used to go to the gym; now I do. That's not a lifestyle change, that's me tacking on a one-hour-a-day activity to my current lifestyle. I used to eat bigger portions; now I eat smaller portions. Not really a lifestyle change. It's the same exact food. (Girl Scout cookies, mmm.)
I mean, I didn't describe it as a "lifestyle change" when I tried to toilet-train the cats, and that required waaay more focus. (It worked, but I eventually quit because they were so unenthused and I was tired of spending so much time obsessing over my cats' bowel movements.)
I don't mind "journey" though.3 -
BlueSkyShoal wrote: »I think "lifestyle change" gets overused and is pretty annoying. I never used to go to the gym; now I do. That's not a lifestyle change, that's me tacking on a one-hour-a-day activity to my current lifestyle. I used to eat bigger portions; now I eat smaller portions. Not really a lifestyle change. It's the same exact food. (Girl Scout cookies, mmm.)
I mean, I didn't describe it as a "lifestyle change" when I tried to toilet-train the cats, and that required waaay more focus. (It worked, but I eventually quit because they were so unenthused and I was tired of spending so much time obsessing over my cats' bowel movements.)
I don't mind "journey" though.
You just listed changes to your previous lifestyle which means you now have an altered lifestyle which means you changed your lifestyle. A change can be a small as adding a vegetable at each meal or adding an hour each day to gym activity. You changed your lifestyle. Whether you like it or not.0 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »I've also heard people finding the word "Journey" annoying lol
I think it is a bit of a cliche term.. but i guess it all depends on how the word hits you... i can't stand the word blouse lol
"Journey" is my biggest pet peeve on these boards. I mean, get over yourself, people, it's not a "journey", it's just a thing you are doing to get healthy. You don't get a gold star at the end either. End rant.
I gag when I hear the "J word". BLEGH! It is applied to everything these days. I refuse to call it a journey!1 -
That's the literal denotation of the phrase, but not the connotation. The implication is that your entire life has changed in a dramatic fashion, not that it's slightly different.
I do think that exercising / losing weight CAN BE a lifestyle change for certain people. Just that it isn't for most.1 -
After reading this thread I think it's safe to say call what you're doing whatever you like lol0
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diets end.0
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JaydedMiss wrote: »diets end.
I cant wait!0 -
JaydedMiss wrote: »diets end.
I cant wait!
Its not a positive thing0 -
JaydedMiss wrote: »JaydedMiss wrote: »diets end.
I cant wait!
Its not a positive thing
it is for me, I can't stand cutting0 -
Diet vs lifestyle change is nail polish vs tattoo.
Diet and nail polish you put on with the intent f it lasts a few weeks and it lasts 3 days. Tatoo and lifestyle changes are with you for the rest of your life.
A tattoo may be with the person for the rest of his/her life but a lifestyle change, hmm no so much.
Changes in marital status, a new baby, death in the family, moving to another town, state or country, getting sick, disabilities, change of work or profession, etc. all those factors may directly or indirectly affect the way we live, and therefore, can force us to change our lifestyle.
In addition, a "journey" is the act of traveling from one point to another. It has a beginning and an end. So if this definition applies to dieting, it would mean that once you get to the final destination (losing weight), the journey is completed...
Semantic people, just semantic.
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GoCleanGoLean wrote: »I know I'm supposed to be doing a lifestyle change, but if the new lifestyle is counting calories, isn't that just a diet? If I decide to count calories for the rest of my life, does that count as a lifestyle change? How much has to change before a diet becomes a lifestyle?
Just calling a diet a lifestyle change doesn't improve the chances of it producing long-term results. I'm sure there are people for whom all that is required is being aware of how much they are eating and how much they weigh. But for most people there is a significant difference between having a goal to lose weight and having a goal to remain the same week after week. Seeing the scale drop gives people a built in reward. Not seeing it drop isn't particularly rewarding, as is evidenced by the numerous people who come here and post their fears when they go for a week or two without any weight loss. When we aren't being rewarded for what we are doing we're less likely to continue doing it.
The type of lifestyle change that is required is one in which you are rewarded for the good behaviors that lead to the results you want. Becoming an athlete is one example because excess fat has a direct impact on your performance ability, as well as the fact that the activity itself causes calorie burn. But there are other lifestyle changes that can lead to good results. Actors and models, for example, maintain their weight because their career depends on it.0 -
ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »SuzySunshine99 wrote: »Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »I've also heard people finding the word "Journey" annoying lol
I think it is a bit of a cliche term.. but i guess it all depends on how the word hits you... i can't stand the word blouse lol
"Journey" is my biggest pet peeve on these boards. I mean, get over yourself, people, it's not a "journey", it's just a thing you are doing to get healthy. You don't get a gold star at the end either. End rant.
I gag when I hear the "J word". BLEGH! It is applied to everything these days. I refuse to call it a journey!
Every time the word journey is used I think of Frodo and Sam on their never ending journey to Mordor. And by the time they actually get there I'm so sick of the darn movies, I'm like 'I hope they get toasted by the evil Eye'.
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