It's NOT a Diet rather a Lifestyle Change

ScaledArtistHair · May 2017

It always cracks me up when people ask why I eat the way I do. Often times I'm told "you should enjoy life a little bit more and Splurge the calories". I often smirk & say, " I do but I'd rather have a healthy eating lifestyle then spend my time in the doctor's office to be put on medications to fix condition(s) that can easily be controlled with a proper diet.
I know throughout the years I have gone through many fad yo-yo diets only to find myself not well. And even now I fall off the proverbial wagon now and then. Believe me I feel it in so many ways. But it's about getting back on that wagon and pushing forward and accepting that we're human while finding a strong support group that makes it all worthwhile

crazyycatladyy1 · May 2017

The term 'lifestyle change' actually makes my eye twitch

I went into this whole thing trying to stick as close to what I was already doing because that was a more realistic approach and hopefully more sustainable, than making a bunch of drastic changes, (currently 4 years into maintenance so things are progressing as planned).

I liked my life/lifestyle when I was overweight and now 50lbs lighter it's no different. I'm still me, just with different sized clothes.

JeromeBarry1 · May 2017

Your co-pay co-paid for your doctor's vacation home and your doctor doesn't invite you to join your doctor for vacations. Therefore, co-paying sucks. Get healthy and quit co-paying. Buy your own vacation home.

inertiastrength · May 2017

A diet is either the word I use to describe all of my food OR it's when I'm cutting calories to lose a few lbs. lifestyle change makes me cringe. You learned the energy balance, that's it. Your life didn't change, you became aware of something and are using that information. I don't lifestyle change every time I learn and practice something at work. People take themselves far too seriously sometimes

Alatariel75 · May 2017

I just can't remember the last time anyone asked me why I eat the way I do.

MsHarryWinston · May 2017

mrsnattybulking wrote: »

A diet is either the word I use to describe all of my food OR it's when I'm cutting calories to lose a few lbs. lifestyle change makes me cringe. You learned the energy balance, that's it. Your life didn't change, you became aware of something and are using that information. I don't lifestyle change every time I learn and practice something at work. People take themselves far too seriously sometimes

Hmmm I kind of disagree with this, but maybe because I'm coming from an eating disorder background. Yes we learn the energy transfer and that can seem like no big deal. But for many people it's also about having a healthier relationship with food as well.
I gained a lot of weight because I swung so far away from bulimia that I ended up more of a binge eater, and then when I tried to control it I had to learn not to slip back into bulemia mentality. So it's taken a few years to not just get a handle on calorie counting but also my struggles with food in general. Along with that I also found a love of weightlifting.
So yeah, I would wrap all of that up in a package labeled "lifestyle change". I can see how that label may seem a bit much if someone is just learning to get rid of 10-15 vanity pounds and aren't overly worried about it. But it seems to me that for a LOT of people on here, losing weight is about much more than that.

subcounter · May 2017

ScaledArtistHair wrote: »

It always cracks me up when people ask why I eat the way I do. Often times I'm told "you should enjoy life a little bit more and Splurge the calories". I often smirk & say, " I do but I'd rather have a healthy eating lifestyle then spend my time in the doctor's office to be put on medications to fix condition(s) that can easily be controlled with a proper diet.
I know throughout the years I have gone through many fad yo-yo diets only to find myself not well. And even now I fall off the proverbial wagon now and then. Believe me I feel it in so many ways. But it's about getting back on that wagon and pushing forward and accepting that we're human while finding a strong support group that makes it all worthwhile

That's a mouthful, isn't it

When people ask why I eat a whole chicken at one sitting, I usually smirk and say:

cityruss · May 2017

I usually can't respond due to the peanut butter oreo ice cream cookie in my mouth.

(Obvs whilst sat in the doctors waiting room waiting for medications because of the peanut butter oreo ice cream cookie)

lemurcat12 · May 2017

I don't care for the term "lifestyle change," and would say at this point it's just PC for diet.

More to the point, I don't consider how I eat to be the main aspect of my lifestyle, and I have dieted without changing my lifestyle. Years ago, in my early 30s, I realized that I was not making time for exercise or prioritizing it and that I hadn't really learned to cook regularly at home using whole foods, and I changed that then. I lost weight at the time and gained it again (because stuff happens in life and I didn't deal with it as well as some do), but my general ideas about how I liked to eat (pretty healthy, whole foods, but for the main issue with overeating and snacking too much at work when stressed). When losing this time I got back to old habits which had worked for years and cut out snacking, but that wasn't a lifestyle change. Getting active again was closer to one, but I just saw it as getting back to how I liked to live.

Now I've decided to try to lose the last few after maintaining for a while and I'm eating at a deficit (dieting) and also trying something new with my diet (as I do occasionally, playing with macros or meal-timing/size), but I wouldn't consider that a lifestyle change at all. Similarly, I switch up my exercise, sometimes training for things and doing tons of cardio, sometimes doing less cardio, more weights, but that change is not a lifestyle change either, it's just variation and how I stay interested.

sijomial · May 2017

Depends if you needed a lifestyle change or not.
I just needed to diet (calorie restrict) for a while. My lifestyle is the same.

My next real lifestyle change will be retirement.

ScaledArtistHair · May 2017

I love everyone's input.
When I refer to the phrase "lifestyle change", it was geared more towards those who have chronic illness, auto-immune disease, diabetes, (type I & II), cancer, heart disease, etc. Where making an overhaul in their eating habits & exercise regime is key to improving/surviving life rather than turn to medication to manage everything.
From a personal perspective... I found that I had to make a "lifestyle change". Would I love to throw my face into a pile of pizza, takeaway, and sweets every day? You bet your a** I would! Lol. However the direct consequences would be crucial to my health. So this is why I say "It's not a Diet rather a Lifestyle change. "

crazyycatladyy1 · May 2017

ScaledArtistHair wrote: »

I love everyone's input.
When I refer to the phrase "lifestyle change", it was geared more towards those who have chronic illness, auto-immune disease, diabetes, (type I & II), cancer, heart disease, etc. Where making an overhaul in their eating habits & exercise regime is key to improving/surviving life rather than turn to medication to manage everything.
From a personal perspective... I found that I had to make a "lifestyle change". Would I love to throw my face into a pile of pizza, takeaway, and sweets every day? You bet your a** I would! Lol. However the direct consequences would be crucial to my health. So this is why I say "It's not a Diet rather a Lifestyle change. "

I lost the extra weight after finding out I was a prediabetic, but I didn't make any big changes to my lifestyle. I just started eating the appropriate amount of calories for my weight management goals. I still eat all the foods I like though and haven't cut anything out.

Curious how a lifestyle change or change of diet relates to cancer, (besides someone quitting smoking )?

ScaledArtistHair · May 2017

crazyycatladyy1 wrote: »

Curious how a lifestyle change or change of diet relates to cancer, (besides someone quitting smoking )?

Perhaps this is more of a personal perspective... as a survivor I began to take better care of myself as a result & with other medical issues playing a factor. I have 2 small children & I want to be around as long as I can to enjoy them.

One can debate which foods have cancer causing agents.... However that's a whole different can of worms that coincide with several opinions. Lol

Macy9336 · May 2017

I agree it's a lifestyle to live healthy. But it's not a one time change and that's it you're set for life. I find myself adapting/changing my lifestyle as I get older to stay healthy. I'm not twenty any more so cannot do the same activities or to same level. I also can afford to eat better than I did when twenty!!

SingRunTing · May 2017

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that I truly did have a lifestyle change. It started with cutting calories, but it so much more than that. I'm not the same person that I was when I started 3 years ago.

Before I would come home from work and plop myself on the couch and not move. If anyone suggested we do something physical, I would get grumpy. Now, I exercise everyday, not because I think I should, but because I love it. I actually like to eat healthy food. I still like ice cream and pizza, but I've learned to moderate them and stopped bingeing. I look for active things to do instead of shying away from them.

I lost 70lbs and kept it off for 2 years because I changed my entire outlook on life, as cheesy as it sounds. Simply saying that I cut calories doesn't do it justice.

I just had a baby 6 weeks ago and now have to lose the baby weight. But because my lifestyle is so different than it was before, it's just going to happen. It's not going to take a ton of effort because I've built strong habits over the last few years. So excited for my doctors appt today because I should be cleared to exercise again and can start running for the first time since I was told to stop in October.

This wasn't an overnight overhaul, but small gradual changes. I built new habits that have resulted in a new lifestyle.

Lounmoun · May 2017

My approach has been to make smaller sustainable changes not a grand lifestyle change so much. No one has commented.
Finding out how many calories I need and eating that amount.
Mostly eating the same foods but paying attention to protein and getting more vegetables and fruits. Putting thought into what I consume every day by logging in advance.
Gradually increasing my activity level.

TeaBea · May 2017

"Lifestyle change" has become a marketing tool, it's meaningless now. SlimFast Lifestyle, 1200 calorie lifestyle....yeah right.

I haven't lost sight of what it is supposed to mean. Some people DO need a lifestyle change. I have yo-yo dieted for years. Sure I can lose weight doing low carb, or exercise only when I'm trying to lose weight but that doesn't keep the weight off (for me). My lifestyle change is not huge - it's to stop snacking whenever I feel like it and pick my butt up off the couch on a regular basis.

thewindandthework · May 2017

I do have a diet, I'm just not on a Diet. That bugs me.

However, I have actually changed my lifestyle. I am paying attention to what I eat, and (especially) how much of it I eat. I'm much, much more active than I have been in decades. I have been doing it for much, much longer than I've ever stuck with any Diet or fitness plan. And I have no intention of stopping. I might give MFP a rest after I've hit and maintained my goal weight for an extended period, but my awareness of my body's needs isn't going anywhere.

Yep, for me it's a lifestyle change. There are perhaps people who use that phrase to sell things (marketers have always been diabolical geniuses, that's nothing new), and there are perhaps people who use the phrase to describe yet another short-term obsession (folks who either overestimate their commitment or fundamentally misunderstand the word lifestyle). But those people don't have any effect on what I have done with my own life.

Need2Exerc1se · May 2017

Meh, for me it was a diet. I made very little change to my lifestyle.

bizgirl26 · May 2017

Well I am still in the lowering body weight stage so due to calorie deficit I consider it a diet however it is a lifestyle change as even when I am in maintenance I have to keep in mind what got me here and I have to stay focused for the rest of my life so I am never overweight again . If I don't change forever I will become overweight again but I wouldn't think I was dieting so to speak once I am maintaining.

AnnPT77 · May 2017

crazyycatladyy1 wrote: »

ScaledArtistHair wrote: »

I love everyone's input.
When I refer to the phrase "lifestyle change", it was geared more towards those who have chronic illness, auto-immune disease, diabetes, (type I & II), cancer, heart disease, etc. Where making an overhaul in their eating habits & exercise regime is key to improving/surviving life rather than turn to medication to manage everything.
From a personal perspective... I found that I had to make a "lifestyle change". Would I love to throw my face into a pile of pizza, takeaway, and sweets every day? You bet your a** I would! Lol. However the direct consequences would be crucial to my health. So this is why I say "It's not a Diet rather a Lifestyle change. "

I lost the extra weight after finding out I was a prediabetic, but I didn't make any big changes to my lifestyle. I just started eating the appropriate amount of calories for my weight management goals. I still eat all the foods I like though and haven't cut anything out.

Curious how a lifestyle change or change of diet relates to cancer, (besides someone quitting smoking )?

There's decent research evidence now suggesting that regular exercise materially reduces risk for metastatic recurrence of breast cancer. It wouldn't surprise me if there were a similar effect for at least the types of cancer that are more common in the same people (colorectal, ovarian, etc.), though I know of no research to support that.

For me, exercise was also part of what was required to regain my strength, vitality and happiness after surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Others' mileage may vary.

It's NOT a Diet rather a Lifestyle Change

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