Stop calling it a diet!

amusedmonkey wrote: »

Don't take it to heart. Your opinion is valid, it's just that you posted in the debate forum where people with different opinions come to have fun. I was wrong, still, it's all in good fun.

It was posted in the Debate thread, but apparently got moved.

People noticed that I lost weight too, and some asked if it was intentional and others what I did and others just said "good job" or "don't lose too much" (eh, whatever). But I guess I haven't had anyone commenting on what I eat or telling me not to eat things, I'd find that really weird (and yes, annoying, although not because of the term diet -- "wait, you can't have cake, didn't you change your lifestyle" would probably be worse!).

Melh1969 wrote: »

I guess I've stumbled upon a very hot topic here. Thanks everyone for the comments and insight. I would never describe what I'm doing as a "journey" either. That just sounds silly to me. For those of you who suggested that I keep it to myself so that people don't feel the need to comment - I have. However, after nearly 70 pounds of weight loss people notice. Mostly the comments have been good and even the ones that are a little strange roll off my back with no problem. When people ask me how I have lost the weight I tell them tracking, walking, eating less, etc so I guess that's why I call it a lifestyle change. My lifestyle is no longer centered around junk food and eating for entertainment. Hence the change. When I try to explain this to some people (only when they have asked me!) I usually get a glazed over look. That's okay with me. People need to make their own decisions about their health and weight. I'm not trying to be some guru. It just when these same people have made comments again and again despite my attempts to explain that I get frustrated. When I posted my original comment it had just been one of those days. I'm over it now. Diet, journey, lifestyle, deficit, whatever. It all adds up to the same thing and I hope we can just support each other's efforts whatever we decide to call it.

Here's the good news: After you've been at goal weight for a while, people lose interest and stop talking about it, at least those who see you regularly. It may take months, but you'll settle back into just being you, rather than being "YouErMyGerdGettinSoooSkinnyWatChuDoin!"

One could even miss the attention, since maintenance still requires some effort, but no one will think you're cool anymore. OTOH, they may start thinking of you as "ErMyGerdSooLuckyYouCanEatAnything" . . . and try to feed it to you.

Can't win, I guess, on this lifestyle journey to a totally healthy diet.

lemurcat2 wrote: »

SuzySunshine99 wrote: »

Danp wrote: »

Kiyomoo wrote: »

I call it a diet because when I say that, people know that I mean I am doing something to try to lose weight. It's less awkward than saying "I'm on a journey of weight loss".

LOL! I don't find myself objecting to the word diet either. But for some reason I really dislike the term 'journey'. Everyone seems to be on a journey these days.

I can't really articulate why but just bugs me

Oh, God, yeah, the "journey" thing needs to stop.
It reeks of self-importance...I always want to say "Get over yourself".
Part of the reason I deleted my Facebook account was so I no longer had to hear about everyone's "journeys". An acquaintance wrote a long post detailing her root canal journey. Reeaaalllyyy??

Totally agree. It's such a bizarre use of language.

I also hate the idea that somehow the term you choose to refer to it by (diet or lifestyle change or what not) affects whether or not it works. That seems like magical thinking to me.

Yes I've often wondered that. Some people seem to object to the word diet and behave as if doing exactly the same thing but calling it a lifestyle change will somehow magically make it successful.

As in
What do you think of my diet? I'm going to eat 1500 calories of balanced nutrition and log it accurately ( or some other perfectly sensible realistic plan)
No! You are not on a diet, you must do a Lifestyle Change!!

Machka9 wrote: »

paperpudding wrote: »

lemurcat2 wrote: »

SuzySunshine99 wrote: »

Danp wrote: »

Kiyomoo wrote: »

I call it a diet because when I say that, people know that I mean I am doing something to try to lose weight. It's less awkward than saying "I'm on a journey of weight loss".

LOL! I don't find myself objecting to the word diet either. But for some reason I really dislike the term 'journey'. Everyone seems to be on a journey these days.

I can't really articulate why but just bugs me

Oh, God, yeah, the "journey" thing needs to stop.
It reeks of self-importance...I always want to say "Get over yourself".
Part of the reason I deleted my Facebook account was so I no longer had to hear about everyone's "journeys". An acquaintance wrote a long post detailing her root canal journey. Reeaaalllyyy??

Totally agree. It's such a bizarre use of language.

I also hate the idea that somehow the term you choose to refer to it by (diet or lifestyle change or what not) affects whether or not it works. That seems like magical thinking to me.

Yes I've often wondered that. Some people seem to object to the word diet and behave as if doing exactly the same thing but calling it a lifestyle change will somehow magically make it successful.

As in
What do you think of my diet? I'm going to eat 1500 calories of balanced nutrition and log it accurately ( or some other perfectly sensible realistic plan)
No! You are not on a diet, you must do a Lifestyle Change!!

The other one that gets me is the concept that whatever method you're using to achieve CI <CO at this point in your life, you're going to have to do that forever!! So you'd better choose a method you can use now and all the way into your 90s.

It's a better option for most people, though. For someone who has gained weight recently for whatever reason or someone who doesn't have much to lose (only requires very small habit tweaks), going on a temporary diet that is different from the diet they're planning to eat in maintenance can be fine. My mom does this. She visits my grandma for a couple of months every year and comes back heavier, so she goes on a fad diet for a few weeks and then she's done and back to her usual eating. The circumstances of her weight gain are temporary, so she doesn't need to make changes to her usual diet.

For someone who's been overweight for a while or has a good amount to lose, building sustainable strategies into their weight loss diet with maintenance in mind is a good thing to do. This way they get to experiment with what works and what doesn't. If something doesn't work, the worst that can happen is that they wipe out their deficit. Trying to learn new habits and strategies once you're already at goal weight is riskier because there is less room for error and they could end up gaining weight while trying to figure out a way that would allow them to maintain weight sustainably.

I'm sure some of my eating and moving habits will change by the time I hit 90, but if I develop habits that feel like they would be sustainable for the foreseeable future, any changes that might happen later will be gradual and less shocking.

Lillymoo01 wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

paperpudding wrote: »

lemurcat2 wrote: »

SuzySunshine99 wrote: »

Danp wrote: »

Kiyomoo wrote: »

I call it a diet because when I say that, people know that I mean I am doing something to try to lose weight. It's less awkward than saying "I'm on a journey of weight loss".

LOL! I don't find myself objecting to the word diet either. But for some reason I really dislike the term 'journey'. Everyone seems to be on a journey these days.

I can't really articulate why but just bugs me

Oh, God, yeah, the "journey" thing needs to stop.
It reeks of self-importance...I always want to say "Get over yourself".
Part of the reason I deleted my Facebook account was so I no longer had to hear about everyone's "journeys". An acquaintance wrote a long post detailing her root canal journey. Reeaaalllyyy??

Totally agree. It's such a bizarre use of language.

I also hate the idea that somehow the term you choose to refer to it by (diet or lifestyle change or what not) affects whether or not it works. That seems like magical thinking to me.

Yes I've often wondered that. Some people seem to object to the word diet and behave as if doing exactly the same thing but calling it a lifestyle change will somehow magically make it successful.

As in
What do you think of my diet? I'm going to eat 1500 calories of balanced nutrition and log it accurately ( or some other perfectly sensible realistic plan)
No! You are not on a diet, you must do a Lifestyle Change!!

The other one that gets me is the concept that whatever method you're using to achieve CI <CO at this point in your life, you're going to have to do that forever!! So you'd better choose a method you can use now and all the way into your 90s.

Although I would still love being able to do 8+ kms of walking most days in my 90's I highly doubt it will be possible. We need to make changes we can stick with long term, but this will change depending on circumstances.

Therefore ... do the 8+ km of walking now and lose or maintain that way now.

Then, when you can't do 8+ km of walking, modify things.

There's no point denying yourself the 8+ km of walking now just because you figure you won't be able to do it in your 90s.

When I cycle long distances, I eat a certain way. When I don't cycle long distances, I eat a different way. The last thing I'd want to do is to eat the same way all the time ... and I certainly wouldn't want to stop cycling long distances just because I know there will be times when I can't cycle long distances.