Weigh-loss, Diet or entire lifestyle change which are you do

Mine is a lifestyle change. This isn't a temporary solution, nor is it restrictive beyond tracking calories in order to ensure I'm consuming the right amount of food. It's about changing deep-rooted behaviours for a long-term difference in the way I live. It's about re-learning and about changing habits, becoming a new person physically and mentally, not just physically.

Losing weight is a goal of mine, and a good measurement of how things are going, but the important thing is that I'm gaining overall health and that's something that won't necessarily completely show on the outside.

It's a lifestyle change for me. To me a diet is a temporary thing that ends at some point with the intention of going back to the same eating habits as before. Logic dictates that such a method would be doomed to failure if the ultimate goal is sustained fat loss. Also, 'diet' is a four letter word. *grin*

For me, lifestyle change must be the goal. Why else make the change?

I want it to be a lifestyle change.

Since leaving school I have studied full time and worked full time and literally shovelled junk in during spare time here and there and lots of take away leading to a weight gain of 20kg (around 40lbs!)

I now study part time so have more free time and I drive so no more public transport again giving me more time. I live in my own place now so I can cook and eat whenever I want without disturbing others and I am now a vegetarian which is a lifestyle change again.

I have started discovering loads of new foods since saying no to meat and its going great so far. I have lost 1.6kg (3.5lb) in 1.5 weeks which is fine with me

This is a life style change for me. I feel like a diet is something where you deprive yourself or force insane amounts of workouts in even when you don't have time. Eventually I will burn out and go back to my old ways.

I still eat treats, I eat from all food groups, I just eat more better things and less treats. Because I am tracking my food I can see where I was going wrong. I have upped my activity level by doing various things that I really do enjoy. Sometimes I get 4500 calories burned in a week and sometimes 2000. I don't fret over the amount because I want to be able to live this way for the rest of my life.

I need to have a lifestyle change because in the long haul it will work. I refuse to go back, EVER.

I'd say it's weight loss, but all things considered it's a lifestyle change. I now know what foods were helping me gain this weight and I don't think once I hit my goal weight I can just go back to eating what I want whenever I want, the habit of watching the calories and fat and sugar will have been engrained in me by then. I probably would be more lax, but still.

Lifestyle change: means you change your life for the better so that you can live out your days being fit and healthy and strong

Diet (in the common sense of the word): a temporary unsustainable way of eating that fat, unfit, unhealthy people do periodically throughout their lives. See also, "cleanse", "detox".

I guess I would say that right now it is a diet, but in the long run it is lifestyle change if that makes sense? I am restrictive in what I eat and always go to eating healthier, exercise daily etc, but in the long run I want to make it an easy choice, so it is not so hard to pass on really unhealthy stuff.

This is a lifestyle change for sure. A diet is a short term fix, if you eat less for a little while then you'll lose weight. However, if you go back to the eating habits that you had to get to where you are in the first place, then you'll gain it all back once you're off the "diet". That is the biggest difference.

I think a lifestyle change to me means that you are addressing all of the reasons you are overweight. For me, I have deep seeded emotional issues that often cause me to turn to food, and I needed to tend to those. I needed to look at my eating habits and see exactly where I was going wrong. I needed to look at my activity to see where I could improve. I had to look at my support system and see where it can improve. If you change your lifestyle, how you deal with conflict, people, food, success, etc. you wont just be losing 30 lbs or so until you slowly gain it back...you'll be healthy for the rest of your life and thats the difference. A diet is simply a short term fix for a weight problem only and a lifestyle change is fixing the root problems so once you lose the weight it stays off. :-)

At the moment I am focusing on weight loss (and getting my hormones back on track).

I have had generally speaking pretty good eating habits for a while. I've been eating more produce and less processed food for years now. Pre-weight loss effort, I was eating around 2200-2300 calories per day. According to most calculators, that would be my BMR. I was gaining weight (my metabolism is a little slower, and I am hypothyroid).

In order to lose weight, I need to count calories so I am paying attention to this. Exercise barely has an impact, unless it is intense. And those little "lifestyle changes" do nothing for me (eliminating soda, not using mayo, walking more....)

Adding in exercise, strength training? All of this is just related to me improving my fitness for general good health and I know should be part of my lifestyle.

This is the first and last time I plan on attempting to lose weight. I want to be where I should be weight-wise and then I focus on the stuff I like more: cooking, kitchen experiments, playing (tennis, volleyball and dancing are on this list), getting stronger, and exploring my surroundings.

At first I just wanted to get rid of this weight, but after two months and reaping all the many benefits (more energy, losing weight, less digestive problems, less stress, less headaches-literally), it is something that feels so good that it will be easy to do the rest of my life.

My husband and I are both losing weight together and on the same page so this is now a permanent lifestyle change and the beginning of a whole new type of living!!! :-)

My weight loss is most definitely a whole life style change I use to hit the drive thru sometimes three times in a day!!! I was never overweight but after gaining about 10 pounds over my usual I knew I was getting older and things had to change. I always knew I would eventually have to do it so I was ready. I'm eating much healthier at home meals and logging daily. I still have some of my fave junk food but no where near as much as before and I'm also exercising. I want to get fit and look better than I did in high school!!

Lifestyle Change, 100%! I resolved to be more mindful of what I eat, both in quality and quantity. I am making small changes here and there, once I adjust I'm making more small changes, etc. I am not taking on more then I can handle without adding too much stress to my life. Every lifestyle change I make, I make only after considering whether it is something I can see myself doing for the rest of my life. And I'm starting to see that the little changes here and there are adding up to a lot of overall improvements!

I have lost 31 pounds so far doing this, and even if I go over my calories, it has yet to make a lasting impression on my progress. I could not imagine going back to where I was before this. It has improved the quality of my life ten-fold. It is most definitely a permanent change for me, and I'm thrilled to say I will never diet again!

If you want some more interesting perspective on the whole lifestyle change concept, give the podcast, "Fat 2 Fit Radio" a listen. These two podcasters have completely revolutionized how I think about food, health and lifestyle changes!

Its a lifestyle change. Meaning, i will continue to eat healthier and make better food decisions my entire life. I will always try to be active. A diet is a short term idea of cutting calories or some fad to reach a goal and then going back to normal, which is why diets fail. You must make a lifestyle change so that when you reach your goal, you will be able to maintain it.