Diets vs. Lifestyle changes

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TrishaB74
TrishaB74 Posts: 43
in Health and Weight Loss
So I have been going through alot of posts and seeing people are on this diet, and that diet. Adkins for some, Subway for some, Zone Diet, Low carb, high carb, low this or that. I wonder if other people obsess over dieting as much as I do. the answer is of course they do, or we wouldn't be here, right? So do people scan through all the Diet and Weight loss help sections, hoping to find the next diet to try because the last one failed them? Do they look for that quick fast weight loss trick?

I'm as guilty as alot of other people on here. I've tried diet after diet. Could I stick to it? Hell no! I don't want to eat just meat and cheese for the rest of my life, or just cabbage soup. I don't want to be limited to what I can eat for a couple weeks, then add to it the following weeks. In my mind, all diets end up failing you in the end. You can't tell me if you once loved a food item, but your new diet says it's not allowed, that you will stick with this diet for the rest of your life. I've decided to stop dieting. I'm simply NOT going to do it anymore. I plan on changing my lifestyle. For example.... I LOVE pizza. I have high blood pressure and my cholesterol is not so great. I'm not going to go on a diet and never have it again. I'm going to make it to where I can have it. By reducing sodium and cholesterol in the pizza.

I guess my rant is just simply, there are to many Diets out there, and not enough people wanting to change their lifestyle. Does this mean they need a "Diet" as a crutch because they are to weak or scared of a lifestyle change?? I know I needed the crutch from time to time until I really sat and thought about it. Sure it worked for a week or two or even a month or two... but eventually, your going to cave because you've deprived yourself of what you love.

Okay I'm done. Thanks for letting me think out loud! Best of luck to everyone on their healthy life-changing journey!

Replies

  • tialynn1
    tialynn1 Posts: 886 Member
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    I have tried diets before. But, since I started this site I have tried to make a lifestyle change and not a diet. I have tried to stay within calories and exercise everyday . I have done well in the exercise department but still struggling with the eating part, I need to get better at eating healthier.
    GOOD LUCK WE CAN DO THIS AND WE WILL DO THIS! Glad we are friends on here.
  • beansprouts
    beansprouts Posts: 410 Member
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    So I have been going through alot of posts and seeing people are on this diet, and that diet. Adkins for some, Subway for some, Zone Diet, Low carb, high carb, low this or that. I wonder if other people obsess over dieting as much as I do. the answer is of course they do, or we wouldn't be here, right? So do people scan through all the Diet and Weight loss help sections, hoping to find the next diet to try because the last one failed them? Do they look for that quick fast weight loss trick?

    I'm as guilty as alot of other people on here. I've tried diet after diet. Could I stick to it? Hell no! I don't want to eat just meat and cheese for the rest of my life, or just cabbage soup. I don't want to be limited to what I can eat for a couple weeks, then add to it the following weeks. In my mind, all diets end up failing you in the end. You can't tell me if you once loved a food item, but your new diet says it's not allowed, that you will stick with this diet for the rest of your life. I've decided to stop dieting. I'm simply NOT going to do it anymore. I plan on changing my lifestyle. For example.... I LOVE pizza. I have high blood pressure and my cholesterol is not so great. I'm not going to go on a diet and never have it again. I'm going to make it to where I can have it. By reducing sodium and cholesterol in the pizza.

    I guess my rant is just simply, there are to many Diets out there, and not enough people wanting to change their lifestyle. Does this mean they need a "Diet" as a crutch because they are to weak or scared of a lifestyle change?? I know I needed the crutch from time to time until I really sat and thought about it. Sure it worked for a week or two or even a month or two... but eventually, your going to cave because you've deprived yourself of what you love.

    Okay I'm done. Thanks for letting me think out loud! Best of luck to everyone on their healthy life-changing journey!


    AMEN!:flowerforyou:
  • cjroberts08
    cjroberts08 Posts: 42
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    I have never really dieted. I just decided that if I wanted to lose weight I had to change my life. I still eat all the same food, but just less of the bad foods.
  • holly1283
    holly1283 Posts: 741 Member
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    Well said. This is the first time in my adult life that I have been able to continue with weight loss and not do something stupid. I do still eat things that others would criticize but I still count it. Diet isn't the answer. Lifestyle change is. Kudos to you.
  • SoozeE512
    SoozeE512 Posts: 439 Member
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    I've never followed any fad diets, I just try to update my own diet to something healthier that works for me. I've made small, manageable changes one at a time....first focusing on reducing portion sizes, then working on adding in more vegetables, then working on cutting out chocolates and drinks high in sugar, etc.
  • juliesmom2
    juliesmom2 Posts: 20 Member
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    We are not on a DIET....we are on a LIVEIT...and all that entails...good food...lots of water...exercise...positive attitude...adequate sleep...
  • dalgal26
    dalgal26 Posts: 781 Member
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    I think for some the two get a little muddled. I for one, started out on a diet. I had to get alot of weight off fast in order to improve my health quickly. And after being on a 'diet' for awhile, it started to become a lifestyle change for me.

    So, I am not put off by the word diet. Diets have their place and in the end hopefully a healthier lifestyle will come from it.

    Fad diets are just that, FADS, and most people that go on them know that. They are just trying the latest and most popular thing out there because it is advertised, commercialized and talked about so much.

    :flowerforyou:
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
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    I don't do any kind of diets.
    Eating healthy 90% of the time is actually quite simple. I eat lean meats, low fat dairy, nuts, whole grains, fruits and veggies.
    Simple deal.
    And once the lifestyle becomes habit, it gets easy.
  • Immaskinnycow
    Immaskinnycow Posts: 29 Member
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    I am NOT on a diet. When people I havent seen in a while see me, they ask, "what diet are you on, or how did you do it?" I ALWAYS tell them I'm not on a diet. I have changed my entire lifestyle. I don't ever make any foods "off limits". If I want candy, I'll eat a small pc of candy, the same goes for every other food there is. I eat pizza, pasta, ice cream, had a banana split for dinner tonight as a matter of fact, well part of one. The point is, to me it isn't a diet it is a total lifestyle change.
  • CeeRawr89
    CeeRawr89 Posts: 328 Member
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    I've never dieted, I did try one "diet" and lasted two days.
    I'm all for lifestyle changes!! :D
  • bcmallwalker
    bcmallwalker Posts: 63
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    I'm not on a diet either. I have dieted in the past and always eventually gotten sick of them and quit. Of course the weight came back and then some. October 2009 I was up to 272 lbs. at 5'2" that is morbidly obese. I decided to make a lifestyle change. I knew that I couldn't stick to any diet for the rest of my life. I have a rebellious streak and if you tell me I can't eat something, I'm going to say, "Just watch me!" If you tell me that I MUST eat something, I will reply, "forget you!". My first year was basically trial and error trying to figure out what I was willing to live with and without. I didn't even start exercising until 10 months in.

    In the Fall of 2010, I had finally started walking and riding an exercise bike. I had also come up with a list of healthy lifestyle "guidelines", (NOT RULES) that I could live with most of the time. I also acknowledged that there would be times when I would choose to ignore some of the guidelines and that was okay. Anyway, I eventually decided to count calories and joined MFP. By that time I had lost quite a bit of weight, 70+ lbs. Right now, I am at 178 lbs. I was down to 169 this past Sept., but I got side tracked the beginning of this year and stopped exercising and thought that I could forget about counting calories, big mistake.

    In the last month, I have gotten back on track and I know that I feel so much better when I eat healthy foods and stay active and exercise. I will never diet again, because I know that isn't the right fit for me. Aiming for a healthy lifestyle even with a few bumps and detours along the way is what works for me.

    Best Wishes on your journey to a healthier life!
  • Melampus
    Melampus Posts: 95 Member
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    I guess I am slightly unusual in that I have not tried the fad diets before. The things I have seen and heard - banned foods, tiny meals, people feeling hungry etc. along with people putting the weight back on again have always put me off.

    I ended up here because I have know for some time that I should lose weight and then a chap at work reported having lost a significant amount of weight without any of the tiny meals/feeling hungry stuff and he was using an Internet service much like this one. I thought if he can do it so can I.

    The only thing I think I have completely abstained from since starting here is visiting McDonald's which was more a convenience than taste thing anyway. I have had pizza since starting to loose weight, just not as often and not as much and using this site I can balance the day as a whole. Lunch was a bit heavy - salad for supper. Still over - dog gets a longer walk.
  • K8EYDID
    K8EYDID Posts: 13 Member
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    "World English Dictionary
    diet 1 (ˈdaɪət)
    The food and drink that a person or animal regularly consumes"

    Therefore our "diet" is our lifestyle. We all have to make the right choices, eat slowly, chew thoroughly and enjoy the flavor of the foods we eat. It's OK to have that cookie, just don't have half the box. Don't deprive yourself, but rather reward yourself and celebrate your successes, no matter how small. Use your goals as a motivater and enjoy life!

    Good luck to everyone!
  • qaliber
    qaliber Posts: 2
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    For me it has to be a lifestyle change in that it can't just be changing what I eat, but I have to change my thought life toward food. I can no longer look at food as a reward, or as a method of relaxing, or as a comfort item, or as a social catalyst. Food has to be demoted to a much lower priority in my life. For too long, my diet has been driven by what I want\desire without regard for nutrition or health. That has got to end, because I have overwhelming personal evidence that it does not lead to a healthy existence.

    The "diet" of my recent lifestyle change includes things that I have absolutely never eaten, and would not ever eat given the choice. There are no reward foods or cheat foods; I very adamantly tell myself that food is no longer an area where my body gets whatever it may be screaming to consume. This rigidity is probably not permenant, in that several weeks or months from now I hope to enjoy a small portion of something I enjoy. However, it can't be right now, it can't be until I have reached a point that I know desire is no longer in the driver seat when it comes to my diet.

    This is not advice, this is just my personal approach. I know people have cheats and rewards, and gain success from a much different vantage point. I think that is wonderful they can take that approach and achieve their goals--I encourage them to press on towards that goal with passion. I am just not able to do that. I have taken a few runs at "dieting", and it ultimatly fails. The problem wasn't with the food I was eating, the problem was with the person who was eating it. I didn't need to focus on changing my food or losing weight; I needed to focus on changing me--the other stuff will come.
  • aley0705
    aley0705 Posts: 1
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    Trisha, you are so right and good for you about wanting to make a life style change :) Because that's exactly what it is. That's the exact reason why the "diet" plans always fail, because no one realizes that sure that particular plan might work... (although most are very dangerous) but they will only work for as long as the person continues to follow that plan. Within weeks if not days after quitting a "plan" the weight almost always comes back because the person just goes back to what they used to do. I'm a health and fitness major (going for my associates degree) and I'm here to tell you or at least anyone who will listen... you really can eat whatever you want the key is to eat it in moderation. (and of course exercise goes hand in hand here too) but the point is there is a difference between eating a piece of cake or in your case a slice of pizza and eating the entire pan/ pie :)

    ps. My weakness is brownies :)
  • yougojo170
    yougojo170 Posts: 62
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    I've tried every diet there is and I always end up gaining it back. I think you have to change your lifestyle. Everything in moderation. I love this site because I am able to count my calories so easy and you get so much support from everyone going thru the same thing you are going thru. I'm diabetic and I've never had my diabetes in control until I joined this site. I'm eating so healthy now and feel so good phyically and mentally. I don't think you should ever deny yourself any kind of food completely. But you have to be in control. If you love pizza- you can have pizza, but in moderation. You get so many great tips on this website. Its wonderful!!!
  • Krazy_Kat
    Krazy_Kat Posts: 212
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    I've tried every diet under the sun. for 20 years!!!! And I am only in my thirties. No way to live. Sooooo I banned myself from dieting and weighing for two years. After lots of research I am ready to lose a bit of weight by doing nothing drastic. I weighed myself and discovered I'd lost 8 kg in those 2 years not dieting.

    I decided on the Krazy_K "diet"

    Eat fresh vegies most meals
    Eat fresh salad once a day at least
    Eat some fruit daily, maybe
    Eat protein every meal
    Eat good fats daily
    Don't eat any "diet type" low fat low cal food.
    Make it myself as much as possible
    Don't give up chocolate
    Eat whatever you crave within calorie limits
    None of these rules are hard and fast, just guidelines
    Never feel guilty about food
    Don't TELL anyone in real life
    Only eat food you like and will eat forever.

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