What exactly counts as healthier eating rather than a diet?

[Healthy2020]

"Diets don't work in the long term. Just eat normal healthy food instead and the weight will naturally come off".

Who gets to decide exactly what counts? There's a fine line between these things. I'm not looking for weight loss advice, just a discussion about how and why people are so insistent about things.

For example, I know people are quick to talk about Slimming World as a fad diet, but there's equal numbers of commenters here who say that actually, SW just taught them to eat healthily, eat more vegetables and less cheese etc. I think if we had a vote here about SW, it'd be about 50-50.

Similarly with low carbing - a lot of people here seem to be obsessed with cutting carbs. But it's absolutely not for me. People seem genuinely puzzled as to how I can lose weight while still eating pasta. Because there are other things I cut down on.

I've seen more than one fitness community who warn against fads, yet I read through their Facebook pages and see distinctly faddy things.

If you're losing weight and you believe your way of eating is healthy and not a diet, why? What are you doing differently? Why does it not count as a diet?

Following this thread as I've done SW many times over the years and quite obviously it hasn't worked for me as I lose and gain the same few stone over and over.

Interested to see what other people think. More recently I am seeing what probably is the only way to lose weight and keep it off. Calorie deficit. So that's the aim for me now. Eat less calories, do more steps.

IMO, a 'diet' has come to mean a short term change. I made changes but I don't say I'm 'on a diet'.

After a scary blood pressure reading, and being told I was overweight (I was, but only just), I made small but long-term changes to what I ate, how much I ate etc. So - more veg, salads, fruit. Less chocolate and pudding. I haven't excluded any single foodstuff or type of food, but I definitely eat less, serve myself smaller portions etc. I eat what I like, including cheese, cake, wine, pasta, curries etc, just smaller portions and less often.

After about 5 years, I have lost a stone, and am still losing though it's very slow (and the BP is down too). I have blips when my weight goes up a bit, so I get stricter with myself for a week or two until it goes back down.

I wouldn't say it's easy, but it's a choice I've made.

For me, eating healthily means I eat more fruit and veg, more white meat or veggie meals and the freedom to eat what I want sugar wise. Because I'm not dieting or "trying to be good" and therefore not abstaining from all things chocolate, when I do have chocolate I can stop at a sensible amount instead of binge eating the lot. If I'm dieting and trying not to eat any chocolate etc then eventually I crack after a couple of diet days and eat the entire contents of the biscuit tin. Eating what I want in moderation rather than joylessly calorie counting has kept me at a reasonably healthy weight. And when I don't deprive myself of anything it's easier to eat a much more varied diet.

If you're losing weight and you believe your way of eating is healthy and not a diet, why? What are you doing differently? Why does it not count as a diet?

I went vegetarian around 2 years ago. Mainly for heath environmental reasons ( a little animal welfare too).

By changing to this “lifestyle” I cut out the crap. The takeaways we’d normally have would be meat based (kebab, curry, chinese etc) and the replacement of meat in what we’d cook are vegetable-based dishes, with carbs (pasta, rice, potatoes, bread).

I personally feel I’m getting the best of both worlds; eating what I like and being indulgent when I want, but getting good plant based food inside me.

You can definitely be an unhealthy vegetarian, and I slipped into a bit of an unhealthy period earlier in the year (a lot more carbs than I should) but I’ve got back to eating what I want (within reason) and it being part of my lifestyle.

My weight (actually I don’t weigh myself, but based on clothes fitting) is healthy (size 12) and I don’t fluctuate up or down from that. My slimmest has been a size 10 and that was in the lead up to my wedding where I restricted carbs and was working out 4x a week. Not sustainable and I piled it on within 1 week of eating carbs again.

For me it was working out the TDEE of someone the weight and activity level I wanted to be rather than currently was.

So I knew that in some ways what I was doing at the beginning would be the same thing I was doing at the end, it wasn’t temporary.

Then playing around with how to eat in a satisfying way within that. So getting portion sizes right, what macro ratios where most satiating for me, what quantities of fruits and veggies felt good, working out which more calorific foods where worth it as occasional treats, which ones weren’t.

RhythimIsRhythim I don't know if you meant it but everything you've written sounds so complicated!

I’ve been following a plan of 2 cups per veg, 5oz of protein. 1oz of fat per meal.
One fruit per day.
It works if you stick to it. There is very little processed food which I think is key, and it seems to be low carb although you can take one serving per day. The ratios keep you full, it’s now down to mindset, and recognising you’re full and cutting the snacks, soda, alcohol down/out. I had to do something as my cholesterol was high.

The program is from the college nutritionist.

I follow SW and it's definitely worked for me (nearly 11 stone gone) I was offered a Gastric Band but knew that I needed to 'learn' how to eat properly and in a healthier way.
I think eating healthy is eating sensible portions,a balance of different foods from different food groups and remembering to stop and think before you eat something

I personally think it comes down to your mind frame.
In my mind a 'diet' is more restrictive, I would not allow myself to eat certain unhealthy things, everything would be cut out - it just wasn't realistic, temptation was always there. Diets don't get to the root cause of eating habits, they are a quick fix.

Eating healthy, isn't as restrictive - healthy people don't have to be healthy 100% of the time, I found myself allowing myself to have a few chocolates in the staff room, or not feel too bad eating out for my friends birthday because I was eating healthier throughout the rest of the week, chocolate became less of a temptation because it wasn't not to be had and I find myself making better choices when eating out. This would never have happened on a diet. It's more doable for me because I can have a treat, and still go out without feeling like a failure and giving up.

For me, a diet is a specific plan you follow in order to lose weight and often have to pay to join. So SW, WW, 5:2, the Cambridge Plan etc. Healthier eating, meanwhile, is incorporating more veg, fruit, lean meats, fish, etc into what you normally eat in an effort to lose weight.

I definitely subscribe to the theory that diets as I label them don't work. They do help users lose a certain amount but in the long term they're deliberately unsustainable so people have to sign up again! Hence why it's a billion-dollar industry and the only business model that banks on failure!

People put on weight because the energy broken down from food is surplus to requirements. If someone is habitually putting weight on from what they eat their diet has to change (forever) otherwise they will just put more weight back on after a weight loss diet. Weight loss with diets often slows and plateaus because after weight is lost calorie requirements go down. Eating healthily Is more about eating a good balanced diet with the right calorie requirement for your needs. If you need to lose weight your energy needs are less as some energy is obtained from stored body fat.

This link shows how you can work out calorie needs.

tdeecalculator.net/

Although it is more complicated, as with quickly broken down food like sugar, your body will not be able to burn all the energy from them at once, unless so you are exercising intensely, so the energy from these foods will have to be stored, anyway, at least for the short term.

Complicated but worth it Healthy2020. Went from 194 to 122 in about 16 months and have kept it off for 5 years.

What you eat is such a big part of your health and well-being. It’s bound to take more mental effort and headspace than “easy on the carbs”.

It’s not some illusive mystery, weight is a direct result of how much you eat/what you eat and how much you exercise. (I say this as someone who lost 5st many years ago and have kept it off).

Honestly I think portions are the biggest problem. You can eat whatever you like as long as you don’t go crazy. Equally even ‘healthy’ food in huge amounts will pile on the pounds.
People don’t seem to realise that the stomach stretches to what it’s used to. I used to be able to eat loads but now am full on 2-3 small/average meals per day and very limited snacks. You just need to train yourself and have self control.

See, but the compicatedness makes it sound like a diet to me. I joined SW once and my mind was whirring and I couldn't stop thinking about it or trying to calculate things. I personally see diets as things that take over too much of your brain power. Healthy eating should be free from complications and stress.

OP, a simple way in, as a starting point is to half your ordinary portion of meat and sauce, only have one potato or desert spoon of rice / pasta then fill the rest of your plate with salad or green veg.

Then when you plateau, reduce portion slightly more / exercise more if you still want to lose more weight. Oh and don't eat desserts or snacks except on special occasions.

Low fat , high fibre, lots of fruit and veg.
Try not to eat ready meals but cook from scratch.
Alcohol are just empty calories.
Avoid high sugar products, no sweets, chocolate and crisps.

I mean one potato, small roast potato, wedge or new potato sized not big baking potato,

I don't do low fat and have lost 3 stone over the past year and a half. Fat is very satiating and contains necessary nutrients. I cut portions, cut added sugar foods, eat fairly lowish carb but do eat carbs and took up running.

Oh and batch cooking is your friend! You don't want to over eat as it means you don't get more meals out of what you cook! Which appeals to my laziness!

I think it's too individual to be able to generalise. I'm addictive by nature and work on the principle that if I buy certain foods, I'm quite likely to eat them all in one go. I therefore simply don't buy them unless I'm ok with eating (for example) three Topics one after another. I like routine and don't get bored eating the same foods. Our (DD's and my) diet is comprised of potatoes, fish, salad, cheese, eggs, bread, soup, fruit, yogurt. I don't restrict what I eat, just what I have in the cupboards/fridge. DD doesn't have my addictions so, for example, mince pies which she loves and I hate have lasted all week. The boxes of chocolates we received on Wednesday .... hers is minus one or two; I've had to buy a small top-up box to replace some of mine .....

A diet for me is when you are following a plan or restricting something like eating times or food or removing food groups.

A lifestyle change means you still eat out, have takeaways, eat the same meals with family etc. The changes for me have meant I still do all that but now have sensible portions and will pick lighter meals if I know I am eating out. Nothing is off limits in terms of foods and eating times.

Lobster I used to be a bit like that when I ate too much sugar and carbs. When I reduced them, especially sugar after a while I find I can easily just have one chocolate or leave stuff in the cupboard without wanting to finish it all off!

Dieting can be very unhealthy. As a teen, I was obsessed with being skinny (nailed the early 00s hip bones trend!) and would consume ice lollies abs sparkling water for days, until I felt too faint to complete my active job. Then I’d eat a low cal pack of crisps (Quavers or Squares) or a Muller Light etc. Calories were everything- I wouldn’t even eat a full banana!

I see healthy eating as being about nutritional value. For example, eating a whole egg for the vitamins in the yolk, rather than just eating the whites as a dieter may do. I go no where near processed crap like lollies and diet yoghurt anymore! To me, that’s the difference, although for many I can see there will be an overlap.