WHY WE DON'T LIKE THE WORD "DIET"

The word “diet” comes with a lot of baggage.


For example, say you decline a second helping of food, chances are someone might ask you, “Why, are you on a diet?” 


Diet implies that you are unhappy and need to change. Unhappy with your weight, your body, something, and you are working to change it by going “on a diet.” 


Don’t believe us? Google “diet” and see what pops up. We get “Weight Loss & Diet Plans That Work,” “Top 10 Diet Plan Comparisons,” and “Best and Worst Diet Plans for Weight Loss.” 

The actual definition of diet, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is: 


  1. Food and drink regularly provided and consumed; habitual nourishment.


Are you on a diet? Yes. Yes, you are. So are we. So is everybody. Because our diet is what we eat and drink regularly. It is not a temporary thing that we do to lose weight; it’s something that we live. 


This brings us to our next point. Yes, to lose weight, you change your diet, but you don’t go on a diet. That idea of going on a diet has been around for decades. It has also made the publishing and food industry billions of dollars. Coincidence? No.


You decide you want to lose weight, the latest and greatest diet book is on shelves now so you give it a try, it works for a time, you eventually stop following it, you gain the weight back. It’s a vicious cycle that goes on and on, and has been for over fifty years.

What is the point of that? 


To lose weight and start living a healthier life, you have to change your diet because, again, you already have a diet; we all do. You have to start switching out the BigMacs for some grilled chicken and healthy vegetables. 


Does that mean you can never have a BigMac again? No. Everything should be in moderation. The goal should be to make foods that aren’t the healthiest (aka fast food, candy, chips, etc) for you less common and the foods that pack a nutritious punch (fresh fruit and vegetables, lean cuts of meat, etc) more common. That’s called changing your diet. That’s the key to a long, healthy, sustainable lifestyle. 


We sincerely believe we need to take back the word diet. Pull it out of the social consciousness of being negative, representing a need to change something out of unhappiness.


Instead, we need to start supporting people who are trying to change their eating habits out of the decision of trying to do better and be better for themselves and others, without the accusation of being on a diet. 


Nobody needs that kind of baggage.

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