When is your diet over?

This past spring I made a notable change to my eating habits - I prefer the term eating habits since diet is misinterpreted by many people. I don't like to say I "went on a diet" since there was no mentality of resuming 'normal' eating once I get to my goal. I decided to cut out refined sugar and flour from my eating.

This change occurred 5 months ago and I feel better than ever. There have been so many positive effects from this change in addition to weight loss - more energy, less anxiety, and better immune system. As far as I am concerned, these new habits will continue for the rest of my life.

When you make a change to your eating, you end up sharing this decision with others. Partners, friends, parents, and co-workers. They see you eat and often collaborate with you to make food and drink decisions such as grocery shopping or dining out. As I began telling others around me of my decision, and demonstrating it through food and drink choices, I found it odd that many people started referring to it as my 'diet'. I even got questions as blunt as, "When is your diet over?" and "Are you still doing that?" It seems that their understanding of eating habits falls under the dichotomy of, "I'm dieting...for now" versus "I'm eating whatever you want."

Why are people skeptical of us making a permanent eating change?  What should our response be to people who refer to our habits as having a finite ending? And how do we combat this mentality?

Skepticism

So, you've told someone that you've made an eating change and they laugh it off, telling you "good luck with that" as if it is an impossible feat. I say, "I've cut out processed sugar and flour" and many people's reaction is, "Oh I couldn't do that I love bread too much."

Here's the thing - I eat bread! A lot! Cutting out processed flour/sugar does significantly limit your bread options, but you can still eat clean bread! Look for sprouted 100% whole grain bread - you don't have to even go to a natural food store, most of your standard grocery stores carry it.

It is unfortunate the misinformation that people receive about diets that would lead them to skepticism about the possibility of sustained, permanent clean eating. I think skepticism comes mostly from a lack of knowledge about ingredients in the foods we consume. Yes, there is a fair amount of effort involved in changed one's eating habits, but it's not as daunting as many think. Diligent reading of ingredient labels and education about clean, whole foods are the key to maintaining an eating change such as the one I chose to make.

Our Response

When people ask, "When is your diet over?" or "When are you going to stop dieting?" - what should we say? I think our response should reflect a choice in wording, saying, "I don't consider it a diet as much as a permanent lifestyle change" or "I've cleaned up my eating habits for good."  At a staff meeting a co-worker offered me a cookie and then quickly said, "Oh never mind I forgot, you can't eat this it's not on your diet."

Well, the reality is I can eat whatever I want - I make a conscious choice not to eat certain things, but again, I am not on a fad diet that lists out "you can't eat A, B, and C."  I can eat foods with refined sugar/flour all I want, but I choose not to 80-90% of the time. There are times that I will eat small portions of it here and there, which I've found to be OK for my body - eating healthy the majority of the time equips my body to handle small doses of 'junk' much better than it had before my eating changes. When you fill your body with healthy foods it is amazing how resilient and strong it can be.

Does 'cheating' 10-20% of the time make me a hypocrite? No, it makes me a realistic human being. (I also dislike using the word 'cheating' associated with our food choices, as if we are being watched by the food police or will get in trouble for the choices we make. There should never be guilt associated with eating.)

Combating this mentality

Again, I argue that word choice has a lot to do with the mentality around food. (Go figure, coming from the Communication scholar). That's why I tend to refer to it as eating habits and not diet. While calling it a diet is correct, in that it is the sum of food consumed by an individual, our culture has taken that word to mean a change in one's dietary intake for the purpose of losing weight or being healthier, which usually ends when that person reaches a certain goal they have set for themselves. Going on a diet before beach season, your wedding, or a class reunion are all prime examples of how we label dieting as having an 'end date.' I think the term eating habits carries with it a notion of continuation, which could be a more effective method of communicating that your choice is an ongoing lifestyle change.

We may never be able to escape the 'diet' mentality, but ultimately, we can communicate our habits to others not by talking about what we do and don't eat, but rather by showing consistent, healthy, eating habits

For the most part, the questions and skepticism toward my eating habits have dwindled with time. Those around me have seen a permanent difference in my eating, and have begun to realize that this is not a detox or a 21-day cleanse. We may never be able to escape the 'diet' mentality, but ultimately, we can communicate our habits to others not by talking about what we do and don't eat, but rather by showing consistent, healthy, eating habits.