Why Do We Persist In Using The Word Diet When Losing Weight When In Acutal Fact?

we should be using the word slimming. The word diet actually refers to the type of food we eat e.g. ‘A salt free diet’…. ‘A fat Free Diet’.
Strange!

This entry was posted on Friday, February 12th, 2010 and is filed under dieting losing weight. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

9 Responses to “Why Do We Persist In Using The Word Diet When Losing Weight When In Acutal Fact?”

  1. Wordpress Autoblogging Plugin on February 12th, 2010 at 12:06 pm

    As indicated by the defintions below, diet means both what we eat and, as a verb, to select or limit the food one eats to improve one’s physical condition or to lose weight.
    1. food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effects on health: Milk is a wholesome article of diet.
    2. a particular selection of food, esp. as designed or prescribed to improve a person’s physical condition or to prevent or treat a disease: a diet low in sugar.
    3. such a selection or a limitation on the amount a person eats for reducing weight: No pie for me, I’m on a diet.
    4. the foods eaten, as by a particular person or group: The native diet consists of fish and fruit.
    5. food or feed habitually eaten or provided: The rabbits were fed a diet of carrots and lettuce.
    6. anything that is habitually provided or partaken of: Television has given us a steady diet of game shows and soap operas.
    –verb (used with object) 7. to regulate the food of, esp. in order to improve the physical condition.
    8. to feed.
    –verb (used without object) 9. to select or limit the food one eats to improve one’s physical condition or to lose weight: I’ve dieted all month and lost only one pound.
    10. to eat or feed according to the requirements of a diet.
    –adjective 11. suitable for consumption with a weight-reduction diet; dietetic: diet soft drinks.

  2. Katherine X on February 12th, 2010 at 3:58 pm

    this really irritates me too, a diet is not something low calorie or low fat, it is the food you eat, whatever type of food, you could have a high fat high calorie unhealhy diet, it is still a diet. when people say ‘I am on a diet’ that’s meaningless, all they are saying is that they eat food. simply that they are not starving. but what they actually mean, using the word ‘diet’ is that I’m eating less and only eating certain things i.e. I’m suffering for a brief period to try and lose weight, so the definition of ‘diet’ for most people is not accurate.

  3. Acka on February 12th, 2010 at 7:31 pm

    It seems as the media have taken the word “diet” and used it to describe weight loss.
    The word is neat and trips off the tongue easily.
    I am sure many people use this word incorrectly too. Its a shame, but there are many words used incorrectly.

  4. Brownrin on February 12th, 2010 at 11:02 pm

    Diet is used commonly as a noun and a verb and thats why people say I am dieting instead of saying I am on a diet, which is the correct way.
    Slimming is possible even without a diet if you exercise regularly

  5. audiowor on February 13th, 2010 at 2:54 am

    you are right, we over use the word diet, we should say LIFESTYLE, because a diet seems for a short period like a FAD diet

  6. DFLy on February 13th, 2010 at 6:03 am

    diet is defined as “A regulated selection of foods, as for medical reasons or cosmetic weight loss” so surely it’s correct to use it in that way

  7. venus_in on February 13th, 2010 at 6:35 am

    Because they are probably referring to the way we are going to need to change our eating habits in order to lose weight…and it has just kinda turned into a figure of speech.

  8. Sal*UK on February 13th, 2010 at 8:05 am

    I prefer ‘healthy eating plan’ – hate the D word!

  9. susie x ??? on February 13th, 2010 at 10:13 am

    Does it really matter as long as we know what we are talking about?

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