Are people mistaken about the word diet?

Question

Today, people think of going on a diet as consuming less food to lose weight due to all these ATKINS Diet and other commericalizations of losing weight.

However, a diet means the amount of food and drink consumed by a person, normally. I admit there is a secondary definition of, the amount of food and drink consumed by for a special reason.

But my point is, people think going on a diet means going against what they normally consume to lose weight or whatever. The better way to say it is - people CHANGE their diet to lose weight.

Why make this statement? because, I want to point out that a person's normal diet does not equate to the most healthy. Rather, people think they have no control over their diet and blame it on "biological needs."

Enough of my ranting that I suddenly thought about. After probably insulting some people, I shall ask what Y!A'ers think about today's culture of equating diet with losing weight.

Answer 1

A diet isn't "the amount of food and drink consumed." A diet is an eating routine or habit. A diet can consist of anything, as long as it's habitual. And most people do diet for health (to lose weight, stay trim, reduce heart disease, etc.), perhaps this is the stem of the confusion.

Answer 2

I know what you are talking about. I have had 16 abdominal surgeries and I have a problem retaining weight. I stay about 20 pounds underweight and I eat all the time. When I tell people that I am on a special diet to try to gain weight, they laugh and tease me. You have no idea how many times I have been told that it isn't a diet if it is to gain weight.

Answer 3

Diet is a '4-letter' word.



When one understands what eating right and doing exercise means, the word 'diet' will start to make sense.



People equate diet to eating less than what their body needs. Even media seem to support this erroneous approach.



It is really a simple math: Calories Input-output = -ve.(to lose weight) ; If +ve, you will gain weight.



When writing about losing weight, using words like 'moderation' instead of 'diet' will be more like an acceptable norm.

Answer 4

Yes. That's why people think that the Atkins "diet" is meant to be temporary. In fact it is intended to be a permanent lifestyle change.

Answer 5

its funny what folks say about the word diet when in fact ...diet means that we consume food . a new diet means we changed the food we eat now . i agree with you here in that they change the way they eat ..

Answer 6

Look each methods whilst crossing the road to your auto, otherwise you can subsequent force a hearse. When you are in an ungainly problem, say whatever random. It'll continually holiday the ice.

Answer 7

When people think diet they think they are fat and over-weight, but in modern America everyone wants to look like a celebrity.

Answer 8

ya people are wrong about the word



diet

Answer 9

DIET , a See also:



* TERM



term used in two senses, (1) See also:



* FOOD

* FOOD (like the verb " to feed," from a Teutonic root, whence O. Eng. foda; cf. " fodder "; connected with Gr. lrareicOae, to feed)



food or the regulation of feeding (see See also:



* DIETARY



DIETARY and See also:



* DIETETICS



DIETETICS), (2) an See also:



* ASSEMBLY, UNLAWFUL



assembly or See also:



* COUNCIL (Lat. concilium, from ***, together, and the root cal, to call)



council (Fr. date; It. dieta; See also:



* LOW, SETH (1850- )

* LOW, WILL HICOK (1853- )



Low See also:



* LAT



Lat. diaeta; Ger. Tag). We are here concerned only with this second sense. In See also:



* MODERN



modern usage, though in See also:



* SCOTLAND

* SCOTLAND, CHURCH OF

* SCOTLAND, EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF



Scotland the term is still sometimes applied to any assembly or session, it is practically confined to the sense of an assembly of estates or of See also:



* NATIONAL



national or federal representatives. The origin of the word in this See also:



* CONNOTATION



connotation is somewhat complicated. It is undoubtedly ultimately derived from the See also:



* GREEK

* GREEK, ETRUSCAN AND



Greek Siaura (Lat. diaeta), which meant " mode of See also:



* LIFE



life " and thence " prescribed mode of life," the See also:



* ENGLISH



English " diet " or " regimen." This was connected with the verb &aarav, in the sense of " to See also:



* RULE



rule," " to regulate " ; compare the See also:



* OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")



office of &aLrriris at See also:



* ATHENS

* ATHENS ['AN vat, Athenae, modem colloquial Greek `Ath va]



Athens, and dieteta, " See also:



* UMPIRE



umpire," in See also:



* LATE



Late Latin. In both Greek and Latin, too, the word meant " a See also:



* ROOM



room," from which the transition to " a See also:



* PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)



place of assembly " and so to " an assembly " would be easy. In the latter sense the word, however, actually occurs only in Low Latin, Du Cange (Glossarium,s.v.) deriving it from the late sense of "See also:



* MEAL



meal" or "feast," the Germans being accustomed to combine their See also:



* POLITICAL



political assemblies with feasting. It is clear, too, that the word diaeta See also:



* EARLY

* EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)



early became confused with Lat. See also:



* DIES, CHRISTOPH ALBERT (1755-1822)



dies, " See also:



* DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")

* DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)

* DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)



day " (Ger. Tag), " especially a set day, a day appointed for public business; whence, by See also:



* EXTENSION (Lat. ex, out ; tendere, to stretch)



extension, See also:



* MEETING (from " to meet," to come together, assemble, 0. Eng. metals ; cf. Du. moeten, Swed. mota, Goth. gamotjan, &c., derivatives of the Teut. word for a meeting, seen in O. Eng. Wit, moot, an assembly of the people; cf. witanagemot)



meeting for business, an assembly " (See also:



* SKEAT, WALTER WILLIAM (1835– )



Skeat). Instances of this confusion are given by Du Cange, e.g. diaeta for dieta, " a day's See also:



* JOURNEY (through O. Fr. jornee or journee, mod. Fr. journee, from med. Lat. diurnata, Lat. diurnus, of or belonging to dies, day)



journey " (also an obsolete sense of " diet " in English), and dieta for " the See also:



* ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)



ordinary course of the See also:



* CHURCH

* CHURCH (according to most authorities derived from the Gr. Kvpcaxov [&wµa], " the Lord's [house]," and common to many Teutonic, Slavonic and other languages under various forms—Scottish kirk, Ger. Kirche, Swed. kirka, Dan. kirke, Russ. tserkov, Buig. cerk

* CHURCH, FREDERICK EDWIN (1826-1900)

* CHURCH, GEORGE EARL (1835–1910)

* CHURCH, RICHARD WILLIAM (1815–189o)

* CHURCH, SIR RICHARD (1784–1873)



church," i.e. " the daily office," which suggests the See also:



* ORIGINAL



original sense of diaeta as " a pre-scribed mode of life." The word " diet " is now used in English for the Reichstag; " imperial diet " of the old See also:



* HOLY



Holy See also:



* ROMAN



Roman See also:



* EMPIRE



Empire; for the Bundestag," federal diet," of the former Germanic See also:



* CONFEDERATION (Fr. confederation, Lat. confoederatio, from foedus, a league, foederare, to form a league)



confederation; sometimes for the Reichstag of the modern See also:



* GERMAN

* GERMAN, DUTCH AND SCANDINAVIAN



German empire; for the Landtage, " territorial diets " of the constituent states of the German and See also:



* AUSTRIAN



Austrian empires; as well as for the former or existing federal or national assemblies of See also:



* SWITZERLAND



Switzerland, See also:



* HUNGARY

* HUNGARY (Hungarian Magyarorszdg)



Hungary, See also:



* POLAND (Polish Polska, Ger. Polen), (see POLAND, RUSSIAN, below)

* POLAND, RUSSIAN



Poland, &c.