Ok, I give up. What the hell is DIETING?

To me, dieting means someone is looking for a quick fix, something other than personal effort and perseverance in making a lifestyle change.
I always marvel at peeople who have had a weightloss procedure (tool) and want to also follow the latest fad diet.
People who have weight issues need to concentrate their efforts on learning about their mental attitude/insecurities, good nutrition, exercise and making a life long commitment to change if they are truly serious about losing excess weight and keeping it off.
Diligence in these pursuits do require accountability in knowing what you are ingesting and how it affects you.
I am personally a numbers person. I like to create charts, graphs, etc. to track my success and areas that need improvement. To most this is too restrictive, but to me it is freedom. I love the challenge of creating new plans and implementing new ideas.
Some make say I am consumed, but to me it is rewarding and keeps me accountable. I am in it for the duration and that requires commitment and faithfulness.

Oh no I get where you're coming from.

For me it is comforting to know for sure I'm living within the parameters of my healthful lifestyle. But on more than one occasion HERE I post about that and get the "I didn't sign up to diet for the rest of my life..."

Ok, well maybe I did (if this is what I need to do to be ok), so I feel like saying in those instances "this place is for everybody and who are you to belittle me for how I choose to live!"

But that would be mean.

I guess the thing that confuses me is how I eat is so inherent now becuase I practiced it my entire first year without exception. For instance, I know the nutritional stats on EVERY food I eat by heart. Every one. It's not something I tried to memorize, I just did. So when I put those together (in the way I have been doing, habitually, for the last four years) I know how many calories I'm eating. So when I say I am counting calories, I'm not sitting next to my plate, calculator in hand, computing whether or not I should eat. Rather, I already KNOW how much I'm eating. And I know how much I am burning. Over the last few years I've chosen not to gear my eating or activity toward weight loss but that doesn't mean I don't know.

So I totally get what you're saying.

"For instance, I know the nutritional stats on EVERY food I eat by heart. Every one. It's not something I tried to memorize, I just did. So when I put those together (in the way I have been doing, habitually, for the last four years) I know how many calories I'm eating. So when I say I am counting calories, I'm not sitting next to my plate, calculator in hand, computing whether or not I should eat. Rather, I already KNOW how much I'm eating."

To me, though, that is not "dieting".  That is exactly what I do (but the only thing I really know are the protein counts because that is all I care -- or ever cared -- about).  To some it may be splitting hairs, but to me that is quite a different mindset than writing down everything I put in my mouth for the rest of my life or worrying about what happens when I only have 250 calories "left" in my daily allotment for dinner, etc.

If people need to track all of their in order to be successful, then they obviously need to do that, and SHOULD do thatm and it really doesn't impact ME in any way.  My experience (both personally and professionally), however, is that MOST people will eventually tire of that post-op the same way they did pre-op... and the results will, unfortunately, be the same as well.  So I admittedly (and unashamedly) always encourage people to examine whether they are still dieting or really changing their life.

I think the issue -- as far as my posts/responses are concerned, anyway -- goes back to my original distinction between verb and noun. The diet mentality is far more important than whether or not someone uses a food tracking tool for the rest of his/her life.  Those who have surgery and retain the diet mentality -- legalistic, restrictive, deprivative food consumption --  rather than embrace a healthier approach to eating (and food in general) are much more likely to struggle with maintaining their loss.  Pre-op or post-op, dieting (as a verb) does not work long term.

Lora

I see what you're sayin. And I don't think I've ever got that response directly from you but I admit it ****** me off when I do get it (many things said here **** me off but in the interest of board unity...and recognizing that I am flipping crazy...I usually keep them to myself...).

Yeah, I don't have a mentality of depriving myself anything. I eat what I want to eat when I want to eat it. But I also know there are limits for me. There is a line between eating well and grossly overeating that is perilously easy for me to cross.

I think my weight loss also plays into it too. I didn't get to be 150 or 160 or any other weight where there is this oft-mentioned "5 lb. wiggle room." I'm 200 lbs. It would be SO easy for me to trip back over into being obese. And while I do not proclaim XPOUNDS GONE FOREVER! I am proclaiming that I'm done being obese if I have anything to do with it! So I keep track. When I need to adjust, I do. Otherwise, I work really hard to just live.

 Dieting is temporary changes made in order to lose weight.  TEMPORARY.  As in, "get this weight off and then I can go back to my normal eating" mentality.  It can be all or none of those things that you mentioned.

I do ALL of those things, but I made them a permanent change.

I count my calories.  I count my carbs.  I count my protein.  This is to gain knowledge and to make sure I'm not backtracking; it is not a diet.  I do not allow myself to eat sugar.  I stay away from high fat foods.  Not just because of dumping - I honestly do not know if I dump because I've never tried to test my limits.  I do these things on a permanent basis to lose/maintain my weight. I made lifestyle changes.  I do not diet.