International No Diet Day – 6th May

There has been a long-standing movement to shed the shame typically associated with being less than Hollywood perfect. The photoshopped images found in fashion and beauty magazines have been marked as a direct cause of a rising instance of eating disorders among the youth.

Too long has health been associated with unrealistic body types and unhealthy, dangerous fad diets. International No Diet Day has been pushed forward with the intention of promoting healthy lifestyles for all body types.

History of International No Diet Day

International No Diet Day was first started by Mary Evans in 1992. The purpose of the day was to help men and women around the world to appreciate their own bodies. Having gone through anorexia herself, Mary began Diet Breakers, which is her organization. She then created the first International No Diet Day, bringing attention to the cause, and of course, her organization as well. Now, the day is used to help tackle tough issues regarding diet and body awareness, focusing on a number of agendas.

This includes the following…

• Educating people about the right way to diet responsibly and effectively
• Having all people take a one-day break from their diets
• Celebrating the diversity of different shapes and sizes

Bodies can be beautiful in all shapes and sizes, with both the svelte look of the athletic beach nut and the more Grecian and Rubenesque body types merely exemplifying the natural body type. Considering that the failures of dieting often result in yoyo-ing weight, with all of the weight lost being regained in almost every case within 5 years. To combat these incredibly unhealthy habits organizations all over the world have been engaged in forcing the fashion industry to label those images that have been modified or outlawing the use of photoshop all together.

How to celebrate International No Diet Day

Celebrating International No Diet Day is best done by recognizing that your own body is beautiful exactly as it is. De-emphasizing your efforts to shed weight to look a particular way, it is far better to celebrate the holiday with efforts at the beginning to live a healthier lifestyle altogether.

Worry less about your final goal, and more about getting out and being active and keeping your body healthy. Losing weight rapidly or shooting for unrealistic body types is an excellent way of causing yourself harm in the pursuit of greater health. Instead, love your body by finding active hobbies and love yourself the way you look!

There are a number of different ways that you can participate in International No Diet Day. This includes the following…

• Help end weight discrimination, fatphobia, and sizeism.
• Understand the inefficacy of commercial diets and learn about the diet industry.
• Embrace body diversity and challenge the idea of one ‘right’ body shape.
• Declare a day that is free from dieting and obsessing about shape and weight.
• Compliment colleagues on contributions, achievements, and skills, rather than focusing on appearance.

Here are some of the suggestions that we have to help you make the most of this day…

• Eat what you love! Don’t worry about the calories or anything like this. Instead, eat what you truly want to eat because it tastes good. Let that be your only concern today.
• Throw away your scales. Don’t judge yourself based on a number. You will be surprised by how liberating this feels.
• Instead, celebrate and embrace your intrinsic qualities, such as your uniqueness, quirkiness, kindness, or strength, for instance!
• Be adventurous and cook something that you have always wanted to but have never cooked before.

You can also use International No Diet Day in order to make people aware of different eating disorders. There are so many ways that you can go about this. If you have had your own personal experience and you feel ready to share it, you may take this opportunity to start a blog about it. You could also decide to fundraise for those who are struggling with eating disorders. Whether you raise funds or you simply raise awareness, you are going to be doing a great thing to help a lot of people.

However, you should not feel guilty about simply using this day as an opportunity to look after number one! After all, we all need to care for ourselves as well. Why not make a list of all of the things you love about your body? Now is the perfect time to start focusing on the positive rather than the negative. Most of us have a tendency to focus on the things we dislike instead of focusing on what we do like about our bodies. Today is the perfect time for you to change this!