Today is International No Diet Day, and while not everyone may know about it, you should spread the word.
Started in 1992 by British feminist Mary Young, International No Diet Day has taken on diet culture and body shaming — in all its shapes and forms — and handed body positivity back to the people, and not just to those who are of size. It gives those who are suffering from body image issues a moment to love and accept themselves, outside of cultural norms and societal pressures. It lets people know “I am not defined by the numbers on a scale.”
In celebration of No Diet Day, help break down (and shake down) diet culture and all its practices. Here’s a list of items you can work on to keep the body shamers at bay today:
- Question the idea of one “right” body shape.
Raise awareness of weight discrimination, size-ism and fat phobia.
Help end weight discrimination, size-ism and fat phobia.
Present the facts about the diet industry, emphasizing the inefficacy of commercial diets.
Make a public declaration of how you’re going to ditch your diet for good.
Eat what you want, when you want. Don’t make any excuses!
Give your social media feeds a clean, and un-follow the negative influences in your life who are still supporting diets and unfavourable body image.
Get up and dance. Trust me, it’s fun and a great way to feel your body in motion.
Don’t be afraid to take up space. You deserve to be there as much as anyone else — be unapologetic!
Write down all the positive things you love about your body, and read them out loud. You would be surprised to hear how much there is.
More on positive body image
Teach kids to love their bodies, because the media isn’t
What my daughter’s favourite body part taught me about self-love
Plus-size blogger perfectly shuts down comments about bikini photo
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