**International No Diet Day: Celebrating Body Acceptance and Healthy Lifestyles**
May 6th marks International No Diet Day, a day dedicated to promoting body acceptance and healthy lifestyles while combatting extreme and obsessive diets. The day has been celebrated since the 1990s with the goal of raising awareness about the risks of self-imposed diets that are not monitored by medical professionals or nutritionists.
No Diet Day was established in 1992 by Mary Evans Young, founder of the British group Diet Breakers. Young was inspired to create the day after facing bullying due to her weight and struggling with anorexia nervosa. What started as a British initiative has now become a global movement aimed at fighting scale anxieties, stereotypes, and prejudices surrounding weight.
This day serves as an opportunity to promote healthy eating habits and discourage extreme dieting practices. To help individuals evaluate if their diet is too restrictive, dieticians Jennifer Rollin and Natalie Mokari suggest asking three important questions: How often do you think about food? How strict are you in following your food plan? Are you willing to allow yourself some flexibility in your diet?
Rollin warns that overly restrictive diets may not meet calorie or nutritional needs and can lead to unhealthy relationships with food and the body. It is always recommended to seek professional guidance when attempting to lose weight, rather than resorting to harmful DIY diets.
On International No Diet Day, let’s celebrate our bodies, embrace healthy habits, and remember that true wellness comes from nourishing both body and mind.