| No-Diet Day - Wearing the Blue Ribbon |
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| Cari Corbett-Owen | |||
| Wednesday, 09 May 2007 | |||
  May 6th was International No-Diet day, which was started in 1992 by Mary Evans, director of Diet Breakers. Since its humble beginnings in her dining-room it has been celebrated in Australia, Canada, England, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Russia and across the United States. I wish I'd thought to write about this in April so that you could have worn a light blue ribbon on the 6th May. So now I'm preparing you for next year's International No-Diet day. It's a way of supporting fashion designers who send too thin and gaunt models away from fashion shows. It's a reminder of the constant craziness and obsession with our bodies so that you're now abnormal if you feel comfortable in your body (regardless of your size). It's a stand against old dieting patterns that have millions of people around the globe starting yet another Monday dieting attempt (regardless of whether they are overweight or not). It's a reminder that quick-weight-loss schemes are among the most common consumer frauds, and that diet programs have the highest customer dissatisfaction of any 'service' industry. It's a reminder that there's something seriously wrong with stomach stapling and young girls of a normal we ight having their jaws wired or committing suicide because they can't “cope being fat”. It's a reminder that eating disorders spring up in their ever-increasing mutations and quicker than daisies during springtime - they are like the canary in a mine, an indication of how toxic our society has become around food, eating and body issues. This blue ribbon is a reminder that despite an ever-increasing array of 'no sugar', 'low-and-no-fat products' and 'ka-zillion diet plans', globesity is a rising problem everywhere in the Western world. It's a reminder of the statistics which show that young girls are more afraid of becoming fat than they are of nuclear war, cancer, or of losing their parents and that 50% of 9-year-old girls and 80% of 10-year-old girls have dieted! But despite more (and younger) dieting for our children, we also have more childhood obesity now than ever before and for the first time scientists are predicting that parents may outlive their children. It's a reminder that it's madness to live in a diet-crazed world! Other than wearing a blue ribbon, what else could you have done? Declare a personal one-day moratorium on diet/weight obsession - live just one day without dieting and when I say that I also don't mean 'pig out'. I mean don't count calories or points, don't think about whether foods are illegal or legal. Instead listen to your body – eat when it tells you it's hungry, savour each mouthful and really enjoy your food but stop when you've had enough. As simple as that! And if you want to live free of diets join an anti-diet support group: And if you want free support to live diet free you can go to Overeaters Anonymous or www.mindoverfatter.co.za or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mindoverfatter/ to find a free support groups. Celebrate the beauty and diversity of ALL natural sizes & shapes and affirm every-BODY's right to health, fitness, and emotional well-being. Start a new commitment to help end fattism and fat phobia and show compassion instead by honouring victims of eating disorders and weight-loss surgery.
Disclaimer: Harmonious Living is written for and read by a community of individuals with strong and independent opinions. While the publishers of Harmonious Living are dedicated to providing a forum in which views can be openly expressed, those views do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers.
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