How To Celebrate International No Diet Day! (And How NOT To)

It's International No Diet Day! Hurrah! This is something I try to celebrate EVERY day of the year, but on May 6th I get to really fly my foodie freak flag. You might be wondering exactly what INDD is about. Well, it obviously isn't about dieting, but it also isn't about scarfing down junk food in a binging free-for-all. Binging is NOT the opposite of dieting.




Guiltily binging on "bad" food is 1/2 of the yo-yo dieting cycle.  

It's bad for you, and isn't anti-dieting. So don't do that today. :)


Instead, do this: Imagine what your life would be like if you spent as much time, money, and emotional energy on your relationships, career, and/or favorite hobbies as you do on diets. Would your life be drastically different? Would the world be drastically different if this happened on a grand scale? I think so.



If you're uncomfortable with your answer to this question, I encourage you to talk with your friends, family, or even see your doctor or therapist, if you need to. Do some research on intuitive eating and mindful eating. Enjoy my favorite (chocolicious!) mindful eating exercise, Seven Steps to Mindful Eating . Finally, remind yourself of what "normal eating" looks and feels like. I've written on this topic in the past, and I'm copying my favorite "definition of normal eating," below. This is the definition I was given while in treatment for my eating disorder; once this definition "clicked" for me, I finally believed that I could recover (and I did!).

What is Normal Eating? by Ellyn Satter



Normal eating is going to the table hungry and eating until you are satisfied.



 It is being able to choose food you like and eat it and truly get enough of it -not just stop eating because you think you should. 





Normal eating is being able to give some thought to your food selection so you get nutritious food, but not being so wary and restrictive that you miss out on enjoyable food. 



Normal eating is giving yourself permission to eat sometimes because you are happy, sad or bored, or just because it feels good. 


Normal eating is mostly three meals a day, or four or five, or it can be choosing to munch along the way. 

It is leaving some cookies on the plate because you know you can have some again tomorrow, or it is eating more now because they taste so wonderful. 

Normal eating is overeating at times, feeling stuffed and uncomfortable. 

And it can be undereating at times and wishing you had more. 

Normal eating is trusting your body to make up for your mistakes in eating. 

Normal eating takes up some of your time and attention, but keeps its place as only one important area of your life.

In short, normal eating is flexible. It varies in response to your hunger, your schedule, your proximity to food and your feelings.

Here is how I want you to celebrate International No Diet Day:



Finally do something you've been putting off "until you lose weight!" 




Need ideas?





Buy a bikini!   WEAR a bikini!   Go to the gym!   Wink at that cutie from the coffee shop!   Spend a shit-ton of money on clothes that fit you RIGHT NOW!   Have sex with the lights on!  




Most importantly: LOVE YOURSELF! :)


Q: Have YOU ever put off something because you wanted to lose weight? What did you put off? (FYI - I'm guilty of all of the above, but not anymore!)

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