Put Your Scales Away! May 6th is International No Diet Day
An immeasurable amount of energy and billions of dollars are wasted on ineffective dieting. International No Diet Day, May 6th, was established in 1992 to challenge the cultural attitudes and values that contribute to chronic dieting, weight preoccupation, eating disorders and size discrimination.
A study published in American Psychologist, the journal of the American Psychological Association confirmed what most people suspected: diets don’t work for long-term weight loss. UCLA researchers analyzed 31 long-term diet studies. They concluded that diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or health benefits for the majority of people.
Despite the evidence, millions spend their money and put their lives on hold, desperately hoping to find that perfect diet or magic pill. No Diet Day is their opportunity to focus on health, fitness and well-being—free from endless dieting and weight obsession.
According to Michelle May, M.D., author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: How to Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle, “Most diets fail because they are negative and unsustainable, leaving the dieter feeling guilty and deprived. Diets focus on what people should eat without addressing why they eat in the first place. Dieters often don’t learn to recognize their eating triggers or effectively meet their true physical, emotional and social needs. As a result, the overeating cycle is never really broken.”
Dr. May refers to herself as “a recovered yoyo dieter.” She added that when nutrition and fitness are addressed from a non-diet perspective, people are able to learn to balance eating for enjoyment with eating for health and rediscover joy in physical activity. Dr. May said, “No Diet Day is not the day for breaking your diet, but for breaking free from dieting altogether.” Now that is worth celebrating!
Many health professionals are out to spread the good news. Dr Alison Walsh is running a free webinar 7pm 24th May 2024 on Mindful Eating to empower you to finally break free of your Eat-Repent-Repeat cycle and find food freedom. Registrations and for more information about this webinar contact amihungryaustralia@gmail.com. For more information about other innovative non-diet programs, see www.AmIHungry.com.