International No Diet Day...why not everyday??

On Saturday May 6th it was "International No Diet Day".  This is the day we are to eat without fear and rules.  This is a day to push back against the diet industry when it tells us we are not good enough as we are.  This is a day to eat for pleasure and enjoy our foods.  But why do this only one day a year?  What happened to the other 364 days??

Have you ever watch a baby eat?  They cry when they are hungry and push the bottle or nipple away when they are full.  They do not measure the amount of food they are consuming, they do not say "I've had enough carbs today" or "I was bad-I had the breastmilk"...  They just eat until they are full then they stop.  There are no rules, there is no shaming, there is just eating for nourishment and growth. Interestingly we as a society love a "chubby" baby but also as a society we condemn those that continue to be this size as they age.   There are stats that show that children as young as 5 have established food rules that are for the purpose of weight loss.  I remember the first time I saw that I thought "how does that even happen?"  But then I realized.  Children idolize the adults in their lives, they model their behaviour.  They go to schools where the teachers talk about their weight watchers points openly, they watch TV that has commercials for weight loss programs, they have adults in their lives that go on and off diets regularly- I once had a 6 year old client say to me she was on the "Disney Diet" because they were going to Disney in the spring and needed to be healthier before they left.  We are raising a generation of children that are self conscious of their bodies before they even understand what that means.  And I think this is why we need to stop the diet talk every day.  I want to raise children to realize the amazing things their bodies can do.  Their bodies are their earth suits.  These bodies will take them through everything thing they will do while on this earth and that truly is amazing.

So lets try to make International No Diet Day every day.  That may seem scary and daunting for some but imagine the freedom.  Imagine the freedom of letting go of your rules about foods.  Imagine a world where our children spend their time and energy on projects that bring joy to them instead of fighting with their bodies... Imagine.

Until next time be Unapologetically you while I be Unapologetically me.