Storefronts in Downtown Guelph and Kitchener-Waterloo will once again be helping the Waterloo-Wellington Eating Disorders Coalition counteract negative messages about weight on May 6, for International No Diet Day.
The signs can be seen in storefront windows downtown, along Wyndham, Quebec, MacDonnell and Carden St.
This year organizers have expanded to Kitchener-Waterloo, where some local businesses will display signs.
The signs promote health at every size, “a non-dieting approach oriented toward celebrating our natural sizes and honouring our bodies,” officials say.
Although not everyone who diets develops an eating disorder, many who struggle with eating disorders first start out by dieting.
The Waterloo-Wellington Eating Disorders Coalition, alongside many other individuals and agencies who are participating in International No Diet Day, are working to challenge cultural attitudes and values that contribute to chronic dieting, weight and size preoccupation, eating disorders, and size discrimination.
Here are 10 suggestions to participate in International No Diet Day:
– take a break from dieting and try eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full;
– stop thinking about foods as “good,” “bad” or “junk food”;
– make health, not weight loss, your lifestyle goal;
– give up, or better still, smash the scale;
– clean out your closet and get rid of all your “thin clothes”;
– ask local bookstores to display anti-diet and “Health At Every Size” books this month;
– stop focusing on appearance;
– engage in physical activities for pleasure and health benefits;
– end weight discrimination by celebrating size diversity; and
– check out store windows hosting slogans promoting positive body image and size acceptance.
For more background information about eating disorders and size acceptance visit www.eatingdisorderscoalition.ca or visit Facebook or Twitter.
