#NoDietDay
May 6 is No Diet Day—a movement that encourages us to challenge harmful diet culture and celebrate body diversity, self-acceptance, and healthy habits that go beyond restrictive eating.
Originally founded in 1992 by British feminist Mary Evans Young, No Diet Day was created in response to the rise of dieting fads and the damaging impact of body shaming. The day serves as a reminder that your body is never the problem—diet culture is.
The Problems with Diet Culture
Diet culture is the belief that thinness equals health, that certain foods are “good” or “bad,” and that controlling your body size is a moral obligation. It’s behind the messaging that equates willpower with wellness and encourages disordered eating behaviors under the guise of “lifestyle changes.”
This culture is all around us—on social media, in casual conversations, and even in health spaces, making it easy to feel pressured to change your body and adopt negative attitudes towards food.
Diet culture thrives in environments where people are striving to fit in, find control, or feel "enough." But the pressure to diet or look a certain way often leads to:
Disordered eating habits or full-blown eating disorders
Negative body image and low self-esteem
Stress around food choices and exercise routines
Challenging Diet Culture
To challenge the pervasiveness of diet culture in our society, we have to make some conscious choices to create a healthier relationship with food, exercise and our bodies.
1. Challenge the food guilt.
All foods fit. Instead of labelling foods as “clean” or “junk,” try seeing food as nourishment, pleasure, and fuel. One meal or snack won’t make or break your health.
2. Move your body for joy, not punishment.
Exercise doesn’t need to be intense or calculated to count. Go for a walk, stretch between study sessions, dance around your room—whatever helps you feel good and grounded.
3. Curate your feed.
Unfollow accounts that promote unrealistic body ideals or make you feel like you need to “fix” yourself. Follow creators, activists, and professionals who encourage body acceptance and holistic well-being.
4. Listen to your body.
Practice intuitive eating—checking in with hunger and fullness cues, honouring cravings, and noticing how food makes you feel physically and emotionally.
5. Seek support.
If food and body image are taking up a lot of space in your mind, it’s okay to reach out. Counsellors and healthcare providers can help you navigate this with compassion.
You deserve to eat, move, and live in ways that support your well-being, not ways that shrink you down. On No Diet Day, and every day, you are allowed to take up space, nourish your body, and define health on your own terms.
-Lindsey Wachter, R.Kin, Health Promoter at Student Health and Wellness
