TORONTO, May 5 /CNW/ - Got a pair of jeans in your closet with a four year old price tag? End the torture, donate 'em! Today is International NO DIET day - a day to celebrate healthy, natural curves without apology. "It's scientifically proven that diets do not work over time. The result of 'yo-yo' dieting from excessive dieting is now being linked with heart disease," says Jill Andrew, women's body image workshop facilitator and founder/producer of Canada's first and only plus size fashion fundraiser Curvy Catwalk. "Maintain regular fun exercise, eat wisely, which can include cheesecake, and don't obsess over the scale," Andrew says. Andrew recently won the national 2008 Michele Landsberg Award presented by the Canadian Women's Foundation for her work through media and activism to help empower the lives of women and girls. The average North American woman is a size 14 yet according to NEDIC, 80 to 90% of women dislike their bodies. 70% of women are currently dieting although 95% of weight loss is reportedly regained within the first one to five years. According to Andrew dieting cannot reset your genetic make-up long term unless you are willing to become a slave to calorie counting all your life. "Knowing your actual body type can save you years of low self-esteem, the risks of developing eating problems and trying to become someone you arenot. Dieting is a physically and emotionally taxing process of self-deprivation. It's much more satisfying to simply incorporate a healthy balance of healthy foods, fun foods, regular check-ups, an active social life and exercise into your daily routine." Andrew speaks regularly encouraging women to share stories about body image through the thick and the thin for her upcoming anthology Phat Girls in Search of a Pretty World: Hot Lil' Fat Chicks Speakin' Out! and is also at the helm of the Toronto International Body Image Festival (TIBIF) which will explore diverse bodies through film, arts, speakers series, fun and of course food. "We spend billions annually buying new wardrobes, compiling degree after degree so that we can create an image to be competitive and 'accepted' in this world but how many of us feel as self-loved naked without all that window dressing? It all starts with a deeper positive perception of our physical bodies well beyond simple vanity. I think for most of us it's a life long journey often made more difficult thanks to stereotypes about bigger people as lazy, asexual or unhealthy." says Andrew. Reigning Miss Canada Plus and triple threat entertainer Stephanie Conover says INDD marks a huge gain for women. "On May 15 I perform in "Fuze" at Buddies in Bad times Theatre. It's a night of song and dance but more so another opportunity for me to express myself as a vital, self-assured curvy woman on stage owning it," says Conover. Curvy Catwalk model, former Miss Canada Plus and regional sales manager for TD Canada Trust, Cindy Bourassa says INDD is about loving yourself unconditionally. "I've got so many accomplishments in my life to celebrate regardless of my dress size, I don't know where to begin." So what's your plan for International No Diet Day? Let it be sweet. http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2008/05/c4880.html ----- INDD was started in 1992 by Mary Evans Young, the director of the British anti-diet campaign Diet Breakers and grown since then. For more info on INDD, check out Largesse, the Network for Size Esteem where they havelots of info, a pledge and other great stuff. I Pledge: * That I will not diet for one day, on May 6, International No Diet Day. * Instead of trying to change my body to fit someone else's standards, I will accept myself just as I am. * I will feed myself if I'm hungry. * I will feel no shame or guilt about my size or about eating. * I will think about whether dieting has improved my health and well-being or not. * And I will try to do at least one thing I have been putting off "until I lose weight." Signed, ____________________________________________________ (Print out this pledge form, sign it, and post it in a place where you will see it often between now and May 6.) (This information is a public service of Largesse, the Network for Size Esteem [http://www.largesse.net/] and may be freely copied and distributed in its entirety for non-commercial use in promoting size diversity empowerment, provided this statement is included. )

Thought I'd swap URLs here, as this rather intriguing, and related.

From one of my LJ pals;

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=564039&in_page_id=1774

Interesting article, tho there is still going to be serious disconect in the health and science community. "Well, this explains things, but we still have to fix what ain't broken".