Please note that this is an Archived article and may contain content that is out of date. The use of she/her/hers pronouns in some articles is not intended to be exclusionary. Eating disorders can affect people of all genders, ages, races, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, body shapes, and weights.

By Quinn Nystrom, MS

Every May, #NoDietDay encourages us to question societal messages about bodies, food, and self-worth, reminding us to value acceptance over comparison.

This day celebrates body acceptance, diversity, and respect for all sizes, and invites reflection on when harmful messages began.

I remember going on my first diet at 12.

My body was beginning to change, as bodies naturally do in adolescence, and I became acutely aware of those changes. I was figure skating at the time, surrounded by other girls and constantly comparing my body to theirs: whose legs looked leaner, whose costumes fit differently, who seemed to take up less space.

Without even realizing it, I started assigning value judgments to what I saw.

Certain body shapes became “good.” Others became “bad.”

Some clothing sizes felt acceptable. Others felt shameful.

Some foods and drinks felt ‘earned’; others became ‘off limits,’ ‘cheats,’ or ‘mistakes.’

What started as a comparison slowly became a belief system.

For so many people struggling with body image or an eating disorder, this story is painfully familiar.

Diet culture often teaches us young to treat our bodies as projects to manage, not homes to live in. It says that smaller is better, that food choices define morality, and that our worth is a number on a tag or a scale.

But bodies are not moral.

Food does not determine morality.

No body is “good” or “bad.”

There is simply human diversity.

Bodies naturally come in many shapes, sizes, abilities, and proportions. They change with puberty, pregnancy, aging, illness, stress, healing, or recovery. These changes are human, not failures.

For those in eating disorder recovery, #NoDietDay can be a powerful reminder that healing often begins with unlearning.

Unlearning the idea that shrinking yourself makes you more worthy.

Unlearning the belief that your body needs to look like someone else’s.

Unlearning the language of “good” and “bad” when it comes to food and appearance.

Body acceptance does not mean loving your body every day. For many, it starts with respect.

Respecting your body for carrying you through life.

Respecting its need for nourishment.

Respecting that it deserves comfort, clothing that fits, rest, and compassion.

For the general public, #NoDietDay is also a call to think about the messages we pass on, especially to young people.

The words we use about our own bodies, about food, and about other people’s appearances matter.

A child hearing adults talk about needing to “be good” after dessert or needing to “work off” a meal may begin to internalize the same harmful beliefs I did at 12.

This May, let’s choose something different.

Let’s celebrate body diversity.

Let’s release judgment.

Let’s make space for everybody.

Because every body deserves dignity, care, and respect, exactly as it is.