Mary, a recovered anorexic, is the author of a best-selling book in Britain titled Diet Breaking: Having It All Without Having To Diet (Hodder & Stoughton, 1995). Here is the story of how INDD was born, in Mary’s own words:
“I started INDD in the spring of ‘92 following two things. The first was seeing a television programme where women were having their stomachs stapled. One woman had split the staples and was in for her third op[eration]. And then a young girl of 15 committed suicide because ‘she couldn’t cope being fat.’ She was size 14 (12 in US). I decided somebody had to stand up and try to stop this bloody madness and in the absence of anybody else, I decided it would be me. So I sent out a press release titled ‘Fat Woman Bites Back’...and got some media attention. I was desperate to keep the anti-diet/size acceptance concept in the public eye. So, without really thinking about it, at the end of a live TV interview I said, ‘Don’t forget to celebrate No Diet Day.’ ...Having declared it on prime time national TV I then set about organising a picnic in Hyde Park. Alas it rained, so we adjourned to my living room instead.”
From a picnic in Mary’s living room, International No Diet Day has spread around the globe. Since 1993, INDD has been celebrated in Australia, Canada, England, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, South Africa, across the United States and in many other locations around the world.
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.
