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International No Diet Day (INDD) is an annual celebration of body acceptance and diversity. It is observed on May 6 each year.

Dieting represents a huge money maker to the industry, despite is high failure rate. Only 5 to 10 percent of us succeed, but we all contribute to the staggering $40 billion in revenue amassed by the weight-loss industry annually. By the year 2006, revenues are estimated to top $48 billion.

According to Bankrate’s “10 things the Diet Companies Don’t Want You to Know”: All three of the largest national weight loss chains -- Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and LA Weight Loss -- continue to make millions in revenue. In 2003, Weight Watchers' revenue was approximately $943 million, while Jenny Craig saw $280 million and LA Weight Loss climbed from revenues of $105 million in 2001 to $250 million and counting in 2003.

According to the Marketdata's John LaRosa, costs of these programs vary regionally (franchises have latitude in what they charge) and individually. On average, joining Jenny Craig will set you back between $199 and $299 initially, plus $70 per week to buy its meals. Weight Watchers charges $29 to join and between $8 and $12 per week for meetings. LA Weight Loss sells a year's program in advance and averages $575 for a full year's service. Costs could go higher, depending on how many of the company's bars and supplements you buy. Marketdata Enterprises, Inc., is an independent Tampa-based market research firm.

There is big money in making you feel bad about yourself. Advertisers have a vested interest in selling you an unobtainable ideal. Since, you can never actually reach you goal, you keep buying. Beyond the financial costs are dieting are the true costs to your health and self-esteem. One of every 11 commercials has a direct message about beauty (this isn't counting the indirect ones).

So, today get off the diet roller coaster. Stop doing that to your body. Restrictive diets deprive the body of much needed nutrients and the weight tends to come back once you resume normal eating habits.

Instead of dieting, why not vow (and what better day than “No Diet Day” to do so) to eat healthier. Most of our diets could be a little healthier (Ok, mine could be a lot healthier). Eat more green things (and I’m not talking about the moldy donut you found rolling around the backseat), drink more water, and get out there and move.

If you’re not exercising, think about a walk in the park at lunch. Take the dog to the beach or the woods – whatever is nearby (he’ll thank you, too!). Go out and buy yourself a nice pair of walking shoes, and treat yourself to a little fresh air.

Finally, most diet ads are about making us feel bad because we are not supermodels. C’mon, you’re not really buying that are you? Appreciate your body – it has done a lot of wonderful things for you. It is you – uniquely you – embrace it. Find time to pamper it. Be nice to it. Don’t deprive it!! The cliché is that it’s what’s on the insides that counts, well – I can promise you until you start to feel good about you, it won’t matter what shape you’re in.

Stop, think about all you’ve accomplished. What have you done today to make yourself proud? We’ll deal with tomorrow, tomorrow.

This past weekend I was in Tahoe. The dog and I wandered off the beaten path in search of a quiet spot for him to roam untethered, when we stumbled upon a nude beach. If you haven’t been to a nude beach lately, it is an interesting exercise in body acceptance.

It takes a lot to let it all hang out – literally. Initially, a self consciousness makes one very aware of one’s flaws. However, you look around, realize no one cares and then it’s just another day at the beach!!

Ultimately, it is you that needs to be comfortable in your own skin – clothed or not. Sure you might have some flaws, but who doesn’t? I am not suggesting you seek out a nude beach to build self esteem – but consider the freedom. Not caring what others think. Not worrying about covering this or hiding that. Just being you.

Oh, and if you do elect to go to the nude beach, bring sunscreen!! Trust me!!!

• A toothbrush, toothpaste, a razor, shaving cream and a hair brush.

• There we tweezers, wax, paste, hair spray, hair gel, hair relaxer, hair curler, pore strips, 7 different moisturizers, 4 toothbrushes in different stages of use - including the one I use to clean the grout behind the sink, four half-used packages of floss from dentists who over the years have held high hopes for improving my dental hygiene, mouthwash, dental picks, the head of a long ago discarded electric toothbrush (hey, I can use it for something), 3 types of toothpaste, whitener, whitener strips, anti-wrinkle crème, line reducer, astringent, toners, Witch Hazel, cotton puffs, cotton swabs, Q-Tips, hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol and matches -- all used for sterilization, Band-Aids, Motrin, Tylenol, Sudafed, Imodium, Afrin, Calcium pills, Nail polish of all colors -- one in a bright shade of green (even I don’t understand that one), bottle of nail polish remover, Tums, a cough drop from the 1992 flu season, Calamine lotion, Pepto-Bismol, a prescription bottle from 1998, emery boards, toe nail clippers, finger nail clippers, a nail brush, three bottles of varying SPF sun protection, bronzer, peroxide (what was I thinking?) spray in highlights, six shades of henna, various soaps and little bottles appropriated from every hotel I’ve stayed at in the last three years,  and a variety of colognes that were meant to allure, but usually simply overwhelmed (remember the 80’s and Polo?) And this is not to mention, the variety of remedies that are tucked away under the sink.