Why We Became Anti-Diet Dietitians
Written by Isabel Vasquez, RD, LDN
Being a Latina anti-diet dietitian is something I feel very lucky and proud to be doing. I am passionate about educating others on the issues with diet culture while empowering them to reconnect to their intuition for better mental and physical health. However, if you talked to me a few years ago, I would have never predicted I’d be working in this niche of dietetics. That was before my own struggles, which peaked during college, shifted my view on nutrition and opened my eyes to the intuitive eating approach. For this piece, in addition to talking about my own reasons for doing what I do, I spoke with Dalina to ask her about why she became an anti-diet dietitian.
A Little About Me
As mentioned above, I had some of my own struggles with my relationship to food and my body, peaking around college, that ultimately led me to want to do this work. Looking back with retrospective clarity, I see the multi-faceted underlying issues that ultimately led to my own disordered behavior. For one, the traditional approach to dietetics is very weight-centric and doesn’t truly include intuitive eating. So, through school, I wasn’t being exposed to this approach to dietetics.
“One internal struggle of mine was definitely that I didn’t feel like I fit in being in mostly white spaces as a Latina.”
On a personal level, there was also a lot going on subconsciously at that time that has since risen to the forefront of my consciousness. One internal struggle of mine was definitely that I didn’t feel like I fit in being in mostly white spaces as a Latina. I was struggling to find my own identity while also trying to fit in. I knew I’d never have the same body as many of my peers, yet I strove for it. This was compounded by the lack of representation in the media and the inevitable effects of diet culture. As I became aware of my own struggles, I started seeking out another way. I read up about Health At Every Size and intuitive eating, connected with other professionals in this area, and knew this was the approach I would take in my own work. Both my own experience and the research validated to me how harmful diet culture is and that intuitive eating is an effective, evidence-based way to achieve overall health.
What Motivates Me?
I want to utilize my own prior struggles and lived experience being a minority to guide others with similar identities struggling in similar ways. I want to utilize my personal experience and professional knowledge to guide other women in finding food freedom and breaking free from the diet mentality.
Furthermore, I know as Latinas we experience the feeling of being stuck between two cultures and the resulting struggles with our identity. I want to help others learn that body diversity is real and we don’t have to subscribe to the Eurocentric beauty ideal, or the stereotypical Latina beauty ideal, we’re sold.
A Little About Dalina
“They don’t teach you about the harms of weight cycling in school along with how weight set point and genetics affect our weight.”
Dalina’s background getting into the anti-diet space is a little different than mine. She says she always tried to practice from an anti-diet approach, but as a dietitian with the traditional weight-centric schooling, she initially believed she could help people lose weight. She emphasized, “They don’t teach you about the harms of weight cycling in school along with how weight set point and genetics affect our weight.” Once she learned more about Health At Every Size and dove deep into the research, she fully embraced it. She explains that ethically, she just couldn’t continue to practice from a weight-centric lens.
What Motivates Her
Ultimately, Dalina believes everyone should be treated with dignity and respect, and that everyone should have the choice to feel good in their body regardless of what society says. She says, “We know that diets don’t work, yet they keep getting repurposed into new trendy solutions that cause more stress, shame, guilt, and self-loathing.” She acknowledges how important it is for women to feel confident in their bodies and confident in their food choices without feeling ashamed for how they look or eat. She wants to help other women get to a place of confidence and self-respect that isn’t contingent on their body size or food choices.
