Find Your Food Voice: Defy Diet Culture, Declare Body Liberation, and Reclaim Your Peace

by Julie Duffy Dillon

Consider, what if diets are the problem, not me? By uncovering the real villain-the Seductive 'I-Should-Eat' Script-you will begin to remove years of shame and blame. You haven't been doing it wrong-systemic oppressions operating within the diet industry have scammed all of us into believing there is one way to eat to promote health. Diets push aside the well-known fact that sexism, racism, anti-fat bias, homophobia, and other systems of oppression impact the body and the person navigating the world within it. With this book, ditch common cookie cutter approaches rolled up with toxic positivity, expose the lies that society feeds us, and rewrite your rules around food, eating and your body.
If you're at diet rock bottom, and want a way out, this book is for you.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published March 25, 2025

Reviews

[CECILIA · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you so much to Booksparks for sending me a physical copy <3

Find Your Food Voice by Julie Duffy Dillon was a phenomenal read about the harm of diet culture and how we can overcome it. I truly learned a lot about how to take better care of my health and how to eat healthier without having a toxic relationship with food.

Dillon is extremely well-educated and her advice is so helpful. I highly recommend reading this if you’ve struggled with diet culture and want to reclaim your peace.

[merve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although my reading experience with books focusing on diet culture and our relation with food is quite limited, I found this book interesting, and different from my previous reads. Identifying the close relationship between the oppressive systems and the perception of our own bodies was one of the highlights of this book, and I enjoyed this narrative. Providing real life examples through mentioning the challenges experienced made the book relatable, however I found some parts repetitive. Overall, this was a refreshing read, and reminds the reader that one's relation with food does not have to be regulated by the systems we live in, but needs to be experienced by ourselves. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Megan Gibbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Using the concept of beauty and all that goes into making one look a specific way is a rather sly way to control and keep a population quiet about what is actually wrong.”

Julie Duffy Dillion is a registered dietician, eating disorder specialist, and food behavior expert. She spent the early years of her career sticking to the status quo- pushing food pyramids and BMI data and other norms that are rooted in the belief that white, thin, able bodies are best. Now she dedicates her career to eating disorder recovery and fighting diet culture. Find Your Food Voice is an anti-diet guide to mending your relationship with food.

If I had read this five years ago, it would have changed my life. I’ve been on a journey with my relationship with food and my body and thankfully I am in a really good place. There’s nothing like growing and birthing a human to make you really love and appreciate your body. The first third of this book was SO validating. Diets have never worked for me OR they only worked when they were dangerously restrictive, and both options took a toll on my mental health. The author presents empirical evidence that I’m not crazy! Diets don’t work long term, weight cycling is detrimental to physical and mental health, and the diet industry is pushing bullsh*t to make a profit. The remainder of the book fell flat for me only because it is designed to help you do the work to repair your relationship to food and find your food voice, but I feel like I’m already there. But if you’re not, and especially if you are a woman with a chronic illness- please read this!

[Annahita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, BookSparks, for the gifted copy of Find Your Food Voice!

Pub Day: March 25, 2025

"What if diets are the problem, not me?" This book challenges everything we've been taught about food, health, and body image—and it delivers. Julie Duffy Dillon expertly unpacks the harmful, systemic forces behind diet culture and helps readers reclaim their relationship with food. If you’ve ever felt like you were “failing” at dieting, this book will make you rethink the entire system.
I appreciated how Dillon breaks down the Seductive ‘I-Should-Eat’ Script, exposing the shame and blame that diet culture forces on us. Her approach is compassionate, insightful, and empowering, urging readers to ditch toxic food rules and embrace body liberation. While some sections felt a bit repetitive, the overall message is clear: your body is not the problem—diet culture is.
#FindYourFoodVoiceTour #SpringPopUp

[Jordan]

Picked this up for PCOS info, but while I like the authors emails/podcast, I think this was more grounded in eating disorders and general diet culture than I needed. Not going to rate it because I DNF’d around 25%

[Julie Maleski (juliereads_alot) · Rating 5 out of 5]

🍇🌿 BOOK TOUR BOOK REVIEW 🌿🍇

Find Your Food Voice By Julie Duffy Dillon
Publication Date: March 25, 2025
Publisher: Sheldon Press

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
(Rounded Up To 5⭐)

A huge thank you to @booksparks , @sheldon.press , and Julie Duffy Dillon for selecting me to be a part of this #SpringPopUp for the #FindYourFoodVoiceTour ! I am so grateful for the #gifted copy of the book and the swag box of goodies too!

When I read the synopsis for Find Your Food Voice (swipe ➡️), I was immediately intrigued and so curious about it. As a woman in her late 40s, I've tried nearly everything to lose weight and redefine what my body looks like. With chaotic hormones, perimenopause, and life coming at me 100 miles a minute, losing weight sure isn't as easy as it was in my 20s and 30s.

Find Your Food Voice offered a way to "defy diet culture, declare body liberation, and reclaim your peace." Julie Duffy Dillon, you're speaking my language.

This book explores weight, health, and the impacts of dieting in very real and authentic ways -- ways that challenge the weight-conscious status quo that has been engrained in us since we were children. Duffy Dillon has been on the frontline for years, working with patients who are struggling with their weight - and she took a stand when she realized that shaming her patients and second-guessing their commitments to their health wasn't working for anyone. The book gives you exercises and writing challenges to work through your relationship with food, and it has been a very interactive experience for me.

This isn't the kind of book you sit down and read all at once -- this is a book where you actually digest (pun intended) what you're reading and use its written exercises to process it all. If you're someone who has a complicated relationship with food, or is tired of the endless circle of dieting and challenging every bite of food you put in your mouth, I HIGHLY recommend this book. Out now!

#FindYourFoodVoice #JulieDuffyDillon #SheldonPress #booksparks #booktour #bookrecs #bookreviews

[Brittany Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨ Thank you to BookSparks and Julie Duffy Dillon for this #gifted copy!

In a world where diet culture is everywhere, this book is a much-needed deep dive into how nutrition, media, and societal expectations shape our relationship with food. Julie Duffy Dillon, a registered dietitian, takes a refreshingly non-traditional approach, challenging cookie-cutter health trends and the toxic messages we’ve been fed about weight, wellness, and body image.

💡 What did I love the most?
One of the most powerful aspects of this book is its intersectional approach—Dillon doesn’t just talk about diet culture, she explores how it’s deeply intertwined with race, inequality, and sexism. 🤯 It’s eye-opening to see how systems of power have influenced the way we think about health, food, and our bodies. Her insights are backed by research, real-life case studies, and industry knowledge, making this an informative yet engaging read.

📌 Read if you like:
✅ Eye-opening non-fiction
❌ Anti-diet culture perspectives
🧠 Health & wellness books that challenge mainstream narratives

⚡ Do I recommend this book?
Absolutely. Having worked in the health and wellness industry, I found Dillon’s perspective both validating and thought-provoking. Beyond debunking myths, she provides practical strategies for unlearning harmful beliefs and reframing our relationship with food. If you're tired of fad diets and want a healthier, more compassionate approach to eating, this book is a must-read.

[Mindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very insightful book and it gave me some great ideas and topics to ponder. Being pre-menopausal I have had some recent weight struggles and a lot of it is my own insecurities. I wanted a book that would motivate and help me change my thinking. I enjoyed this refreshing take on how to “defy diet culture, declare body literation, and reclaim my peace”.

It was nice reading the other perspectives and voices on this topic too. Dillon’s words don’t best around the bush. The tools given, along with the advice are helpful. For example, noticing the difference between meal hunger and snack hunger. I appreciated the authors insights on many things and it gave me a lot to think about regarding my own feelings on food, diets, and losing weight in general.

This book is also applicable for those who struggle with eating disorders.

Thank you to @booksparks for selecting me for the tour. I received a paperback copy from the publisher. All views and opinions are my own.

[Coleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone living in a marginalized body, I found this book incredibly refreshing and validating. Hearing the author’s perspectives and experiences - many of which resonated deeply with my own - was both eye-opening and empowering.

This book has me fired up to dismantle oppressive systems, continue my own anti-diet journey, and support others who are looking to break free from diet culture for good. The author’s relatable and compassionate writing style makes it easy to connect with their message, and their passion shines through every page.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is tired of dieting and looking for actionable steps to reclaim their relationship with food and their body. I’m already planning to buy copies for friends and family - it’s truly a must-read!

[Courtney Mason]

Julie Duffy Dillon has done all of research to go beyond the “how” and gives you insight into the “why”. This book explains the multitude of reasons for fuller bodies and less healthy eating patterns and helps you learn how to break free from them. She offers a more healthy approach to eating and way of looking at food so you can develop a healthy relationship with it.
This book is for all unhealthy eating behaviors & mental food barriers with personal stories from people that have faced each one. It also includes tools for understanding and retention of information as well as to create a visual for mindfulness going forward.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who had a lifelong struggle with disordered eating, and living in a marginalized body, this book was so incredibly informative, and empowering. It has such helpful, practical steps for anyone taking their first (or 100th) step on their journey to reject dieting. It was really refreshing to hear the author speak openly about how oppressive systems impact people's body sizes, as well as our societal ideal of what a body "should look like". And, as an anti-diet focused cooking instructor, I will be recommending it to all my clients!

[Cayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Booksparks for letting me be a part of the Spring Pop Up Tour For This book. I have always been a fan of nutrition, diets, health, those sort of things so this was definitely an interesting read. The examples given in this book can make people relate to their own lives and health/diets, body images, etc. Sometimes diets and their overall health can either make it or break it for someone and we need to not judge it so much and just let it be! Live your life the way you want to live it.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Find Your Food Voice is the book so many of us need! If you have already left dieting behind, explored Intuitive Eating, but still feel like something is missing, this is it! The author names the oppressive systems that feed diet culture and impact our ability to move toward finding our food and body autonomy while still living amongst those oppressive systems. She provides practical tools, "homework", and resources to practice and hone our skills at finding our food voice. This should be read by everyone in the weight-inclusive space; it's next level!

[Deb Benfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you feel like you are the only one pushing back against the diet industry, you will feel less alone as you read Find Your Food Voice. You will feel like you've found a freind who "gets it" when you read Julie's words. Reading this book helps you understand why diet culture has made its way into your life and offers practical ways to free yourself from this trap. These kind and compassionate words will leave you feeling seen and understood at a time when it feels like everyone wants to be skinny-no matter what. Yay for a book that helps you see diet culture for what it is!

[Julie Duffy Dillon · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the author of this book, I am honored you are reading and reviewing it. A complicated history with food destroys relationships, impacts health, and carries too much stigma. I hope my book's words help you peel away the years of shame and blame dumped on you from the diet industry and oppressive systems. No matter how tough things are with food, I have hope and so do your fellow readers that you will rewrite your fate.

[Paula Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you have a love/hate relationship with food? I know I do. I’ve struggled with diets over the years, never happy with my body, even as a teen.

#FindYourFoodVoice is a phenomenal book by Julie Duffy Dillon, MS, RDN, NCC, LDN, CEDS-C that’s gives help where greatly needed. I love the instruction & incredible intellect she shares about food. I love the charts showing what the range our yearly lab results should be, charts to track medications, & so much more!

[Chelsea Levy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a sea of weight-centric diet books, Find Your Food Voice is a breath of fresh air to society! Julie takes a true ethical approach to navigating having a body. As a weight-inclusive clinician with fat lived experience, I am thrilled to see the bolstering of food and body healing through a fat positive anti-oppressive lens. What a gift.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic companion on your journey to body liberation, food peace, and a healthier relationship with food. Julie's voice is so relatable and she is a wealth of knowledge on this subject. She shares stories about other folks and their experiences with dieting, body image, and disordered eating so you do not feel alone. An essential read!

[Lottie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐️

[a copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher from netgalley. thank you!]

i have a really complex and problematic relationship with food & eating, so i found this comforting & helpful.

[Maya Patel · Rating 3 out of 5]

You’ve tried and tried diets, you’ve failed them and you’ve tried them again, failed again. Maybe, eventually it worked out for you or maybe it didn’t give the results you were expecting.

There is a big notion around diets being the ultimate way to lose weight. ‘Find Your Food Voice’ by Julie Duffy Dillon is refreshing, and to the point. Diets also fail to tell you that there are so many other factors that play into the concept of losing weight.

The author’s insights on the concept around “diets” was very compelling. In today’s world where our thoughts and opinions on how someone should look physically are sometimes, if not all the time, impacted heavily by the media and society. This book is a deep dive into the fact that you cannot just start a diet by eating specific foods written on a sheet of paper. There are so many more elements that influence if a specific diet will show results, such as: stress, habits and behaviour among so many other reasons.

Have you tried any diets that have given you the results you hoped for?

Thank you @booksparks @sheldon.press for the copy!

#FindYourFoodVoiceTour #springpopup