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Decolonizing Wellness
Become the healthiest and happiest version of yourself using wellness tools designed specifically for BIPOC and LGBTQ folks.
The lack of BIPOC and LGBTQ representation in the fields of health and nutrition has led to repeated racist and unscientific biases that negatively impact the very people they purport to help. Many representatives of the increasingly popular body positivity movement actually add to the body image concerns of queer people of color by emphasizing cisgender, heteronormative, and Eurocentric standards of beauty. Few mainstream body positivity resources address the intersectional challenges of anti-Blackness, colorism, homophobia, transphobia, and generational trauma that are at the root of our struggles with wellness and self-care.
In Decolonizing Wellness: A QTBIPOC-Centered Guide to Escape the Diet Trap, Heal Your Self-Image, and Achieve Body Liberation, registered dietitian and nutritionist Dalia Kinsey will help readers to improve their health without restriction, eliminate stress around food and eating, and turn food into a source of pleasure instead of shame. A road map to body acceptance and self-care for queer people of color, Decolonizing Wellness is filled with practical eating practices, journal prompts, affirmations, and mindfulness tools. Ultimately, decolonizing nutrition is essential not only to our personal well-being but to our community’s well-being and to the possibility of greater social transformation.
This is a body positivity and food freedom book for marginalized folks. It’s a guide to throwing out food rules in exchange for internal cues and adopting a self-love-based approach to eating. It’s about learning to trust our bodies and turning mealtime into a time for celebration and healing.
It’s also a love letter to those of us who struggle with our bodies and a gentle plea for us to do the work it takes to accept, trust, and love ourselves.
The lack of BIPOC and LGBTQ representation in the fields of health and nutrition has led to repeated racist and unscientific biases that negatively impact the very people they purport to help. Many representatives of the increasingly popular body positivity movement actually add to the body image concerns of queer people of color by emphasizing cisgender, heteronormative, and Eurocentric standards of beauty. Few mainstream body positivity resources address the intersectional challenges of anti-Blackness, colorism, homophobia, transphobia, and generational trauma that are at the root of our struggles with wellness and self-care.
In Decolonizing Wellness: A QTBIPOC-Centered Guide to Escape the Diet Trap, Heal Your Self-Image, and Achieve Body Liberation, registered dietitian and nutritionist Dalia Kinsey will help readers to improve their health without restriction, eliminate stress around food and eating, and turn food into a source of pleasure instead of shame. A road map to body acceptance and self-care for queer people of color, Decolonizing Wellness is filled with practical eating practices, journal prompts, affirmations, and mindfulness tools. Ultimately, decolonizing nutrition is essential not only to our personal well-being but to our community’s well-being and to the possibility of greater social transformation.
This is a body positivity and food freedom book for marginalized folks. It’s a guide to throwing out food rules in exchange for internal cues and adopting a self-love-based approach to eating. It’s about learning to trust our bodies and turning mealtime into a time for celebration and healing.
It’s also a love letter to those of us who struggle with our bodies and a gentle plea for us to do the work it takes to accept, trust, and love ourselves.
176 pages, Paperback
First published February 8, 2022
95 people are currently reading
4571 people want to read
About the author
Dalia Kinsey
2 books40 followersDalia Kinsey, RD, LD (nonbinary/no pronouns) is a Registered Dietitian and creator of the Body Liberation for All podcast.
Dalia rejects diet culture and teaches people to use nutrition as a self-care and personal empowerment tool to counter the damage of systemic oppression.
On a mission to spread joy, reduce suffering, and eliminate health disparities in the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC community, Dalia continually creates wellness tools and resources that center the most vulnerable, individuals, that hold multiple marginalized identities.
After you pre-order, sign up for a virtual book club event with Dalia 2/2022 https://www.daliakinsey.com/book
Dalia rejects diet culture and teaches people to use nutrition as a self-care and personal empowerment tool to counter the damage of systemic oppression.
On a mission to spread joy, reduce suffering, and eliminate health disparities in the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC community, Dalia continually creates wellness tools and resources that center the most vulnerable, individuals, that hold multiple marginalized identities.
After you pre-order, sign up for a virtual book club event with Dalia 2/2022 https://www.daliakinsey.com/book
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
December 11, 2023
This may be one of the most colonial things I've ever read, funnily enough.
The use of the term "black and brown bodies" versus "white staff" in the same sentence is telling - the author shows her internalized racism within the first 10 pages of the book.
The author mentions racism, heterosexism, and cissexism. There's no mention of misogyny - easy to imagine why, considering she undermines women earlier and shifts the focus of the problem to their whiteness. If your feminism isn't intersectional, I want no part of it.
I also think it's obscene to pay for media that makes you feel less than. I'm grateful to my public library for not making me need to pay for this book.
"Rainbow coloured tribe" - please don't lump me and other 2SQLGBT+ people into your casual cultural appropriation of an Indigenous term.
A lot of the beginning of this book is the author saying "my book is better than everyone else's and special and will change your life if you're not white and not straight." As someone who is neither, I cannot understand why you would not get into the actual book for so long and instead, sing your own praises without any reason for anyone to believe it.
Lordy. And all that was from the intro.
The use of "a black person with a womb" - more dehumanization of women. This is followed by black women and then black femmes. What?? That's bizarre. Butches can also get pregnant. It doesn't matter if they're a femme. Weird use of language.
The author mentioned racism from a Latino friend and referred to them as Latinx, a term that was pushed onto the Latino community which only makes sense from a colonial english-first point of view. So her friend was racist and she was racist back. Great. Amazing work being done here.
I fully agree that women aren't taken seriously at the doctor's office, especially black and brown women, because of our sex and skin tone. It's unfair and honestly should be considered malpractice. This was genuinely a great point.
"Under no circumstances should you participate in your own exploitation.' agree wholeheartedly, this is why I'm a feminist.
The author mentions the time and money "AFAB women" spend on chasing beauty ideals. That applies to transwomen as well. Also, it would have been entirely appropriate to just say "women" here. Beauty ideals are unfairly pushed on all women, unrealistic beauty standards are everywhere.
"Your only value is physical beauty" doesn't affect "femme-identifying people" more than others - this sentence made me sad because it did make me think of how you truly can see this value growing up in the people around you.
"There is an overwhelming emphasis on the body in gay male settings" - there's an overwhelming emphasis on the body in all settings when it comes to women and we consider this normal... Also, this sentence sounds homophobic.
People are allowed to have dating preferences. The way the author wants to police attraction is disturbing and again, homophobic.
It's true that non-binary identifying people try and look more masculine. That's because male is considered the default and female is considered the inferior deviation by so many with internalized misogyny. It's an unfortunate reality.
"Wellness is nuanced" - this is very true and I really like how this is emphasized throughout.
Does this author actually think obesity is fine despite the damage it physically causes to one's body? I have so many people in my family who are obese and suffering as a result. That wasn't properly addressed.
I did like that the author mentioned that it is a different challenge to handle hunger cues when you have diabetes. As a diabetic, I appreciated that.
Gender nonconformity, especially as a girl, is a universal experience of girlhood which is usually chastised out of us. It was nice to see that mentioned.
Overall, I would skip this book. There's barely anything on diet culture in here anyway, and most of what is here can be found easily in a YouTube video without the extraneous material.
The use of the term "black and brown bodies" versus "white staff" in the same sentence is telling - the author shows her internalized racism within the first 10 pages of the book.
The author mentions racism, heterosexism, and cissexism. There's no mention of misogyny - easy to imagine why, considering she undermines women earlier and shifts the focus of the problem to their whiteness. If your feminism isn't intersectional, I want no part of it.
I also think it's obscene to pay for media that makes you feel less than. I'm grateful to my public library for not making me need to pay for this book.
"Rainbow coloured tribe" - please don't lump me and other 2SQLGBT+ people into your casual cultural appropriation of an Indigenous term.
A lot of the beginning of this book is the author saying "my book is better than everyone else's and special and will change your life if you're not white and not straight." As someone who is neither, I cannot understand why you would not get into the actual book for so long and instead, sing your own praises without any reason for anyone to believe it.
Lordy. And all that was from the intro.
The use of "a black person with a womb" - more dehumanization of women. This is followed by black women and then black femmes. What?? That's bizarre. Butches can also get pregnant. It doesn't matter if they're a femme. Weird use of language.
The author mentioned racism from a Latino friend and referred to them as Latinx, a term that was pushed onto the Latino community which only makes sense from a colonial english-first point of view. So her friend was racist and she was racist back. Great. Amazing work being done here.
I fully agree that women aren't taken seriously at the doctor's office, especially black and brown women, because of our sex and skin tone. It's unfair and honestly should be considered malpractice. This was genuinely a great point.
"Under no circumstances should you participate in your own exploitation.' agree wholeheartedly, this is why I'm a feminist.
The author mentions the time and money "AFAB women" spend on chasing beauty ideals. That applies to transwomen as well. Also, it would have been entirely appropriate to just say "women" here. Beauty ideals are unfairly pushed on all women, unrealistic beauty standards are everywhere.
"Your only value is physical beauty" doesn't affect "femme-identifying people" more than others - this sentence made me sad because it did make me think of how you truly can see this value growing up in the people around you.
"There is an overwhelming emphasis on the body in gay male settings" - there's an overwhelming emphasis on the body in all settings when it comes to women and we consider this normal... Also, this sentence sounds homophobic.
People are allowed to have dating preferences. The way the author wants to police attraction is disturbing and again, homophobic.
It's true that non-binary identifying people try and look more masculine. That's because male is considered the default and female is considered the inferior deviation by so many with internalized misogyny. It's an unfortunate reality.
"Wellness is nuanced" - this is very true and I really like how this is emphasized throughout.
Does this author actually think obesity is fine despite the damage it physically causes to one's body? I have so many people in my family who are obese and suffering as a result. That wasn't properly addressed.
I did like that the author mentioned that it is a different challenge to handle hunger cues when you have diabetes. As a diabetic, I appreciated that.
Gender nonconformity, especially as a girl, is a universal experience of girlhood which is usually chastised out of us. It was nice to see that mentioned.
Overall, I would skip this book. There's barely anything on diet culture in here anyway, and most of what is here can be found easily in a YouTube video without the extraneous material.
January 26, 2022
Decolonizing Wellness by dietitian Dalia Kinsey aims to help QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Color) folks reject diet culture and restrictive ideas about bodies and food in order to find greater self-love and self-acceptance. The author, who identifies as a genderqueer, pansexual person of colour, wrote this book to fill a gap in resources on body positivity and food freedom for people with marginalized identities.
While I’m not a member of the book’s intended audience, I was interested in the idea of wellness through a social justice lens, plus I like to spread the word about resources for marginalized groups. And I’m anti-diet culture, and I thought the author had a great perspective on that.
The book begins by addressing the significant negative health effects of stress related to racism, oppression, and being regularly faced with microaggressions. The author characterized systemic oppression as a “deadly preexisting condition.”
The author calls out diet culture, laying out reasons why “dieting should be avoided like the plague.” She explains the harms that dieting can cause, and addresses the issue of predatory marketing and the role of the almighty dollar in driving the diet industry.
The book also addresses the moralization of fatness and the way health disparities in communities of colour get blamed on the “obesity crisis” and people’s health behaviours. She described the attitude among the dominant culture that people of colour are “just so hopelessly not white that they struggle to fully adopt Whole Foods as the solution to all their problems.” That made me laugh, but I think that the "Whole Foods is the answer" kind of attitude also feeds into other problems like orthorexia.
Binge eating and the use of food to self-soothe are framed as stress responses to the disease of systemic oppression. The author advocates for a very different approach from dieting and trying to target fatness; instead, she advocates for getting in touch with your body and improving your relationship with food. Eating is presented as a form of self-care, and the author encouraged mindful eating. There’s also a chapter on trusting your body that explores getting to know how your body signals hunger and fullness, as well as differentiating between physical and emotional hunger.
The book also addresses body shame and offers a variety of strategies to help to liberate yourself from that shame, including embracing joyful movement.
There are chapters that address prioritizing pleasure and developing self-love, all of which are presented in the context of dealing with oppression and internalized invalidating messaging. The author explains that there’s “no magical tool for dealing with pain that doesn’t involve confronting and experiencing your feelings,” and encourages finding a therapist who celebrates your marginalized identities.
The final chapter focuses on honouring your ancestors’ dreams of freedom for their descendants by embracing your racialized identity and rejecting white beauty standards.
The book has “journaling break” sections interspersed throughout, with prompts for self-reflection. The author emphasizes that making changes isn’t just about thinking; it’s about following through with actions.
While some books bout wellness can be kind of fluffy, there’s nothing fluffy at all about this book. It acknowledges and validates that readers are faced with a lot of difficult experiences, while at the same time offering hope that liberation is possible. The author challenges a lot of conventional wisdom around what is expected of people’s bodies and what it means to be healthy, and I think it offers a very liberating perspective for people feeling oppressed by that kind of messaging.
The book’s primary audience is QTBIPOC folks, but I think there’s a lot of good stuff here for anyone who feels like oppression related to marginalized identities has affected their relationship with food and their bodies. It was a really interesting read.
I received a reviewer copy from the publisher through Netgalley.
While I’m not a member of the book’s intended audience, I was interested in the idea of wellness through a social justice lens, plus I like to spread the word about resources for marginalized groups. And I’m anti-diet culture, and I thought the author had a great perspective on that.
The book begins by addressing the significant negative health effects of stress related to racism, oppression, and being regularly faced with microaggressions. The author characterized systemic oppression as a “deadly preexisting condition.”
The author calls out diet culture, laying out reasons why “dieting should be avoided like the plague.” She explains the harms that dieting can cause, and addresses the issue of predatory marketing and the role of the almighty dollar in driving the diet industry.
The book also addresses the moralization of fatness and the way health disparities in communities of colour get blamed on the “obesity crisis” and people’s health behaviours. She described the attitude among the dominant culture that people of colour are “just so hopelessly not white that they struggle to fully adopt Whole Foods as the solution to all their problems.” That made me laugh, but I think that the "Whole Foods is the answer" kind of attitude also feeds into other problems like orthorexia.
Binge eating and the use of food to self-soothe are framed as stress responses to the disease of systemic oppression. The author advocates for a very different approach from dieting and trying to target fatness; instead, she advocates for getting in touch with your body and improving your relationship with food. Eating is presented as a form of self-care, and the author encouraged mindful eating. There’s also a chapter on trusting your body that explores getting to know how your body signals hunger and fullness, as well as differentiating between physical and emotional hunger.
The book also addresses body shame and offers a variety of strategies to help to liberate yourself from that shame, including embracing joyful movement.
There are chapters that address prioritizing pleasure and developing self-love, all of which are presented in the context of dealing with oppression and internalized invalidating messaging. The author explains that there’s “no magical tool for dealing with pain that doesn’t involve confronting and experiencing your feelings,” and encourages finding a therapist who celebrates your marginalized identities.
The final chapter focuses on honouring your ancestors’ dreams of freedom for their descendants by embracing your racialized identity and rejecting white beauty standards.
The book has “journaling break” sections interspersed throughout, with prompts for self-reflection. The author emphasizes that making changes isn’t just about thinking; it’s about following through with actions.
While some books bout wellness can be kind of fluffy, there’s nothing fluffy at all about this book. It acknowledges and validates that readers are faced with a lot of difficult experiences, while at the same time offering hope that liberation is possible. The author challenges a lot of conventional wisdom around what is expected of people’s bodies and what it means to be healthy, and I think it offers a very liberating perspective for people feeling oppressed by that kind of messaging.
The book’s primary audience is QTBIPOC folks, but I think there’s a lot of good stuff here for anyone who feels like oppression related to marginalized identities has affected their relationship with food and their bodies. It was a really interesting read.
I received a reviewer copy from the publisher through Netgalley.
October 8, 2022
As a queer Asian POC I was really excited at the idea of this book but have been sorely disappointed.
The term BIPOC here seems to only refer to Black and Indigenous folks and not at all considerate of the experiences of other POC. I understand the author is writing primarily from her own experiences, but in that case the book should not claim to be all-inclusive or conscious of intersectionality.
It feels like Kinsey is restating all the things mentioned in other books about diet culture/fatphobia, and then talking a bit about race and queer identities on the side, without really integrating the two in a cohesive way. Kinsey also does not consider socioeconomic factors as potential barriers for folks' healing their relationships with their bodies.
I just think as a book claiming to be much more inclusive than the more mainstream body liberation literature, it did a poor job living up to those claims. The idea is great, but did not meet my expectations and did not help me feel seen or heard as a queer POC.
The term BIPOC here seems to only refer to Black and Indigenous folks and not at all considerate of the experiences of other POC. I understand the author is writing primarily from her own experiences, but in that case the book should not claim to be all-inclusive or conscious of intersectionality.
It feels like Kinsey is restating all the things mentioned in other books about diet culture/fatphobia, and then talking a bit about race and queer identities on the side, without really integrating the two in a cohesive way. Kinsey also does not consider socioeconomic factors as potential barriers for folks' healing their relationships with their bodies.
I just think as a book claiming to be much more inclusive than the more mainstream body liberation literature, it did a poor job living up to those claims. The idea is great, but did not meet my expectations and did not help me feel seen or heard as a queer POC.
Read
April 27, 2023No rating on this one, I'm not the intended audience and wanted to listen to what kinds of information this book provided to folks in the QTBIPOC community.
This had some really interesting journaling prompts to work through, and touched on a lot of topics both that were things you can notice, and others that were a result of living in society with the historical background Black and Indigenous People of Color face, especially in the US. There also was a bit of historical context on white supremacy in this and how it's rooted its way into everything from the ideal "thin" body type to hair type to treatment on medical health to workplace issues to microaggressions to capitalism.
This felt like a good intro or medium dive in, with a good mix of giving some background info and assuming the reader was already familiar with certain topics. It was also nice to the various kinds of affirmations the author included throughout the book, this felt so supportive and caring towards the community it was written towards.
There was quite a bit of inclusion of trans and nonbinary folk's experiences, and essays read that reflected on childhood experiences with their body (I believe this was not the author's experience and a contributor, but I could be wrong!)
Great narration from LaNecia Edmonds too!
This had some really interesting journaling prompts to work through, and touched on a lot of topics both that were things you can notice, and others that were a result of living in society with the historical background Black and Indigenous People of Color face, especially in the US. There also was a bit of historical context on white supremacy in this and how it's rooted its way into everything from the ideal "thin" body type to hair type to treatment on medical health to workplace issues to microaggressions to capitalism.
This felt like a good intro or medium dive in, with a good mix of giving some background info and assuming the reader was already familiar with certain topics. It was also nice to the various kinds of affirmations the author included throughout the book, this felt so supportive and caring towards the community it was written towards.
There was quite a bit of inclusion of trans and nonbinary folk's experiences, and essays read that reflected on childhood experiences with their body (I believe this was not the author's experience and a contributor, but I could be wrong!)
Great narration from LaNecia Edmonds too!
March 13, 2023
As a queer white man I know that this book was not specifically for me, but it didn’t really provide what I was hoping to find from it. I found some of the writing interesting, useful, especially towards the target audience.
However, I mostly felt like Kinsey was saying general things that are also said in other fat liberation texts and pairing it with racial/queer ideas without much follow thru on the connection or backing it up with thoroughly expanding on a thought or data/history/arguments surrounding it.
I didn’t disagree with anything or dislike any of her takes, I just went into the book curious of having the racial/queer lens on topics I’ve previously been interested in learning expounded upon and this didn’t do it for me.
I can see it being quite a useful and affirming text for people in her target audience who are new to a lot of the concepts shared and appreciated her sharing personal stories/perspective so eloquently, it just wasn’t what I was hoping for.
However, I mostly felt like Kinsey was saying general things that are also said in other fat liberation texts and pairing it with racial/queer ideas without much follow thru on the connection or backing it up with thoroughly expanding on a thought or data/history/arguments surrounding it.
I didn’t disagree with anything or dislike any of her takes, I just went into the book curious of having the racial/queer lens on topics I’ve previously been interested in learning expounded upon and this didn’t do it for me.
I can see it being quite a useful and affirming text for people in her target audience who are new to a lot of the concepts shared and appreciated her sharing personal stories/perspective so eloquently, it just wasn’t what I was hoping for.
September 23, 2022
This book was a little less radical than I wanted it to be. I felt like there was less of an emphasis on wellness for the lgbtq population than I had hoped. And while I agree with many of her assertions around the diet industry in particular, I wanted a bit more depth and more concrete solutions offered.
The section I most enjoyed was her discussion of mindful eating. It struck me as a tangible way to change my relationship with my body and treat it with more kindness and awareness.
On its own merit I would probably give this book two stars. But I am grateful for this type of resource and gave it the extra star just for the diversity of thought and the unique voice in this arena.
The section I most enjoyed was her discussion of mindful eating. It struck me as a tangible way to change my relationship with my body and treat it with more kindness and awareness.
On its own merit I would probably give this book two stars. But I am grateful for this type of resource and gave it the extra star just for the diversity of thought and the unique voice in this arena.
February 25, 2022
I’m a cis white lady and this book was not written for me, but it’s really great and I’m so glad it exists for its intended audience. It doesn’t take long to get through, but there’s a lot of rich content to go back and revisit, including the excellent journaling prompts and mindfulness exercises. I can’t wait to recommend this to people.
February 5, 2022
EVERYONE needs to read this. Everyone.
I am a queer, (displaced) indigenous person who also happens to be fat, and I'm telling you, this books for everyone.
People do not understand or relate to one another without experience and I think reading this book would be an excellent way to introduce what it means to live as a BIOPOC/&LGBTQIA+ person. Not only does Kinsey give in depth and thoughtful explanations of these peoples and their issues around health. But shes providing it in this conversational journalesc style that I adore.
People need to be less afraid about reading and listening to people who are different from them. Reading is typically a nonpolarizing and gentle way to do it. I know that kid of sounds like I'm saying we need to treat people like they're babies. When what I really mean is, we can teach people so much easier with gentle instruction and this is that.
This book would be perfect in college/university classes. Especially those dealing with english literature analysis, women's and gender studies, and absolutely anyone in health science/medical programs. "White" medicine is something we are increasingly coming to see the problems but reading books like this will really helps.
Ugh I love this so much. I will be getting myself a copy asap. Thank you Netgalley for the ebook.
I am a queer, (displaced) indigenous person who also happens to be fat, and I'm telling you, this books for everyone.
People do not understand or relate to one another without experience and I think reading this book would be an excellent way to introduce what it means to live as a BIOPOC/&LGBTQIA+ person. Not only does Kinsey give in depth and thoughtful explanations of these peoples and their issues around health. But shes providing it in this conversational journalesc style that I adore.
People need to be less afraid about reading and listening to people who are different from them. Reading is typically a nonpolarizing and gentle way to do it. I know that kid of sounds like I'm saying we need to treat people like they're babies. When what I really mean is, we can teach people so much easier with gentle instruction and this is that.
This book would be perfect in college/university classes. Especially those dealing with english literature analysis, women's and gender studies, and absolutely anyone in health science/medical programs. "White" medicine is something we are increasingly coming to see the problems but reading books like this will really helps.
Ugh I love this so much. I will be getting myself a copy asap. Thank you Netgalley for the ebook.
June 1, 2022
“Systemic oppression is a deadly preexisting condition.”
This was so much more then a book about diets. I feel liberated from reading it. This book was all amazingly written and I was constantly highlighting passages, and sharing them. I’ve recommended this book to several people already. This book was about wellness in every sense of the word, and how to go about achieving that also acknowledging the systematic road blocks that femme presenting, queer, and BIPOC people face while even trying to get basic care for the most simple needs. The exercises the author included were straightforward, easy and helpful. This was a really great read I very highly recommend it!
*a copy of this book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
This was so much more then a book about diets. I feel liberated from reading it. This book was all amazingly written and I was constantly highlighting passages, and sharing them. I’ve recommended this book to several people already. This book was about wellness in every sense of the word, and how to go about achieving that also acknowledging the systematic road blocks that femme presenting, queer, and BIPOC people face while even trying to get basic care for the most simple needs. The exercises the author included were straightforward, easy and helpful. This was a really great read I very highly recommend it!
*a copy of this book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
July 1, 2023
CW: racism, medical trauma, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia
this book is geared towards QTBIPOC individuals & is written through the lens of a non-binary, pansexual, Black registered dietician. so if you or anyone you know has been looking for any books about body liberation &/or diet culture not geared towards/focused on white cisnormative individuals, this is a good one!♡
I also found it extremely informative overall with great activities to potentially engage in on one's journey away from western beauty ideals/diet culture that anyone could benefit from either doing or simply reading about. its good to take in things from a multitude of perspectives!
this book is geared towards QTBIPOC individuals & is written through the lens of a non-binary, pansexual, Black registered dietician. so if you or anyone you know has been looking for any books about body liberation &/or diet culture not geared towards/focused on white cisnormative individuals, this is a good one!♡
I also found it extremely informative overall with great activities to potentially engage in on one's journey away from western beauty ideals/diet culture that anyone could benefit from either doing or simply reading about. its good to take in things from a multitude of perspectives!
August 27, 2023
this is an important read for Everyone. i love how kinsey framed with their identity- as a certified nutritionist and experiencing whitened and racist expectations and norms in the field. i’ve read sO many ‘self help’ or wellness books that were white cis hetero normative and frankly took more energy to sift through what was relevant to My Identities than they were worth. this was Not one of those books. such important layers and intersections here.
November 29, 2023
A must-read for everyone.
November 26, 2024
I think I would’ve rated this higher at a different time in my life, but a lot of this info wasn’t new to me. Still valuable and glad I read it!
April 27, 2023
If you’ve read intuitive eating or encountered any health at every size material this may be a useful review! I liked the journaling prompts and appreciated Kinsey’s perspective and personal experience as a Black genderqueer dietician.
March 12, 2022
The title intrigued me and it sounded like it might be a useful book. The "wellness" industry can come in many forms, so I was curious as to what it might mean and what "decolonizing wellness" would look like. I'll admit that I missed the subtitle that this would be about dieting specifically, but all the same, I was curious.
Author Kinsey takes the reader through the whys and hows diet, etc. is often focused towards specific audiences that are often white, often abled, often with the resources to buy that special pill or food or exercise equipment, etc. This is to break that down and understand decenter the Eurocentric standards.
Each chapter has a topic that discusses some of the origins, impacts, etc. of sometimes harmful tropes plus addressing how issues such as racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, etc. can all impact how one goes out addressing their diet, self-care, wellbeing, etc. At the end of each chapter are some questions or journal prompts to help the reader think through what the author just discussed.
It was interesting, but ultimately not for me. Admittedly I was not looking for a diet-specific book but can see why some might find it helpful. I also am not big on self-help books so this is probably a case of it just not being for me.
I borrowed this from the library and that was definitely right. But for the right person it might be a good fit to buy and keep around for whenever you are ready for undertaking this part of your journey.
Author Kinsey takes the reader through the whys and hows diet, etc. is often focused towards specific audiences that are often white, often abled, often with the resources to buy that special pill or food or exercise equipment, etc. This is to break that down and understand decenter the Eurocentric standards.
Each chapter has a topic that discusses some of the origins, impacts, etc. of sometimes harmful tropes plus addressing how issues such as racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, etc. can all impact how one goes out addressing their diet, self-care, wellbeing, etc. At the end of each chapter are some questions or journal prompts to help the reader think through what the author just discussed.
It was interesting, but ultimately not for me. Admittedly I was not looking for a diet-specific book but can see why some might find it helpful. I also am not big on self-help books so this is probably a case of it just not being for me.
I borrowed this from the library and that was definitely right. But for the right person it might be a good fit to buy and keep around for whenever you are ready for undertaking this part of your journey.
October 11, 2022
This book was written with a specific reader in mind: QTBIPOC who are newer to the idea of letting go of white, colonial standards when it comes to well-being and body size.
The first two chapters provide some background information, while the remaining chapters are a rapid fire of self-care practices and journaling activities for readers to try. Kinsey's writing style is no-nonsense and straight to the point, which will likely be appealing to some and off-putting to others. Though I'm not the target audience of the book (I am a cis-het East Asian), I really appreciated the way that Kinsey illuminated some of the parallels between gender dysphoria and body dysmorphia, and I did find some of the practices and journaling exercises helpful for my own self-care.
The first two chapters provide some background information, while the remaining chapters are a rapid fire of self-care practices and journaling activities for readers to try. Kinsey's writing style is no-nonsense and straight to the point, which will likely be appealing to some and off-putting to others. Though I'm not the target audience of the book (I am a cis-het East Asian), I really appreciated the way that Kinsey illuminated some of the parallels between gender dysphoria and body dysmorphia, and I did find some of the practices and journaling exercises helpful for my own self-care.
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May 7, 2022I don't really know how to review this. There are some powerful prompts for journaling in here but the author also recommends things like tarot cards. She has the right idea but she descends into woo a little bit. I think wellness books from a non cis/het/white perspective are incredibly important. I've never seen another one. I hope this inspires a more diverse set of authors and dieticians to join the conversation.
August 15, 2022
If you work fast food there is always an employee that is “too good” to work there. They know everything but do little. That is this book. This book justifies everything the alt right says about snowflake culture. Not much on wellness, a lot on prejudices. I’m going to feel my feelings and say I’m sad and unsafe because this book exists.
August 26, 2025
Grateful for this text written by and for QTBIPOC people and centering on lived experience and insight.
I didn't expect the text to focus so much on diet and eating, but there is value (for the general population too).
Some historical reminders-
colonial era: scarcity and competition collaborative and cooperative cultures replacing strength as community with an obsessive focus on individualism, idealogy of isolationism and individualism is uniquely that of colonization
1533 Henry 8Th- crime for men to have sex with one another (prior to colonization, gender fluidity was more accepted)
confronting self-hatred: we will not be able to build healing relationships with others until we are able to heal internalized stigma, we will not allow ourselves to be seen and loved for who we are
Form a community with like minded folks were members make a conscious effort to keep their internalized oppression from spilling onto other people.
Healing:
I have been wronged.
I give myself permission to release this hurt.
I give myself permission to release the emotions that drain me.
I do not have to hold on to this pain and frustration.
Life is too short to simply exist in places where you are simply tolerated
Diet culture
-More important for you to be beheld or viewed as an object than it is to pursue things that bring you pleasure and satisfaction
-Diminishes and distracts
- we spend considerable resources on performing gender in a way that we know the world around us will be more likely to accept
- no wrong way to express gender identity! rigid binary and the clothing we associate with it are heteronormative cages we do not need to be defined by
- happy people: more productive creative and have more emotional space to help those around them
- allow your body to be commodified and generate profit to people who don't care about you or would you rather seek to understand that your body is a connection to spirit purpose and all the people who came before you
- let go of limiting belief of beauty standards and conditioning
-Eating is simply our entry point into learning to habitually take care of our needs
-No such thing as a guilty pleasure- pleasure is your divine right
Prayer to the ancestor elders-
Elevated ancestors both known and unknown I call out to you...
I call on you to remember and honor you.
Please feel the love in my heart that I have for you.
Surround me with your light love and power as I prepare for my day.
Thank you for protecting and guiding me in keeping me aligned to my highest purpose.
I love all my ancestors known and unknown...
I invite all benevolent ancestors into my home.
I give respect to the realm of the ancestors help me connect to my inner wisdom.
I give praise to all who came before me.
I give gratitude for all who have guided and loved me.
I ask for continued guidance and protection from harm.
I didn't expect the text to focus so much on diet and eating, but there is value (for the general population too).
Some historical reminders-
colonial era: scarcity and competition collaborative and cooperative cultures replacing strength as community with an obsessive focus on individualism, idealogy of isolationism and individualism is uniquely that of colonization
1533 Henry 8Th- crime for men to have sex with one another (prior to colonization, gender fluidity was more accepted)
confronting self-hatred: we will not be able to build healing relationships with others until we are able to heal internalized stigma, we will not allow ourselves to be seen and loved for who we are
Form a community with like minded folks were members make a conscious effort to keep their internalized oppression from spilling onto other people.
Healing:
I have been wronged.
I give myself permission to release this hurt.
I give myself permission to release the emotions that drain me.
I do not have to hold on to this pain and frustration.
Life is too short to simply exist in places where you are simply tolerated
Diet culture
-More important for you to be beheld or viewed as an object than it is to pursue things that bring you pleasure and satisfaction
-Diminishes and distracts
- we spend considerable resources on performing gender in a way that we know the world around us will be more likely to accept
- no wrong way to express gender identity! rigid binary and the clothing we associate with it are heteronormative cages we do not need to be defined by
- happy people: more productive creative and have more emotional space to help those around them
- allow your body to be commodified and generate profit to people who don't care about you or would you rather seek to understand that your body is a connection to spirit purpose and all the people who came before you
- let go of limiting belief of beauty standards and conditioning
-Eating is simply our entry point into learning to habitually take care of our needs
-No such thing as a guilty pleasure- pleasure is your divine right
Prayer to the ancestor elders-
Elevated ancestors both known and unknown I call out to you...
I call on you to remember and honor you.
Please feel the love in my heart that I have for you.
Surround me with your light love and power as I prepare for my day.
Thank you for protecting and guiding me in keeping me aligned to my highest purpose.
I love all my ancestors known and unknown...
I invite all benevolent ancestors into my home.
I give respect to the realm of the ancestors help me connect to my inner wisdom.
I give praise to all who came before me.
I give gratitude for all who have guided and loved me.
I ask for continued guidance and protection from harm.
September 20, 2023
Wow, absolutely brilliant. This book came at exactly the right moment and struck the right chords with me. I want to read this again already. I want to gift this to everyone I know. This is a new favorite.
December 30, 2024
I was really intrigued by the title of this book, but unfortunately it didn’t get much beyond surface level introduction to the concept. Would have liked to see more decolonial theory, but if you’re looking for a quick read on body positivity this might be for you.
September 22, 2025
As a lifelong meditator and registered yoga teacher for 20 years, I have considered myself a part of the "wellness" community. This was one of the most centering and powerful books I've ever read about wellness. I encourage all of my white friends in the wellness space to read this.
December 4, 2025
Me gustó, refrescante pero cortito.
Muy pocas veces se encuentran textos así que te guíen y al mismo tiempo te den autonomía y permiso de encontrar tu propia guía (en específico me resonó mucho lo de no forzar ninguna posición al hacer mindfulness, yo detesto que me forcen una postura xD).Es un ejemplo! Sirve para muchas diversidades identitarias.
Aprecio mucho estos textos.
Muy pocas veces se encuentran textos así que te guíen y al mismo tiempo te den autonomía y permiso de encontrar tu propia guía (en específico me resonó mucho lo de no forzar ninguna posición al hacer mindfulness, yo detesto que me forcen una postura xD).Es un ejemplo! Sirve para muchas diversidades identitarias.
Aprecio mucho estos textos.
August 9, 2023
I did this as an audio book and I simply have to get it in print for the action points to reference as I move forward in my journey.
February 3, 2025
THIS is the book that should be required reading in eating disorder treatment! Brief but effective, this book neatly and comprehensively outlines what it means to exist in a body steeped in Western culture, how that impacts us, and provides frequent opportunities for guided reflection and healing. I loved this so much. I will always be sure to have a few copies on hand once I'm a licensed counselor.
June 5, 2024
It is powerful medicine when used to amplify the body’s natural power to support ourselves - as a tool for self-care, free from shame or restriction. Food and movement can and should bring us joy, not stress. Anything we do several times a day can be an affirmation.
August 24, 2024
This short book summarized several years of learning and more from my experiences providing nutrition guidance, learning to break the molds of what we were taught as wellness in school and finding the foundation of racism, fatphobia, transphobia, individualism in these things. Being given the information in truly an easy to consume format was such a breath of fresh air, and will be one of my top resources for fellow practitioners and patients alike when introducing these topics or even encouraging further exploration. I read through my library but plan to buy several copies to keep and loan to others. Thank you for making something incredible.
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December 13, 2024no rating cause I am not the intended audience
January 24, 2024
This is a great wellness guide for those who are interested in getting out of the diet trap through a decolonizing lens. The author offers such sage, wisdom, and advice. I love that the author centered QTbipoc folx. I enjoyed the journal prompts at the end of each chapter. At times it felt like I was talking to a friend.
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February 7, 2022This is an accessible overview of several mental health and mindfulness-based practices tied together through a decolonial lens - focused on radical self-love in a Eurocentric, white supremacist world and calling out the ways racism, queerphobia and transphobia have material impacts on health and wellbeing. As a white cis bi lady, I'm not the primary intended audience here, and I think any opinions I had should carry that caveat. For me, the framing of the book was its biggest strength, naming the patterns and structures that convince Black and indigenous people, particularly queers, that they're less worthy and then blaming them for the ensuing health issues. That said, the exercises within the book felt a little broad - Kinsey draws on practices/philosophies including mindfulness, healthy at any size, intuitive eating and several others, leaving this feeling a bit like a sampling menu of wellness practices. There are resources and notes in the back of the book for people wanting to learn more, but she doesn't always call out in text what logical next steps would be or how someone who wanted to explore deeper might go about doing so.
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