Doing Anti-racist Work as a Christian Non-diet Dietitian
I feel very confident that the specific social justice work that the Lord has called me to is fighting weight discrimination. However, Jesus is the ultimate social justice warrior, and because I do my best to shape my life around what He looked like I am also called to fight injustice of any kind, including racism.
I do not claim to be an expert in this area by any means. In fact, it’s completely the opposite. I’m going to be honest. These past few weeks I’ve spent more time reading about doing anti-racism work and systemic racism then I have my whole life. I grew up in a seemingly diverse, culturally progressive town, where racism wasn’t discussed much. I’m sure it was there – as an undercurrent and more at the micro aggression level, but as a white woman, I’m embarrassed to say that it wasn’t on my radar.
Moving forward, I am committed to learning from the experts, and the black community, just as I hope that people would feel comfortable coming to me for help on how to fight weight discrimination. Even though this work is a passion of mine, I hold privileges of being in a smaller body, and therefore I can’t claim to know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of bias and discrimination.
All I know is that I want desperately to be a good ally.
And that being a good ally requires intentionality and loads of prayer. I’m looking to the Lord, for guidance and direction.
10 years ago, was when I first sat in a chair across from a person in a larger body and began to hear her story about discrimination. Despite how hard she tried to change her body, she couldn’t. I heard how she had to deal with doctors constantly nagging her to lose weight, how she had to deal with not having options for clothes, being extremely uncomfortable in an airplane seat, and being uncomfortable eating in public. Her stories of being mistreated, bullied and discriminated against her whole life because of her body size literally broke my heart.
I knew that I had been forever changed and this was important work. Since then, I’ve built my career around helping people in all body sizes come to peace with their body, shape and size and also how to reject the diet mentality that plagues all of us daily, creeping in and threatening to flatten our self-esteem and well-being.
I am embarrassed that I can recall so few times in my life that I’ve been in a similar situation and sat in a chair across from a black person and listened to them talk about their suffering - being watched in stores, being pulled over by police officers, and being denied certain privileges that I freely have because of the color of my skin. I am now committed to being more intentional about listening to my black friends, peers and community about their pain points because I full heartily believe that this will not only help me become a better dietitian and social justice advocate, but also a better Christ follower.
Lord help me. Open my eyes to see what you see. Break my heart for what breaks yours. Place people in my life that I can learn from, that can challenge me and ultimately change me to be more like your Son. Amen.
This week we will be will be donating 50% of the sales of "Food Freedom Bible Study" to the organization Therapy for Black Girls, an online space dedicated to encouraging the mental wellness of Black women and girls.
Use code "blacklivesmatter" in checkout for $5 off the course this week only - ends Sunday 6/14.
P.S. We will be donating 50% of the FULL price of the course but just wanted to offer everyone a special discount because well, things have been really, really heavy recently.
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Nicole resides in the East Bay Area where she works in private practice as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. She is a Mom of two and serves alongside her beloved husband in their local church. Most recently she's devoted her time to cleft and craniofacial awareness, education and interventions when her second daughter was unexpectedly diagnosed with a cleft palate at one week old. She completed both her bachelor's degree and her dietetic internship at California State University, Chico, where she was also a NCAA cross country and track athlete. Through those experiences, God prompted her to help people of all shapes and sizes discover health, body peace and acceptance through the unconditional love of Jesus. Nicole most enjoys spending time around a table and eating delicious food with the people she loves.
