I have always been interested in nutrition. I was 5 years old when I first thought about going on a diet. Of course, I didn’t really know what that meant at that time, but because my mom was always trying different weight loss strategies and I wanted to be just like her, it seemed like a normal thing to do. I actually went on my first diet when I was in 3rd grade and the kids in my class started calling me “Natalie Fat-alie”. I struggled to control my weight throughout my childhood and into my college years. I would have periods of binging, followed by periods of extreme restriction and while I maintained my weight that way, food still controlled my life and my attention. 

This pattern came to a screeching halt for me when I adopted a plant-based diet in early 2014. For me veganism was about respect and kindness for animals, environmental stewardship, and reducing my risk of developing the chronic diseases that run in my family.  While there was small part of me that hoped that I would lose weight on this lifestyle, it was the first time in my life that the primary driver of my eating decisions had nothing to do with my physical appearance. That alone was LIBERATING! I was able to make peace with food and my body in a way that I had never experienced because my choices were fundamentally rooted in compassion. I decided to go back to school to become a Registered Dietitian because I wanted to help others have the same transformative experience I did. 

Over the last few years I have noticed a trend in the plant-based world that really troubles me: thinness is always the product. Sometimes this is overt as evidenced by the MANY plant based weight loss programs and meal plans on the market. Sometimes it is a more subtle suggestions – lifestyle influencers frequently use their physiques as the central feature of their brand, and more health-focused accounts use data on weight loss or BMI trends to encourage their audience to consider going vegan. Regardless of the focus, vegan personalities almost universally use thinness and their bodies as a selling point and a way to build credibility. As a result, many use the plant-based lifestyle as a method to “fix” their self-image through conformity, and feel that the body they are currently in somehow is broken or unacceptable.