Dalina Soto is a social media influencer. I point this out because most of us know how that system works, and I think (hope) this is at the root of what I didn’t enjoy about this book. I recently reviewed a book written by a scholarly social media influencer who has a large following and makes his living through his channel. His engagement strategy is bait-questioning that he knows will trigger committed responses against which he will argue. Baiting is such a successful tactic, it’s easy to fall into one of its many harmful patterns however worthy your intentions going in might be. After all, content creators are well aware that humans once watched tigers rip apart gladiators and considered it entertainment. Why do I think Soto baits? Because in this book and in interviews, she is quick to polemics and polemic statements are highly shareable. Here are a couple of examples—

“The thin ideal is rooted in white supremacy and eugenics, which have infiltrated the medical system in the use of BMI and increased the prevalence of weight stigma.”

“The idea that Latino food is ‘unhealthy’ or ‘bad’ is deeply rooted in colonialism, racism, and diet culture,” Soto says. (Remezcla)

It’s important first to dismiss the notion that the thin ideal is a white American construct. Let’s take a peek at a study conducted in Mexico City, one of many scholarly research papers that counter Soto’s claim. It was published by the Journal of Health Psychology [Vol 19(9)] in 2014, two years before Soto’s platform TikTok was launched. The authors are Latina. Their small study focuses on body image and heavily cites other researchers. Mexico’s Ministry of Health, the authors say, “has included weight control as a main component of the national health strategy, and the acceptance of the thin ideal has been documented in urban and rural areas.” They further state that weight-related body dissatisfaction, or “BD, disordered eating, and the appreciation of the thin body ideal are present worldwide and among diverse social and cultural groups.” In clarifying the reason respondents thought losing weight was important, a majority cited health reasons. A slim body was also considered important for a professional image and to keep a romantic partner interested.

Referencing the above quotes, I want to point out that I interpret “white supremacy” in the context of the general white population and its forbearers who were alive during the BMI’s 175-year-old history, at the time eugenics was developed and later employed by the U.S. government, and when diet culture became a thing. Scratch that last one. Women have been dieting since the dawn of bipedalism.

That the BMI Index is fraught with controversy and affects a tapestry of populations is not breaking news. The WHO and AMA have only recently begun to address the problem, though feebly at best. But let us not doctor bash. They, more often than not, tend to save us from ourselves and have played a leading role in inching up our life spans and life quality. As to the emphasis Soto places on the population that has been harmed, let’s look at a CDC measurement: whites account for roughly 42% of obesity in America with men at nearly 44%. Hispanics account for almost 45%, with men .9% above the population. Other populations are both higher and lower. There is nothing good in these statistics, but the range is not sufficient to support Soto’s implications that Hispanics are measurably worse off. If anything, it proves that white folks have done an abysmal job fulfilling their alleged effort at being supreme, and I mean no shame here. We all struggle, buried as we are under an avalanche of food ads with barely enough time in our days to prepare it.

Eugenics is a different story. The very mention of this practice in the context with which Soto placed it frankly makes my eyeballs spin. But don’t worry. This topic is as bad as the review will get, and deservedly so. For those who don’t know, the eugenics movement in the US dates to the early twentieth century, was racially motivated, and targeted many populations who were deemed by whites, yes, as unfit. Though discredited in the 1930s and state sponsorship rejected by the Supreme Court in the early 1940s, the practice survived in some states, particularly the use of forced sterilizations. Black single mothers were a primary target, but Native Americans, immigrants from certain European nations, Latinos, poor whites, and persons with disabilities were all sterilized without their consent. Armed with this information, let’s revisit Soto’s quote: “The thin ideal is rooted in white supremacy and eugenics…” I find it shameful that Soto—let’s say “appropriated”—the suffering of so many marginalized people to support her thesis about food. I can’t say how completely she shut me down with that relationship of words. How can a rising star succeed with credibility intact when such egregious polemics pour out of her mouth without so much as a pause?

“Western nutrition frameworks have long demonized foods from non-white cultures while simultaneously celebrating them when they are rebranded by mainstream wellness culture.”

“Many Latinos grow up hearing that our food is ‘too greasy,” ‘too starchy,’ or ‘not balanced,’ often from health professionals who don’t understand our cuisine,” Soto tells Remezcla. “This stigma has been reinforced by marketing, the weight loss industry, and even public health campaigns that fail to acknowledge that Latino foods are naturally rich in fiber, protein, and heart-healthy fats.”

I’m going to do an exercise here and pretend I’m Soto drafting her book. Our food cultures get the same bad rap from those with healthy eating apps and X accounts, so this exercise should pass muster. You be the judge.

I was raised in Texas by a Louisiana-born mother and am married to a Louisiana-born sweetheart. Some of our heavenly childhood staples included biscuits, fried shrimp and chicken, roast beef, beef stew with homemade crust, buttered and creamed mashed potatoes (me) or rice and gravy (sweetheart), gumbo, crawfish étouffée, chipped beef in milk gravy on white toast, cobblers, pecan-anything, and ice cream. Fair warning #1: You will rip my butter knife from my cold, dead fingers before I’ll give it up the food repertoire I grew up with, but I won’t argue that eating some of these things doesn’t come with health risks, and adding an avocado won’t help, unfortunately.

The next task is to find fault. I’m tempted to go after the French because they won’t share their AOC/AOP butter with the U.S. (me actually, but you knew that right?). Insult on injury is that they seem to eat plenty of it and stay as svelte as the breeze. The problem with that plan is that the butter knife was used on a croissant before I died. To close the blame circle, the Texas propensity for beef reflects our history of cowboy culture that, coincidentally, is widespread from the United States to the tip of the South American continent. Imagine that. Shall I side eye the gauchos of Argentina when my cholesterol numbers spike after a stretch of satisfying weekly prime rib cravings at our local diner? (This is a true story, hand to heart.) I’m planning to enter “gaucho pico” in Google Translate. If “cowboy caviar” comes out on translation, I’ll faint.

Am I pushing it here or being far too transparent about how weary I am of all the fighting about who owns what and why, when a simple peek at how culture works might stop the carping? Was Phil Knight appropriating Greek culture by naming his company Nike, Inc. after the Nike of Samothrace? Don’t be ridiculous, you say, but we can’t appropriate the anti-appropriation trend when it suits us and scoff when it doesn’t. Recalibrating one’s understanding of cultural ownership is liberating. At the least—like taking a DNA test—it can awaken us to the interconnectivity of humans and help us imagine which of our own cultural practices might survive the millennia-long chain of cultural evolution. In fact, if I were Queen of School Curriculum, I would make Martin Puchner’s book Culture. The Story of Us, From Cave Art to K-Pop required reading because it’s time for us to stop clasping our foods, dress, and other wonderful inventions and become excited that persons from different areas of the country, world, background, upbringing, whatever, like something we came up with. Besides, aren’t the arguments about differentiating cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation a bit like chasing the same tail?

Why is my review about some of her quotes when the book is mostly about eating? Because she has cast that polemic engagement bait when her star could shine far brighter without it. Like pouring the last drizzle of white bashing into the water bottle, making the ball reachable and real, she redirects our attention from her message by picking the rotted fruit of white history and bobbing it in front of us. I am simply up to my eyebrows in having to politely duck my head when whites are under attack because people long dead and not remotely in our family lineages were colonialists who settled this country with people whose skin had little use for melanin in the land of cold and ice. They, as is unarguably the case with the Spanish south of us and the British and French to our north, carried with them cultural habits that persist to this day and about which they have every right to be proud of and cling to just as Soto is arguing on behalf of her Latino culture. Some were racists, yes. “Many” might be more accurate. I have no doubt that some still are. But did it occur to her that white and Hispanic unions lead intermarriages in the U.S., meaning many whites have Latino family members who would scoff at her views? Her inciting comments are nothing more than click bait because engagement pays the bills.

Excuse me for my frankness, but I’m older than Soto, and I understand frankness is permissible with persons of a certain age. My old-er-ish neighbor launches flame throwers when we young-er-ish say anything she disagrees with. Decades in the trenches, she argus, gives one a perspective that only comes with time, and it's best to speak up before our butter consumption gets the best of our valves. If my neighbor is wrong, I’ll send you her AOL email address and you can complain to her. Fair warning #2–it takes a long time for the smell of singed hair to get out of your clothes, so proceed with caution. She has excellent aim.

Culture is not chattel. Neither are learning and adapting appropriating, despite the trend of freeze-framing cultural ownership. This is simply how cultures evolve. It is most evident in integrative diasporic periods as a host culture learns and adapts aspects of its arriving members and vice versa. This evolution of seizing and adapting the best technologies and practices began in prehistory. Let us not forget the example set by the first cultural transmission—the stone tool.

There is good in Soto’s book, and it will help those who want it to. I simply couldn’t pluck the shrapnel from my hide.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group—Ballantine and NetGalley for providing this e-galley and best of luck to this beautiful and talented author whom I hope will flush the polemics down the toilet.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What can I say about “The Latina Anti-Diet” by Dalina Soto? Umm. I’ll start by letting you all know I’ll be purchasing this book IMMEDIATELY after my next pay day, AND I’ll be singing its praises to all of my friends.

This landed in my inbox, unsolicited*, and I was initially like, “great, a book by a fellow Dominican, love that for her, but I’m not interested right now”. I was in a place where I just KNEW what I was doing with my current “healthy lifestyle”** so I didn’t think I could benefit from this book. I picked it up because I thought the very least I could do was show respect to my fellow Latina who took time to share her knowledge and start the book. Soto not only shared her knowledge, but she did so in a way that our community as a whole would understand. She did not disappoint.

I was at approximately 30% into the book and was vibing with it just fine, I would put it down and pick it up. I would tell my boyfriend, “I’m learning a lot”. But let me tell you!! I DEVOURED the remaining 70%. I couldn’t stop. I think this book is almost perfect. In “The Latina Anti-Diet”, Soto talks about socioeconomic factors, ties in history and science, and backs up what she says with research data. The writing is both anecdotal and fact-driven. There’s sass, love and empathy embedded in this book. There were points where I would tear up thinking about how what she wrote applied to me or the women in my life. I even stopped to tell my boyfriend, “I think I want to hire her to work with Mamá (my grandmother)”. I wasn’t kidding, I’ll be buying this for myself and be referring to it frequently.

My only ick with this book is one that grew on me, so does it even really count? Soto has this habit in her writing where she’ll write mainly in English (in this version of the digital ARC), and will have random words be in Spanish. It’s not the fact that she uses Spanish, but that it’s not realistic and will throw off the flow of the sentence for me. I would have preferred entire sentences or longer phrases to be in Spanish than one word in a paragraph. But like I said, it grew on me, so it didn’t detract from the work at all.



*shoutout to Jordan F., Marketing Manager at Random House for sending this to me!
**IYKYK, and after you read this book YOU WILL KNOW

Beautiful book breaking away from diet society. Dalina Soto provides info on nutrition and body acceptance from the Latinx POV. With several case studies, this book serves to inform, transform, and empower readers to embrace foods that taste good and make peace with food as well. Wonderful resource!

omg omg omg. I loved this one. It felt like a warm hug from your favorite Tia. I connected to The Latina Anti-Diet so much. From a very young age, Gorda was often used in my family. Dalina Soto provides steps to heal your relationship with food on a much deeper level than just dietician advice. This book holds a mirror up to a Latina's face and examines where the deeply rooted beliefs come from. It was informative in a casual way, but really through which I appreciated.

This is a straight forward, easy to understand, well-paced book about food and why you should ignore mainstream media, it is written by a Latina’s perspective, but it really does speak to all of us. Soto bares truth to how we have been formed by our upbringing and how we relate to nutrition. There is no perfect body, there is no perfect diet. All the numbers being fed to you by medical professionals and society are inaccurate and not something anyone should live by. This is nonfiction, but it does not read like a textbook. I’d imagine that speaking to the author would be very similar to reading her work.
Nicely done.

This book is a great introduction to what health really means, especially for Latinos and other people of color. I love seeing my cultural foods represented in this book, as well as the breakdown of historical information that informs the fatphobic, weightloss-pushing healthcare industry we experience today. I was already on a journey regarding food and moving my body when I started reading this book, and I'm even more inspired me to eat what I want, while adding nutrition as I go-- and to never ever feel guilty for eating my white rice! Couldn't finish it before my ARC from NetGalley was archived, but I'll be finishing this once I get my hands on a copy.

I first want to mention that I am not of Latinx heritage.
I have always enjoyed anti-diet (industry) rhetoric and I picked up this book to hear about someone else's take on anti-diet culture with their heritage as a lens.

I do want to mention that this book IS NOT a cookbook. It is a guidebook for taking care of your body through food, while holding a place for your family foods and foods from your culture.
This book felt like a warm hug. Like a parent telling you that things will be okay, and it is okay to eat what you like and what you want.
The book helps to teach you balance with eating and breaks down the specifics of food health into digestible bits.
I really enjoyed the stories throughout the book. They made the book feel more relatable and usable for me and everyone. But they also helped to break up some of the more technical parts of the book.

I highly suggest this book if you are interested in anti-diet conversations and want to hear it with a Latinx focus.

Thank you to Ballantine Books, Random House, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book!

Whether or not you are a Latina, this book is a celebration of food culture and your body. Only read if you're ready to reject diet culture and trust in yourself (or at least get started on that path).

As a Latina and plus-size woman, The Latina Anti-Diet: A Dietitian's Guide to Authentic Health that Celebrates Culture and Full-Flavor Living by Dalina Soto felt like a long-awaited breath of fresh air. Growing up in a Hispanic family, food and weight have always been central to my life, often in ways that felt restrictive or disconnected from my culture. Soto's approach to health and nutrition is truly empowering. It’s not about restricting, but rather about celebrating food and honoring our heritage while taking care of our bodies.

What I loved most about this book was how Soto made me feel seen. She shared wisdom that resonated deeply with my own experiences, and her words created a sense of liberation rather than shame. She does an excellent job of blending culturally relevant meals with a realistic approach to nourishing yourself without guilt. Her focus on flavor, joy, and balance makes it clear that food doesn't have to be the enemy.

This book is not just a guide to health, it’s a reminder to embrace who we are our culture, our flavors, and our bodies without the burden of diet culture.

I’ve been trying to be smarter about how I eat. And I’ve just generally become interested in nutrition and whatnot. Probably because I’m barreling fast and furious toward 40. Additionally, I’m interested in social issues, and how a person’s demographics and the like play a huge role in things such as nutrition, health, medical care, life expectancy, etc.

We all know about the existence of food deserts in America (I assume we all know, anyway). And we all (I know, I’m making assumptions here – but I feel like you agreed with the previous sentence) know that food deserts create poor health outcomes for residents of the impacted areas. But did you also know that the White Girlification of nutrition – the kind you see the Instagram Girlies touting – also has a huge impact on not only the health, but the overall well-being of people with of different cultures and lifestyles than said Girlies?

Think of some of the nutritional “advice” you’ve heard:
“Just trade white rice for CAULIFLOWER RICE”
“LESS CARBS MAKES YOU MORE HEALTHYYYYY”

Blah, blah, fucking hurl. Rice is fine. Carbs are good for you. Your ancestors survived off the very same food the Girlies (sorry, I don’t mean to blame just the Girlies. Put the Shirtless Seed Oil Boyz in there too) vilify. And you know what? They thrived. Eat tortillas. Eat rice. Have that flan. Do you. There is nutritional value in tacos (omg, so much delicious nutrition). You don’t have to eat kale and chia pudding to live a long healthy life. And if you want to up your protein or fibe, or lower your caloric intake, you can certainly do so without giving up your cultural foods. Seriously. Don’t listen to those people who say you have to eat nothing but chicken breasts with undressed salad. Or eat nothing but meat. Or cut out carbs. They’re all just trying to sell something. Or their Grade A dipshits. Either way – not to be trusted.

Also, while we’re at it, don’t allow some rando on the internet to tell you what you can and can’t eat if you want to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Trust a dietician. You know, someone who has undergone rigorous nutritional training.

Just a little FYI for you: according to Healthline, “to earn the credentials of Registered Dietitian (RD) or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), a person needs to complete the criteria set forth by governing bodies like the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) in the United States. To earn these credentials, dietitians-to-be must first earn a bachelor’s degree or equivalent credits from an accredited program at a university or college. Typically, this requires an undergraduate science degree, including courses in biology, microbiology, organic and inorganic chemistry, biochemistry, anatomy, and physiology, as well as more specialized nutrition coursework. As of January 1, 2024, all dietetics students must also hold a master’s degree to qualify for their RD board examination in the United States. In addition to formal education, all dietetics students in the United States must apply for and be matched with a competitive internship program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). Earning dietitian credentials requires national board certification. What’s more, 13 states, including Rhode Island, Alabama, and Nebraska, require that dietitians be licensed in order to practice. The remaining states either don’t regulate this profession or provide state certification or optional licensing. The process of licensing sometimes has additional requirements, like passing a jurisprudence exam. This is meant to ensure that dietitians practice under a code of conduct to protect public safety. The dietitian must also continue their professional development by completing continuing education credits, which helps them keep up with the ever-evolving field.”

Sorry, that’s a lot. I know. One last thing:

“In the United States, the title “nutritionist” may encompass individuals with a broad range of credentials and training in nutrition. In over a dozen states, certain qualifications must be met before an individual can call themselves a nutritionist. Additionally, accredited certifications grant titles like Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS). In most states, those who receive these certifications have the authority to practice medical nutrition therapy and other aspects of nutrition care. In many states, such as Alaska, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, RDs and CNSs are granted the same state license, usually called a Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist (LDN) license. In states that don’t regulate the use of this term, anyone with an interest in diet or nutrition may call themselves a nutritionist. These individuals may apply their interest in nutrition to anything from running a food blog to working with clients. However, because uncredentialed nutritionists typically lack the expertise and training for medical nutrition therapy and nutrition counseling, following their advice could be considered harmful.”

My point is this: there is no guarantee that any advice from a nutritionist is even coming from anyone with any sort of education in diet, nutrition, or anything else even semi-relevant. So seriously – eat the foods you love. Don’t listen to Amberlynnnah Crystalsmith or whatever. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Find a trusted source whose qualifications can be vetted.

A fantastic read for anyone who has ever experienced any type of issue with food/gut health. So basically, great for everyone! I really enjoyed the opportunity and invitation to read this and will be adding to my purchase list so that I can have it on hand for future reference and rereads. So much helpful information and so many great tips provided.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to review this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was great read.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for the arc of this book

This is a must read for any Latino or Caribbean people who are looking to make a change in their unhealthy eating habits and don’t know how. The author encourages you to choose and eat the ethnic foods that you grew up eating. To ignore the mainstream advice that your cultural foods are bad for you. The writing is funny and playful, but the author is passionate about getting you to lose weight in an authentic way.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

🚨 LIFE-CHANGING BOOK ALERT! 🚨

I just finished The Latina Anti-Diet by Dalina Soto, and WOW—this book completely shifted how I think about food, my body, and my culture! From the very first chapter, where she breaks down how our bodies process glucose (why did no one teach me this sooner?!), to the ten levels of hunger that made me rethink everything I thought I knew about fullness and satisfaction—I was hooked.

This isn’t just another book about food. It’s a love letter to our cultural dishes, a rejection of toxic diet culture, and a call to finally listen to and trust our bodies. I couldn’t stop talking about it—I shared what I learned with my husband and kids because it was that important.

Dalina Soto, THANK YOU for writing this! Every Latina (honestly, everyone!) needs this book in their life. If you’ve ever felt guilt about food or struggled with diet culture, this will be the most freeing thing you read. 10/10 recommend!

#TheLatinaAntiDiet #DalinaSoto #FoodFreedom #IntuitiveEating #LatinaReads

DALINA SOTO brings it home. The Latina Anti-Diet: A Dietitian's Guide to Authentic Health that Celebrates Culture and Full-Flavor Living is kick ass. I’ve been following Dalina on Insta for years. I really loved her style and determination to reclaim our collective Latin food.

When my paternal grandmother had a heart attack decades ago, I remember visiting her in the hospital and the doctors making a big deal out of tortillas. I figured that our food was bad. Then I read more about NAFTA and noticed when indigenous foods turned into super foods, aka healthy! I brought the same attitude to my work creating a research fellowship for Latinx science students. I complicated their view of science and how science is done on our collective community. Each time a student said they wanted to cure diabetes because their abuelita had it and “We eat poorly!” I would ask them to think about how many grocery stores are in their neighborhood. Do they have fresh veggies? Is there a place for Lita to take walks? Introducing pre-med students to public health perspectives really blew their minds.

I can imagine how much guff Dalina got in school and gets from other medical professionals for pointing out the minuscule differences between white and brown rice. I was cheering when she went off

She also tackles the sensitive topic of Latino families, eating, and weight. I had a fairly athletic build as a kid, but I did have a family member point out that in the winter I gained weight. “Um, I’m not riding my bike 6 hours a day during a Chicago winter?”

Dalina is firm with her science, but gentle with her clients. She embraces sweets and treats. But she contextualizes them. Why are we stress eating? What is at the root of the stress? Let’s address that! Not shame ourselves for the cupcake. As gentle as she is with her Chulas (her name for clients and by reading this book, we are a Chula), she is equally vicious with diet culture.

This is an absolute must read for any Latinx person who has struggled with eating, dieting, or even just the judgement some family members dish out. If you have found peace with your body, but your tia or mom still struggle, this might be a good group read. And even if you aren’t Latinx, I think you’ll find that firm and loving direction you have been seeking for your diet. Diet as in how you eat, not diet as in a way to lose weight.

I think it’s a good introductory book for those wanting to learn more about health especially through the lens of Latino culture. For me however, it was a little repetitive and didn’t provide much insight for me as its material I have studied before. It can be frustrating trying to focus your health while also being told you shouldn’t eat the foods from your culture. I was able to pick up some ideas and make slight changes to my routine so definitely worth the read. I wished it leaned a little more into that aspect rather than breaking down the basics but I understand why it was necessary. I would read a second book if it dove a little more in-depth.

Dalina Soto has written an approachable book on eating sensibly with individual needs at the heart. Initially, I thought this was going to be a cookbook and, in a way, it does go into detail about nutrition, but without recipes. It takes into account individuals with Integrated Eating. A special emphasis on healthy eating without compromising culture.

The book is divided with Chula stories. Each one with different life circumstances and how they are resolved. My favorite was Mi Mami. I felt like I was a guest with all the warm feelings of being fed a delicious meal.

Dalina's voice is authentic, and she doesn't mince words. She tells it like it is. It's refreshing with additional reading ideas throughout. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for early access.

Food, fat, and flavor start with the same letter for a reason. I'm deeply anti-diet. This book crystalizes my objections to the diet industry's be-afraid-of-your-food message, its relentless focus on women and the concomitant relentless bombardment of negativity about appearance, or more stealthily but with the same objective, relentless "health" messaging that is anything but healthy.

The author is a social-media Force. She's got followers in droves...legions...and she's been giving this very practical method to get yourself into a healthy, sustainable pattern of eating the food you enjoy for a while now. I hadn't heard of her because I'm not all that interested in diets except to belittle and insult the anti-food goblins that perpetrate and perpetuate the anti-food messaging that damages so many people.

What else can I say? If you think you need a diet book, you really need this book. Skip the "one weird trick" fads, spend your time and your treasure here. Author Soto is Cicero to the Br'er Rabbits that abound in this space. She spends a deal of her page-count telling stories about those who've used her method...CHULA, explained above...to mend their fractured relationship to food. There's a lot of informative and explanatory text, so it's not just a paper version of an infomercial; the aim was to recreate her social-media presence's warm, approachable presentation of self. I found it effective, and agreeable, where I expected to feel it was kinda cringe.

*I*, a certifiable curmudgeon with a long-standing hatred of the dietmongers, am rating this book 5 stars and recommending it to people who think they need to diet. Push a pin in that idea until you've read this book.

The book speaks to the reader on a personal level.The author doesn't talk over or down to the reader. I felt welcomed in the conversation even though I am a male. A direct and human conversation about latine foods and how society has villainized our flavors and traditions.
A comfortable read that I couldn't put down , it felt like she was speaking right to me and allowed me to both eat my meals and enjoy them . Definitely a must read .

I am a proud Latina. Puerto Rican if you want to be exact. I was born and raised in New York City. This really hit home as I read this. As Latina, I witnessed so much about food and weight - because we have to eat but at the same time we can’t be “huge” as some of my family would call it. I am right now in 2025, the heaviest I’ve ever been. I am mid-size borderline plus size and I am looked sometimes down upon from family.

Soto, didn’t disappoint. I connected so easily and quickly with the ladies in the book.

I learned so much from this and happy to announce that I enjoyed every. Single. Moment. I had with this read.

Thank you.