As early as third grade, Chlo Hilliards mother was sending her off to school with Slim Fast shakes for packed lunches. Albeit elementary school is meant to be a creative playground, scholastic adventure and perhaps brilliant season of discovery, coming-of-age wasnt as fun for someone like Hilliard. For as long as she could remember, her entire identity was shaped around her towering physical appearance.
Standing over six feet tall and wearing a size 12 in shoe and dress by the tender age of 12, Hilliard could hardly fit in while growing up in her largely Hasidic Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. Navigating such an overwhelmingly white and orthodox environment as a young, Black girl surely didnt soften whatever blows or bullies that came with her already-unique challenges.
After decades of fad diets, weight loss pills, and unrealistic expectations, Hilliard made the life-altering decision to stop punishing herself over what she thinks she should look like: I'm healthy, I work out, I have a trainer, I'm in good shape, but I may never have a six-pack and I just need to be fine with that.
Hilliards moment of truth set her on a path to self-actualization and the results are hilariously illustrated in her new book F*ck Your Diet (And Other Things My Thighs Tell Me), a collection of essays that explore race, feminism, and popular culture. Taking inventory of childhood trauma and societys reinforcement of Eurocentric beauty ideals, Hilliard, 39, turned her personal misadventures into gut-busting comedy and witty teaching moments.
When it comes to food and diet, it's a much more complicated conversation than we've been having when it comes to social and political influences, she explains to BET. And it's not just genetics; it's where you live, what you can afford, and what you have access to. Once you figure out the bigger picture, you kind of can breathe a sigh of relief, because youve realized youre not the problem.
She continues: You also have to factor in economically what do they have access to or don't have access to; a lot of people in this country live in food deserts.
In the spirit of #2020 vision, Hilliard looks to help young Black and Brown girls everywhere set their eyes on the horizon instead of the scalebecause why play small when you can live larger than life? Though she is not a doctor or a medical professional, she has done extensive research in the space and we are curious to know what works for her.
From eating better to dating wiser to working smarter, she gives us a few practical tips to a healthier lifestyle this year. Adapt the ones you think you can, and discard the ones you can't. Everything is all about balance.
F*ck Your Diet out now.
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F*ck Your Diet Author Chlo Hilliard Wants To Give The Conversation About Black Women And Weight A Makeover - BET
