My name is Nikki and I’m a Dutch nutritionist. Over the past few years, I’ve made some bold decisions. After fifteen years in marketing, I followed my heart toward nutrition in 2021. Then, in 2025, I took another leap: moving to Italy for a more intentional life. 

Most of the women I work with have one thing in common: they look for permission to eat something outside themselves. Boy, do I know that place well.

or the past fifteen years, I’ve lived with ARFID: a restrictive eating habit born from fear of food, afraid of how my body might react to food due to IBS. It's my second eating disorder.

Trying to love your body when nothing seems to work can feel impossible. I felt stuck in limbo for years. But when I became a nutritionist, something inside me shifted. 

No to diet culture

Let’s be honest. When was the last time you thought something like: “I shouldn’t eat this”, “I need to earn this ” or  “I’ll be good again tomorrow.” It’s subtle, but it sneaks in.

And most of the time, it doesn’t even feel like a belief. It just feels… normal. Common sense. Except it’s not. It’s learned.

What we call “diet culture” is not one specific thing. It’s not a manual or a club you join, it’s more  a hum in the background. In conversations. On social media. In the stuff we’ve been told our whole lives. And because it repeats, and repeats, and repeats… it feels true. Quietly. But really, very effectively.

Food has become perfectionism tangled in a plate. What to eat. When. How much. Combinations. Time windows. Supplements. All in pursuit of this mythical idea of “optimal health”.

But nutrition is rarely black and white.

That “bad” food? Maybe essential for someone recovering from an eating disorder. That “healthy” ingredient? Could be dangerous for someone allergic. High-energy meal? Perfect for an athlete. Context matters. Always.

So understatement of the year: I’m not a fan of the diet culture. Or dieting. 

But me rooting for you? Loudly.