I am honoured to introduce you to Zariel Grullón (she/her/they)—a Non Diet Registered Dietitian and Speaker—who shares how weight-neutral nutrition, cultural pride, and self-trust shape her work and voice on stage.

Zariel is a passionate dietitian, speaker, creator and founder of Love Your Chichos. Dedicated to helping the Latine community embrace their bodies, reclaim cultural foods, and manage health conditions, Zariel’s mission is to empower individuals to confidently heal from dieting and rediscover joy in their heritage.

Everyone deserves to reconnect with their cultural roots and health in a way that honors their unique identity and values. Through her weight-neutral approach, Zariel guides folks to nourish their body and spirit without sacrificing joy or cultural pride.

When she’s not making a difference in the wellness world, you’ll find Zariel living her best life, working on her many hobbies, jamming to Juan Luis Guerra, and exploring her new home state.

Hola Zariel, I’m so happy to have you here and to share more of what you do with our readers!

Your work centers healing, cultural pride, and moving away from dieting — which already challenges so many mainstream nutrition narratives. What’s one misconception people often have about dietitians that you find yourself gently dismantling?

The biggest misconception people have about dietitians is that we are the food police. That we’re monitoring and judging what everyone eats. That is simply not the truth, at least for the way I practice nutrition. I make sure clients and the communities I serve know that my job is not to judge them about anything they’re doing, instead I’m here to support them on their journey back to self acceptance and love of themselves, their cultura and their foods!

I love how your work creates permission for people to trust themselves again. Thinking about your own journey, especially as someone now creating that permission for others—what’s something your younger self really needed to hear?

Ooof. I would tell my younger self to believe that she matters. Her questions, thoughts, words, and opinions matter. Especially if you feel like you’re alone in sharing these things—by speaking up about something that is your truth you make it safe for others to share their truth as well. This is a beautiful gift you’ve tapped into now and it’s unfolding beautifully, but you always had that within you!

That thread of collective safety and shared truth feels deeply present in everything you do. When you’re making decisions in your work, speaking, or life—what values help you stay aligned?

The two things I always check in with before I do anything are: 

• “Does this bring me joy?”, and 
• “Does this center the collective?”

If there’s any iffy-ness around this I’m likely to reconsider it entirely.

I love how you approach things from a grounded, heart-centered place. Before stepping into a talk or presentation, what helps you feel connected to yourself and the message you’re about to share?

Before any speaking engagement or presentation I make sure to pray, asking spirit for the right words and ideas to be expressed, I meditate, and when possible I take a quick walk in nature to ground myself in the Earth.

This feels like such a grounding and intentional way to step into speaking. Even with supportive rituals in place, many speakers still experience moments of self-doubt. Have you faced imposter syndrome—and what’s helped you move through it?

Yes! The last presentation I did I said out loud “I’m really nervous” and this helped me ease into the talk, get a few laughs and let the fear go.

Thank you so much for sharing more of your journey and perspectives with us, Zariel. To wrap things up, I’d love to ask you 3 rapid-fire questions.

What does success mean to you on a personal level?

Success means I get to create, share, and live by my own terms. I get to flow through life and empower others to do the same as they navigate their lives. Success to me means being able to get through the door and bringing others with you so we can all live how we want to live.

What’s an exciting project you’re currently working on? 

I’m really working on my YouTube this year! This is a fun way to express my creativity, share nutrition education at a larger scale and gets me out of my comfort zone which is always really fun. Bonus is that it helps me formulate my thoughts so I can speak more succinctly and clearly!

If you could share one message with the world from a stage, what would it be?

Trust your gut! From a nutrition standpoint to a spiritual standpoint—you have the answers, you’ve always have.

Connect With Zariel

Website | Instagram

Interested in bringing Zariel to your event?

Zariel speaks on culturally inclusive nutrition, healing diet culture, and reclaiming cultural foods with compassion and joy. Connect with them to create meaningful conversations for your audience such as their signature talk, “Tasting Traditions: Reclaiming Wellness Through Cultura, Comida, y Cariño”.

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