Why You Shouldn't Sign Up to Reset & Recover (Yet)

For 6 years, I ruined Christmas. For 6 years, I'd hold back in the weeks leading up to December 25th, telling myself that if I ate less now, I could enjoy the festive food more freely later.

When the Food Guilt Feels Crippling

The guilt that shows up after eating is one of the most exhausting parts of recovery. You know intellectually that food is allowed, necessary, neutral... and yet it feels like you've broken the law.

An Eating Disorder at Christmas: When the "Most Wonderful Time of Year" Feels the Hardest

If you're struggling with an eating disorder at Christmas, you already know something the festive adverts never show: December can be HEAVY. It's not all mince pies and cosy nights in.

How to Externalize the Eating Disorder Voice When It Gets Loud

The eating disorder voice often gets loudest at the exact moments you're trying hardest to recover. You might know intellectually that it isn't you, while simultaneously feeling unable to tell where you end and it begins.

A Marathon a Month | Why the Incentive Isn't as "Brilliant" as Believed 🫠

I've seen a lot of excitement about NHS England's new "Marathon a Month" challenge, which will reward people for walking around 30 minutes a day through discounts and incentives.

And I genuinely hope it helps some people become more active. Walking has enormous physical and mental health benefits.

So why am I NOT excited about it? 🫠 

👙 If you're struggling with food this summer, READ THIS

 TL;DR: You don't need to earn the ice cream, eating the ice cream won't completely change your appearance, and your appearance is not what defines you. 

🌟 Real Transformations: Sarah’s Story

Meet Sarah (not her real name), a remarkable woman who, like many of us, was living with a restrictive eating disorder. For years. And throughout those years, Sarah...

When you've already tried "listening to your body"...

"Am I actually going to learn anything I haven’t already heard a hundred times?”

What PAC-MAN Can Teach Us About Recovery 🎮

It's been a WHILE since I've posted on this platform! So today, let's talk about PAC-MAN.

Go on, humor me... I promise there's a (very powerful) point to this!

Recovering WITHOUT weight gain and sugar cravings?

Can you recover from an eating disorder without gaining weight? Without becoming obsessed with sugar? Without "bingeing"?

Food Decision Fatigue in ED Recovery

An eating disorder is the ultimate way to avoid decisions (and decision fatigue). Always choose the lowest calorie option; always say no; always avoid sugar; and so on and so forth. It’s a list of commands, with no room for second-guessing. 

With an eating disorder, you don't have to decide what to eat and when, because you eat the same thing, every day, at the same times. You don't have to decide where you want to go out for lunch because you DON’T go out for lunch. (And, if you do, you go for the same salad every time. No decision needed.) 

The Lies we Tell Ourselves

I hate to break it to ya, but you’re not working ‘hard enough’ if your results aren’t as obvious as the steroid-pumped dude next-door (sarcastic eye-roll)

How my Body Image Changed as I Gained Weight in ED Recovery

My body image changed during my eating disorder recovery, as I gained weight and I approached a healthy BMI. It changed even as I then maintained this new healthy weight. So did the body dysmorphia that characterised my eating disorder simply disappear with time? Did I magically start loving myself during this process of rediscovery? Well, not quite... 

Counting Calories in Eating Disorder Recovery

Let’s face it: the eating disorder likes control. Counting calories creates a *perfect* sense of control, and so many individuals with an eating disorder and in recovery from an eating disorder therefore turn to this for a sense of safety, at a time when everything else may feel unsafe and unsure.

Losing Control to Regain my Life

My name is Hanne Arts. When I wrote the first draft of this piece, I was 23 years old and a final-year Psychology student at the university of Bath. Now I am 25, starting my own business. I am someone -- I have been someone for some time now -- even though for the longest time I didn’t think I would be. For the longest time I thought I would never make it. For the longest time, I wanted to disappear. 

Your Body Needs Rest (& a Lot of Food)

Exercise. The all-defining exercise. In eating disorder recovery, this seems like one of the most recurring themes and topics. To do recovery, but to do it 'the healthy way.' To do it in a way that still appeases the eating disorder...  

How to Avoid Refeeding Syndrome in Eating Disorder Recovery

Refeeding syndrome is a medical complication that occurs in well below 1% of patients during the refeeding process. Today, I’ll talk about what it is, underlying causes and risk factors, and how it can be avoided. I’ll also touch on weight-gain guidelines, and the recommended calorie increases prescribed by the APA, NICE, and Minnie Maud.

I Stopped Exercising for Two Months (& Why You Should Too)

I stopped exercising for TWO MONTHS. Today, I share why I stopped exercising and how it affected my weight, strength, mood, etc. Did I gain weight? Did I lose muscle? Did it influence what I eat in a day? I also talk about exercise in and after eating disorder recovery. 

Another What I Eat in a Day...

What I eat in a day (eating disorder recovered), with quick and easy plant-based recipes, alongside some insights into why I'm vegan and how I stay vegan!

Sometimes, I Hate my Skinny Body

'I wish I'd recovered into a bigger body', I used to tell myself whenever I received another nasty comment. I made this video a while ago, but I'm finally ready to address it. And I'm ready to move on. So here's the honest truth.