'Getting Your Life Together' for 2023

Firstly, HAPPY NEW YEAR. I hope you are all doing well and have started 2023 off with a bang! Secondly, relax. I hope you all know that there's really no need to throw a fit thinking up and executing all of these (over-hyped) new year's resolutions for your 'new year, new me.' This year, I propose a different approach.

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.