This month, our recovery goal is to notice one body signal each day: hunger, fullness, fatigue, or energy - without judgement. It may sound simple, but it’s actually a transformative practice. By gently tuning into these signals, we can start rebuilding trust with our bodies, describe our experiences more clearly to providers, and open the door to healing.

To explore this theme, I sat down with Hui Yang, a physician-scientist and psychiatry resident at Yale. Hui studies the brain circuitry behind eating disorders and brings a rare perspective by combining cutting-edge research with her own lived experiences. She grew up in China, came to the U.S. at 18, and now works at the intersection of neuroscience and compassionate clinical care.

In this conversation, we cover:

• Why body signals feel so dysregulated in eating disorders, and why they’re not “broken.”
• Practical grounding tools Hui recommends to reconnect with hunger, fullness, and energy.
• The three phases of eating (appetitive, consummatory, satiety) and what happens when they’re disrupted.
• The two studies Hui participated in at Acute in Denver, one of the country’s highest-acuity inpatient centers:
  • Understanding the urge to move or exercise in eating disorders.
  • Testing whether nutrient balance during refeeding can improve recovery outcomes.
• Why treatment, though hard, is truly lifesaving and why Hui has hope for the future of eating disorder care.

Connect with Hui:

• Instagram: @let_the_land_lie_fallow
  
  
• Yale Profile: https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/hui-yang-hy439/
  
  
• Email: [email protected]

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @theeatingdisorderdiaries