JOIN THE REWIRED IN ACTION COMMUNITY: www.rewiredinaction.com

In this two-part miniseries, Safia shares the first half of her recovery story, reflecting on her childhood and some of the big life changes that came through university and work. As time went on, her days became increasingly dominated by food, movement and an eating disorder that shapeshifted to preserve itself.

Safia also looks back at the points where she began to realise that the life she was living wasn’t the life she wanted, and talks about how she began to take steps towards reconnecting with what actually mattered to her.

Topics covered:

• Safia’s early relationship with food

• Body image, movement and dieting

• The impact of university and major life changes

• Perfectionism and fear of failure

• The role of relationships 

• Recognising that the eating disorder was taking over

• Starting therapy and challenging food and movement rules

• Reconnecting with values 

Connect with us:

Meg Instagram: @megsy_recovery YouTube: Megsy Recovery TikTok: megsy recovery

Safia Instagram: @safia_edrecoverycoach Email: [email protected] Website: www.safiaed.com

Em (copywriter & editor) Instagram: @em_schone

Tallulah Self (podcast editor) Instagram: @tallulahself

Disclaimer

Please keep in mind we're not medical professionals, and the podcast content reflects our own experiences and opinions, so it shouldn't be taken as medical advice. If you're struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating, please reach out to a medical professional to discuss your own situation and get professional help that's right for you.

JOIN THE REWIRED IN ACTION COMMUNITY: www.rewiredinaction.com

Starting recovery wasn’t one neat decision for either of us. There were moments where we knew we couldn’t carry on as we were, but that didn’t mean that we felt completely ready to let our EDs go.

So, in this episode, we’re going back to the beginning. We share what was happening in our lives at the time, and the difference between knowing you want to change, and actually being willing to do something about it… 

We also discuss how recovery can begin before you feel ready, and how the reasons you start recovering can evolve once you begin to experience a different way of living.

Topics covered:

• Our reality check moments 

• What our first steps looked like

• The role of support in getting started

• How our motivation changed once we began

• What helped us keep going when it felt difficult

• Busting the “feeling ready” mirage 

Connect with us:

Meg Instagram: @megsy_recovery YouTube: Megsy Recovery TikTok: megsy recovery

Safia Instagram: @safia_edrecoverycoach Email: [email protected] Website: www.safiaed.com

Em (copywriter & editor) Instagram: @em_schone

Tallulah Self (podcast editor) Instagram: @tallulahself

DISCLAIMER

Please keep in mind we're not medical professionals, and the podcast content reflects our own experiences and opinions, so it shouldn't be taken as medical advice. If you're struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating, please reach out to a medical professional to discuss your own situation and get professional help that's right for you.

JOIN THE REWIRED IN ACTION COMMUNITY:www.rewiredinaction.com

The Genetic Component with EDGI Research

This week, we're so excited to be joined by Gerome Breen, Professor of Psychiatric Genetics at King's College London and Chief Investigator of the UK Eating Disorders Genetics Initiative (EDGI-UK), to talk about a topic we both feel passionate about: the biology behind eating disorders.

We explore what this means exactly, and why understanding the genetic component matters. We also discuss protecting your recovery, what researchers at King's College London are trying to learn through EDGI UK, and how taking part in research could help develop better treatments in the future. 

Topics covered:

• How eating disorders are genetic disorders

• The link between eating disorders and OCD

• Protecting your recovery

• The research King's College London are doing to understand eating disorders

• Why genetics matter in eating disorder research

• What you can do if you'd like to participate in the EDGI UK study

Connect with us:

EDGI UKEmail: [email protected]: https://edgiuk.org/Instagram: @edgi_UK

MegInstagram: @megsy_recoveryYouTube: Megsy RecoveryTikTok: megsy recovery

SafiaInstagram: @safia_edrecoverycoachEmail: [email protected]: www.safiaed.com

Em (copywriter & editor)Instagram: @em_schone

Tallulah Self (podcast editor)Instagram: @tallulahself

DisclaimerPlease keep in mind we're not medical professionals, and the podcast content reflects our own experiences and opinions, so it shouldn't be taken as medical advice. If you're struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating, please reach out to a medical professional to discuss your own situation and get professional help that's right for you.

JOIN THE REWIRED IN ACTION COMMUNITY:www.rewiredinaction.com

The Genetic Component with EDGI Research

This week, we're so excited to be joined by Gerome Breen, Professor of Psychiatric Genetics at King's College London and Chief Investigator of the UK Eating Disorders Genetics Initiative (EDGI-UK), to talk about a topic we both feel passionate about: the biology behind eating disorders.

We explore what this means exactly, and why understanding the genetic component matters. We also discuss protecting your recovery, what researchers at King's College London are trying to learn through EDGI UK, and how taking part in research could help develop better treatments in the future. 

Topics covered:

• How eating disorders are genetic disorders

• The link between eating disorders and OCD

• Protecting your recovery

• The research King's College London are doing to understand eating disorders

• Why genetics matter in eating disorder research

• What you can do if you'd like to participate in the EDGI UK study

Connect with us:

EDGI UKEmail: [email protected]: https://edgiuk.org/Instagram: @edgi_UK

MegInstagram: @megsy_recoveryYouTube: Megsy RecoveryTikTok: megsy recovery

SafiaInstagram: @safia_edrecoverycoachEmail: [email protected]: www.safiaed.com

Em (copywriter & editor)Instagram: @em_schone

Tallulah Self (podcast editor)Instagram: @tallulahself

DisclaimerPlease keep in mind we're not medical professionals, and the podcast content reflects our own experiences and opinions, so it shouldn't be taken as medical advice. If you're struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating, please reach out to a medical professional to discuss your own situation and get professional help that's right for you.

Time & ED Recovery

It’s possibly one of the most persistently difficult, yet under-discussed, aspects of life with an ED (and even in recovery). The counting down of minutes until you're "allowed" to eat, the rigid eating windows, the movement routines, feeling like life is passing you by… time touches everything, and everyone, in one way or another. 

Given its prevalence, we wanted to share our own experiences of how exhausting it was to live by the clock, why recovery means learning to let go of time-based rules, and how regular, adequate nourishment helps your body feel safe again. We also explore the grief of time lost to an eating disorder, and why it's never too late to choose a different future.

Topics covered:

• How EDs distort your relationship with time

• Rigid meal timings, eating windows & food rules

• Challenging "cut-off" times for eating

• Why your body isn't a clock

• Learning to be flexible and say yes to life

• How regularity creates biological safety

• Being present instead of constantly watching the clock

• Grieving time lost to an eating disorder

• Time-hopping and using future you as motivation

• Choosing your “hard”

For more information or to join the Rewired Community: www.rewiredinaction.com

Connect with us:

Meg Instagram: @megsy_recovery YouTube: Megsy Recovery TikTok: megsy recovery

Safia Instagram: @safia_edrecoverycoach Email: [email protected] Website: www.safiaed.com

Em (copywriter & editor) Instagram: @em_schone

Tallulah Self (podcast editor) Instagram: @tallulahself

Disclaimer Please keep in mind we're not medical professionals, and the podcast content reflects our own experiences and opinions, so it shouldn't be taken as medical advice. If you're struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating, please reach out to a medical professional to discuss your own situation and get professional help that's right for you.

Exercise & Hope with Julia Trehane

This week, we're joined by fellow Eating Disorder Recovery Coach, podcast host and speaker Julia Trehane. After living with orthorexia and exercise addiction for over 40 years, Julia is now fully recovered and helps others move beyond symptom management to address the deeper roots of an eating disorder.

Together, we explore exercise in recovery (and why it can be so difficult to let go of), alongside the fear of life beyond the eating disorder. We also talk about hope – how to hold onto it when everything feels impossible, and why full recovery is possible, even after decades of illness.

Topics covered:

• Julia's recovery after 40 years with an eating disorder

• Exercise addiction & compulsive movement

• Letting go of control in recovery

• Why healing the cause matters, not just the symptoms

• Holding onto hope when recovery feels impossible

• What full recovery can really look like

For more information or to join the Rewired Community: www.rewiredinaction.com 

Connect with us:

Julia Trehane Website: https://juliatrehane.com The Eating Disorder Recovery Circle: https://www.edrecoverycircle.com Podcast: Fly to Freedom YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@juliatrehane

Meg Instagram: @megsy_recovery YouTube: Megsy Recovery TikTok: megsy recovery

Safia Instagram: @safia_edrecoverycoach Email: [email protected] Website: www.safiaed.com

Em (copywriter & editor) Instagram: @em_schone

Tallulah Self (podcast editor) Instagram: @tallulahself

Disclaimer

Please keep in mind we're not medical professionals, and the podcast content reflects our own experiences and opinions, as well as those of our guests, so it shouldn't be taken as medical advice. If you're struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating, please reach out to a medical professional to discuss your own situation and get professional help that's right for you.

Balancing Food & Body Changes

In this episode, we explore the mental gymnastics that often come with an eating disorder: balancing meals across the day, planning around events, trying to make every food “fit” a set of rules (to name but a few…). It’s exhausting, and yet utterly compulsive – and so today, we go through some tools to help step away from the maths equation altogether. 

We also dive into one of the biggest fears in recovery: body changes. What if recovery changes your body? Will you ever be able to enjoy life if it does? We share our own experiences of challenging these fears, why recovery isn't about feeling ready first, and how your thinking gradually shifts as you keep choosing recovery-aligned actions.

Topics covered:

• The mental load of constantly balancing food

• Breaking the cycle of planning, compensating and "earning" food

• Why recovery often feels harder before it gets easier

• How repeated exposure helps rewire your brain over time

• Fear of body changes and why it doesn't last forever

• How your values and life gradually become bigger than your body

• Why you don't need certainty to begin recovery

For more information or to join the Rewired Community: www.rewiredinaction.com

Connect with us:

Meg: Instagram: @megsy_recovery YouTube: Megsy Recovery TikTok: megsy recovery

Safia: Instagram: @safia_edrecoverycoach Email: [email protected] Website: www.safiaed.com

Em (copywriter & editor): Instagram: @em_schone

Tallulah Self (podcast editor): Instagram: @tallulahself

Disclaimer

Please keep in mind we're not medical professionals, and the podcast content reflects our own experiences and opinions, as well as that of our guests, so it shouldn't be taken as medical advice. If you're struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating, please reach out to a medical professional to discuss your own situation and get professional support tailored to you.

Honesty & Eating Disorders

Lying often becomes part of the picture in eating disorders, even when honesty is something a person deeply values. It can show up in small moments or bigger patterns, usually not out of intent to deceive, but as a way of managing fear, shame, or pressure. 

Today, we look at why transparency can feel so difficult and what sits underneath common secrecies, as well as how recovery can help nudge the balance towards openness. We really hope that this episode helps ease any guilt, and encourages anyone who resonates with the experience to see how honesty can make support frameworks that much more impactful. 

Topics covered:

• Why honesty can feel difficult

• Common patterns of hiding, minimising, or saying “I’m fine”

• What lying is protecting in the short term

• Fear and shame: the role they play in secrecy

• How malnutrition impacts thinking and perception

• The eating disorder voice vs. the authentic self

• Impact on relationships and rebuilding trust

• What helps support honesty in recovery and with loved ones

For more information or to join the Rewired Community: www.rewiredinaction.com

Connect with us:

Meg: Instagram: @megsy_recovery YouTube: Megsy Recovery TikTok: megsy recovery

Safia: Instagram: @safia_edrecoverycoach Email: [email protected] Website: www.safiaed.com

Em (copywriter & editor): Instagram: @em_schone

Tallulah Self (podcast editor): Instagram: @tallulahself

Disclaimer

Please keep in mind we're not medical professionals, and the podcast content reflects our own experiences and opinions, as well as that of our guests, so it shouldn't be taken as medical advice. If you're struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating, please reach out to a medical professional to discuss your own situation and get professional support tailored to you.

Food Paralysis

Choosing what to eat can feel impossible when every option comes with dozens of competing rules, questions and "what ifs." In this episode of Rewired, we explore the experience of food paralysis, and why something as simple as picking a yoghurt, ordering from a menu or deciding on a snack can become completely overwhelming with an ED.

We share our own experiences of getting stuck in supermarket aisles (endlessly weighing up every possible option) and explain why recovery can sometimes make this paralysis feel even stronger before it gets easier. We also talk through the tools that helped us break free from perfectionism — and make decisions based on recovery rather than fear.

Topics covered:

• Why food paralysis happens

• Why recovery can make food choices feel harder

• The endless competing rules and variables

• Common food paralysis triggers 

• Why trying to find the "perfect" choice keeps you stuck

• Planning ahead and reducing options

• Using commitment, mantras and soundbites to stay on track

• Letting go of perfection; embracing "good enough"

• Does it get better? How regular eating helps

For more information or to join the Rewired Community: www.rewiredinaction.com

Connect with us:

Meg: Instagram: @megsy_recovery YouTube: Megsy Recovery TikTok: megsy recovery

Safia: Instagram: @safia_edrecoverycoach Email: [email protected] Website: www.safiaed.com

Em (copywriter & editor): Instagram: @em_schone

Tallulah Self (podcast editor): Instagram: @tallulahself

Disclaimer

Please keep in mind we're not medical professionals, and the podcast content reflects our own experiences and opinions, as well as our work as eating disorder recovery coaches, so it shouldn't be taken as medical advice. If you're struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating, please reach out to a medical professional to discuss your own situation and get personalised support.

Comparison 

It's not overstating to say that comparison affects almost every part of life with an eating disorder. It can creep in when you're with other people, eating, scrolling social media, looking back at old photos… even just walking into a room. And on the flip-side, comparison can make recovery feel harder, maybe pulling focus away from your own progress. 

Today’s episode is all about unpacking the comparison trap: how it keeps people stuck, and why trying to beat it only pulls you further into the ED cycle. We also share the tools that made the biggest difference in our own recoveries, alongside ideas we regularly discuss inside the Rewired Community, where comparison is one of the topics people ask us about most.

Topics covered:

• Why comparison feels so convincing in an ED

• Comparing your body, food, movement, productivity, and your past self

• Fixating on one particular person

• The eating disorder's "filter"

• Looking to other people for permission

• Different bodies, different paths

• Staying in your own lane

• What really matters to you?

• Practical tools for responding to comparison in the moment

• How we've built the Rewired Community to reduce comparison rather than reinforce it

For more information or to join the Rewired Community: www.rewiredinaction.com 

Connect with us:

Meg Instagram: @megsy_recovery YouTube: Megsy Recovery TikTok: megsy recovery

Safia Instagram: @safia_edrecoverycoach Email: [email protected] Website: https://www.safiaed.com

Em (copywriter & editor) Instagram: @em_schone

Tallulah Self (podcast editor) Instagram: @tallulahself

Disclaimer

We're not medical professionals, and the podcast content reflects our own experiences and opinions. If you're struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating, please reach out to a medical professional for personalised support.