The Holidays can be such a difficult time if you have an eating disorder. In this episode we largely focus on Christmas, but this can apply to any holiday you celebrate which can disrupt your routine, bring you around different people, expose you to different foods and comments, and generally create stress for you. We chat around our own experiences of managing the holidays in our recoveries, and how to take actions over the holiday period which move you towards where you want to go in life (aligned actions), and keep you prioritising your recovery so that when the day/season passes you are still on track.

Topics covered:

•⁠ Some of the difficulties of the Christmas period with an ED

•⁠ ⁠Handling comments

•⁠ ⁠Handling different eating times and unknown routines

•⁠ Practicing different foods in advance

•⁠ ⁠Clothing and Christmas outfits

•⁠ ⁠Seeing this year as a stepping stone for next year

•⁠ Managing that need to show up as a ‘super happy’ version of you

•⁠ ⁠New Years - resolution setting and reflecting on another year passing

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

[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 help with your own unique recovery.

Embodiment in Recovery with Holly Sunday

This week, we’re joined by the lovely Holly Sunday: co-founder of Hi Beautiful ED Recovery Coaching, co-host of the Beyond Body podcast, and fellow coach at Beyond Body Coaching.

We look at what it means to truly ‘be’ in your body again — and discuss all the difficult feelings that come up at the prospect, especially after years of struggling against that same body. Holly shares her own story of finding full recovery, how she brings embodiment into her work with clients, and the practices that helped her reconnect with herself.

We’ll also explore the process of learning to feel safe in yourself again; using curiosity as a tool; the power of stillness — and the small, joyful rituals that make daily life feel more grounded, be that silent retreats or rediscovering the pleasure of cooking again!

Topics covered:

* What embodiment means and why it matters

* Holly’s journey to full recovery and coaching

* Practical ways to reconnect with your body

* The joy of cooking and mindful nourishment

* Finding stillness through silent retreats

* The role of mindfulness in recovery

* Words of wisdom for early recovery

Resources mentioned:

* Befriending Your Body – Ann Saffi Biasetti

* Embodiment and the Treatment of Eating Disorders – Catherine Cook

Connect with us

Holly

Website: [https://hibeautiful.com.au](https://hibeautiful.com.au)

Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/hi.beautiful](https://www.instagram.com/hi.beautiful)____

TikTok: [https://www.tiktok.com/@aspoonfullofsunday](https://www.tiktok.com/@aspoonfullofsunday)

Substack: [https://aspoonfullofsunday.substack.com](https://aspoonfullofsunday.substack.com)

Meg

Instagram: @megsy_recovery

YouTube: Megsy Recovery

TikTok: megsy recovery

Safia

Instagram: @safia_edrecoverycoach

Email: [[email protected]]

Website: https://www.safiaed.com

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 help with your own unique recovery.

Tackling Movement Compulsions

What happens when movement stops being joyful and starts being a rule you can’t break? In this episode, Meg speaks with Safia about her experience of exercise compulsion during her eating disorder – how it developed, what it cost, and how she began to rebuild a balanced relationship with movement.

We talk about the impact of overexercise on mental, physical and social health, and the subtle ways compulsions can still show up even in recovery. From stress responses to value alignment, we explore practical ways to loosen the grip of movement rules and manage triggers — all with the ultimate aim of reconnecting with your body in a more compassionate way.

Finally, we touch on how the Recovery in Action course supports those struggling with exercise compulsions – including its dedicated week on movement — and how to sign up if this sounds helpful for you.

Topics covered:

* When exercise becomes unhealthy

* How movement compulsions affect mind, body and relationships

* The difference between discipline and distress

* Practical tools to rebuild trust with rest

* Navigating triggers and social pressure

* Balancing bone health and recovery needs

* Reframing movement through 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

[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 help with your own unique recovery.

Hope Virgo: Recovery, Faith & Advocating for Change

Hope Virgo is a multi-award winning campaigner, speaker and author of three amazing books: ‘Stand Tall Little Girl’, ‘Hope Through Recovery’ and ‘You Are Free (Even If You Don’t Feel Like It)’. In this inspiring episode, she candidly shares her own personal experience of suffering from an eating disorder and offers lots of great practical recovery tips to stay motivated. With her super cute newborn cuddled up on her throughout this is an episode not to be missed. 

Topics covered:

-Hope’s experience of pregnancy and motherhood, the overwhelming gratitude for her little one as well as the more challenging messaging around food and body that she received when pregnant. 

-Her concerns regarding calories being put on menus and the prevalence of diet culture in children that she has become aware of from speaking in schools.

-The campaigns she has spearheaded: #DumpTheScales and #ChangeTheStory

-Her beautifully written, raw and relatable memoir: ‘You Are Free (Even If You Don’t Feel Like It)’ in which she includes reflective exercises, insightful interviews and advice from her own experiences.

-Why to fight for full recovery and how to break out of the halfway house, stuck-in-the-mud stage of recovery.

-The role her faith has played in her recovery.

-Advice for how to reach out to others you can be vulnerable with for support and motivation.

-Great ideas for supporting loved ones suffering from an eating disorder on their recovery journey. 

You can find us on social media:

Meg

Instagram: @megsy_recovery

YouTube: Megsy Recovery

TikTok: megsy recovery

Safia

Instagram: @safia_edrecoverycoach

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.safiaed.com

Hope 

Instagram: @hopevirgo_

Resources Hope mentioned:

https://feast-ed.org/feast-30-days/

https://firststepsed.co.uk/

Em (copywriter & editor)

Instagram: @em_schone

[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 help with your own unique recovery.

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 help with your own unique recovery.

In this bonus episode, we take a deeper dive into our upcoming Recovery In Action workshop, running from November 9th to 30th, 2025. We unpack the structure, share how it came to life, and reflect on how we wanted to create something which we wish we’d had during our own recovery journeys.

This workshop blends our professional coaching tools with our lived experience to help you build a personalized toolbox of strategies for real-time change. It’s all about empowering you to shift your mindset and take action—right in the moment.

We’re also so excited to be joined by some amazing participants from our May Recovery In Action cohort, who share their insights and experiences from the last workshop.

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in joining, we’d love to hear from you, and there are spots still available. Reach out via Instagram or any of the contact channels below to sign up or ask us any questions.

[SOCIAL HANDLES]

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

[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 help with your own unique recovery.

Tools, Triggers & Body Image with with Mia Findlay

In this episode, we’re joined by the brilliant Mia Findlay, founder of Beyond Body Coaching and the What Mia Did Next YouTube channel (@whatmiadidnext). Mia is an eating disorder recovery coach, speaker, and advocate who helped train both of us in our own coaching practice.

Together, we dig into some of the most common challenges in recovery – from body image and boundaries to fear foods and calorie counting. Mia also shares how her experience of living with endometriosis has influenced her recovery journey and the compassion she brings to her coaching work — be that navigating triggers, trying to separate physical health needs from disordered thoughts, or building a unique recovery toolkit.

Topics covered:

* Managing body image in recovery and beyond

* The intersection of chronic illness and EDs

* Adapting advice to your individual needs

* Moving away from calorie counting

* Tools for challenging fear foods (and urges to compensate)

* Dialoguing: what it is and when to use it

* Creating healthy boundaries

* Coaching support and how to connect with Mia

[SOCIAL HANDLES]

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

Mia Findlay

Website: [https://www.beyondbodycoach.com](https://www.beyondbodycoach.com)

Instagram: [@whatmiadidnext](https://www.instagram.com/whatmiadidnext)

YouTube: What Mia Did Next

Em (copywriter & editor)

Instagram: @em_schone

[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 help with your own unique recovery.

Practical Tips and Tools

There’s no quick fix for recovery – but there are tools that can help ease those overwhelming moments. Today, we’re exploring practical techniques that can make a difference, drawing on our own experiences as eating disorder recovery coaches. 

We talk about what coaching is, how it differs from therapy, and how it can complement other forms of support. From metaphors and mantras to transitional objects and time-hopping, we hope you find that some of these strategies bridge the gap between awareness and action – and help you stay grounded in your bigger picture when things feel tough.

Topics covered:

·      Coaching, therapy, and how they can work together

·      On building a toolkit for recovery

·      Transitional objects: what they are and how to use them

·      Using metaphors and analogies

·      Time-hopping – using milestones and memories

·      It's okay to be repetitive! The power of reiteration

·      “Bucketing” your actions 

·      The concept of the shield: protecting your recovery

·      Shining the spotlight

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

[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 help with your own unique recovery.

In today’s episode, we’re exploring the emotional terrain of weight gain in eating disorder recovery. While not everyone experiences weight restoration as part of their healing process, it’s often an unavoidable and important aspect of recovery — and can equally bring up a lot of challenging feelings for many people.

We both had very different reactions to regaining weight and letting go of weight suppression — even though, having committed to the process, we found ourselves at the same point in the end: freedom around food and our bodies.

It’s raw, real, and hopefully a reminder that you’re not alone in this part of the journey.

Topics covered:

- The ambivalent feelings we had in letting go of old clothes

- The strength (or blind faith!) it takes to keep going week after week

- The strategies that helped us stay grounded

- Reframing how you look at photos

- Releasing rigid targets


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

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 help with your own unique recovery.

In this episode, Meg and Saf dive into the theme of control – how it shows up in eating disorders, and why it feels so hard to let go. They explore the underlying drive for control, how it impacts day-to-day life, and why loosening its grip is such a crucial part of recovery.

They share some of the “rules” they once lived by – from minimum amounts and rigid routines to choosing the most boring versions of food – and how those rules stripped away freedom and connection with others.

You’ll hear honest reflections on:

• Why the need for control feels so powerful in EDs

• The hidden costs of staying controlled

• Practical ways to challenge those rules

• The freedom, flexibility, and joy that come from letting go

  
  

  Connect with us:

  Meg

  Instagram: @megsy_recovery

  YouTube: Megsy Recovery

  TikTok: megsy recovery

  
  

  Safia

  Instagram: @safia_edrecoverycoach

  Email: [email protected]

  https://www.safiaed.com/

  
  

  Em (copywriter & editor)

  Instagram: @em_schone

  
  

  [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 help with your own unique recovery.

What if decades of struggle didn’t mean recovery was out of reach? In this episode, we’re joined by fellow coach and passionate recovery advocate, Pamela St. Clair, who found freedom after living with an eating disorder for much of her life. Her story is a powerful reminder that change is possible – no matter your age, situation or lived experience. 

Together, we talk about the realities of suffering with an eating disorder for years: the grief and anger, but also the perspective and strength that come with time. From community to values, stereotypes to body changes, Pamela shares what helped her step into recovery, and what life looks like now in full colour. 

Topics covered:

·      Pamela’s story – what sparked the change

·      Finding (and building) a supportive community

·      Diet culture, advocacy, and turning anger into action

·      What matters to you? How to live value-aligned 

·      Time, grief, and the power of perspective 

·      Recovery and ageing: gaining tools for the future

·      Finding strength in surrender 

·      The “ED shield”: protecting your bigger picture

·      How the brain changes through recovery

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

Pamela St. Clair
Website: https://www.pamelaevarecovery.com/about
Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/eatingdisorderecovery/

Em (copywriter & editor)
Instagram: @em_schone

[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 help with your own unique recovery.