Have you ever sat in a treatment room and felt like the real you was completely invisible, like the system was so focused on your weight, your behaviours, your diagnosis, that it forgot there was a whole person underneath? This episode is for you.

This week on the Full of Beans Podcast, I'm joined by Tanya Francis, a research psychologist, lecturer at the Open University, and psychotherapist in private practice, who also brings her own lived experience of an eating disorder to this conversation.

Tanya's background is in domestic violence research and gender-based violence, and the more she looked at how systems respond when someone is harmed, the more she saw uncomfortable parallels with eating disorder care.

In this episode, we explore:

• What iatrogenic harm means and why care systems can sometimes cause harm
• The role of BMI and weight in treatment,
• How rigid care centralising numbers can reinforce eating disorder logic
• How weight stigma in healthcare shuts people out before they've even begun
• The culture of mistrust around eating disorders and the damage it does
• Why people pleasing in treatment can look like recovery but lead straight back to relapse
• Moral injury and what happens when clinicians can't act on their own values
• Tanya's own experience of not being believed in her body during inpatient care
• Why truly humanising care is both simpler and more complex than it sounds
• How two things can be true at once, e.g. a broken system and incredible people working within it

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram
• Check out our website
• Listen on YouTube
• Connect with Tanya via Instagram (@drtanyafrances), LinkedIn or her website

⚠️ Content Note: This episode contains discussions of eating disorder treatment, inpatient care, and iatrogenic harm. Please take care of yourself while listening.

Have you ever found yourself trying to balance the needs of your eating disorder, your treatment team, your family, and somewhere in the middle of all of that, completely losing sight of yourself? This episode is for you.

This week on the Full of Beans Podcast, I'm joined by Sarah Parker, a psychotherapist based in West Yorkshire, who brings both professional expertise in eating disorder therapy and her own lived experience of fifteen years of anorexia.

Sarah knows firsthand how people pleasing can keep you stuck in recovery, doing all the right things, saying all the right things, but doing it for everyone else rather than for yourself. That can be motivating to start with, but after time, motivation can fade and a true commitment to recovery is required.

In this episode, we explore:

• Sarah's own experience of anorexia and what kept her stuck for so long
• Sarah's experience of detainment, tube feeding, and how collaboration changed this
• How people pleasing shaped Sarah's experience of treatment
• Why bringing out the rebel can be more supportive than praising compliance in recovery
• The difference between motivation and commitment in eating disorder recovery
• Why commitment helps long-term recovery more than motivation
• How to keep going on the days when every part of you is telling you not to
• Why anger can actually be a sign that recovery is working
• The role of compassion in recovery

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram
• Check out our website
• Listen on YouTube
• Connect with Sarah via her website or on Instagram (@wellofbeing13)

⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of eating disorders, anorexia, detainment and tube feeding. Please take care while listening.

Have you ever felt like your eating disorder didn't have a name, or that what you were going through just didn't quite fit? This episode is for you.

This week on the Full of Beans Podcast, I'm joined by Dr Ruth Cruickshank, Associate Professor at Royal Holloway, University of London. Ruth has a background in French literature, but has carved out a truly unique space in eating disorder research, using her expertise in critical reading, food studies and her own lived experience of OSFED to ask the questions that others simply aren't asking.

Ruth is the only academic in the humanities working on OSFED, and she is doing extraordinary work to challenge why the most common eating disorder diagnosis remains so systemically overlooked.

In this episode, we explore:

• How Ruth's career took her from French literature and advertising to eating disorder research
• How representations of food in fiction carry deeper psychological and cultural meanings
• What OSFED is and why it matters that so many people have never heard of it
• Why OSFED and UFED remain under-researched despite being the most common eating disorder diagnoses
• The danger of diagnostic criteria focused on weight and behaviour rather than distress and daily impact
• Why not having a name for your experience can be so isolating and why that validation matters
• The "not sick enough" narrative and how diagnostic language can keep people stuck
• Whether a truly person-centred approach to eating disorder treatment could change everything
• What Ruth wants anyone to know if they've never been able to name their experience

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram
• Check out our website
• Listen on YouTube
• Connect with Ruth via her Research Profile
• Read Ruth's research:
  • Challenging the enduring epistemic injustice of eating disorders: Critically re-reading Occupation food insecurity in the Trente Glorieuses with Elsa Triolet and the 1944–1945 ‘Minnesota Starvation Experiment’
  • Not knowing and the problematics of naming eating disorders: OSFED/EDNOS/TCA-NS and Annie Ernaux’s Mémoire de fille [A Girl’s Story]

⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of OSFED, anorexia, bulimia, and the difficulty of language in eating disorder treatment. Please take care while listening.

When an eating disorder enters a relationship, it doesn’t just affect one person; it changes the space between you. This episode explores how.

In this week’s episode of Full of Beans, I’m joined by Charlotte Jefferson, psychotherapist and founder of CRJ Therapy, to explore how eating disorders impact relationships, communication, intimacy, and trust.

In this conversation, Charlotte brings a relational lens to eating disorders, something that can quietly shape connection, closeness, and the way we show up with one another. We explore what happens when fear takes over in relationships, how communication can begin to break down, and why connection can feel so hard to hold onto during recovery.

Because eating disorders don’t just affect the individual, they affect the relationship, too.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How eating disorders impact romantic relationships, families, and friendships
• Why food is deeply tied to connection, culture, and social life
• The role of fear, silence, and “getting it wrong” in relationships
• How partners and parents can slip into caring roles
• Why communication can break down during eating disorder recovery
• The impact on intimacy, closeness, and trust
• The importance of curiosity and honesty in difficult conversations
• Why wider support networks matter when supporting someone with an eating disorder
• What relationship disconnection can look like
• Gentle ways to begin rebuilding connection and trust

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram
• Check out our website
• Listen on YouTube
• Connect with Charlotte via CRJ Therapy or on Instagram (@crjtherapy)

⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of eating disorders, relationship challenges, and emotional distress. Please take care while listening.

Have you ever found yourself struggling to navigate social media in recovery, comparing, doom scrolling, and falling into patterns you thought you'd left behind? This episode is for you.

This week on the Full of Beans Podcast, I'm joined by Sophie Macfie, founder of Soph's Plant Kitchen, cookbook author, and personal trainer, who shares her own experience of disordered eating and how she's built a life that genuinely nourishes her in every sense of the word.

We also talk about the complicated relationship between wellness culture, the fitness industry, and recovery, and why it can be so hard to tell the difference between what's helping and what isn't.

In this episode, we explore:

• Sophie's own experience of disordered eating and what helped her turn a corner
• Why social media can feel so triggering in eating disorder recovery
• How plant-based eating can be a genuine expression of values, and when it isn't
• The fitness industry, body ideals and why aesthetics can be a trap
• The "strong not skinny" movement, where it lands and where it falls short
• Why what you're drawn to on social media can signal where you are in your recovery
• Responsibility for harmful content online: the person posting or the person scrolling?
• Why defining yourself by one thing, however healthy it looks, can keep you stuck
• The importance of rest and slowing down in eating disorder recovery

Please note that everyone's recovery journey is completely individual. The topics we discuss in this episode may not be appropriate for everyone and should always be explored as part of your own personalised recovery journey, ideally alongside your treatment team. We are all at different stages, and that is something to be honoured, not rushed.

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram
• Check out our website
• Listen on YouTube
• Connect with Sophie via Instagram (@sophsplantkitchen) and order Soph's book, 30 in 30, here!

⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of eating disorders, plant-based eating and exercise. Please take care while listening.

Have you ever thought you've spent too long ill with an eating disorder, that there's just no way you can recover from an eating disorder? If that's you, this episode is for you.

This week on the Full of Beans Podcast, I'm joined by Andrea Stroud, mum to Joshua, Jacob and Tommy who has lived with anorexia, in secret, for over 40 years. Andrea hopes that by sharing her story and the reality of living with an eating disorder and its impact on family life, she can give others hope that it’s never too late to recover.

We also talk about years of missed red flags from medical professionals, the moment Andrea said "I am actually quite unwell," and what has made eating disorder recovery feel different this time around.

In this episode, we explore:

• How growing up in a weight-focused family left Andrea feeling different from everyone around her
• How gymnastics, dance and athletics brought an early focus on appearance and comparison
• The missed red flags across years of medical appointments, from gynaecology to gastroenterology
• How dismissal by healthcare professionals reinforced the belief of not being sick enough
• The study day that finally gave Andrea permission to say she was actually quite unwell
• How Andrea opened up to her son Josh after 40 years of silent struggles
• Going back into treatment, and why this time felt different
• Why rigid meal plans can work against the very thing eating disorder recovery needs
• What mental hunger is and how it can be misunderstood in treatment
• Opposite actions as a practical tool for challenging eating disorder thoughts
• Why food is about more than fuel, it is connection, presence and belonging
• Why Andrea's word for long-term anorexia recovery is connection

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram
• Check out our website
• Listen on YouTube
• Connect with Andrea on Instagram (@andreainrecovery), as well as her son Joshua (@joshuahillsnutrition)

⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of eating disorders, anorexia and disordered eating. Please look after yourself as you listen.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share to help us spread awareness.

Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛

Have you ever felt like you’re constantly trying to "fit into a box" that just wasn't made for you?

This week on the Full of Beans Podcast, Han is joined by Dr. Lauren Lovegood, a psychologist who specialises in the intersection of Eating Disorders, Neurodiversity (ADHD/Autism), and the LGBTQ+ community.

We talk about the "internal sense of difference" that so many of us feel growing up and how, sometimes, an eating disorder can sneak in as a way to find control, "mask" our true selves, or even seek out that much-needed dopamine.

In this episode, we explore:

• The Treatment Spectrum: Why anorexia is actually a much smaller piece of the ED puzzle than society thinks.
• Identity & Belonging: The unique challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community and how gender-affirming care can coexist with a healthy body image.
• The Neurodivergent Brain: Why "Executive Function" makes university transitions so tricky and why your "fidgety brain" might be driving your food behaviours.
• Gender Affirming Care: We discuss the desire to align our physical bodies with our internal identity.
• The Glorification of Weight Loss: Exploring the challenges of restrictive behaviours in the queer community to cause a more "feminine" or "masculine" look.
• Identity Roles & Stereotypes: How to find where we belong without fuelling obsession with our appearance.
• ARFID & Sensory Safety: Understanding why "beige foods" feel safe and how to branch out without the fear and force gently.
• The Low Self-Esteem Trap: How external pressure to be "disciplined" can fuel the eating disorder voice.

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram
• Check out our website
• Listen on YouTube
• Connect with Lauren via her website

⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of eating disorders, body image, neurodiversity, gender and sexuality. Please look after yourself as you listen.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share to help us spread awareness.

Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛

We often view exercise as the "golden ticket" for mental health, but for those navigating eating disorders, the line between movement and compulsion is incredibly thin.

In this week’s episode of Full of Beans, Han is joined by Dr. Amit Mistry, a Consultant Sports Psychiatrist at the Nightingale Hospital. Amit brings a unique dual perspective to the table, advocating for the robust mental health benefits of physical activity while managing the high-stakes clinical risks of over-exercise in inpatient eating disorder settings.

We explore why exercise shouldn't be a "black or white" conversation and how we can reintroduce movement without falling back into the trap of rigidity.

In this episode, we talk about:

• The Biopsychosocial Model: How sport serves as "fertiliser for the brain" while providing self-mastery and social connection.
• The Social Media Myth: Why we need to challenge the "exercise is all you need" narrative and replace it with a multi-pronged approach to mental health.
• Inpatient Realities: The difficult balance of prioritising physical stability (cardiovascular status and refeeding) while introducing social exercises like yoga or swimming.
• Exercise as a Spectrum: Identifying when recreational movement crosses the line into a systemic, "drug-like" addiction that impacts bone health and fertility.
• Red-S vs. Depression: The clinical challenge of distinguishing between relative energy deficiency in sport and primary low mood.
• The "Elite" Trap: Why 99% of us aren't elite athletes and shouldn't be following the regimented, high-intake/high-output diets we see in our feeds.
• Diagnostic Switching: Understanding the shift into Orthorexia and why being "high functioning" doesn't mean you aren't in distress.

Something that really stayed with me from this conversation was the idea of Identity vs. Performance. When we strip away the sports and the training, who are we? Recovery isn't about stopping forever; it’s about regaining the autonomy to choose rest without guilt.

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram
• Check out our website
• Listen on YouTube
• Connect with Dr Amit on Instagram (@dramistrypsych)

⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of eating disorders, anxiety, restrictive eating and medical trauma. Please look after yourself as you listen.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share to help us spread awareness.

Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛

Thank you to Nightingale Hospital for sponsoring Full of Beans.

Anecdotally, we know there is a correlation between eating disorders and suicide, yet until now, there has been no published research to show that.

This week on the Full of Beans Podcast, Han is joined by Dr Una Foye, a Research Fellow at King's College London, who is leading the qualitative arm of an MQ-funded study exploring why people with eating disorders are at higher risk of suicide and self-harm.

We talk about the groundbreaking, and long overdue, research that finally puts lived experience voices at the centre of this conversation, why the data has always been harder to read than it should be, and what the findings mean for the way we think about treatment, recovery, and care.

In this episode, we explore:

• The research gap: Why there has been almost no qualitative work asking people with lived experience about the link between eating disorders and suicidality, until now.
• The hidden statistics: Why deaths connected to eating disorders and suicide are so often recorded under other causes, and what stigma and the historic criminalisation of suicide have to do with it.
• The complexity of risk: How the eating disorder itself, identity loss, social isolation, and the function it serves can increase suicidal thoughts.
• Recovery as a risky period: How the removal of support at the point of weight restoration can leave people more vulnerable, not less.
• Intersectionality and invisibility: How being male, from a minoritised ethnic background, living in a larger body, or being autistic or neurodivergent can compound the risk, and the silence.
• Siloed services: Why being told "you can't be treated here if you're also self-harming" misses the point entirely, and what holistic, joined-up care could look like instead.
• Asking the question: Why clinicians are often frightened to ask about suicidality, and why not asking is far more dangerous than asking.
• Hope in small things: The realisation that support doesn't need to be dramatic - but simple changes and communication can help.
• Lived experience at the centre: Why Una is so passionate about lived experience and how it is the thing which shapes everything she does.

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram
• Check out our website
• Listen on YouTube
• Connect with Una via the KCL website

⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of eating disorders, self-harm and suicide. Please look after yourself as you listen.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share to help us spread awareness.

Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛

In this week’s episode of Full of Beans, I’m joined by Dr Jessica Eccles, an award-winning researcher and neurodevelopmental psychiatrist specialising in the links between brain and body, particularly as they relate to hypermobility.

Jessica is an Associate Professor in Brain-Body Medicine at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. Also, she works in the Sussex NHS Neurodevelopmental Service, where she and colleagues have set up the world’s first Neurodivergent Brain Body Clinic. She has been exploring the intersection between hypermobility, neurodivergence, and mental health since 2009, and is passionate about challenging stereotypes and encouraging curiosity.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What hypermobility actually is, and why it is about more than being “bendy”
• The links between ADHD, autism, hypermobility, anxiety, and eating disorders
• How gut issues, autonomic dysfunction, and interoception may play a role
• Why body sensations can sometimes be misread as anxiety
• The connection between proprioception, body awareness, and emotion regulation
• Why neurodivergent people may be more vulnerable to restrictive eating patterns
• The importance of looking at the full picture, rather than separating the brain and body

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram
• Check out our website
• Listen on YouTube
• Connect with Jessica via her LinkTree

⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of eating disorders, anxiety, restrictive eating and medical trauma. Please look after yourself as you listen.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share to help us spread awareness.

Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛