The Eating Disorder Recovery Blog

Your body is incredibly intelligent, constantly communicating through hunger and fullness signals to indicate the need for fuel. Ignoring these cues can lead to poor nourishment, energy depletion and disordered eating patterns. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the significance of honouring your body’s needs and the power of embracing nourishment.

Your relationship with food begins to develop in childhood and encompasses your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours surrounding food. It’s influenced by various factors such as your upbringing, home environment, school, culture, and religion, as well as the meanings and associations attached to food. Here are six signs that you’re improving your relationship with food.

Sensory overload occurs when our sensory systems (sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell) get bombarded by too much stimulation from the environment. It’s like your brain goes, “Hold on, I can’t handle all of this input at once!”

Here are some common signs and symptoms of sensory overload and its link to eating disorders.

If you’re reading this, you might be feeling overwhelmed, either by your own battle with bulimia or because a loved one is struggling. Although this journey may feel lonely and isolating, know that there is help available.

Orthorexia isn’t just about a preference for eating ‘healthy’ foods; it’s a complex condition that significantly influences an individual’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviours towards food and health.

If you or someone you know is struggling with orthorexia, we invite you to explore this blog.

The truth is that there is no fixed timeline when it comes to recovery. For some, it can take months and for others, it can be years. Either way, the healing journey is an incredible journey of self-discovery that supports a happier and healthier future.

Here are some of the factors that can affect the length of your recovery process.

The festive season is here, which can bring a whirlwind of emotions for those in recovery. If you’re navigating food and body image issues, you might be feeling worried about how you’re going to navigate the festivities. Her are 10 top tips to support you through.

Anorexia nervosa is not simply a weight disorder or just about food. It’s a mental illness that profoundly affects an individual’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviours.

Are you or a loved one battling anorexia? Discover the different types of anorexia, when to seek help, signs and symptoms, and available treatment options.

Are you struggling with an eating disorder and feel like you’ve tried everything without success? It can be disheartening to feel like you’ve exhausted all your options, especially when you haven’t found the type of support that has really helped.

Our approach to eating disorder treatment is different, and here’s why.

Are you struggling with an eating disorder and need support tailored to your unique needs and goals? We offer personalised recovery days that take place in the comfort of your own home with an eating disorder specialist by your side.

Here are five reasons to book a recovery day.

Approaches to nutrition for eating disorder recovery can vary depending on the type and stage of the eating disorder.

We believe in a gentle approach to nutrition that meets you where you are today. Our ethos involves empathy, education and empowerment.

If you’re reading this, you or someone you love might be struggling with Binge Eating Disorder (BED). It’s a tough road, filled with challenges that can seem overwhelming at times. We want you to know that it’s okay (and normal) to feel this way and that seeking education around this topic is a brave first step.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) defines atypical anorexia as meeting all of the criteria for anorexia nervosa except for the criterion of low body weight.

In this blog post we explore what atypical anorexia is, why the term can be unhelpful, and our approach to treatment.

As Covid restrictions lifted, we were shocked that 100% of clients made the choice to continue with our new online format rather than going back to in-person support.

This is how it all began!

Intuitive exercise, also known as intuitive movement, is a way of moving your body that focuses on listening to your body’s needs and signals rather than following regimented rules or schedules.

If you are new to intuitive exercise, understanding some of the key principles to follow can be a helpful starting point.

The month of February means Valentine’s Day, bringing our focus to the topic of love. Love can be a difficult topic when you are struggling with your relationship with food and body image.

Here we explore how recovery supports love and helps to create healthier and more meaningful relationships for years to come.

Have you ever experienced feeling fat one day and not feeling comfortable in any of your clothes, then another day not having any of those feelings and fairly easily getting dressed? Maybe the way you feel about your body influences your eating behaviours, and you find yourself constantly yoyo-ing.

Here we unpack the common experience of ‘feeling fat’.

Dieting can lead to a preoccupation with food and weight that, for some, can become obsessive and harmful.

Here we explore some of the problem with diets, before highlighting 5 reasons that dieting may lead to eating disorders.

Christmas can be a challenging time for those in eating disorder recovery. However, keeping aligned with your recovery goals and a little planning ahead can support a positive outcome.

Here are 5 top tips to support you or a loved one through this time.

The festive period can be a difficult time for anyone suffering from an eating disorder. In this post, recovery warrior Isabella shares her personal experience of navigating Christmas day along with some wonderful festive tips.

Hazel’s experience of continuing her eating disorder recovery journey through our support group – The Community.

“Whilst we all have different stories to tell, we are united in our goals. To be truly free of this illness, to make peace with food and our bodies.”

Eating disorders are complex mental illnesses that can leave sufferers feeling incredibly lost. The question ‘who am I without my eating disorder’ is one that many ask themselves as they work through recovery.

In this article are some powerful reflective questions to support you with this aspect of your journey.

This month’s recovery focus is intuitive movement and body image, and our podcast is Train Happy by Tally Rye.

Tally is a personal trainer who helps people to create a healthy relationship with movement. In this post we share some highly recommended episodes and resources.

In recent years there has been a large increase in the popularity of bodybuilding, and studies are now exploring the link between bodybuilding and eating disorders.

“I lost my personality, my partner, and my purpose in life. It was just gym, eat, repeat. There was literally no time or energy for anything else.”

In today’s blog post, eating disorder recovery warrior Lydia discusses how she navigated her fears around body change and took powerful steps towards body acceptance. Sharing difficulties she faced and a recovery tool that she found particularly helpful throughout her recovery journey.

Using affirmations can be incredibly supportive of eating disorder recovery.

We asked our recovery group to share the affirmations that have supported them most through eating disorder recovery. Here are the top 20 they found most useful. We hope they inspire you too.

Lily shares her experience of navigating a lapse and stopping it from turning into a relapse. A powerful step in her bulimia recovery journey.

“I now realise that what could have been the start of a relapse was actually an important part of my recovery journey.”

An insight into client Tara’s journey towards intuitive movement.

“My relationship with exercise hasn’t always been easy. I used to view exercise as a type of punishment during my eating disorder, but it has also been a huge source of joy in my life too, especially during my recovery.”

In today’s post a wonderful recovery client Abby, shares her recovery playlist and discusses how music has supported her through the highs and lows of this journey.

“When you feel isolated, it is incredible how a song can speak to you and make you feel less alone (Sam Smith nails this!)”

Body image issues affect around 1 in 3 adults in the UK, and studies suggest this number is growing. An important part of building a healthy relationship with food is looking beyond the exterior, including when we compliment one another.

Overwhelm for someone suffering from an eating disorder can be a distressing experience, often triggering increased eating disorder thoughts and leading to unhealthy behaviours, in an effort to cope.

Today, Ashley shares her birthday experience and how she was able to move from overwhelm to embracing her special day.

In this article we discuss weight stigma and what health really is.

“Your healthy weight is whatever weight you reach when you are nourishing your body intuitively. When you are not restricting food in any way or compensating for food eaten. When you are neither strictly controlling food nor feeling out of control with food.”

If you find yourself turning to food for comfort or to manage emotions, you’re not alone. Emotional eating is a common experience that many of us face, often as a way to soothe, distract, or find pleasure during times of stress, sadness, or even boredom.

In this post, recovery client Katie shares her experience of the powerful recovery tool– visualisation.

“I genuinely believe that visualisation has been one of the most helpful tools during my recovery. It improved my relationship with myself today and has also helped me see that my goals are not too far out of reach.”

Restaurants, cafes and takeaways with more than 250 staff are now permitted to display calories on menus, websites, and delivery platforms.

In this post we share our thoughts on this new legislation, as well as tips on how to navigate this change.

This week’s post is written by one of our eating disorder recovery clients, who shares her journey to intuitive movement with us all.

An inspiring and supportive read for anyone who is working on improving their relationship with exercise.

NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming and is one of the forms of coaching we have incorporated into our eating disorder recovery programme. It is based on a powerful methodology that is full of practical tools and techniques. Our coaches use NLP tools in a unique way, adapting them to be highly supportive and safe for eating disorder recovery.

At Natural Food Therapy, we support each individual with the recovery tools needed to make lasting change. Your learning styles, strengths, passions and character traits can all be used to support your recovery journey. And something we champion for those who respond well to reflective tools is letter writing.

Have you ever listened to the little voice inside you that reminds you of your younger self? Regardless of how much we grow, we carry our younger selves with us through each day. Perhaps it’s the unheard 10-year-old self that shows up when we feel someone isn’t listening to us, or maybe it’s the heartbroken teen who shows up when we feel a lack of attention or care.

This week we stand with Beat the UK’s eating disorder charity, in their campaign to introduce proper training for medical schools on eating disorders. We discuss the current statistics with GPs receiving less than 2 hours of training in this area. And we hear from our recovery client Lucy, who shares her personal experience of accessing support.

Today we hear from Abby, who recovered with us here at Natural Food Therapy. Abby shares her inspirational story through eating disorder recovery. A journey of inner strength and self-discovery.

“At 29 years old, I found the strength to get help for my eating disorder. And I believe it has been the best thing I have possibly ever done.”

Most people will experience a grieving process on their journey towards body acceptance. A powerful and necessary step that allows you to let go and grieve unrealistic expectations of what your body ‘should’ look like. Here are the five stages of body grief and some thoughts on how to navigate them.

Today we hear from Sophie who recovered from her eating disorder with the support of our team and her family. Looking back on her journey, she shares her thoughts on how to be there for someone through recovery. A valuable and insightful article full of helpful tips from someone who’s been there.

If you think you could be suffering from an eating disorder, reaching out for help can be full of worries and anxieties. With this in mind, we take care to promptly respond to each client query and offer a free informal assessment to those who we believe could be suited to our recovery programme. Here’s how we get to know you.

At Natural Food Therapy, the natural progression from private support is to join our recovery group. And at the right time, we believe this can become a valuable part of your recovery journey. Today we hear from Amber, who shares her transition from private support into group therapy.

Setting intentions is an important part of eating disorder recovery. By moving into each week, month and year with clarity around what you are working on, you create a powerful path. Here we share four crucial steps to setting intentions successfully through recovery.

January is possibly the most challenging month for anyone suffering from an eating disorder. It can not only reinforce behaviours that you’ve been working so hard to change but can drive a depriving and punishing mentality with regards to food and exercise.

As we enter a new year, the traditions around setting resolutions and January diets can be full of difficulties for those suffering or at risk of an eating disorder. Today we hear from a sufferer who shares her recovery experience and some inspiring insights on how to approach this year differently.

The festivities may seem like an enjoyable time, but they can be filled with anxiety for someone in recovery from an eating disorder. The time spent eating, drinking, socialising with family and friends can cause stress and uncertainty. Our lead clinician Sasha Paul shares her top tips to support you with navigating the festive period.

Eating disorders are mental illnesses that involve complex relationships with food, exercise and body image. They cause significant harm and are by no means a lifestyle choice or phase. Anyone can develop an eating disorder regardless of age, gender, cultural or racial background. 

Christmas can be a difficult time of year for those suffering with an eating disorder. The festivities are often centred around food with celebratory meals, changes to eating patterns, and social gatherings. All of which present their own challenges. In this post we hear from a sufferer who shares her experience of Christmas day.

Dear Tiktok, I wanted to write to you to make you aware of some of the struggles I have come across on your platform, as an anorexia fighter and survivor. Firstly, I think your app can be such a positive and uplifting place. However, for those suffering with an eating disorder or for those at risk, there is a side to this app that can be extremely dangerous.

Through her passion for painting, a young adult in recovery from an eating disorder shares an inspiring piece of artwork. She talks about how she is re-connecting with her passions and using them to fuel her recovery. She also discusses her inspiration for the painting, and why we all deserve to flourish and blossom into the best versions of ourselves.

Instead of coming to an abrupt end in your programme, we believe that there must be a step in between. This way, you can continue to move forward by reducing the amount of hands-on treatment you receive, while still allowing you to feel supported. This is why we created The Natural Food Therapy Community. 

Diet culture can be tough to navigate when in recovery from an eating disorder. This week two of our recovery warriors have chosen to share their letters to diet culture with us all. As well as being thought-provoking and impactful, these are letters that deserve to be shared and celebrated.

Eating disorder coaching is revolutionising recovery and improving treatment outcomes. An eating disorder coach bridges the gap between therapists, doctors, dietitians and carers, and is frequently being titled the ‘missing piece of the puzzle’. Rather than purely in-session support or clinical sessions, an eating disorder coach offers you support every step of the way, when you need it most.

Quasi recovery is possibly one of the more difficult parts of your eating disorder recovery journey, yet is not always spoken about. It is the part of recovery where you may have started to physically recover on the surface (this could include weight restoration and/or behaviours), yet you are not fully recovered mentally. 

If you are currently looking for support and want to find an eating disorder therapist who can work safely with you through recovery, here are some of our top tips to consider. ⁣

Dear Ed, I am writing to let you know that I have had enough. I am putting an end to this toxic friendship now! You have kept me trapped and isolated me, and made me believe that you were the only friend I could get. And that no one else liked me or wanted to be around me. You forced me into a life threatening relationship with exercise.

Eating disorders can take a great deal from the whole family, whatever the age of the sufferer. As parents it can feel heartbreaking to see your child finding themselves in such a difficult place, the illness taking hold and their lives pulled apart. Furthermore, those with eating disorders tend to socially withdraw and hide their pain, leaving parents at a distance feeling entirely helpless.

Muscle dysmorphia is a subtype of a mental health condition called body dysmorphic disorder, where a person spends a lot of time worrying about perceived flaws in their body. It is also associated with eating disorders, as it often leads to disordered eating behaviours.

Intuitive movement supports both body and mind. Instead of exercising to reach a certain body size or shape, intuitive movement is about choosing ways to move the body that will help us to feel better.

Body-editing apps are the newest trend fuelling body image issues in both men and women. Instead of supporting us to accept that we are all different and embrace our individuality, editing apps encourage us to conform to society’s pressures and only share a sculpted ‘version’ of ourselves.

Many people think that it is simply about being on a diet, however diet culture is a belief system that worships thinness and values a socially constructed ideal of beauty over health and well-being. This is why diet culture has become so dangerous and is strongly implicated in the rise of eating disorders and body image issues.