Full of Beans

Full of Beans An to reduce stigma & increase awareness.

Inspiring conversations with ED survivors, researchers, clinicians and charities.

15/06/2026

Eating disorders don’t just impact the person struggling; they impact those around them, too. If you’re supporting someone you love, or you have an eating disorder yourself, you’ll know that all too well.

This week on the podcast, I’m joined by Charlotte Jefferson, a therapist and founder of , who works with individuals, couples and families.

Together we explore:

🤗 How eating disorders can shift the roles within our closest relationships

💜 The fear that lives on both sides when an ED is present

❤️‍🩹 Why closeness and intimacy can feel so out of reach

🗣️ How to gently open up those really difficult conversations

🌱 How couples can find their way back to each other in recovery

☀️ The joy that can come when a loved one sees you flourish

Whether you’re the one struggling or the one holding someone you love through it, this one is for you.

🎧 Listen on your fave podcast platform or watch on YouTube

Thank you Hospital for sponsoring the Full of Beans podcast!

What a wonderful few days in Bristol seeing so many friendly faces in the eating disorder and body image field - and spe...
10/06/2026

What a wonderful few days in Bristol seeing so many friendly faces in the eating disorder and body image field - and spending time with .kamila.irvine, Lulu and !

The trip started with seminar 1 of 3 held by and .lewissmith exploring anti racism and intersectionality in body image research. I learnt so much from these sessions and can’t wait for seminar 2 and 3!

On the second day I attended and had the honour of speaking on behalf of my team , , and Rachel Hughes to share our findings from our coproduced recommendations for adapting the body project for autistic and AuDHD individuals!

It was such a great experience and has truly made me so excited knowing I will be working alongside so many wonderful individuals and friends within this space !! Role on October!!

08/06/2026

Do you ever find yourself scrolling through perfectly curated meals and fitness content, and suddenly you’re comparing, spiralling, and falling into patterns you thought you’d left behind?

This week on the podcast, I’m joined by Sophie Macfie, founder of , cookbook author and personal trainer, who shares her own experience of disordered eating and how she’s navigated building a life she loves in the world of plant-based eating and fitness.

Together we explore:

🥬 Sophie’s own experience of disordered eating and what helped her turn a corner

📱 Why scrolling through fitness content and perfectly curated meals can feel so triggering in recovery

🌱 How to recognise if plant-based eating can be a genuine expression of values or an eating disorder

💪 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 defining yourself by one thing can keep you stuck

If you’re navigating recovery while trying to find your way through the wellness and fitness world online, this one is for you.

Thank you to for sponsoring the Full of Beans podcast.

A gentle reminder that recovery looks different for everyone. What works for one person may not be right for another, and that’s okay. Please always explore anything new as part of your own personalised journey and in conversation with your treatment team. We are all at different stages, and every single one of them is valid. 💛

Only recently I’ve realised just how much headspace an eating disorder consumes. A few weeks ago I sat at a friends 30th...
03/06/2026

Only recently I’ve realised just how much headspace an eating disorder consumes.

A few weeks ago I sat at a friends 30th dinner, having eaten my normal breakfast, not having asked about what food would be on offer, sipping wine, talking with my friends, taking silly pictures and thought… omg? I’m here? I’m unbothered by the food? I’m excited to be with my friends? I’m talking to new people? I feel connected?

I never realised how much it consumed of me, and it’s taken a long time to realise it, but the free space in my head is crazy. I’m not saying there’s nothing there - I still struggle with my body image and have negative thoughts around food… but I can recognise and shift them now, and that feels so unbelievably powerful. And something I never thought possible.

01/06/2026

Have you ever thought you’ve been living with an eating disorder for too long, and recovery just isn’t possible for you anymore?

This week on the podcast, I’m joined by Andrea Stroud (), mum to Joshua, Jacob and Tommy, who lived with anorexia in secret for over 40 years.

Together we explore:

🫘 How Andrea spent her younger years always feeling different from everyone around her

🔍 The missed eating disorder flags across years of medical appointments

💛 The moment Andrea finally said out loud that she had anorexia

❤️‍🩹 Why rigid meal plans work against Andrea’s recovery

🗣️ What mental hunger is and why it is so often misunderstood in treatment

🌱 Why Andrea’s word for long-term anorexia recovery is connection

Andrea hopes that by sharing her story, she can give others hope that it is never too late to recover. If you’ve ever felt like it’s too late, this one is for you.

🎧 Listen on your fave podcast platform or watch on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eibcHJ6B

Thank you to Nightingale Hospital for sponsoring the Full of Beans podcast.

26/05/2026

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, I’m joined by Dr Lauren Lovegood, a psychologist specialising in the intersection of Eating Disorders, Neurodiversity (ADHD/Autism), and the LGBTQ+ community.

We explore:

🏥 Why anorexia is actually a much smaller piece of the ED puzzle than society thinks.

🏳️‍🌈 Navigating the unique challenges of the LGBTQ+ community and how gender-affirming care can coexist with a healthy body image.

🧠 How “Executive Function” and a “fidgety brain” can drive food behaviors.

✨ Discussing the pressure in the q***r community to look a certain way and how to find belonging without obsession.

🍟 Why “beige foods” feel safe in ARFID and how to gently branch out without the fear and force.

💪 How external pressure to be “disciplined” can fuel the ED voice alongside low self-esteem.

This conversation is such an important reminder that your recovery doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s!

Listen on Youtube or your favourite podcast platform!

Thank you to Hospital for sponsoring the Full of Beans podcast.

19/05/2026

Is exercise a tool for joy, or is it a rule you’re not allowed to break?

In this week’s episode of the Full of Beans Podcast, I’m chatting with , a Consultant Sports Psychiatrist from Nightingale Hospital.

We dive deep into the “grey area” of exercise - that tricky space between healthy movement and compulsive habit.
Amit shares so much wisdom on:

🧠 How sport and exercise can improve mode, as well as providing self-mastery and social connection.

🌱 Why we need to challenge the “exercise is all you need” narrative.

🤹🏻 Understanding when to prioritise physical stability and when exercise can be incorporated.

🚦Identifying when recreational movement crosses the line into a systemic, “drug-like” addiction that impacts bone health and fertility.

🔍 The clinical challenge of distinguishing between RED-S and depression.

⚖️ Why 99% of us aren’t elite athletes and don’t need to observe over our intake and expenditure.

🥬Understanding the shift into Orthorexia and high functioning disordered eating.

I personally found our chat about “purpose vs. performance” so eye-opening, as well as understanding our identity outside of and intentions around sport.

Thank you for sponsoring Full of Beans.

11/05/2026

Anecdotely, we know that eating disorders and su***de are correlated, but there’s almost no research to actually show it.

Shockingly, part of the reason is that when someone with an eating disorder dies by su***de, it’s recorded as another medical reason instead.

Una Foye is a Research Fellow at King’s College London. She has led the first qualitative study of its kind, actually speaking to people with lived experience about the link between eating disorders and suicidality. And what she found is as complex as it is important.

Together, we explore:

🔗 Why the statistics on EDs and su***de don’t tell the full story

💛 How the eating disorder itself can increase su***de risk

❤️‍🩹 Why recovery can be one of the most vulnerable periods

🗣️ Why asking the question is always safer than not asking it

🧩 The role of intersectionality and why feeling like an outsider compounds the risk of su***de

🏥 What truly joined-up care could look like for people with eating disorders

Thank you to for funding this research and to Hospital for sponsoring the Full of Beans podcast.

I thought eating disorder recovery was all about food. Turns out life had so much more to offer ✨🦄🌷
10/05/2026

I thought eating disorder recovery was all about food.

Turns out life had so much more to offer ✨🦄🌷

02/05/2026

If I asked you what hypermobility is, what would you say?

A lot of people might say flexibility, being “double-jointed”, maybe even a bit of a party trick. But after speaking to Dr Jessica Eccles, I now know it’s so much more!

For a lot of people with ADHD, it’s not just in your head… It’s in your body too, but the overlap between hypermobility, neurodivergence, ADHD, and eating disorders is something we rarely speak about!

What if your body is sending signals you haven’t been taught how to read? What if that feeling of being “on edge”, overwhelmed, or just off doesn’t always start in your brain but in your body too?

In this week’s episode of Full of Beans, I spoke to Dr Jessica Eccles () a neurodevelopmental psychiatrist and researcher specialising in the link between the brain and body.

We explore:

🧠 The connection between hypermobility, ADHD, and neurodivergence

💭 What we call “anxiety” and how it might sometimes start in the body

⚡ Interoception, and why internal signals can feel confusing or overwhelming

🔄 How this can shape eating patterns and coping strategies

💛 And why this is about making sense of patterns, not labelling people

I’d really love to hear your thoughts on this one - does this resonate with you at all?

🎧 Listen on your fave podcast platform or watch on YouTube

Thank you to for sponsoring Full of Beans.

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