Full of Beans

Full of Beans An to reduce stigma & increase awareness.

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

Recovery for me hasn’t just been about learning to express myself through creativity or dance. It’s been about learning ...
03/08/2026

Recovery for me hasn’t just been about learning to express myself through creativity or dance. It’s been about learning who I am on a much deeper level.

We don’t talk enough about how an eating disorder impacts so much more than food. It silences identity, desire, sexuality, expression, curiosity, your urge to explore and take up space.

For years, my eating disorder gave me a way to numb out the parts of myself I wasn’t ready to feel. It made difficult emotions easier to manage, but in doing that, I shrank. Not just my body, but my appetite for life, for love, and everything that makes being a human so rich and exciting.

Slowly, giving myself space and time to actually sit with my thoughts has helped me feel freer than I ever have. Freer to explore who I am, be my true self and to just be. And I think the smile on my face shows that more than words can.

I feel incredibly honoured to be part of a community that accepts me exactly as I am, and doesn’t ask me to be anything else. That means everything after so long spent trying to contort myself into shapes that never fit.

Thank you BrightonPrideOfficial 🩷💜💙🪩✨👑🌸🌻❤️‍🔥🌈🌺💫

New research from Beat estimates 1 in 20 people are living with an eating disorder.That’s around 3.5 million children, y...
24/07/2026

New research from Beat estimates 1 in 20 people are living with an eating disorder.

That’s around 3.5 million children, young people and adults in the UK.

Let that sink in for a second. That means:
🏟️ 1000 people at a sold-out O2 Arena gig
🏢 5 people in a 100-person office
🚃 10 people in your train carriage this morning
🏫 1–2 children in every classroom

This data proves that eating disorders are not rare, so why does the lack of treatment make them seem like they are?

This is an increase of over 2 million in just 9 years.

This is not just a statistic, this is a crisis.

This is real lives, real people, real families, real childhoods. This is real years, real futures, real potential, being consumed by eating disorders.

Through 6 years of Full of Beanss, I know recovery is possible. Eating disorders are not terminal, and with treatment that sees the person beyond their eating disorder and gives them hope, recovery is always possible.

We need more treatment. We need more access. We need more hope. And the only way to get either of those is funding, which means we need to get this message out there.

With a new Prime Minister now in place, this is a genuine moment for new priorities to be set. Please share this to help get this message out there and ensure eating disorder treatment finally meets the needs of our society.

24/06/2026

Just throwing it out there… instead of labelling someone with a diagnosis, we look at them as an individual, their struggles, what they are trying to navigate and manage… and instead of putting them in a box, we figure out what support they need irrespective of weight or behaviours… we think about the purpose of the eating disorder instead of gatekeeping help because someone isn’t “sick enough”…

As I said it’s just a thought… but I’d love to know what others think!

22/06/2026

Have you ever felt like your eating disorder didn’t quite have a name, or that what you were going through just didn’t fit anywhere?

This week on the podcast, I’m joined by Ruth Cruickshank, Associate Professor at , who has done something truly extraordinary by blending her background in French literature with her own lived experience of OSFED to ask the questions in eating disorder research that nobody else is asking.

Together we explore:

🛣️ How Ruth’s unique career path led her to eating disorder research

📖 What OSFED and UFED are, yet many people haven’t heard of them

💜 Why the most common eating disorder diagnosis remains so overlooked

🔍 Why we need to focus on distress and daily impact, not weight

🗣️ Why not having a name for your experience can be so isolating

❤️‍🩹 The “not sick enough” narrative

🧾 How diagnostic language can keep people stuck

🌱 What Ruth wants anyone to know if they’ve never been able to name what they’re going through

If you’ve ever felt othered, dismissed, or like your experience just didn’t fit the narrative of an eating disorder, this one is for you. 💛

🎧 Listen on your fave podcast platform or watch on YouTube.

Thank you to for sponsoring The Full of Beans Podcast.

A few years ago I couldn’t be left alone at home without having a panic attack. Today I hiked up to the highest point in...
19/06/2026

A few years ago I couldn’t be left alone at home without having a panic attack. Today I hiked up to the highest point in Arizona all on my own.

Words can’t describe the sense of freedom I feel at the moment, things I never expected from recovery, but it just seems to keep getting better.

I feel like my own friend. I trust myself, I enjoy my own company, today I even laughed on my own and it felt amazing.

It’s not been easy, but it’s so worth it. Independent woman, whaaaaaat. 10/10 would recommend recovery.

I have no idea what will come next, but I’m really enjoying whatever this is now. So long may it continue.

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.

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