Fried Eggs and Thunder Thighs

Fried Eggs and Thunder Thighs

Ooops! I wrote another one! (Don’t worry, the title will make sense if you read it.) A book regarding negative body image came into my head over Christmas so I set to writing it out in the New Year. This one is not about eating disorders, it is about negative...

Rehabilitate, Rewire, Recover, Second Edition

Okay so here is a very odd admission; it is common for me to forget what I have written in a book within 6 months of writing it. Rehabilitate, Rewire, Recover has been playing on my mind a little due to this. People would email me and thank me for writing it and while...
I’ve not been blogging because I like being lazy

I’ve not been blogging because I like being lazy

lazy adjective 1. unwilling to work or use energy. This year, “unwilling to work or use energy,” sounds about right when it comes to writing, reading, accounting, or anything related to my computer. It’s been the most unproductive year I’ve had...
Lunchbox policing

Lunchbox policing

I had a teddy-bear shaped red plastic lunchbox in primary school. Mum packed it for me. Generally a sandwich, yoghurt, piece of fruit, bag of crisps, biscuits, jaffa cakes, and a chocolate bar or sweets. If it was a good day, cake. There were no lunchbox police when I...
Fear of Weight Gain: Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn

Fear of Weight Gain: Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn

It took me about 10 years to realise that my tendency to hit the roof in rage whenever my mother offered me food was actually an expression of fear. I’m kind of embarrassed it took me that long as it seems so bloody obvious now that someone popping their head...
Permission to Eat

Permission to Eat

If you can’t give yourself permission to eat, you can’t fully recover. This is because full recovery means that you are eating without restriction. You can’t be eating without restriction if you are unable to give yourself unconditional permission to...
Eating Disorder Recovery: COVID-19

Eating Disorder Recovery: COVID-19

I am seeing a lot of memes etc on social media pointing out to the rest of the world that this pandemic is particularly difficult for people with eating disorders. This post isn’t doing to be like that. I just don’t believe that sort messaging effectively...
Eating Disorder Recovery and Sex Drive

Eating Disorder Recovery and Sex Drive

I’m writing about my own experience. Your experience may be different so don’t overly compare and contrast. Some people don’t ever lose their sex drive when they have an eating disorder. Some people lose it and don’t want it back; not having a...
Recovering Alone

Recovering Alone

Link to a video I made on this topic: https://youtu.be/07j4fIwjRkg I’ve been told off in the past for being honest about the fact I recovered fully without any professional help. I’ve been told this can make people feel like they too need to try and...
You were never supposed to be micro-managing your food intake

You were never supposed to be micro-managing your food intake

You know how difficult and stressful it feels right? You’re always trying to work out the “right” way to eat. It never feels right though. So you do more research, and you ask more people. Maybe you talk to another dietitian or some new diet guru....
Mental Hunger: “I don’t know if I am hungry or not”

Mental Hunger: “I don’t know if I am hungry or not”

Mental hunger is your body cuing you to eat. Mental hunger is important. It is a very valid communication from your body as your body attempts to bring the desire to eat into your consciousness. I personally think that physical hunger is beside the point if you are in...
I cried after talking with your parents tonight

I cried after talking with your parents tonight

I cried after talking to your parents tonight. I often cry after talking to parents. There are a hundred reasons why. Maybe I will be able to outline some of them here. The main reason, is usually because I can’t answer the one question that they so desperately...
Compulsive Movement: The answer is still “yes.”

Compulsive Movement: The answer is still “yes.”

Yes, you still have to stop complusive movement. Even if it is tiny. Even if it if just walking, or cleaning the house. Even if you already gave up running and your gym membership. If there are still elements of compulsive movement in your life, yes, you need to stop....
If you’re not actively recovering, you are dying.

If you’re not actively recovering, you are dying.

“Eating disorders kill.” You’ve heard it said plenty of times. If you’ve been in the recovery community for long, you probably know someone who died as the result of an eating disorder. It is not that you don’t know this shit....

Thanks for listening!

I’ve not written a blog for months. I’ve been moving house, had little internet connection, and been generally busy, and tired. I’m glad that this past couple of weeks I had felt like I have the time and space to start writing again, so there will be...
Unsuppressed Bodyweight. Unsuppressed Personality.

Unsuppressed Bodyweight. Unsuppressed Personality.

I think there are more things that change with recovery than don’t. It’s not only your eating and your body that will change, that’s for sure. Getting healthy means that just about every aspect of you will change (usually for the better). Change,...
Triple R Recovery Center

Triple R Recovery Center

I’ve been harping on about how treatment for eating disorders is inadequate and/or misguided for years now. I’m happy to say that, thanks to the help of Becky Freestone, we’re about to really do something about that. It’s not like I’ve...
Food is so much more than just nutrition. By design.

Food is so much more than just nutrition. By design.

I remember once, when I had an eating disorder, a new colleague (who didn’t know I had an eating disorder) asked me if a wanted a cupcake. “No thanks, I’ve already eaten,” was my response. “Tabitha.” she said, “Nobody eats a...
For Sarah [Podcast]

For Sarah [Podcast]

Warning: This episode may be difficult or triggering for some listeners. It involves talking about a person who recently died of anorexia. In this podcast, Tabitha talks about a person who recently died as a result of the malnutrition associated with anorexia.  Sarah...
Getting your weird little OCD traits to work for you in recovery

Getting your weird little OCD traits to work for you in recovery

This is going to be one of those posts that some people will read and nod their heads “yep” the whole way through, and others will read and think I am utterly batty. I’m going to attempt to put into words something that is difficult to describe. Bear...
Atypical Anorexia (Podcast)

Atypical Anorexia (Podcast)

You can download and listen to this podcast here: https://eatingdisorderrecoverypodcast.podbean.com/e/atypical-anorexia/
How not to allow the Ditch of Fear to swallow you in recovery.

How not to allow the Ditch of Fear to swallow you in recovery.

Fear is the biggest obstacle in recovery for most of us. Most commonly, fear of weight gain. For many of us, fear of our unsuppressed bodyweight is what keeps us circling through actions that are intended to suppress weight gain. Fear of change also factors in and...
Eating past tears, and choosing to smile.

Eating past tears, and choosing to smile.

When I was sick with anorexia I didn’t cry very much. I was angry a lot, yes, but I didn’t often cry from sadness. I wasn’t the complete emotional void that a person with anorexia stereotypically might be, but I didn’t cry a lot. Which is...
Will I ever be able to exercise again?

Will I ever be able to exercise again?

I get asked this question a lot from people who are compulsive movers. The answer is yes, if you want. Actually, the whole point of full recovery is that you can do whatever the fuck you want. But …, and … do not be in a hurry to get back to exercise....
Rewiring Fear: Recognising, Challenging, Overcoming

Rewiring Fear: Recognising, Challenging, Overcoming

You can’t overcome something that you can’t challenge. You can’t challenge something that you can’t recognize. Fear, despite being present in everyone I have ever worked with in recovery, is a bit of a slippery eel sometimes. My relationship...
Eating food is not a math equation. Stop methodizing eating.

Eating food is not a math equation. Stop methodizing eating.

Edit: A reminder I write for adults in active recovery. This is not a blog saying that children, or people who are generally resisting recovery, or people who are in need of IP care, or people who can not (yet) access desire should not be on a meal plan. As I have...
PSA: The fat on your body is there by design

PSA: The fat on your body is there by design

I know, I know. Those of you who read my books, blogs, listen to podcasts, and YouTube will be thinking “Why the heck is she harping on about this again? She’s already covered it everywhere … “ Every day the importance of this topic is demonstrated to me. So I’ll keep...
Eating disorders and disabilities: cerebral palsy

Eating disorders and disabilities: cerebral palsy

In this podcast Tabitha Farrar talks to Hannah, about eating disorders and cerebral palsy. Tabitha’s note: I have worked with a number of clients with anorexia who also have cerebral palsy. The aspects of body image and body control justification that Hannah...
Change. Change. Change. Change everything!

Change. Change. Change. Change everything!

Recovery from a long and enduring restrictive eating disorder is about change on every level. It is about changing every moment of every day so that your brain is unable to fall back into those old “safe” neural ruts of behaviour. Many people in recovery...
Recovery Stories: Eating Disorders and Stealing

Recovery Stories: Eating Disorders and Stealing

In this blog post I am sharing a story from a person in recovery. These stories and admissions are so important. Many of use find ourselves compelled to act in certain ways when we have a restrictive eating disorder and it is crucial that we share stories so that we...
Q & A on some aspects of Rehabilitate, Rewire, Recover!

Q & A on some aspects of Rehabilitate, Rewire, Recover!

Hello Tabitha, I have now finished reading both of your books and have read/listened to most of your posts/podcasts/videos, and I’ve learned so much from them. I have begun earnestly trying to let go of my many ED behaviours, and in so doing, I have discovered—much to...
Response to podcast on why eating disorder treatment fails people

Response to podcast on why eating disorder treatment fails people

I thought I would share a treatment story that a listener to the Eating Disorder Recovery Podcast sent me recently.   I am writing you in reply to your podcast on eating disorder treatment failures and your question to share experiences as an adult having been to...
Response to podcast on why eating disorder treatment fails people

Treatment fails eating disorder patients. We can do better

This is another post in which I’m going to talk about the flaws in treatment that all too often we stay quiet about. I’ve been told so many times that “treatment centres are a necessity and they provide a vital service” so I should be more...
Anorexia recovery: Act on the truth, and only the truth

Anorexia recovery: Act on the truth, and only the truth

I know your truth. Your truth is that you are tired and hungry — no, exhausted and starving — and all you really want to do is sit on the coach and eat mountains of food. I also know that this truth frightens you. So you are trying hard to ignore and reject it You...
What Yoga Teachers Need to Know About Eating Disorders

What Yoga Teachers Need to Know About Eating Disorders

I’m writing this as a resource for yoga instructors. It is by no-means complete and you are likely going to have to browse this blog and my podcasts to fully understand a lot of the things I talk about here. If you can’t be bothered to do that, however,...
Anorexia recovery: Be the agent rather than the victim

Anorexia recovery: Be the agent rather than the victim

This is post about empowering you to know that if you want to recover, and if you take the actions needed in order to recover, you will. In order to fully recover, regardless of your deal in life, you have to have agency. You have to actively work for recovery rather...
The scale: To weigh or not to weigh in recovery [Podcast]

The scale: To weigh or not to weigh in recovery [Podcast]

In this podcast, Tabitha Farrar talks to Bridget Whitlow about weighing in recovery Bridget Whitlow, MS, LMFT is a licensed psychotherapist that provides psychotherapy for adolescent and adult individuals, couples, families, and groups. Bridget has clinical expertise...
Full Recovery: Mental Flexibility

Full Recovery: Mental Flexibility

Full recovery is so so so much more than gaining weight. There are cascading and wonderful mental state shifts and changes that actually lead to the mental freedom that recovery is all about. And this mental freedom is why the often overlooked neural rewiring aspect...
Dr Adele LaFrance: Emotion Focused Family Therapy

Dr Adele LaFrance: Emotion Focused Family Therapy

In this podcast Tabitha Farrar talks to Dr Adele LaFrance about Emotion Focused Family Therapy in eating disorder treatment. Links to resources: www.emotionfocusedfamilytherapy.org www.mentalhealthfoundations.ca/resources...
Emotional Eating [Podcast]

Emotional Eating [Podcast]

In this podcast, Tabitha Farrar talks about emotional eating, and why it isn’t really a thing   Transcript with thanks to Marie: Hello welcome to this week’s podcast. This week I’m going to talk about emotional eating. But first of all, I’m going to...
Stigma, stereotypes, and under-diagnosis of eating disorders

Stigma, stereotypes, and under-diagnosis of eating disorders

We’re told that women get eating disorders more than men do. I have never thought this to be true. What I think is true, is that more women get diagnosed than men do. Outdated information, misrepresentation, stigma, assumptions, ignorance. These things all...
Recovery Stories: Blue Milk [Podcast]

Recovery Stories: Blue Milk [Podcast]

In this podcast Tabitha talks to a guy in recovery   Transcript thank you Marie! Hello there, welcome to this week’s podcast. This week I had the pleasure of talking to a guy called Chase. And Chase is in recovery from an eating disorder. First Chase got in...
Recovery stories: Cannabis and eating disorder recovery

Recovery stories: Cannabis and eating disorder recovery

  In this week’s podcast, Tabitha talks Sophia — a person currently in recovery — about medical use of cannabis in recovery from anorexia.   Hello there, welcome to this weeks podcast. This week we are talking about medical marijuana/cannabis for use...
Recovery Stories: Connection and Advocacy [Podcast]

Recovery Stories: Connection and Advocacy [Podcast]

  This weeks podcast is a conversation with Aimee Becker on recovery, connection, and advocacy Aimee Becker is the Chief Operating Officer of the Gaudiani Clinic. She spent 10 years dedicating herself to developing the infrastructure for Monte Nido &...
Recovery From Restrictive Eating: Other People’s Food

Recovery From Restrictive Eating: Other People’s Food

“Other people’s food.” You know, the food that other people eat. The food that is for them. Not for you. Not eating other people’s food makes you different. Special. Less dependent. Until you realize it doesn’t. I’d been getting...
Recovery Commitments: No compulsive movement, rules, or rituals

Recovery Commitments: No compulsive movement, rules, or rituals

These recovery commitments posts are outlining some of the most common reasons that people in recovery get anxious and stressed and suggesting some simplifications for those moments. I believe that one of the fundamental reasons that we feel stressed in recovery is...
HAES Series: Going deep with Deb Burgard

HAES Series: Going deep with Deb Burgard

Deb Burgard, PhD, FAED* is a psychologist and activist from the San Francisco Bay Area specializing in concerns about body image, eating, weight stigma, and relationships. She is also one of the founders of the Health at Every Size(r) model, the original...
Recovery Commitments: Unrestricted eating

Recovery Commitments: Unrestricted eating

These recovery commitments posts are outlining some of the most common reasons that people in recovery get anxious and stressed and suggesting some simplifications for those moments. I believe that one of the fundamental reasons that we feel stressed in recovery is...
Recovery Commitments: Weight Gain

Recovery Commitments: Weight Gain

These recovery commitments posts are outlining some of the most common reasons that people in recovery get anxious and stressed and suggesting some simplifications for those moments. I believe that one of the fundamental reasons that we feel stressed in recovery is...
June Alexander: Recovery as an adult, and writing.

June Alexander: Recovery as an adult, and writing.

  This week I talk to June Alexander, who was in her fifties when she fully recovered from long-term anorexia. June’s personal bio: I  love sharing my writing passion by helping people with eating disorder experience to tell their stories.  I believe...
Recovery commitments: Allow it to be simple

Recovery commitments: Allow it to be simple

Over the next couple of weeks I will be posting blogs focusing on “recovery commitments.” These recovery commitments posts will be outlining some of the most common reasons that people in recovery get anxious and stressed and suggesting some...
Rebecca Scritchfield 2018: Body Kindness and postpartum body image

Rebecca Scritchfield 2018: Body Kindness and postpartum body image

  Rebecca Scritchfield is a registered dietitian nutritionist, certified exercise physiologist, author of the book Body Kindness, and host of the Body Kindness podcast. Through her weight-inclusive counseling practice, she helps people make peace with food, find...
When you partner has an eating disorder: Avoiding intimacy

When you partner has an eating disorder: Avoiding intimacy

This blog is for partners of adults with eating disorders. However, I’m writing it from the perspective of a person with an eating disorder. I was a person with an eating disorder who loved her partner, but there were times when my actions might have given the...
Family support: is it appropriate for adults too? [Podcast]

Family support: is it appropriate for adults too? [Podcast]

In this podcast I talk about my personal highlights from the ICED conference presentation that I was part this year with Rebecka Peeples, Rachel Millner and Therese Waterhaus.   Rebecka Peebles Rebecka Peebles, MD, is an Adolescent Medicine Specialist and...
Complusive Movement Cold Turkey: Creating space for new things

Complusive Movement Cold Turkey: Creating space for new things

I mentioned the uncomfortable silence that stopping the compulsions and rituals that many of us with anorexia establish in a previous blog on lower-level movement here. This post is an elaboration on that. A “spiritually enlightened” person once said this...
Why my eating disorder turned me into a grocery thief [Podcast]

Why my eating disorder turned me into a grocery thief [Podcast]

Personal story time! Not everyone who is suffering from long-term malnutrition turns to stealing, but I think it is a lot more prevalent than most people assume it is. It makes sense why a brain that believes resources are scarce would feel the need to take without...
Your Brain on Malnutrition: Stealing

Your Brain on Malnutrition: Stealing

This is a tough one. Other scarcity mindset traits like hoarding items, and obsessively saving money are weird but don’t have the same shame and guilt attached to them as stealing does. I have written in detail about my own kleptomania.  In this post I want to...
Restrictive Eating Disorders and Hoarding [Podcast]

Restrictive Eating Disorders and Hoarding [Podcast]

Transcript – thank you Marie! Restrictive Eating Disorders and Hoarding   Hello there and welcome to this weeks podcast. Just me this week, I’m not going to talk to anyone so you’re just going to have to put up with my voice. Today I’m...
Your Brain on Malnutrition: Eating Disorders and Money

Your Brain on Malnutrition: Eating Disorders and Money

I know I have blogged about eating disorders and money before. I have even done some podcasts on it. But I want to make sure that people link anxiety around spending money, and the scarcity mindset that food restriction creates. Scarcity mindset: For the evolving...
Recovery Stories: Unrestricted eating and freedom [Podcast]

Recovery Stories: Unrestricted eating and freedom [Podcast]

In this podcast, Tabitha talks to Drake, who is in recovery from an eating disorder and wanted to share some hope.   The Eating Disorder Recovery Podcast Transcript (With thanks to Marie)    Hello there, welcome to this weeks podcast. The week we’ve...
Your Brain on Malnutrition: Anorexia and Hoarding

Your Brain on Malnutrition: Anorexia and Hoarding

I blogged about the scarcity mindset last week. Now I will go a little more into some of the more common behavioral repercussions that I have noticed people with malnourished brains tend to develop. This blog post is about hoarding. Not all of you reading this will...
Your Brain on Malnutrition: Scarcity Mindset

Your Brain on Malnutrition: Scarcity Mindset

I’ve done a load of YouTube videos on “your brain on malnutrition” but this is such an important aspect of understanding your anorexia or eating disorder behaviours that I’m going to start a series on it in this blog too. Scarcity mindset is...
Recovery Stories: The dangers of diabulimia

Recovery Stories: The dangers of diabulimia

In this podcast Tabitha talks to a person in recovery about her struggles with diabulimia.   link to the BBC diabulimia documentary mentioned: The Eating Disorder Recovery Podcast Recovery Stories: The Dangers of Diabulimia Tabitha: Hello there, welcome to this...
Ask Dr G: Edema [Podcast]

Ask Dr G: Edema [Podcast]

In this podcast Tabitha talks to the wonderful Dr Gaudiani about the important and often misunderstood topic of edema. In this podcast we cover: pitting edema dangers of long-term edema triggering aspects of edema edema and purging medications for edema if long-term...
Mid-Recovery Clusterfuck: Body Guilt

Mid-Recovery Clusterfuck: Body Guilt

I’ve written about Mid-Recovery Clusterfuck stuff before, more in the sense of the emotions that blow up when your brain starts to care more about other people and life experiences than it does about obsessing over food and exercise. And the discomfort and grief...
Lower-level movement and why it is scary to be still

Lower-level movement and why it is scary to be still

Lower-level movement After stopping exercise, it became clear that my lower-level movement urges — walking, cleaning, shopping-without-buying, etc — were increasing. It took me a while to work out I had to cease responding to all these compulsions too. More on...
Let’s talk about sex … (and relationships)

Let’s talk about sex … (and relationships)

Salt and Pepper. Yeah, I’m old. Sex and anorexia don’t usually go all that well together. I’ve known one or two people who have told me that their sex drive actually went up when they were in malnutrition, but that tends to be the anomaly. Most of us...
Force feeding yourself as an adult [Podcast]

Force feeding yourself as an adult [Podcast]

In this podcast I talk about the skill of being able to force feed yourself as an adult in recovery from anorexia. In the process of making yourself eat food you are afraid of you achieve both nutritional rehabiliation and neural rewiring goals. You train your brain...
New Book: Rehabilitate, Rewire, Recover!

New Book: Rehabilitate, Rewire, Recover!

Note: this is available for Kindle pre-order right now. Give it about 10 days and the print option will also be available.  I have put all my blogs, podcasts, and YouTune channel information into one book! This book is for adults in recovery from anorexia, as the...
Once again, dear doctors: A person can have anorexia at any size!

Once again, dear doctors: A person can have anorexia at any size!

I’m going to share with you an email I got earlier this week. Sadly, the things written here do not surprise me at all. I hear stories like this very often. Many doctors are ignorant to the truths around eating disorders, and often rely on the myths — such as...
Recovery Stories: Anorexia recovery with kids [Podcast]

Recovery Stories: Anorexia recovery with kids [Podcast]

  In this podcast, Tabitha Farrar talks to an adult in recovery from anorexia who has young children. We talk about things children pick up on, dealing with children when you are going through recovery stress, and ways of talking to young children about eating...
My cold turkey journey: Fear

My cold turkey journey: Fear

I’ve talked about stopping compulsive exercise. I get lots of questions on this topic, and requests to elaborate. Here is a little more information on how cold turkey played out for me. In this post I will focus on the obstacles to cold turkey. The things that...
Stop gaslighting eating disorder patients (and parents)

Stop gaslighting eating disorder patients (and parents)

Gaslighting = manipulate (someone) by psychological means into questioning their own sanity. Gaslighting is usually thought of in a domestic abuse setting but also happens in many other settings — including therapy. This sort of behaviour is not limited to eating...
Question/Answer: Why is it so difficult for me to eat more?

Question/Answer: Why is it so difficult for me to eat more?

Here’s a question I got via email today. I will write here my opinion on this question. I would like to remind readers that my opinion is just that, and that we are all unique individuals so it would be impossible for my general opinion on anything at all to be...

Podcast on eating disorders and yoga

I recently was interviewed for The Connected Yoga Teacher. You can listen to the podcast here: We cover my story with anorexia, men with eating disorders, veganism, the words that we use around body size, food, and diet, in the yoga studio and the world, and a ton...
Ask Dr G: Anorexia, malnutrition and your bones

Ask Dr G: Anorexia, malnutrition and your bones

In this podcast, Dr Jennifer Gaudiani talks about your bones, and what the effects of malnutrition caused by a restrictive eating disorder such as anorexia, can be on your bone health. We talk about: How malnutrition affects your bones Bone density Osteoporosis...
Recovery Feast Eating [Podcast]

Recovery Feast Eating [Podcast]

Saying goodbye to 2017, and looking back over the year and what I have learned. In this podcast I talk about what I call recovery “feast” eating, which is more commonly referred to as “binge” eating. Looking at eating a lot of food as a highly...
Why BMI is Bullshit

Why BMI is Bullshit

Oh, the magic “BMI 19.” “Get to a BMI 19 and you’ll be healthy,” they tell us. Bullshit. Utter crap. Hear me out… Body Mass Index (BMI) is a very basic, and arguably erroneous, way to estimate the amount of fat that a person has on...
The State of Science: Sugar Addiction [Podcast]

The State of Science: Sugar Addiction [Podcast]

In this podcast Tabitha talks to Maggie Westwater, one of the authors behind a study looking into misconceptions behind the notion of sugar addiction. We talk about: – Animal studies into addiction and what they can tell us about human behaviour. – What...
Event Restriction [Podcast]

Event Restriction [Podcast]

In this podcast Tabitha talks about what she refers to as “event restriction.” Event restriction is when you anticipate eating more or resting at an event or time in the future, and therefore try to create a “buffer” by restricting more or...
You can be underweight at any size

You can be underweight at any size

  Underweight = being at a weight that is lower than the weight that your body would be if you did not suppress it with restrictive eating or exercise. So, taken from my definition of what “underweight” means above, it stands to reason that a person...
Don’t be the martyr! Relax! [Video]

Don’t be the martyr! Relax! [Video]

When I was in a state of malnutrition I was forever running about doing chores. I never felt okay about sitting and relaxing. As I explain in this video. Life doesn’t have to be like that! Did you know I have a YouTube channel?  [sm-youtube-subscribe]...
Happy Thanksgiving 2017!

Happy Thanksgiving 2017!

I know this is a tough day for many of you. I made a little video to cheer you along, and to also remind you of the importance of not doing what I call “event restricting.” Event restriction is when you “save” calories for later. You perceive...
Dr G: Hormones (and how eating disorders affect them!)

Dr G: Hormones (and how eating disorders affect them!)

In this podcast Tabitha talks to Dr Jennifer Gaudiani from the Gaudiani Clinic in Denver about the important and interesting topic of hormones and how they are affected by restrictive eating disorders. Topics covered include: How malnutrition affects the endocrine...
Defining Mental Hunger

Defining Mental Hunger

There is a podcast about mental hunger here if you prefer listening to reading: http://tabithafarrar.com/2017/10/defining-mental-hunger-important-anorexia-recovery-podcast/ What is mental hunger? Mental hunger is thinking about food. You might not even be thinking...
Dear Doctor … [Podcast]

Dear Doctor … [Podcast]

  People with eating disorders, parents, and doctors share what they think doctors should know about eating disorders. Support this podcast via Patreon! You can support this podcast and ensure the continuation of it by pledging a patreon donation...
A note for yoga instructors, about eating disorders

A note for yoga instructors, about eating disorders

I recently was interviewed for The Connected Yoga Teacher. You can listen to the podcast here: We cover my story with anorexia, men with eating disorders, veganism, the words that we use around body size, food, and diet, in the yoga studio and the world, and a ton...
A couple of recent podcasts …

A couple of recent podcasts …

  I’m skiving off publishing a podcast this week because I am on holiday with family in England. We were in Manchester for my sister-in-laws wedding last week, and now are down in Wiltshire staying with my parents in a tiny village. I’ve basically...
Ask Dr G: Eating Disorders and Metabolism [Podcast]

Ask Dr G: Eating Disorders and Metabolism [Podcast]

In this podcast, Tabitha talks to Dr Gaudiani on the topic of metabolism in relation to anorexia and other restrictive eating disorders. We talk about: How the metabolism works How restriction affects the metabolism Mental hunger Physical hunger How to eat in recovery...
How do I stop comparing what I eat to what other people eat?

How do I stop comparing what I eat to what other people eat?

Email question from a reader this week: I would appreciate your advice concerning the difficulty to stop comparing with others when it comes to exercise and the amount of food they eat. I know that my worries are not reasonable and that I have to care only for myself...
Before recovery vs. after recovery

Before recovery vs. after recovery

In this podcast Tabitha answers questions about life before recovery versus life after recovery from Anorexia. Topics covered include: – Dining out – Social life – Feeling cold – Eating with others Support this podcast via Patreon! You can...
Anorexia Recovery as an Adult: Teenage Brat Syndrome

Anorexia Recovery as an Adult: Teenage Brat Syndrome

Me before Matt is home from work: I miss Matt. Hope he gets home soon. He’s so lovely.  Matt: “Hey Babe, how was your day?” Me: OMG why are you always asking me questions. Can’t you just leave me alone! I wasn’t much of a teenage brat...
Defining Restriction. Defining Unrestricted Eating

Defining Restriction. Defining Unrestricted Eating

  In this podcast, Tabitha talks about restriction, and unrestricted eating. Restrictive eating disorders such as Anorexia are often misrepresented as total restriction and not eating. This is often not the case. Many people with Anorexia can eat seemingly...
Anorexia Made Me Tell Pork Pies

Anorexia Made Me Tell Pork Pies

To my US friends, “pork pies” is rhyming slang for “lies.” (Pork pies are also these delicious little meat filled shortcrust pastry pies, which incidentally I refused to eat when I had Anorexia. Sod’s law that now I am recovered and would...
Dr Jennifer Gaudiani: Tummy Troubles in Eating Disorder Recovery

Dr Jennifer Gaudiani: Tummy Troubles in Eating Disorder Recovery

  Tabitha talks to Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani about all things gastrointestinal in eating disorder recovery! We talk about bowel movements, irritable bowel syndrome, delayed gastric emptying, and so much more! In the podcast Dr Guadiani mentioned the following...
Anorexia Fears: Eating More

Anorexia Fears: Eating More

I hated being underweight. I hated that if I left the house, schoolkids would shout “skinny freak” at me as I walked past. I hated that I couldn’t sit down without it hurting. I wanted to gain weight. But, I feared gaining weight, and I feared eating...
Anorexia recovery while managing a young family [Podcast]

Anorexia recovery while managing a young family [Podcast]

  Recovery from Anorexia is often a time of heightened anxiety and stress. Managing recovery while looking after a young family is a reality for many adult sufferers. In this podcast Tabitha talks to an adult in recovery, Erin, about managing recovery with young...
Anorexia and Kleptomania

Anorexia and Kleptomania

klep·to·ma·ni·a noun a recurrent urge to steal, typically without regard for need or profit. This is a hard post to have to write. It’s important as shame is a present enough feeling for a person in recovery from Anorexia as it is — thinking that you are a...
Anorexia Recovery, Weight Restoration, and Energy Debt

Anorexia Recovery, Weight Restoration, and Energy Debt

I published a podcast this week titled, Energy Deficit | Energy Debt | Target Weights | Weight vs State Restoration, and I will explain Energy Debt in detail in this post. Energy Debt: The accumulation of the effects of long-term energy deficit such as lack of bodily...
Eating Disorders and PTSD [Podcast]

Eating Disorders and PTSD [Podcast]

    Tabitha Farrar talks to writer, speaker, and songwriter Jenni Schaefer about her recovery from Anorexia, and subsequent experiences with PTSD. In this podcast we talk about: Hope and ACTION in eating disorder recovery Motivation to recover Trauma and...
The importance of recognizing Anorexia in people in larger bodies

The importance of recognizing Anorexia in people in larger bodies

  In this podcast Tabitha Farrar talks to Dr. Rachel Millner about Anorexia and people in larger bodies. This podcast was inspired by an email from a mother of a patient who has Anorexia and is in a larger body. Topics discussed include: The dangers associated...
Podcast: Challenging intake guidelines — Dr Graham Redgrave

Podcast: Challenging intake guidelines — Dr Graham Redgrave

Tabitha Farrar talks to Dr Graham Redgrave about the research done at Johns Hopkins looking into higher weights and a faster rate of refeeding patients with Anorexia in an inpatient hospital setting. The conversation includes: Refeeding intakes, traditional...
Anorexia Recovery: Becoming Recovery-Body Proud

Anorexia Recovery: Becoming Recovery-Body Proud

Last week I wrote about The New Body Problem in Anorexia recovery. Today I am writing about the other side: becoming recovery-body proud. Here is the paradox, before I started recovery, and even when I was supposedly at a “recovered” BMI,  the thought of...
Exercise Trackers, BMI, Obesity, and Anorexia Treatment

Exercise Trackers, BMI, Obesity, and Anorexia Treatment

In this podcast Tabitha Farrar talks to Courtney Simpson about the work that she is doing looking at fitness tracker use amoungst people with eating disorders. We cover a lot of topics in this podcast that was originally about fitness trackers and the number of people...
Anorexia Recovery: The New Body Problem

Anorexia Recovery: The New Body Problem

New Body Problem = the thoughts and feelings that arise when we move through physical change in Anorexia recovery. I got an email this week from a person in a state of despair because he has weight restored somewhat and doesn’t like his weight-restored body....
How ARFID differs from AN/BN — science of picky eating

How ARFID differs from AN/BN — science of picky eating

  Tabitha Farrar talks to Hana Zickgraf about a recently published research paper titled: Adult picky eaters with symptoms of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder: comparable distress and comorbidity but different eating behaviors compared to those with...
Do you need talk therapy in order to recover from Anorexia?

Do you need talk therapy in order to recover from Anorexia?

The short answer here is “No.” You do not need talk therapy in order to reach full remission from Anorexia. However, you might want it, in which case you should have it. Before we get into it, remember that weight restoration is one step in recovery, and...
Stomach problems in Anorexia recovery

Stomach problems in Anorexia recovery

As if recovery wasn’t already difficult enough from a mental standpoint, there are often physical discomforts too! This blog post is about stomach in Anorexia recovery. Reading this blog post will not make your tummy feel better, but it may provide you with some...
Anorexia Recovery: The problem with “intuitive eating”

Anorexia Recovery: The problem with “intuitive eating”

I’ll preface this blog post with this: this post is about intuitive eating and Anorexia recovery. If you don’t have Anorexia, go ahead and do all the intuitive eating that your intuition asks you to do —this post is not about you. I agree that intuitive...
Anorexia and Exercise 2: The lower-level movement trap

Anorexia and Exercise 2: The lower-level movement trap

I wrote about Anorexia and exercise last week and the case for cold turkey. This post is the follow up to that and it addresses lower-level, movement. If you read the last post and thought “well that doesn’t apply to me because I don’t exercise...
Exercise and Anorexia: The Case for Cold Turkey

Exercise and Anorexia: The Case for Cold Turkey

Dr: “Are you eating?” Me: “Yes” Dr: “Hmm … Well. you are still very underweight, so maybe try eating a bit more?” Me: “Sure, I’ll try that.” What my Dr never asked me about was the extent that I was...
Anorexia Recovery as an Adult: Letting go of nutritional science

Anorexia Recovery as an Adult: Letting go of nutritional science

I have a nutrition qualification, but I don’t use it. In fact, what I was taught about nutrition on that course set me back a good couple of years in recovery. I was taught that fat was bad, calories should be minimized, meals should be planned as to balance...
Adults in Recovery Workshop Coming Up!

Adults in Recovery Workshop Coming Up!

Not a usual post from me.  I just want to tell you about the upcoming Boulder, Colorado workshop I am offering May 20-12. Actually first of all I want to tell you about a free ED-ucation on Eating Disorders Seminar that I am presenting at in Canada next week. I have...
Anorexia Recovery: What about when I am not hungry?

Anorexia Recovery: What about when I am not hungry?

I got the below email and decided that I would answer it in blog post because I think that these are questions that many adults in Anorexia recovery will have from time to time. Other than removing the writer’s name I have posted the email in it’s...
Anorexia: Mid-Recovery Clusterfuck (Charlie Foxtrot)

Anorexia: Mid-Recovery Clusterfuck (Charlie Foxtrot)

This post contains swear words. This is not an apology, I’m just letting you know. 😀 When I went through what I refer to now as my “Mid-Recovery Clusterfuck” I didn’t know what it was. I thought that — despite considering myself at the furthest...
Anorexia Recovery As An Adult: School Of Failure

Anorexia Recovery As An Adult: School Of Failure

I’m not someone who berates herself for not getting everything right. Contrary to popular belief about people with Anorexia, I am not a perfectionist, not Type A, and don’t really care if I get an A, B, or C so long as it is a pass. I don’t like...
Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2017 Roundup

Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2017 Roundup

Phew. That was a busy week. In case you missed them, here is a recap on the podcasts and other projects we put out there this week. I’ve listed the podcasts out below. I think that the most exciting thing that came out of this week for me personally were the...
[Video] It is okay to eat a lot of food in Anorexia recovery

[Video] It is okay to eat a lot of food in Anorexia recovery

I am excited to announce that this week we launched Active Eating Disorder Recovery for Adults (AEDRA) Meal Support Service. This is a worldwide service where any person can receive support at a mealtime to help overcome anxiety. We also have post meal support slots...
[Video] It is okay to eat a lot of food in Anorexia recovery

Anorexia Recovery Eating: There is never too much food

This blog is based on my personal experience. We are all individuals, and you should always do what is right for your own body. When I went through extreme hunger in my recovery from Anorexia, my eating disorder told me that nobody on earth had ever experienced this....
Anorexia Recovery Binges: You do NOT have Binge Eating Disorder!

Anorexia Recovery Binges: You do NOT have Binge Eating Disorder!

This blog is based on my personal experience. We are all individuals, and you should always do what is right for your own body. This is just a short blog. In my book, Rehabilitate, Rewire, Recover!, I have chapters and chapters on the concept of feasting after a time...
My Daughter is an “Ethical” Vegan (With Anorexia) …

My Daughter is an “Ethical” Vegan (With Anorexia) …

I got the following comment on a post, and I woke up this morning realizing that by trying to be too kind in my response. I had done this women, her daughter, and any other readers an injustice. Here was the original question: My daughter is a vegan who is receiving...
Eating Disorders and Family Life: Household Triggers

Eating Disorders and Family Life: Household Triggers

In the last two posts I have looked at the way that eating disorders operate in a family setting when a parent is the sufferer in recovery. The first post addressed how to continue with mealtime support. The second on mealtime tension and shopping etc. This post looks...
Extreme Hunger in Anorexia Recovery

Extreme Hunger in Anorexia Recovery

Ready and waiting for the criticism that I may get as a result of writing about this. I don’t care. I don’t believe that shielding adults in recovery from eating disorders from the events that can, and do often, happen along the recovery path helps anyone....
Eating Disorders: How to Support an Adult with Children Present

Eating Disorders: How to Support an Adult with Children Present

  I don’t have kids. However, the issue comes up for some of the people whom I coach who do. We’ve had to problem solve around this and there is never a one-size-fits-all answer. The purpose of these blog series is to help you anticipate things that...
Questioning Perfectionism In Anorexia

Questioning Perfectionism In Anorexia

I am often told by eating disorder therapists and literature that I am a perfectionist. I am not a perfectionist. I was not a perfectionist before Anorexia. I was not a perfectionist during Anorexia. I am not a perfectionist now. If you don’t believe me, ask my...
Eating Disorder Recovery — A Matter of Life and … Half Life

Eating Disorder Recovery — A Matter of Life and … Half Life

Eating disorders are a matter of life and death. They can and do kill. Let’s not forget that. But they are also, for many, a matter of life and half life. I’m talking about the people for whom having an eating disorder turns from a year into a lifetime....
Meditation for Eating Disorders — A Cynics Guide

Meditation for Eating Disorders — A Cynics Guide

It cracks me up that people assume I am a spiritual person because I meditate. I’m not. I don’t meditate because I am trying to be a good person either. I meditate because it helps me keep my shit together.  I’m a twice certified yoga instructor....
Negative Energy Balance or Energy Deficit in Anorexia

Negative Energy Balance or Energy Deficit in Anorexia

This post explains negative energy balance in eating disorders.   What is a negative energy balance (sometimes called energy deficit)? Anything that means that the energy you put out is greater than the energy you put in. The most common — although not only —...
Thanksgiving Day Eating Disorder Contract and Survival Tips

Thanksgiving Day Eating Disorder Contract and Survival Tips

Thanksgiving day is on the near horizon. I know that people suffering from eating disorders in the USA are already having a hard time dealing with the pre-Thanksgiving meal anxiety, so here are some tools to help everyone enjoy the day.   Thanksgiving Day Eating...
How to Survive Thanksgiving for Adults with Eating Disorders

How to Survive Thanksgiving for Adults with Eating Disorders

  I’ve lived all of my life in the UK apart from the last six years so thankfully (pun intended) I didn’t have to deal with Thanksgiving when I was at my sickest with Anorexia. I did, however, have to deal with Christmas and other UK holidays. And...
Binge Eating in Eating Disorder Recovery

Binge Eating in Eating Disorder Recovery

This blog is based on my personal experience. We are all individuals, and you should always do what is right for your own body.   Many of us in recovery from eating disorder experience binge eating. I certainly did, and I wrote about it extensively in my book,...
Support for Parents of Adults with Eating Disorders

Support for Parents of Adults with Eating Disorders

  This post isn’t just for parents of adults with eating disorders. It’s for parents, spouses, grandparents, cousins, siblings, friends, loved ones, colleagues, neighbors, uncles, aunts, children, and in fact anyone who knows or cares about an adult...
How Anorexia Affected My Personality (Introvert/Extrovert)

How Anorexia Affected My Personality (Introvert/Extrovert)

Anorexia affected my personality in many ways. Today I am going to focus on the introvert/extrovert aspect. First off: I pass no judgement whatsoever on the values associated with introversion and extroversion, None whatsoever. This post is nothing to do with saying...
Eating Disorders and Money – Part Two

Eating Disorders and Money – Part Two

Last week I wrote about eating disorders and money for the first time. One thing the comments on Facebook and the post confirmed is that many people suffering from eating disorders also experience strange feelings/thoughts/ behaviours around money. In this post...
Conscious Incompetence in Adult Eating Disorder Recovery

Conscious Incompetence in Adult Eating Disorder Recovery

“Conscious Incompetence” sounds like one of those whack psych terms that I am convinced psychologists make up so that they sound more scientific and complicated than they really are. Bear with me. All conscious incompetence really means is stuff you...
Eating Disorder Behaviours: Why Taking the Stairs Can Kill You

Eating Disorder Behaviours: Why Taking the Stairs Can Kill You

Eating Disorder Recovery means addressing the small things as well as the big and obvious ones. That is what I am writing about today. If you have an eating disorder, you are going to hate this post. Or rather, your eating disorder is going to hate this post. You will...
Adults with Anorexia

Adults with Anorexia

Resources around Family-Based Therapy (FBT) are getting better for parents who are caring for a child with an eating disorder. This is a very good thing. But for those of us who are adults with the disease, it can be very difficult to find help. Relapse rate is very...
Podcast Episode on How to Overcome Fear of Food in Anorexia

Podcast Episode on How to Overcome Fear of Food in Anorexia

I explained in the last podcast how I used information from the FEAST website on Family-Based Therapy to kick start my own inner mealtime matron. That was probably the single biggest initiative for me in my recovery — establishing that my eating disorder was not...
Podcast Episode: Dr. Muhlheim on Adults with Eating Disorders

Podcast Episode: Dr. Muhlheim on Adults with Eating Disorders

Hooray! I’ve added a podcast to my blog. It’s called the Eating Disorder Recovery Podcast and is available for free download in iTunes and Google Play. You can also listen to it straight from this site by going to the episode here.  For this first episode...
Adults and Anorexia: The need for understanding and treatment

Adults and Anorexia: The need for understanding and treatment

This blog post is another that was inspired by a reader who wrote to me. We had a series of in depth email exchanges and I wanted to use her story as an example of the challenges that face adult sufferers of anorexia. More importantly, what we need to do in order to...
Writing the Book: Body Confidence. Body Love. Anorexia.

Writing the Book: Body Confidence. Body Love. Anorexia.

One thing that came up for me whilst writing the book, was the subject of body confidence. You might assume that because I am writing about Anorexia, that my body confidence is and has always been rock bottom — but that’s not true. The opposite is true actually....
Back to the veganism and eating disorders conversation

Back to the veganism and eating disorders conversation

I wrote a post sometime last year now about my opinion on why people who have suffered from an eating disorder such as Anorexia cannot, and should not be vegan. When I wrote it I assumed that I would get a fair amount of backlash from vegans—I expected criticism and...
Keanu Reeves Stands Up for Eating Disorders [Video]

Keanu Reeves Stands Up for Eating Disorders [Video]

It’s a thrilling day for a group of eating disorder advocates who found one another via the internet and have been working as a sparse, yet determined, group ever since. I am so honoured to be a part of this! Long story short, we have our first ever World Eating...
It’s my 10-year Anorexia recovery anniversary!

It’s my 10-year Anorexia recovery anniversary!

It’s my 10 year Anorexia recovery anniversary this month, and I’m really bloody excited about it! Those who know me know that I don’t “do” birthdays or publicly celebrate anything much, but this—overcoming Anorexia—is something I am...
Can you separate your triggers from your eating disorder?

Can you separate your triggers from your eating disorder?

Can you separate your triggers from your eating disorder? In my last post I skimmed over this point, but I think it is incredibly important for both active and long-term recovery. The day that I really understood that my eating disorder was a mental disease with a...
Midweek Rant: Rosewood Ranch

Midweek Rant: Rosewood Ranch

An advocate friend drew my attention to a particularly awful website today. It’s riled me up something rotten. “Love addiction and eating disorders both often start with dysfunctional roles in the family of origin.” You have got to be shitting me....
How ex-sufferers can help the eating disorder community

How ex-sufferers can help the eating disorder community

How ex-sufferers can help the Eating Disorder community I wrote last week about why I don’t think sufferers of eating disorders should become treatment therapists for eating disorders. Today I’m going to focus on something totally fantastic that...
Why Eating Disorder Treatment Needs an Overhaul

Why Eating Disorder Treatment Needs an Overhaul

There was a study published this month that showed what many of us have been saying for a long time: eating disorder treatment is massively ineffective in many cases and the industry is badly in need of some sort of overhaul. The study was published under the...
BBC Woman’s Hour and Anorexia

BBC Woman’s Hour and Anorexia

[sgmb id=”1″]   I have a confession to make. I love BBC Woman’s Hour. I download and listen to every single podcast, and delight in the breadth of discussion. Anything from sex in a long-term relationship to debating American politics goes down...
Veganism and Eating Disorders: Let’s Be Frank

Veganism and Eating Disorders: Let’s Be Frank

Before I piss off any vegans with this post, let’s get one thing straight: I have nothing against vegans, nor am I saying that nobody can be vegan. I am not attacking veganism—frankly I don’t really give a shit what other people do and don’t eat...
Eating Disorder Recovery: Aim to Overshoot

Eating Disorder Recovery: Aim to Overshoot

This is my second post on Overshoot. The first one is here. The first post focused on what overshoot is and why it is difficult for a person in recovery. This post explains more about why it is important and why a person in recovery from an eating disorder should...
Overshoot in Eating Disorder Recovery

Overshoot in Eating Disorder Recovery

This blog post is going to address overshoot in eating disorder recovery. It is the first of a couple that I have lined up on this incredibly important topic. Here’s the deal with overshooting your pre-eating disorder weight in recovery: you need to do it. In...
Running Hostage to an Eating Disorder

Running Hostage to an Eating Disorder

This is another section of Love Fat that I took out of the book as I rewrote it in another chapter. It is following on from the last post that I published and the topic is my obsession with running. As I have explained before, I now have a healthy relationship with...
Anorexia and Obsessive Exercise

Anorexia and Obsessive Exercise

This is another section of Love Fat that didn’t make the cut. This section describes the mental anguish that I was in when my eating disorder was pushing me to exercise for a minimum of six hours every day. In the book, I have just come back from another run:...
How Eating Disorders Ruin Relationships

How Eating Disorders Ruin Relationships

Eating disorders are a bitch, and anorexia turned me into one too. In America, “candy” is what we Brits refer to as “sweets.” Today I’m not writing about sweets; I’m writing about my little sister: Candice. Below is another Love Fat...
Device Dependency: Longing for Less Connection

Device Dependency: Longing for Less Connection

I was the kind of child who would take herself off and climb a tree, then sit there for hours completely enthralled in the sounds and creatures around me. I would study with wonder the bark patterns on the trees in the woods behind our house, or lie on my back in the...
Love Fat Editouts: Big Fat Binge Liar

Love Fat Editouts: Big Fat Binge Liar

This blog is another section that I edited out of Love Fat: Living at home meant that the binges were getting more frequent and bigger—basically because there was more food available. My parent’s fridge was brimming with treats that the uncontrollable...
Introvert, Anti-social, or Just Plain Rude?

Introvert, Anti-social, or Just Plain Rude?

“Introversion? Yes, I know all about introversion, I have many friends who are introvert, in fact, I am sometimes one myself.” It often surprises me how people react when I tell then that I am an introvert. It’s endearing for sure, as most respond by...
Can We Talk About the Difference Between Bring and Take?

Can We Talk About the Difference Between Bring and Take?

Yesterday, a rather disturbing octothorpe was trending on Twitter: #ThingsNotToBringToAFuneral When I read that, I had to leave my desk and console myself by going to make a cup of tea. I felt low. Funerals are pretty depressing, but that had nothing to do with my...
The Modeling Industry and Anorexia

The Modeling Industry and Anorexia

Before we get started: This post is based on my experience, and on my interpretation of the events that I experienced. It is not supposed to be a generalization of all modeling agencies, all sufferers of eating disorders or anything else for that matter. Even I am not...
Question: Does the Urge to Binge During Recovery Ever Cease?

Question: Does the Urge to Binge During Recovery Ever Cease?

I was asked a really good and relevant question asked by a reader this week. In response to the blog post that I wrote a while ago on the bloated fat tummy syndrome that a person in recovery from anorexia suffers, she wondered if the urge to binge eat during recovery...
Love Fat Editouts: Breastfeeding and Santa Claus

Love Fat Editouts: Breastfeeding and Santa Claus

This part I took out of Love Fat because, quite frankly, I had written so much about breastfeeding already that I thought any more would boarder on creepy. Love Fat is about fat and why we should love it, and my reasoning behind including breastfeeding conversation...
Love Fat Editouts: Cooking Dinner

Love Fat Editouts: Cooking Dinner

Love Fat is now published, and I am going through all the parts that I edited out for one reason or another and posting them in my Blog. Some things are obvious as to why the were cut out. Others, not so. This one just did not seen to fit in with the context of the...
Love Fat Editouts: Chia Seeds

Love Fat Editouts: Chia Seeds

Love Fat is now published, and I am going through all the parts that I edited out for one reason or another and posting them in the Blog. Some things are obvious as to why the were cut out. Others, not so. This I took out because it just didn’t seem to fit in...
Should PTSD for Disease Exist?

Should PTSD for Disease Exist?

I’m in England this week. I talk about The Shire—my home village—a lot in Love Fat because it is where I was most of the time when I was ill with anorexia.  I don’t go home often, in fact this is just the second time in five years. When I first moved to...
Holy Crap I Made a Book!

Holy Crap I Made a Book!

[schema type=”book” url=”tabithafarrar.com” name=”Love Fat” description=”A book about anorexia, eating disorders, diet culture, and the role of fat as a nutrient” author=”Tabitha Farrar”...
Don’t “DIS” the Eating Disorder That Could Have Killed Me

Don’t “DIS” the Eating Disorder That Could Have Killed Me

Being the irritable type that I am, there are many things that piss me off. Some of them however, take the biscuit. Case to point: this recent campaign run by The Butterfly Foundation. What are they doing? They have a campaign up called, “Don’t DIS my...
If Parents Cause Eating Disorders Then How the F@#k Did I Get One?

If Parents Cause Eating Disorders Then How the F@#k Did I Get One?

The short answer to that is: “Because they don’t”. Parents cannot, do not, cause eating disorders. Many people think that they do. I blame the psychoanalysts for this somewhat. Lets have a look at something Vanderbilt University Psychology Dept have to Say: In a...
Question: Does the Urge to Binge Ever Stop?

Question: Does the Urge to Binge Ever Stop?

I was asked a really good and relevant question by a reader this week. In response to the blog post that I wrote a while ago on the bloated fat tummy syndrome that a person in recovery from anorexia suffers, she wondered if the urge to binge eat during recovery ever...

Liver Detoxification: Starve or Nourish?

The following post is a guest blog that I wrote for The Weston A Price Foundation’s Fall edition of the journal Wise Traditions. Liver Detoxification: Starve or Nourish? Click on the title in order to read the full post on the Weston A Price Foundation’s...
Coffee Enemas

Coffee Enemas

          Coffee enemas are based on the antediluvian concept of autointoxication.  Autointoxication is the belief that one is being poisoned by toxins because one is not digesting food properly and is not eliminating waste as one should. As I...
Foods That (Might) “Help” Your Liver Cleanse

Foods That (Might) “Help” Your Liver Cleanse

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and I have no medical qualifications This post is not to be read and taken as a substitute for medical treatment This post was designed to be be read by adults, it may or may not contain swear words. In my opinion your liver is an...
Cleanses and the Liver

Cleanses and the Liver

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and I have no medical qualifications- I just read a HECK of a lot of research papers.  This post is not to be read and taken as a substitute for medical treatment This post was designed to be be read by adults, it may or may not contain...
Low calorie formula!?

Low calorie formula!?

Such hideously bad news! In a nutshell, formula companies are reducing the calorific content of formula in a response to the growing obesity problem despite the fact that existing studies show that reducing caloric density does not result in fewer calories consumed....

Ode to Fat

By Nichole Nurenberg  Nichole is a friend of mine, she writes some very wise things: Truth be told, I love fat. I love the fat on my son and on other babies, in bacon, butter, on my own body, in my happy-chicken eggs, on the bodies of my neighbors and community, in...
Fat Definition, Word Origin, and Nutritional History

Fat Definition, Word Origin, and Nutritional History

I have a simmering obsession with word origins. I also write about fat a lot, so it would be rude of me not to look into the word and where it came from.  After that, we’ll look into its rise and fall in popularity. Fat: Word Origin and Use In Old English fætt...

Pica

Pica Pica is characterized by an appetite for substances largely non-nutritive, such as ice, clay, chalk, dirt, or sand. According to the DSM-5 criteria, to be diagnosed with Pica a person must display: Persistent eating of non-nutritive substances for a period of at...
What Ancient Mummies Teach Us About Heart Disease and Fat

What Ancient Mummies Teach Us About Heart Disease and Fat

Ever wonder how the ancient mummies died in the first place? I have, many times. When I was young I remember thinking the that mummies must have died of old age, because they looked so very … old. The word “mummy” is derived from the Persian word “mumia,”...

Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED)

Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED) According to the DSM-5 criteria, to be diagnosed as having OSFED a person must present with a feeding or eating behaviors that cause clinically significant distress and impairment in areas of functioning, but do not...

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)

Eating disorders come in all different shapes and sizes, there is often parts and pieces that do or do not fit in with diagnosis. ARFID is a gap filler, it is relevant for those that do not fit anorexia or bulimia but still struggle to be an adequate weight and are...
5 reasons Anorexia is not about control.

5 reasons Anorexia is not about control.

I suffered anorexia nervosa for over eight years. In this time I was told by various people, some of them doctors, many of them concerned individuals that my eating disorder was a result of me trying to take control. And it was a convincing argument, although rather...

Warming up, over- exercising and anorexia.

Tweet Today I was reading a study by Carrera et al (2012) that looked at over exercise in anorexia and pondered whether this was a product of low body fat and feeling cold. I can see how that makes sense, one might try and rationalize a seemingly non- rational...

Study Review; Autism and Anorexia

Tweet Today I was reading a Cambridge University Study done just last year into the similarities between Autism and Anorexia. Here is the abstract that Simon Baron Cohen and his team looked into: “The objectives of this study were to explore associations between...

Study Review; Minnesota Starvation Experiment

Key Points 1. Ironically, malnutrition makes a person not want to gain weight. The catch-22 is that once the person gains some weight, their brain starts functioning properly again and they then often are happy about gaining weight. A person with Anorexia who is...

Exercise in Anorexics; Study Review

In my daily research I came across a study that sparked my interest today; Impact of exercise on energy metabolism in anorexia nervosa- Zopfel et al 2013 Personally having suffered an excessive exercise component to my anorexia I am always looking at further...

Medical Marijuana and Anorexia

I have been reading over the last week about the latest research regarding Medical Marijuana and anorexia. While I do not have first hand experience of the effects of smoking pot on anorexia. I find the scientific study of it fascinating. (I never tired marijuana when...

Bring on the Fast Food!

It’s a new year, and I am already sick and tired of seeing the “New Year; New You!” memes on social media. It’s irritating, and it’s bullshit. Basically, the new year is a marketing opportunity for cleanse scams, such as Isagenix and Master Cleanse, that prey on...
Watching Time Heal

Watching Time Heal

  When I was 16, my parents took us on what was our first family holiday outside of Europe. Usually, we would be driven to France or Spain to stay in a green and red Eurocamp tent, which quite honestly was a whole lot of fun, but boarding a plane and heading...
I Just Started My Period!

I Just Started My Period!

I am 32 years old and I just got my period! Do I feel vulnerable writing about my period? Yes. But I’m going to write about it anyway, because I think that it is important that I talk about all aspects of my eating disorder, and not having periods was one of...
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