Blog - Eating Disorder Recovery for Adults

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. When we are...

Eating Disorders and Family Life — Mealtime tension, shopping, food choices and exercise

In my last post on eating disorder recovery for an adult with children, I wrote about mealtimes and how to make them (more of a ) a success in terms of recovery goals with kids at the table. This week I wanted to touch on the impact that the eating disorder may or may...

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 may come up...

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 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. The people who...

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. I've taught hundreds...

Turn Post-Festivity Eating Disorder Stress into Recovery Motivation

First off, thank you for following and reading this blog. Something that started as a place for me to blow off steam now has over 5000 followers! Those of you who write to me, tweet to me, and reach out mean so much. When you share a post, you know that you are...

Anosognosia and Eating Disorders — When We Don’t Know We Are Sick

Anosognosia is pretty messed up — and it messed me up good and proper! It means "without knowledge" and refers to the lack of insight that a person suffering from a disease has about their condition. It explains why, even in an incredibly emaciated state, I was...

Inpatient Treatment for Eating Disorders — A Kick Start. Not A Cure

I want to start with this: Inpatient treatment for eating disorders save lives. I often tell adults suffering from eating disorders who are underweight and struggling to re-feed themselves to seek inpatient treatment. It is the kick start to weight restoration that...

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 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

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 things like...

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

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 with an...

7 Tips for Getting a Person with an Eating Disorder to Eat with Eva Musby

In this podcast you will hear my conversation with Eva Musby. We talk about her experience with family-based therapy (or family-based treatment) as a mother. We also go into the key points that Eva addresses in her book and give you Getting a Person with an...

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

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 I'm...

Anorexia and Money: Recovery meant I had to look at that relationship too!

What on earth has Anorexia got to do with money? More than you think. At least in my case. And, according to the comments and emails I get, I am not alone in having a very whacked relationship with money when I had an eating disorder. Starting at the beginning:...

Sustaining Eating Disorder Recovery — Conscious to Unconscious Competence

Last week I wrote about unconscious incompetence moving to conscious incompetence. Where that places you is knowing what you're not great at. This week we'll look into the next stages of eating disorder recovery so far as this model of competence goes. Check out last...

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 don't know that...

Why I don’t use “Anorexic” to describe people with Anorexia Nervosa

I understand that most people just use the term "Anorexic" to describe a person with Anorexia out of habit and convenience. I just prefer not to use it myself. So much so, that I often use the term "eating disorder" just because that can't be turned into a noun. 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...

Taking Ownership of ED Recovery: Why it is my fault if I relapse and no excuses!

Taking what I call "extreme ownership" of my eating disorder recovery was an important step for me. As an adult with Anorexia, it was crucial for me to understand that the only person at fault if I relapse is ME. And to be crystal clear from the start, taking...

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

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 "me",...

New Podcast Episode: How I used Family-Based Therapy in Anorexia Recovery

This is not the podcast, to get it, you have to go to the Podcast Episode Here. If you subscribe in iTunes, you'll get new podcast episodes each week as I publish them directly on your phone. Here is the intro: Last week I recorded a podcast with Dr. Lauren Muhlheim...

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 I had the...

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.

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. I've...

Why “down-talking” the seriousness of eating disorders doesn’t help recovery

When one tells a person with an ED to recover when they are ready, one mulcts them of time spent ED free. I had this fantastically enlightening email conversation with a reader today. Let's call her Jennifer. We were going back and forth over some questions...

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]

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 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 openly proud of. It started...

The Role of the Non-Professional Community in Eating Disorder Advocacy

I've been sprouting on about why I don't think that sufferers and ex-sufferers of eating disorders make the best ED therapists. If you need to recap the posts are: Why Eating Disorder Treatment Needs an Overhaul Why I Don't Think Ex-Sufferers Should Treat Eating...

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

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. This is the first...

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 an ex-sufferer can do...

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

[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 on BBC Woman's...

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 anymore (and that's a...

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...

How to Prepare a Person for Overshoot in Eating Disorder Recovery

Note: I have been writing and talking about "overshoot" a lot. While I used this term because it has already been established, I do not think that the term overshoot is ideal to describe the process of establishing a recovery weight. The term overshoot implies that...

Maybe All of Us Women Should Just Stop Buying Tampons

Luxury noun a state of great comfort or elegance, especially when involving great expense. There's nothing I enjoy more than a good tampon. Sometimes, when I am feeling really...

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

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

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

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 edit out. I cannot reliably...

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

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?

"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 attempting to be...

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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 monster...

Shan Guisinger: Adapt to Flee Famine Perspective of Anorexia Evolution

In this podcast we talk about the Adapt to Flee Famine Perspective of Anorexia evolution with Shan...

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...

Energy Deficit | Energy Debt | Target Weights | Weight vs State Restoration [Podcast]

Just me in this podcast! Responding to questions that I get frequently around Anorexia recovery and...

Slack group question answers: If you’ve had treatment for your ED, what do you find has been most helpful?

This week I was totally swamped and also finished the first draft of my next book (a complete recovery guide for adults with Anorexia). It's over 100,000 words and my head is swimming. I'm cheating this week by not writing a blog and instead — with the permission of...

Eating Disorders and PTSD [Podcast]

Tabitha Farrar talks to writer, speaker, and songwriter Jenni Schaefer about her recovery from...

I don’t care what Lily Collins or anyone else says, there is no “safe” way to lose weight if you have Anorexia.

I don't care what Lily Collins or anyone else says, there is no "safe" way to lose weight if you have the genetic predisposition for Anorexia. I'm so over the whole saga about the NetFlix film "To The Bone," but very much understand that some of you are still...

Going Sane — exposing malpractice in the mental health industry

Lisa Sabey is the woman behind the documentary "Going Sane." In this podcast we talk about:...

You do not have to be thin to have Anorexia | You do not have to be thin to be underweight

All the horses in this picture are different sizes. All the horses in this picture are respected and thought of as beautiful. On Sunday I published a podcast I recorded with the wonderful Rachel Millner on the topic of Anorexia and people in larger bodies. I...

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...

Mental health patients do not fail treatment. Treatment fails patients.

You did not fail treatment. Treatment failed you. I lose count of how many times I say this. I had to say it again yesterday to someone who was convinced that she could not make a full recovery because she had been in and out of treatment so many times. So many failed...

Podcast: Challenging intake guidelines — Dr Graham Redgrave

Tabitha Farrar talks to Dr Graham Redgrave about the research done at Johns Hopkins looking into higher...

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 being in a...

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...

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. Mostly...

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...

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 re-wiring...

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”

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 eating may be...

Anorexia Recovery as an Adult: Sustaining recovery when life happens

Recovery from Anorexia certainly becomes easier to maintain with time, however, large and stressful life events can make even the most solidly recovered individual feel dodgy all of a sudden. When the shit hits the fan, even the most dormant Anorexia behaviors will...

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 excessively," this post...

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 exercising. I was eating, but that was on the condition that I...

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...

Anorexia is a Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum Disorder and should be treated as such …

While it may be broadly understood that effective knowledge, diagnostics, treatment and resources for eating disorders are lacking, I think that until certain parts of this system are conceptually overhauled we will continue to only see change and improvements happen...

Anorexia recovery and food rules: Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better

Anorexia: You can't have that bagel for lunch. That would be a breach of Rule #382 Me: Rule #382? Anorexia: Yes, rule #382: Bagel for breakfast cannot be followed by bagel for lunch. Rule #382 Me: Since when did that rule exist? That wasn't there before. Anorexia: You...

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 as an Adult: My body is not a calculator … and mental hunger counts!

When we start trying to control weight, food intake, and energy balance artificially we are messing with a system what we know too little about. Nutritional science is too immature to really know how and when the body uses energy and for what. In recovery from...

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 entirety. My...

The trouble with target weights in Anorexia recovery: Living paycheck to paycheck

There are certainly problems that arise with "target weights" in Anorexia recovery. The biggest, overarching theme is that they are set too low. I wrote about this in length in this post titled Anorexia Recovery: Why is it that treatment seems to serve my eating...

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Anorexia Recovery: Why is it that treatment seems to serve my eating disorder better than it serves my recovery?

I don't expect everyone to read this and agree with it. The TL;DR is that I believe that there is a fear that infests many eating disorder treatment approaches and this leads to inadequate intake prescriptions and target weights that do not serve individuals in...

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 end of the insanity...

Finding Recovery Motivation — Scrapping the Anorexia Identity

One of the questions I get asked the most by both sufferers and parents/partners of sufferers is; "how did you find the motivation to recover?" often followed closely by, "how do I find the motivation to recover?" or "how does he/she find the motivation to recover?"...

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 failing through. Who...

Eating Disorder Recovery and Family Life: Picky Eaters and Innocent triggers

Today I am going to look at a somewhat awkward but nonetheless important idea: the notion that the eating behaviours of children could in fact act as triggers or stumbling points for the a parent in recovery from a restrictive eating disorder such as Anorexia. ...

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 things...

[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...

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!

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) …

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...

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