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
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?
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
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 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 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 with the...
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 Colorado, I...
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" isbn="0692461426" ] Published on Kindle and on Amazon...
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 Appearance,"...
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...
Thinning Hair Is an Eating Disorder Effect That Recovery Can Overcome
Anorexia really wreaked my hair. When I was a child, my hair was thick and long. When I was a teenager, my hair was thick and long. When I suffered from anorexia, by hair was thin and scraggly. It didn’t happen overnight. I had anorexia for eight years before I even...
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...
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...
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
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 meant...
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
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,” referring...
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...
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...
When Body Image and Eating Disorder Memes Do More Harm than Good
Sometimes things are posted with all the best intentions, but they can do more harm than good. An example of this is a body image meme that circulates Facebook every now and then: ...
3 things I wish everyone knew about Anorexia
See the full article as published in Mind. Body. Green here
The Fat of The Land
Link to the full article published in Elephant Journal here!
Can the nutrition of one generation can change the genetics of another?
Tweet "The environment that we are exposed to as fetuses or young children can cause permeant changes in the way our genes function" "Epigenetics" describe modifications to people's DNA that don't affect the sequence of the DNA. Physically, epigenetic changes...
My personal experience of the Modeling Industry and Anorexia.
Read the article - click here!
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...
How Science Helped Me Cope with the ‘Fat Tummy’ in Anorexia Recovery.
My Experience; When I had anorexia, I did not suffer from body dysmorphia, so I was acutely aware of how thin I looked and unattractive it was. I know that this is not the case for all sufferers, but I think that regardless, many will find this account useful for...
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 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 them. I...
Extreme Hunger in Anorexia Recovery: What Happens with the Meal Plan?
Meal plans can be very helpful in recovery. I never used one, but some people do. If you are using a meal plan, you have to be very careful not to treat it like a maximum. It should be a minimum. If you are hungry for more or can eat more food, then you must! But what...
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
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]](https://tabithafarrar.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Snip20160531_1.png)
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...
