Rachel Millner: School Dinner Policing, BMI Report Cards, and the importance of a HAES approach for kids

In this episode, Tabitha talks to the wonderful Rachel Millner about fat-phobia in schools: BMI report cards School dinner policing Health at Every Size Body Diversity Fat-phobia How to trust kids to eat Find out more about Rachel Millner here...

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...

Why recovery blogs (such as this one) should be read with discretion

I write a recovery blog, so I understand the irony of this post. I need to write it anyway. When I had “active” anorexia, I never read a thing about it. I remember a couple of times people trying to send me a newspaper or magazine clipping on anorexia...

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...

Dr Laura Hill: Motivation to Change in Anorexia Recovery [Podcast]

  In this podcast Tabitha talks to Dr Laura Hill about motivation to change in anorexia recovery. But this time we’re talking about motivation to change on the side of the clinician, rather than the patient. Link to Dr Laura Hill’s book,”A...

Recovered. Not perpetually “in recovery.” Not forever “recovering.”

I believe that full recovery is possible for every person who is currently suffering from or in recover from anorexia. Here’s my two cents on why I don’t thing that the the “in recovery,” or “remission” rhetoric is particularly...

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

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]

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]

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

  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...

Why eating without restriction really is the healthiest option

There was a heated discussion on Facebook after I posted a podcast on orthorexia last week. It seems that many people interpret the message of “it is okay to eat “unhealthy” food without restriction” as “all you should eat is...

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!

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!)

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...

Orthorexia: Why it’s healthy to eat “unhealthy” foods. Unrestricted.

In this podcast Tabitha talks about orthorexia and why it is important to be able to eat all kinds of food without stress — including foods that you judge as unhealthy. I see orthorexia as a restrictive eating disorder. The goalposts may be slightly altered, but it is...

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]

  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

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 …

  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]

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...

Defining Mental Hunger And Why It Is Important In Anorexia Recovery [Podcast]

In this Podcast Tabitha talks about mental hunger. We look at: – What mental hunger is – What mental hunger represents – Why responding to mental hunger is important – Why physical hunger cues are not reliable in Anorexia recovery – How...

Male vs Female Treatment Experiences in Eating Disorder Treatment

  In this podcast Tabitha talks to Philipa Hay about recent research that looked into male autobiographies of eating disorders and recovery experiences. Link to the full research paper –> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5485468/ Study...

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

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...