The Eating Disorder Therapist

Today I’m talking to Cassie Barnard from Embody Health, London. Cassie is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor passionate about health, nutrition and living a full life! She embraces a positive, non-judgemental attitude in her work with clients and is curious to understand your life journey. Cassie combines her unique education and training in nutrition, mindfulness and behaviour change to help clients effectively implement powerful and practical tools to cultivate self-kindness and body acceptance.  Growing up in sunny Perth, Western Australia, she has a down to earth attitude, and a kind and caring nature, making anyone feel at ease. Registered with the Health and Care Professions Council, Cassie obtained a Master of Nutrition and Dietetics from Edith Cowan University. She also holds a Diploma in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), is a Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor, Certified Pilates Instructor and is a Monash University Certified FODMAP clinician.   Before establishing Embody Health London, Cassie worked as the Lead Dietitian at a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), supporting patients with Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder and Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorders (OSFED).  In this episode, Cassie talks about all things Intuitive eating, including when to start this in eating disorder recovery, which Intuitive Eating Principles you can begin with and practical strategies to put these into practice.  She talks about the common pitfalls which people face when experimenting with Intuitive Eating and also explains some of the key research in this area. Cassie has genuine warmth and empathy, with an infectious passion for supporting people with eating difficulties, which radiates through this conversation. I hope that you enjoy the episode. To find out more about Cassie and Embody Health London: - https://embodyhealthlondon.com/ Instagram: @cassiebarnard_dietian; @embodyhealthlondon_ Mindy Gorman-Plutzer’s Freedom Promise https://the-freedom-promise.mykajabi.com/say-goodbye-landing-page - simply register with the code PODCAST.

An eating disorder can rob you of your identity, with work, friendships, travel, hobbies all blurring into insignificance, as food takes centre stage. It can feel scary to let go of what is known. You might feel safe in your identity around the eating disorder. You may have no clue about who you are without it. This episode explores baby steps to rebuild your identity with some practical exercises. It gives hope and inspiration for a more enriching life in line with your values. It gives you permission to engage with your dreams. I hope that you enjoy the episode.

If you have an eating disorder, you likely have a strong inner critic. 'You're not good enough'. 'You've failed again'. 'Why can't you get anything right?' As much as this critic judges and berates, making life distinctly challenging, it probably feels safe and known to you. You might even fear being without it, as you worry that you might lose purpose and motivation. Offering yourself compassion may feel fluffy and counter-productive. You may expect yourself to 'just get on with it', and to not attend to your inner feelings and vulnerabilities. But the research shows that these fears are unfounded. By becoming more self-compassionate, this can set the stage for better health, relationships, and general well-being. And self-compassion yields a number of benefits including lowering levels of anxiety and depression, raising self-esteem and building better body image. What's not to like? So if you're feeling skeptical about self-compassion but interested to dip your toe into the water, this episode is one for you. It references work by Kristen Neff, Paul Gilbert and Ken Goss. I hope that you find it helpful.

Today, I’m talking to Jake Biggs, a nutritional medicine practitioner, nutrition coach and corporate nutrition speaker from Sydney, Australia. Jake developed severe anorexia nervosa at 14 years old, and then over 13 years, he experienced 20 hospitalisations and borderline fatal death. Throughout this time in his life, he encountered first-hand, the devastating impact of anorexia nervosa on his mental and physical health and what happens, when the human body is deprived of quality nutrition. Jake describes his previous relationship with food as ‘abysmal’. Jake had a turning point in his recovery, being exhausted with the never-ending cycle of hospitalisations, he decided to focus on moving away from the illness, and towards different goals and dreams. Exposure therapy – which he will be talking about more in this episode, was an integral part of this. If this didn’t all seem enough to contend with, Jake then developed a Grade 3 Frontal Lobe Astrocytoma brain tumour. This required an urgent brain operation and subsequent radiotherapy treatment, where he lost all his hair and had extremely poor energy, mental clarity and tiredness. After this, Jake’s career goal was to educate himself on using nutrition as medicine for the human body. Despite suffering from multiple seizures, he soldiered on and completed a Bachelor of Health Science (Nutrition & Dietetic Medicine degree) in September 2021 graduating with DUX Honours. It is now Jake’s life mission to assist individuals to restore, rebalance and reinvigorate their health by using evidence-based medicine principles for long term longevity.   This is a truly inspiring conversation and demonstrates the hope and possibility for recovery for anyone who has experienced an eating disorder or other health condition. I hope that you enjoy the conversation. To find out more about Jake: - Website: https://nutritionlongevity.wixsite.com/yourhealth Facebook and Instagram: @nutritionlongevity

Under eating, dieting, restrictive eating - they have a huge impact on mood, thoughts, behaviours and the physical body. Although, these symptoms might be more pronounced in someone who is underweight, they will be experienced by people of all shapes, sizes and weights. If you're in the habit of under eating, you may have become accustomed to the symptoms and almost see them as 'normal'. However, your life will be impacted significantly - and probably not for the best. I've recorded this to help increase your awareness and motivation for change. It's not about 'beating yourself up' for what you're doing. You are likely doing the best you can right now. Grab a pen and notebook and see which symptoms you relate to most and see if there are any surprises. I hope that enjoy the episode!

Today, I have another returning guest and I’m talking to Anne Richardson, a Registered Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. Anne is returning for her third conversation to The Eating Disorder Therapist Podcast. She supports people in recovery from eating disorders and helps them to learn to eat again. Anne grew up in France, in a culture, where thinness was a normality. In a previous episode on this podcast, she talks about her own recovery from anorexia nervosa in her teens; her thoughts on French women and slenderness; eating disorders in men; wellness culture and the many myths around nutrition. Do check out the episode linked below. And in Anne's last conversation here, she talked about Healthy Week in schools and the problems with this, around the messages we are passing on to our children. Do check this episode too, also linked below. Today, Anne is back and is going to be talking about Mindful Eating and Intuitive Eating, and why they are not always the most helpful approach in eating disorder recovery, particularly when recovering from anorexia nervosa. Anne has a unique approach to working, using stories and metaphors in her practice to help communicate complex principles. There's lots of wisdom, tips and information packed into this episode. I hope that you enjoy it. To find out more about Anne: - Instagram: @crunchnutrition Website: crunchnutrition.co.uk FB: @cruncnutritionexeter Previous episodes featuring Anne on this podcast: - Eating Disorder Recovery and Busting Nutritional Myths https://harrietfrew.podbean.com/e/eating-disorder-recovery-and-busting-nutritional-myths-with-anne-richardson/ Is Sugar the Enemy and Healthy Week in Schools https://harrietfrew.podbean.com/e/is-sugar-the-enemy-anne-richardson-explores-healthy-week-in-schools/  

Today I’m talking to Jacqueline Davis, the Binge Breakers Podcast Host, Bulimia Recovery Coach, artist, and loving dog mum. After recovering from bulimia by focusing on habit and mindset change, she now helps others to do the same through her ground-breaking support programmes. Prior to having bulimia, Jacqueline struggled with disordered eating for several years and food and exercise consumed her life; this later developed into bulimia, leaving Jacqueline in a very dark and lonely place. If you want to hear Jacqueline’s recovery story, she has been a previous guest on this podcast back in early September 2021. It is one of the most popular episodes and here is the link: - https://harrietfrew.podbean.com/e/bulimia-recovery-breaking-habits-and-healing-with-jacqueline-davis/ Today, Jacqueline is back and she is going to explore how purging in bulimia can keep you stuck; (because we know that it’s a behaviour that triggers and perpetuates disordered eating cycles but also feels scary to let go of) AND she’s going to talk all about decision making in bulimia recovery. Because doesn’t it sometimes feel that you just don’t have a choice? Jacqueline is passionate about interrupting habits and changing thoughts to create an empowering, recovery mindset. I’m excited to share this episode with you and I know that there will be be lots of powerful takeaways from this. I hope that you enjoy the conversation. To find out more about Jacqueline: (Binge Breakers Bulimia) Podcast: https://www.bingebreakers.com/podcast Website: https://www.bingebreakers.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bingebreakers_bulimia/     

Ambivalence about change in eating disorder recovery! It's a normal part of the process and in fact quite unusual, if someone doesn't have this inner conflict going on.  It can be incredibly frustrating to experience this, if you are struggling with an eating disorder and also for those around you. So, a part of you might be absolutely fed up with the eating problem. Maybe it's preoccupying your time, leaving you exhausted, you can’t go out socially, your moods are all over the place and it’s robbing you of a fulfilling life BUT – whilst all this may be one hundred percent true, there’s another part of you that extremely apprehensive about letting the eating disorder go. This can be for a multitude of reasons – many of these are not obvious to begin with. Because ultimately,  disordered eating is a coping strategy.  In this episode, I’m going to talk about the three main barriers to change in recovery and how to go about addressing these, so you move beyond the illness, towards health.

Today I’m speaking to Amber Romaniuk, an Emotional Eating, Digestive and Hormone Expert who helps professional women achieve optimal health through mindful eating, self-care and overcoming self-sabotage with food. Her podcast “The No Sugarcoating Podcast” has a million downloads, over 300 episodes and is listened to, in over 88 countries. She was featured on TV Personality Whitney Port’s podcast and has also appeared on local TV 50 times in the last three years alone. Go AMBER! Amber overcame her own emotional eating, after gaining and losing more than 1000 lbs and spending over $50,000 on binge foods and spending 5 years balancing her hormones and digestion. Now she helps others achieve Body Freedom™ so they have the confidence and health to create amazing lives. In this episode, we are going to explore the highs and lows of Amber’s journey in fully healing her own relationship with food and overcoming emotional eating, to reaching the point where she is experiencing the food freedom she has today. Amber shares about the dietary changes she made on the healing journey, so healing the gut, balancing hormones and eliminating food cravings. We explore our different therapeutic approaches and the importance of tailoring support to each individual client. Amber discusses the seduction of the weight loss journey and the impact on wellbeing, and how getting hooked on a weight loss journey can fulfill a perfectionist obsession, where it is extremely hard to win or feel good enough. She will also reflect on the importance of self-care in the healing journey, through prioritising your own needs and setting firm boundaries in place. There’s so much valuable content here. I hope that you enjoy the conversation. To find out more about Amber: - Website: https://amberapproved.ca/ The No Sugarcoating Podcast: https://amberapproved.ca/podcast/ Instagram: @amberromaniuk

The impetus for creating this episode came from one of my lovely listeners. She talked about only ever feeling comfortable, worthy of romantic attention or able to be intimate, whilst having an eating disorder and actively losing weight. A large motivator for the eating disorder was to feel pretty or worthy of male attention. Although my listener has made huge recovery strides in many areas, this is still an area of vulnerability, with a strong fear of being rejected based on her body. She’s looking for some thoughts on re-entering the dating scene when being in recovery, especially when this involves weight gain. In this episode, I am going to explore 5 different ways to look at this – reflecting your attachment style, early influences at home with dieting and body image;  the whole thing about external validation and how seductive this can be; then moving towards actively improving body image as you go out into the world but most importantly creating your own identity and solid sense of self-worth. I hope that you enjoy the episode.