The Full of Beans Podcast

This week on the Full of Beans podcast, Han is joined by Jessica Parker and Gemma Fieldsend, co-founders of Cog-Spark, a mental health training and consultancy organisation with more than 40 years of combined experience across mental health, psychology, education and research.
Gemma brings extensive clinical experience from senior roles within the NHS, higher education and specialist mental health services, while Jessica's background is in psychology, education and doctoral research focused on eating disorder prevention and early identification.
Together, they combine frontline and clinical experience with research to deliver evidence-based, practical training to schools, universities, workplaces and community organisations. As pupils head back to school, this episode focuses on helping educators and parents recognise and respond to eating disorders in school-aged children.
In this week's episode, we discuss:
Why eating disorders don't have a "look," and can affect any child regardless of background, age or gender
Early warning signs of eating disorders in school-aged children, beyond weight
Recognising ARFID and sensory eating difficulties in schools
How perfectionism and high achievement can mask an eating disorder in children
How to talk to a child when concerned about an eating disorder
Practical strategies for schools to support children with eating disorders
How to talk to parents about a suspected eating disorder in their child
Removing blame and shame from eating disorder conversations with families
Why joined-up support between schools and families improves eating disorder recovery in children
⚠️ Content note: this episode discusses eating disorders, disordered eating, and supporting children and young people. Please take care while listening.
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This week on the Full of Beans podcast, Han is joined by Ruby Phelan and Margherita Barbieri to talk about their new film, The Last Pancake. Ruby is a multi-award-winning filmmaker, activist and illustrator who wrote and directed the film, and previously worked as a director's assistant on Netflix's The Crown after her acclaimed short The Mermaid & the Artist. Margherita is a British-Italian actor and producer, best known for starring as Simone in Spellbound for ITV and Hulu, and leads as Amanda in the film. The Last Pancake is a magical-realist drama in which Amanda ventures to the titular cafe, awakens her suppressed appetite, and finds herself reunited with her nine-year-old self. The film is independently produced by Ethan McDowell of AnyOther Productions, with support from mental health organisation Voices with Impact, and also stars Lia Williams (The Capture, The Day of the Jackal) as Martha and introduces Luana Souza Rodrigues as Little Amanda.
In This Episode:
The story behind The Last Pancake and depicting recovery's fear and bravery
Reconnecting with your inner child in eating disorder recovery
The neurodivergent overlap with eating disorders
The subtle details in the film that spoke so directly to the eating disorder experience
Why "shedding" relationships is one of recovery's hardest, least talked about parts in recovery
The quiet power of simply being there for someone, without needing to fix anything
Redirecting determination and drive from disordered eating into something life-affirming
Using storytelling to open conversations that are hard to put into words
⚠️ Content note: this episode discusses eating disorders, disordered eating, and recovery. Please take care while listening.
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Connect with the team:The Last Pancake on Instagram (@thelastpancakefilm)
Writer & Director - Ruby Phelan - @ruby_phelan
Amanda - Margherita Barbieri - @alwaysmargi
Producer - Ethan McDowell - @ethansmcdowell
Production Company - AnyOther. Productions - @anyother.productions
Follow Ruby and Margi's recovery community, @play.brave, on TikTok

This week on the Full of Beans podcast, Han is joined by Sophie du Plessis, a final-year Master of Nursing student in Adult and Mental Health Nursing at King's College London and founder of ED Informed.
Sophie previously studied psychology at the University of Toronto, where she capped off a 15-year career as a national-level swimmer, co-captaining the varsity women's team to a second-place finish at Canadian Nationals.
Drawing on her background in competitive sport and her own lived experience of an eating disorder, Sophie set up ED Informed, a campaign calling on gyms and fitness spaces to become eating disorder informed.
She's currently working with Beat to develop accredited training for fitness staff to help them recognise and signpost people at risk of disordered eating and compulsive exercise, alongside piloting screening measures at the King's College London campus gym.
In This Episode:
Sophie's journey from competitive swimming to compulsive exercise and eating disorder
Spotting the difference between healthy training and compulsive exercise
Why disordered exercise can sneak in quietly, unnoticed
Discipline vs wellness culture vs compulsive exercise
Signs gym staff can look out for in clients
Sophie's work piloting eating disorder awareness training for gyms
Rebuilding a healthy relationship with exercise after an eating disorder
Sophie's vision for ED Informed and eating disorder-informed gyms
⚠️ Content note: this episode discusses eating disorders, compulsive exercise, and body image. Please take care while listening.
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Connect with Sophie and ED Informed via her website or Instagram (@edinformed)
Health policy petition: https://www.change.org/EDInformed_HealthPolicy

This week on the Full of Beans podcast, Han is joined by Dr Stella Kozmér, an NIHR SPCR-funded Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Exeter, a Researcher at the University of Oxford, and an incoming Trainee Clinical Psychologist at the University of Oxford. Coming from an Eastern European background, Stella's research focuses on the identification and management of binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa in primary care settings, using mixed-methods research to inform NHS clinical guidelines, policy and practice. Her work is driven by her own lived experience, which she integrates into the core of what she does.
In This Episode:
Stella's personal and professional journey into binge eating disorder research
How Stella felt in recognising BED after a decade of not having a name for it
Why Stella felt stigma and shame disclosing her mental health issues in healthcare
Why lived experience is a strength in research, not a bias to hide
Why primary care screening tools for binge eating disorder and bulimia fall short
The problem with SCOFF and other outdated eating disorder screening criteria
How weight stigma affects whether binge eating disorder gets identified at all
Why GPs are hesitant to talk about BED without services to refer patients to
The real-world cost of untreated binge eating disorder and its comorbidities
How to use the diabetes care model as a blueprint without more funding
A review of GLP-1 medications for binge eating disorder
What the GLP-1 evidence does and doesn't tell us, and the misuse risks to consider
Why treatment for binge eating disorder must be personalised, not one-size-fits-all
⚠️ Content note: this episode discusses eating disorders (including binge eating disorder and bulimia), disordered eating, weight stigma, obesity, and prescription medication. Please take care while listening.
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Connect with Dr Stella Kozmér: via LinkedIn
Read Stella's research via Research Gate

This week on the Full of Beans podcast, Han is joined by Elle Mace, a food psychology and body image practitioner, international speaker and debut author of Food Freedom, published by Vermilion/Penguin later this year. Elle brings together years of clinical training with her own lived experience to help people find a calmer, more peaceful relationship with food.
Alongside her one-to-one and speaking work, Elle hosts the More to Life podcast. She delivers accredited training for fitness and sports professionals on body image, disordered eating and GLP-1 medications. Elle's approach is simple: food freedom is psychological, and everyone deserves the understanding and support to get there.
In this episode, we explore:
Elle's journey to writing Food Freedom and putting her disordered eating experience into words
Why awareness is the hardest, and most essential, first step in recovery
How toxic wellness culture can disguise itself as something healthy
Elle's experience of body dysmorphia and how it showed up beyond just weight and shape
Elle's shift between different eating disorders over the years, and why none of them ever really "ended" on their own
The rock-bottom moment that led Elle to ask for help
What eating disorder recovery actually looked like for Elle
Why relationships, jobs and old patterns sometimes have to shift as part of getting well
Protecting your energy in recovery, and why that isn't the same as being selfish
Why hearing relatable, lived experiences can land differently to clinical information
Connect with Us:
Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast
Follow Full of Beans on Instagram
Check out our website
Listen on YouTube
Connect with Elle via Instagram (@iamellemace), LinkedIn or via her website www.ellemace.com
⚠️ Content Note: This episode discusses eating disorders (including restriction, binge eating and bulimia), body dysmorphia, and body dissatisfaction. Please take care while listening.