The Full of Beans Podcast

Have you ever thought you've spent too long ill with an eating disorder, that there's just no way you can recover from an eating disorder? If that's you, this episode is for you.
This week on the Full of Beans Podcast, I'm joined by Andrea Stroud, mum to Joshua, Jacob and Tommy who has lived with anorexia, in secret, for over 40 years. Andrea hopes that by sharing her story and the reality of living with an eating disorder and its impact on family life, she can give others hope that it’s never too late to recover.
We also talk about years of missed red flags from medical professionals, the moment Andrea said "I am actually quite unwell," and what has made eating disorder recovery feel different this time around.
In this episode, we explore:
How growing up in a weight-focused family left Andrea feeling different from everyone around her
How gymnastics, dance and athletics brought an early focus on appearance and comparison
The missed red flags across years of medical appointments, from gynaecology to gastroenterology
How dismissal by healthcare professionals reinforced the belief of not being sick enough
The study day that finally gave Andrea permission to say she was actually quite unwell
How Andrea opened up to her son Josh after 40 years of silent struggles
Going back into treatment, and why this time felt different
Why rigid meal plans can work against the very thing eating disorder recovery needs
What mental hunger is and how it can be misunderstood in treatment
Opposite actions as a practical tool for challenging eating disorder thoughts
Why food is about more than fuel, it is connection, presence and belonging
Why Andrea's word for long-term anorexia recovery is connection
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 Andrea on Instagram (@andreainrecovery), as well as her son Joshua (@joshuahillsnutrition)
⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of eating disorders, anorexia and disordered eating. Please look after yourself as you listen.
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share to help us spread awareness.
Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛

Have you ever felt like you’re constantly trying to "fit into a box" that just wasn't made for you?
This week on the Full of Beans Podcast, Han is joined by Dr. Lauren Lovegood, a psychologist who specialises in the intersection of Eating Disorders, Neurodiversity (ADHD/Autism), and the LGBTQ+ community.
We talk about the "internal sense of difference" that so many of us feel growing up and how, sometimes, an eating disorder can sneak in as a way to find control, "mask" our true selves, or even seek out that much-needed dopamine.
In this episode, we explore:
The Treatment Spectrum: Why anorexia is actually a much smaller piece of the ED puzzle than society thinks.
Identity & Belonging: The unique challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community and how gender-affirming care can coexist with a healthy body image.
The Neurodivergent Brain: Why "Executive Function" makes university transitions so tricky and why your "fidgety brain" might be driving your food behaviours.
Gender Affirming Care: We discuss the desire to align our physical bodies with our internal identity.
The Glorification of Weight Loss: Exploring the challenges of restrictive behaviours in the queer community to cause a more "feminine" or "masculine" look.
Identity Roles & Stereotypes: How to find where we belong without fuelling obsession with our appearance.
ARFID & Sensory Safety: Understanding why "beige foods" feel safe and how to branch out without the fear and force gently.
The Low Self-Esteem Trap: How external pressure to be "disciplined" can fuel the eating disorder voice.
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 Lauren via her website
⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of eating disorders, body image, neurodiversity, gender and sexuality. Please look after yourself as you listen.
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share to help us spread awareness.
Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛

We often view exercise as the "golden ticket" for mental health, but for those navigating eating disorders, the line between movement and compulsion is incredibly thin.
In this week’s episode of Full of Beans, Han is joined by Dr. Amit Mistry, a Consultant Sports Psychiatrist at the Nightingale Hospital. Amit brings a unique dual perspective to the table, advocating for the robust mental health benefits of physical activity while managing the high-stakes clinical risks of over-exercise in inpatient eating disorder settings.
We explore why exercise shouldn't be a "black or white" conversation and how we can reintroduce movement without falling back into the trap of rigidity.
In this episode, we talk about:
The Biopsychosocial Model: How sport serves as "fertiliser for the brain" while providing self-mastery and social connection.
The Social Media Myth: Why we need to challenge the "exercise is all you need" narrative and replace it with a multi-pronged approach to mental health.
Inpatient Realities: The difficult balance of prioritising physical stability (cardiovascular status and refeeding) while introducing social exercises like yoga or swimming.
Exercise as a Spectrum: Identifying when recreational movement crosses the line into a systemic, "drug-like" addiction that impacts bone health and fertility.
Red-S vs. Depression: The clinical challenge of distinguishing between relative energy deficiency in sport and primary low mood.
The "Elite" Trap: Why 99% of us aren't elite athletes and shouldn't be following the regimented, high-intake/high-output diets we see in our feeds.
Diagnostic Switching: Understanding the shift into Orthorexia and why being "high functioning" doesn't mean you aren't in distress.
Something that really stayed with me from this conversation was the idea of Identity vs. Performance. When we strip away the sports and the training, who are we? Recovery isn't about stopping forever; it’s about regaining the autonomy to choose rest without guilt.
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 Dr Amit on Instagram (@dramistrypsych)
⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of eating disorders, anxiety, restrictive eating and medical trauma. Please look after yourself as you listen.
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share to help us spread awareness.
Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛
Thank you to Nightingale Hospital for sponsoring Full of Beans.

Anecdotally, we know there is a correlation between eating disorders and suicide, yet until now, there has been no published research to show that.
This week on the Full of Beans Podcast, Han is joined by Dr Una Foye, a Research Fellow at King's College London, who is leading the qualitative arm of an MQ-funded study exploring why people with eating disorders are at higher risk of suicide and self-harm.
We talk about the groundbreaking, and long overdue, research that finally puts lived experience voices at the centre of this conversation, why the data has always been harder to read than it should be, and what the findings mean for the way we think about treatment, recovery, and care.
In this episode, we explore:
The research gap: Why there has been almost no qualitative work asking people with lived experience about the link between eating disorders and suicidality, until now.
The hidden statistics: Why deaths connected to eating disorders and suicide are so often recorded under other causes, and what stigma and the historic criminalisation of suicide have to do with it.
The complexity of risk: How the eating disorder itself, identity loss, social isolation, and the function it serves can increase suicidal thoughts.
Recovery as a risky period: How the removal of support at the point of weight restoration can leave people more vulnerable, not less.
Intersectionality and invisibility: How being male, from a minoritised ethnic background, living in a larger body, or being autistic or neurodivergent can compound the risk, and the silence.
Siloed services: Why being told "you can't be treated here if you're also self-harming" misses the point entirely, and what holistic, joined-up care could look like instead.
Asking the question: Why clinicians are often frightened to ask about suicidality, and why not asking is far more dangerous than asking.
Hope in small things: The realisation that support doesn't need to be dramatic - but simple changes and communication can help.
Lived experience at the centre: Why Una is so passionate about lived experience and how it is the thing which shapes everything she does.
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 Una via the KCL website
⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of eating disorders, self-harm and suicide. Please look after yourself as you listen.
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share to help us spread awareness.
Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛

In this week’s episode of Full of Beans, I’m joined by Dr Jessica Eccles, an award-winning researcher and neurodevelopmental psychiatrist specialising in the links between brain and body, particularly as they relate to hypermobility.
Jessica is an Associate Professor in Brain-Body Medicine at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. Also, she works in the Sussex NHS Neurodevelopmental Service, where she and colleagues have set up the world’s first Neurodivergent Brain Body Clinic. She has been exploring the intersection between hypermobility, neurodivergence, and mental health since 2009, and is passionate about challenging stereotypes and encouraging curiosity.
In this episode, we discuss:
What hypermobility actually is, and why it is about more than being “bendy”
The links between ADHD, autism, hypermobility, anxiety, and eating disorders
How gut issues, autonomic dysfunction, and interoception may play a role
Why body sensations can sometimes be misread as anxiety
The connection between proprioception, body awareness, and emotion regulation
Why neurodivergent people may be more vulnerable to restrictive eating patterns
The importance of looking at the full picture, rather than separating the brain and body
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 Jessica via her LinkTree
⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of eating disorders, anxiety, restrictive eating and medical trauma. Please look after yourself as you listen.
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share to help us spread awareness.
Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛