The Full of Beans Podcast

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.
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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:
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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:
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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 💛

In this week's episode of Full of Beans, we are joined by Dr. Hannah Lewis, a Postdoctoral Researcher at Queen Mary University of London. Hannah’s work sits at the vital intersection of eating disorder prevention and school-based body image interventions.
We step inside the halls of Westminster to discuss a recent Eating Disorder & Education Roundtable convened by the APPG on Eating Disorders and the Dump the Scales campaign.
Key Discussion Points
Inside Parliament: What actually happens at an APPG roundtable? We break down the meeting between researchers, MPs, and stakeholders to push for better school resources.
The Evidence is Ready: We have over 20 years of research supporting cognitive dissonance-based interventions (such as the Body Project), yet they are still not standard in the UK curriculum.
What the Science Says: A look at why "media literacy" alone isn’t enough to prevent eating disorders and why we need more active, group-based challenges to appearance ideals.
Prevention vs. Treatment: Clarifying that prevention isn't about asking teachers to "treat" disorders; it’s about addressing risk factors like body dissatisfaction, perfectionism, and appearance anxiety.
The 2017 Training Gap: Why a major hurdle remains the lack of specific body image and eating disorder training for Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) during their qualification.
The "Sick Enough" Threshold: Discussing how clinical barriers are moving into schools, often preventing young people from getting help until they reach a crisis point.
Diversity & Intersectionality: Why "standard" interventions can fail marginalised groups. We discuss the Brown is Beautiful project and the need to adapt the Body Project for South Asian girls.
Current School Programmes: Routine weighing in PE lessons, calorie counting as a maths exercise, the policing of "high sugary foods" in lunchboxes and weight loss adverts at school are policies we can change.
Neurodiversity & ARFID: Acknowledging that not all eating disorders are driven by body image. We explore the link between Autism, ADHD, and sensory-based eating struggles.
The Future: Moving toward an open letter to Parliament and ensuring the outcome of these discussions leads to tangible policy action.
Connect with Us:
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Follow The Brown is Beautiful Project on Instagram (@thebrownisbeautifulproject)
⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of eating disorder prevention, body dissatisfaction, and mental health policy. 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 Joshua Hills, a nutritionist, sports therapist, and author of You Can Eat That, whose work challenges diet culture and helps people feel calmer, more flexible, and more themselves around food.
Joshua shares how growing up alongside his mum’s experience of anorexia shaped the way he understands food, connection, and recovery.
In this episode, we discuss:
Joshua’s experience of growing up with a parent with anorexia
How his mum’s relationship with food shaped his interest in nutrition
Why food is about more than nutrients, and also about connection and enjoyment
The difference between helpful nutrition habits and more disordered patterns
Why the same behaviour can feel supportive for one person, but unhelpful for another
Emotional eating, and why it is not always something to fear
Building an “emotional toolbox” rather than relying on one coping strategy
How to start making changes around food without going all-or-nothing
Why balance looks different for everyone
Joshua’s new book, You Can Eat That
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 Joshua via Instagram or email [email protected]
⚠️ 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 💛