TLDR: Recovering from an eating disorder
It means listening to hunger and fullness cues, eating without fear or guilt, and seeing food as care, fuel, and nourishment rather than something to control.
Start noticing unhelpful thoughts and gently challenge them by asking whether they’re kind, helpful, or something you’d say to a friend.
Rigid rules increase stress and disconnection from your body, while flexibility supports balance, energy, mood, and long-term recovery.
Limit exposure to diet culture, avoid comparison-based content, and step back from anything that makes you feel worse about yourself.
Setbacks don’t erase progress — recovery isn’t linear, and reaching out for support, reconnecting with your reasons for healing, and celebrating small wins all matter.
When you’re living with an eating disorder, it can feel like it’s taken over your whole life — your thoughts, your routines, even how you see yourself. But no matter how long you’ve been struggling, recovery is possible. The Mix chats to JenUp to help you navigate the winding road ahead...
Jenup is a non-profit organisation specialising in the early intervention and prevention of eating disorders and body image issues within young people.
How to rebuild a healthy relationship with food
Recovery means listening to your internal hunger and fullness cues and honouring them, and understanding that eating is an act of self-care, and it shows you’re taking care of your body. I remember when I was in recovery, I always used to write down my recovery goals and review them on a regular basis and say to myself “freedom is not a struggle”!
Hunger is something that you shouldn’t be afraid of. It’s a biological signal that your brain is telling you that it needs fuel, and that is completely normal.
Give yourself full permission to eat.
No food is “good” or “bad.” All foods has a place in recovery. Feeling full is not a sign you’ve done something wrong; it’s a sign your body is being cared for and nourished.
Instead of only thinking about calories or control, ask yourself:
- Does this food satisfy me?
- Give me energy?
- Bring me joy or comfort?
When we stop obsessing over numbers, we make space for flexibility, intuition, and balance. A healthy relationship with food means eating without fear, guilt, or rules.
Eating regular meals and snacks throughout the day (rather than skipping or restricting) helps regulate hunger, energy, and mood. Your body functions best when it knows it will be fed.
How to shift thought patterns
Start to identify unhelpful thought patterns and challenge disordered beliefs, for example: “Would I say this to a friend” or “How is this helping me”?.
Practice self-compassion as self-criticism fuels eating disorder behaviours, replace those words with kindness, and nutrition knowledge.
Replace rules with flexibility
“I can’t eat carbs” - “Carbs give me energy and cutting them out lowers my mood and energy, which then affects my daily activities”.
“Missing a meal is a great solution for weight loss” - Skipping meals makes cravings more intense, and therefore binges more likely. Not retaining a regular eating schedule also can lead to blood sugar imbalances, which can in turn cause weight gain, tiredness, fatigue, and bloating.
“If I indulge, then I’ve taken a step backwards” - Remember that one pizza cannot undo a generally healthy routine, and that it is physically impossible to gain pounds overnight from one food. Give yourself a break, and set realistic goals, that allow for the odd treat.
“I can’t stop calorie counting” - Eating well is about balance, variety, and making sure your body gets the energy it needs to function properly.
Instead of focusing on numbers, focus on how you feel, how much energy you have, and making food choices that support a strong healthy body.
“I’m scared of weight gain” – Set point weight is the natural weight range your body tries to maintain when it feels safe, nourished, and balanced. It’s like your body’s internal “thermostat.” In recovery, your body works hard to restore balance (homeostasis) after restriction or stress. That might mean weight changes as it heals.
Honouring your set point isn’t about control, it’s about trust. Your body isn’t failing. It’s finding its way back to safety.
Setting boundaries with triggers
Curate your feed
Unfollow accounts that promote diet culture, body comparisons, or unrealistic ideals. Follow recovery-focused, body-positive, or neutral accounts instead.
Set time limits
Use screen time controls or app limits to reduce mindless scrolling and exposure to triggering content.
Avoid “What I Eat in a Day” videos
These are often unhelpful and promote comparison. Your body’s needs are unique! No one person is the same.
Follow your feelings
If a post makes you feel worse about yourself, take a break and remind yourself it’s okay to step back.
Coping with Relapses and Setbacks
Understanding that recovery is not a straight road, and sometimes there may be a few bumps along the way, but that is completely normal.
Don’t panic, you haven’t failed
Relapse doesn’t mean you’re back at square one. It’s a signal, not a setback. Recovery is non-linear, and healing takes time.
Reach out for support
Speak to your therapist, or a support group, recovery coach, or trusted friend. You do not have to face it alone.
Reconnect with your “Why”
Remind yourself why you started recovery. Was it freedom? Energy? Connection? Write it down.
Challenge the ED voice
Notice any thoughts like “I’ll never get better” and actively question them. That voice is part of the disorder, it’s not you.
Celebrate small wins
Even small efforts (e.g. eating one challenging food, showing up to a meal, or reaching out for help) are huge acts of recovery.
Focus on what you've gained beyond weight
Think about the freedom, energy, social life, mental clarity, or joy you’ve reclaimed. Recovery is about so much more than your appearance.
Be patient with body acceptance
You don’t have to love your body right away. Start with respect, care, and kindness. Acceptance will grow with time and trust. Focus on what your body does for you on a daily basis rather than the appearance. E.g. I am grateful I have legs to walk, run or play sports.
Life beyond the eating disorder can be scary, because you start to wonder “Who am I without my eating disorder?”. I know this may seem scary at first, but there is no limit to what is possible for you!
Remember freedom is not a struggle!
Sam's recovery story
Sam, 18, shares her experiences recovering from an eating disorder.
It felt like I was stuck in one place - no matter who was around me, it felt physically impossible to move forward, to take that first step to recovery.
I was scared people would see me differently, they'd think I wasn't ‘sick enough’, as that's what had been implied by a previous therapist, or that I would recover the ‘correct’ way. But eventually, something clicked, a close friend that I had only met a few months prior, and had only known me whilst i was stuck, called me, told me they missed me and wished I was better, and it all fell into place.
I finally took that first step, I started small, and after I realised that people wouldn't see me differently, and that I could recover without being scared of it not being ‘perfect’ I felt braver, I tried other foods, I challenged myself more, figured out how to work my way up to something I want to try.
Recovery will never be perfect, there will be bad days and good days, and I'm learning to work in little bits, not to overwhelm myself, not to think about what others may so or do instead- it's my recovery, not theirs.
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