Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating
How much of your day does thinking about food take up?
The planning. The counting. The negotiating with yourself before a meal and the guilt that follows it. When food fills that much space, there isn’t much room left for anything else in your life.
Does any of this sound familiar?
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You eat as little as you can get away with, and feel safer or more in control when you do so
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You skip meals, cut out whole food groups, or have a list of foods you won’t allow yourself
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You restrict all day, then binge in the evening and promise yourself tomorrow will be different
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You eat in secret, or eat past the point of fullness and feel ashamed afterwards
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You turn to food when you’re stressed, tired, lonely or bored, and it helps for a while, but never fixes what’s underneath
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You exercise to earn food or to cancel it out, and feel anxious on the days you can’t
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You sort foods into good and bad, and judge yourself by which ones you ate
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You’ve been on a diet of some kind for as long as you can remember
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You dislike your body, and it stops you doing things you’d otherwise enjoy
You don’t need a diagnosis, or to fit a certain picture, to ask for help. Many of the people I work with have spent years dieting, used food to cope, or felt at war with food.
I also work with diagnosed eating disorders, including anorexia, atypical anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder.
Eating disorders don’t have a look.
Restriction happens in bodies of every size, including normal and larger bodies. Atypical anorexia carries the same physical and psychological risks as anorexia, even when your weight sits in the “normal” range or above. If you’ve been told you look fine, or praised for losing weight while you were struggling, your concerns still count.
Eating disorders in midlife
Many of the women I see are in their 40s and 50s. For some it’s the first time. For others it’s an old pattern returning. Perimenopause can unsettle appetite, shape, sleep and mood, and the old food rules start getting louder. Recovery at this stage needs someone who understands your hormones and your history with food.
Emotional eating
Food is comfort, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It becomes a problem when it’s the only tool you have. If you reach for food to cope with stress, sadness or exhaustion, and then punish yourself for it, the cycle feeds itself.
We’ll look at what sits underneath the eating and build other ways to cope, without banning the foods that comfort you. Banning them makes them more powerful. When you allow yourself to eat them regularly, in amounts that satisfy you, they lose their pull. Chocolate becomes something you enjoy, not something you think about all day.
Weight loss medications (including GLP-1 injections)
Weight loss medications such as Mounjaro and Wegovy can quieten food noise, but they don’t change your beliefs about food or your body. Some people find that eating very little starts to feel normal, and eating more starts to feel frightening.
If you’re using them now, I can help you manage side effects like nausea, reflux, constipation and low appetite, and make sure you’re eating enough to support your body. We can also use this time to work on your relationship with food and your body and protect your muscle and bone so the changes last beyond the medication.
If you’ve come off them, you may have noticed things have shifted. Appetite returns, food thoughts get louder, and weight changes can feel frightening. I’ll help you work through that fear without turning to another diet.
If an eating disorder came first, and the injections have become part of it, I’ll support you with the same care, alongside your prescriber and therapist.
My training and approach
I trained for four years at the Institute for Optimum Nutrition (ION), graduating with a Distinction, and hold the Excellence in Practitioner Skills for Eating Disorders qualification from the National Centre for Eating Disorders (NCFED), whose approach combines nutritional and psychological care. I work as part of a multidisciplinary team alongside your GP, doctors and therapists. I recommend every client work with an eating disorder trained psychotherapist, counsellor or psychologist alongside our sessions, and I can help you find one.
What healthy eating looks like
Healthy eating isn’t cottage cheese and crackers. A diet built on “safe” foods keeps the fear in place, and it isn’t a recovery diet. Healthy eating includes enough food, regular meals, and variety. It includes cake at a birthday and pizza on a night out. No single food makes you healthy or unhealthy, and no food is good or bad.
What we’ll work on
We’ll look at the beliefs you hold about food, where they came from, and whether they still serve you. Many were learned over years of dieting, which means they can also be unlearned. Challenging old food rules and changing long-held beliefs can bring up anxiety. I use psychological tools to help you manage that anxiety, so you can try new foods and new ways of eating without feeling overwhelmed. We’ll also work on rebuilding regular eating, reconnecting with hunger and fullness, and supporting your body as it repairs.
What to expect
Recovery takes time, and it doesn’t move in a straight upward line. There will be good weeks and hard weeks, and both are part of the process. This is a joint process from the first session. Rather than handing you a rigid plan, I walk alongside you, and we make decisions together at a pace that feels right for you.
Getting started
Book a free discovery call and tell me where things are for you. No pressure, no judgement.
If you are unwell or worried about your physical health, please speak to your GP first.
This 12-week package includes:
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60 minute Initial Consultation
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11 x 40 minute weekly sessions
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A thorough assessment of your health, eating history, symptoms, medical history and family background
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Explanation of how your eating patterns may be affecting your physical and emotional health
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Psychological tools to help you manage the anxiety of changing your eating
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Support to challenge food rules and rebuild regular, flexible eating at your own pace
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Messaging between appointments for support when things feel difficult, I understand the food chatter doesn’t work to a weekly schedule
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Weekly feedback on your eating, focused on patterns and progress, never judgement
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Liaison with your GP and therapist as part of your support team
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Health coaching tools
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Personalised supplement advice (cost of supplements not included)
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Clinical testing recommendations (if appropriate)
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Analysis of current medication and nutrient interactions (if applicable)
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10% discount on supplements
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Resources to support you between sessions
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Includes additional time spent preparing for your sessions
Three monthly payments of £380
After 12 weeks, you can continue in four-week blocks at £380.
FAQs
Do I need a diagnosis to work with you?
No. Many of my clients have never had a diagnosis. If food takes up more of your life than you’d like, that’s reason enough to get in touch.
How long does recovery take?
It’s different for everyone. If you’ve been dieting, restricting or using food for emotional support for many years, those habits and behaviours run deep. They didn’t appear overnight, and they won’t disappear overnight either.
I’d love to tell you we can undo years of disordered eating in three months. In my experience, it takes longer. Three months is the minimum, as it gives us time to build the foundations and see real change. Most clients choose to continue beyond that, in four-week blocks, until they feel confident on their own.
How does the package work?
We start with a three-month package. After that, you can continue in four-week blocks at £380, for as long as you need support.
Can I pay week by week?
No. Recovery needs consistent support, and a lot of my work happens between sessions, preparing for the weeks ahead. A three-month commitment gives us the time and continuity to make progress, rather than starting over each week.
Do I have to see a therapist as well?
I may recommend that you do, eating disorders affect both the body and the mind, and recovery works best when both get specialist support. If you don’t have a therapist yet, I can help you find one with eating disorder training. At the very least, I need to work alongside your GP, so your physical health is monitored throughout.
Why are the weekly sessions longer than in your other packages?
Eating disorder recovery needs time and space. Each session has room to talk through how the week went, work through difficult moments, and plan the next steps, without either of us watching the clock. The extra ten minutes means you never feel rushed, and you get the level of support this work needs.
Will I have to eat foods I’m scared of?
Not before you’re ready. We’ll work at your pace, and I’ll help you manage the anxiety that comes with trying new foods. Nothing changes without your agreement.
I’m in a larger body. Can I still have an eating disorder?
Yes. Eating disorders happen in bodies of every size, and restriction in a larger body carries serious risks. Your concerns deserve to be taken seriously.
Do you work online?
Yes. I work online with clients across the UK, so you can join sessions from home.
Can you help me lose weight at the same time?
Restriction and diet rules have usually played a part in how you got here, and more of the same won’t help you change. Trying to recover and lose weight at the same time pulls you in two directions. Recovery means letting your body settle where it needs to be, without fighting it. I know that can feel frightening, and we’ll work through that fear together.