3 Tips on How to Leave Diet Culture and Eating Disorders Behind in London (& Throughout the UK)
Diet culture is so pervasive. It’s like we’re swimming in an ocean of it, and whether you’re in San Diego or NYC, it’s with you wherever you go. Many people who live in London also struggle with diet culture and eating disorders. It can be especially difficult in England and elsewhere in the UK in the winter months (and even some of the spring) because there’s not much sunlight and a lot of gray skies. Here are three tips to help you leave diet culture and eating disorders behind in London and throughout the UK. Binge eating recovery in London, UK is more doable than you know!
Tip #1 for Binge Eating Recovery: Listen to UK-based podcasts
When you’re in London, it’s nice to hear the voices of people who are in the UK and who promote resources that are available in the area. Here are three top UK eating recovery podcasts:
🇬🇧 Finding Your Freedom With Food: The Eating Disorder Therapist Podcast
Helmed by UK eating disorder therapist Harriet Frew, MSc, this podcast explores topics such as (a) living with chronic illness and an eating disorder, (b) muscle dysmorphia, disordered eating, and exercise addiction in men, and (c) a deep dive into binge eating (with yours truly 😁). Listening to Harriet’s soothing voice is a balm to any soul struggling with different types of disordered eating in London and anywhere else in the world. (Click HERE for the Spotify link—other links are Apple podcasts).
🇬🇧 Heal From Within Podcast: Overcome Binge Eating Holistically!
Intellectual powerhouse Olga Rhodes, Msc, hosts this podcast, which focuses on taking an alternative health approach to healing binge eating disorder. Her background in biomedical science lends research credibility to her take on healing. She addresses topics like (a) How instant gratification drives eating disorder behavior, (b) Perfectionism and binge eating recovery, and (c) Cultivating a self-care mindset in eating disorder recovery (the audio from when I interviewed Olga on my weekly, Instagram Live show). (Learn about this binge eating recovery in London, England, UK from this awesome podcast!)
🇬🇧 The Full of Beans Podcast
Hannah “Han” Hickinbotham, MSc, brings her personal experience of eating disorder recovery to this podcast as she interviews people from every walk of life as they discuss various aspects of eating disorder awareness. Han brings in many individuals from historically oppressed and marginalized groups to speak on experiences like in the following episodes: (a) Ramadan, ARFID, and Chronic Illness, (b) Queer, Trans, and Gender Non-Conforming ED Support, and (c) Disability and Neurodiversity. (Click HERE for the Spotify link).
Tip #2 for Binge Eating Recovery: Access support in London, England, and in the UK online
There are amazing London and UK online eating disorder resources and binge eating recovery support out there—but sometimes they can be difficult to find, so here are several all in one place!
🇬🇧 Maudsley Hospital Child & Adolescent Eating Disorders Service
Internationally known for the evidence-based, Maudsley Family-Based Treatment (FBT) for anorexia, the Maudsley Hospital is located in South London and offers an intensive outpatient program (IOP) for eating disorders, as well as a clinic for ARFID (avoidant restrictive food intake disorder). The Maudsley Hospital Eating Disorder Service in London is funded by the National Health Service.
🇬🇧 Beat Eating Disorders Charity
Formerly known as the Eating Disorders Association, Beat Eating Disorders Charity has a national helpline for each country in the UK: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Beat staff members help people access resources, find treatment, and offer training and events to educate the community in London and across the UK on eating disorders.
🇬🇧 MyoMinds
MyoMinds is all about addressing mental health issues and making them less taboo in the exercise and sports community. Founded by George Mycock, MSc, in 2019, the MyoMinds team pairs with universities throughout the UK to promote exercise/athlete mental health and advocate for greater care for binge eating recovery and eating disorders among boys and men. Having recovered from an eating disorder himself, George brings a lot of passion to eating disorder awareness and advocacy in the UK.
Tip #3 for Binge Eating Recovery: Ground yourself in calming London locations
Yes, London can be a fast-paced and exciting city. There are so many museums, cathedrals, and palaces for goodness sake! There are internationally renowned theatres, concerts, and events. What people don’t always know is that there are places where you can practice mindfulness and get a bit of calm.
🇬🇧 Bushy Park
Running along Richmond-upon-Thames, Bushy Park is known for numerous hawthorn bushes scattered across the open space. Settled since the Bronze Age and later used as a hunting ground by Henry VIII, Bushy Park has herds of fallow and red deer, as well as a Christopher Wren-designed mile-long avenue of trees (Chestnut Avenue). Encompassing over 1000 acres, it all together feels wilder than more populated parks, such as Richmond Park. You can get there via a bus from Kingston or go a short distance from Hampton Court Station.
🇬🇧 Postman’s Park
Situated between St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Museum of London roundabout, Postman’s Park was built in 1880, close to the UK’s first Post Office. It is where postal workers, or “posties,” would come for a break. With seasonal greenery and flowers, it has lovely benches and the Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice. Despite the surrounding busy streets and skyscrapers, the largest city park in London offers a modicum of calm amidst the bustle of the day.
🇬🇧 Royal Foundation of St. Katharine
A peaceful oasis in the midst of London, the Royal Foundation of St. Katharine is located in East London, just a walk from Canary Warf. You can book a stay there and enjoy a free breakfast and free parking. With religious roots in the 12th century, it is a former Georgian vicarage. Whether you go there for a religious retreat or a nonreligious Open Reflective Day, the Royal Foundation of St. Katharine is one of the oldest charities in England, and it hosts over 1000 charitable events per year. It even has a Yurt Cafe and a chapel.
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Binge Eating Recovery in London, England, UK Can Be Supported in My Program
🌺 Take the first step toward binge eating recovery in the INEVITABLE BINGE EATING RECOVERY PROGRAM*, which combines a comprehensive online binge eating class with a private, hidden Facebook group where you can get support. It’s an online course for high performers who aim to transform their relationships with food. It is available to you in perpetuity as long as I’m offering the course and the binge eating support group (years!).
Online Eating Disorder and Binge Eating Coaching
🌺 Sign up for the ELITE BINGE EATING RECOVERY METHOD**. It’s a 3-month, online binge-eating coaching + an online class for professionals, students, athletes, and all-around high achievers who just want to gain balance and control of food.
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🌺 Watch my Instagram LIVES on Thursdays from 12-1p PST (3-4p EST, 8-9p GMT) . I have conversations with professionals such as eating disorder dietitians and therapists on many topics, such as binge eating, BED, bulimia, body image, etc. Subscribe to my Instagram @drmariannemiller, and you’ll get bulimia and BED info sent to your phone with my reels, posts, etc.
Please take note of my binge eating program and what can support you in binge eating recovery in London, England, UK
*The INEVITABLE BINGE EATING RECOVERY PROGRAM is online binge-eating education and private virtual group support via a Facebook Group. The aim of this course is to help people reduce and eliminate any type of distressed eating, such as binge eating or binge/purge behaviors via education, behavioral changes, and mindset shifts. The INEVITABLE BINGE EATING RECOVERY COURSE is not a clinical eating disorder therapy or eating disorder treatment program and is not intended to serve as such. In them, Dr. Marianne Miller works from her role as a binge-eating coach, not as a binge-eating therapist.
**The ELITE BINGE EATING RECOVERY METHOD is virtual binge eating education and LIVE virtual coaching support. The goal of this program is to help people stop any type of distressed eating, such as binge eating or binge/purge behaviors via education, behavioral changes, and mindset shifts. The ELITE BINGE EATING RECOVERY METHOD is not a clinical eating disorder therapy or eating disorder treatment programs and is not intended to serve as such. In them, Dr. Marianne Miller works from her role as a binge-eating coach, not as a binge-eating therapist.