In this episode, Victoria interviews nutritionist and eating disorder recovery coach Chris Sandell. They discuss why all eating disorders have commonalities in terms of recovery, what skills help build resilience to fully recover, and mindset shifts and action steps to move forward into recovery.
Chris attended the College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM) and graduated with a Diploma in Nutritional Therapy. He founded his own company, Seven Health, in 2009 and found his calling in working with eating disorders and helping people fully recover. As a perpetual student, Chris Sandel is also trained in Intuitive Eating (IE), Health At Every Size (HAES) ®, Motivational Interviewing (MI), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), polyvagal theory, Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), trauma, behavioural psychology, and habit formation. Originally from Sydney, Chris lives in the UK with his wife Ali and 6-year-old son Ramsay.
Main Discussion Points
– Why restriction is present in all eating disorders and the common threads between them (00:13:17)
– Building resilience – physical, psychological, emotional, connection – to enable full recovery (00:41:09)
– Taking meaningful action versus small incremental changes in recovery (00:25:44)
– Creating distance from unhelpful thoughts through diffusion techniques (00:48:20)
– Connecting to your vision and values to move through fear of weight gain (00:55:52)
Key Quotes
“I am a full advocate that people can reach a place of full recovery and that full recovery is for everybody, and it’s not a maybe or possible. It’s like a yeah.” (00:09:31)
“The only way to build resilience is to take action. And so really, if if I’m looking at this in terms of a visual, the the thing that connects all of those things is action taking.” (00:45:58)
“It doesn’t matter whether something is true or not. Because you can be thinking a thought that is true, that is really, really unhelpful for you to to continue thinking of.” (00:49:50)
Blog: Finding Meaning and Purpose in Eating Disorder Recovery
Eating disorders can be incredibly isolating and feel never-ending. However, full recovery is possible for everyone. As Chris Sandell shared in my recent podcast, he has dedicated his career to helping people fully recover from eating disorders.
The Path to His Passion
Chris didn’t set out to specialize in eating disorders. He studied nutrition and worked with some clients who, on paper, were doing everything “right” – yet they were unhappy, had concerning symptoms, and struggled with body image. Chris realized he loved having in-depth conversations to get to the root of these issues. Over time, he began working more with disordered eating, eating disorders, and long-term recovery. Now he finds tremendous meaning and purpose in walking alongside people over months and years as they overcome eating disorders they’ve had since childhood or their teenage years.
All Eating Disorders Are Connected
Binge eating, bulimia, anorexia, orthorexia – they may look different on the outside but have core commonalities. The root of any eating disorder is restriction or avoidance of food to deal with anxiety. There is also almost always weight suppression below one’s natural set point weight right before the disorder is triggered. Finally, behaviors like compulsive exercise or rules around eating maintain the dysfunctional patterns. Understanding these central links allows the recovery process to follow a similar path, even if the eating disorder diagnoses differ on paper.
Building Resilience Is Key
Chris’ method focuses heavily on building resilience in multiple areas to fully recover. This includes physical resilience via nutrition rehabilitation, rest, etc. It also involves psychological resilience by learning tools to handle difficult thoughts and emotions. Reconnecting with oneself and rebuilding healthy relationships are also integral. Developing resilience gives individuals the capacity to overcome their eating disorder in the short term but also equips them with lifelong skills for health and wellbeing long after recovery.
The path is not linear or easy, but with consistent action focused on vision and values, full freedom is possible. If you or a loved one is struggling with an eating disorder, support and resources are available. You deserve to live a meaningful, purpose-filled life. Recovery takes work but brings so much beauty on the other side.
