Compulsive Exercise and Eating Disorder Informed Gyms with Sophie du Plessis

This week on the Full of Beans podcast, Han is joined by Sophie du Plessis, a final-year Master of Nursing student in Adult and Mental Health Nursing at King's College London and founder of ED Informed.Sophie previously studied psychology at the University of Toronto, where she capped off a 15-year career as a national-level swimmer, co-captaining the varsity women's team to a second-place finish at Canadian Nationals.Drawing on her background in competitive sport and her own lived experience of an eating disorder, Sophie set up ED Informed, a campaign calling on gyms and fitness spaces to become eating disorder informed.She's currently working with Beat to develop accredited training for fitness staff to help them recognise and signpost people at risk of disordered eating and compulsive exercise, alongside piloting screening measures at the King's College London campus gym.In This Episode:Sophie's journey from competitive swimming to compulsive exercise and eating disorderSpotting the difference between healthy training and compulsive exerciseWhy disordered exercise can sneak in quietly, unnoticedDiscipline vs wellness culture vs compulsive exerciseSigns gym staff can look out for in clientsSophie's work piloting eating disorder awareness training for gymsRebuilding a healthy relationship with exercise after an eating disorderSophie's vision for ED Informed and eating disorder-informed gyms⚠️ Content note: this episode discusses eating disorders, compulsive exercise, and body image. Please take care while listening.Connect with us:Subscribe to the Full of Beans PodcastFollow Full of Beans on InstagramCheck out our websiteListen on YouTubeConnect with Sophie and ED Informed via her website or Instagram (@edinformed)Health policy petition: https://www.change.org/EDInformed_HealthPolicy