The hardest part of recovery can be remembering to eat. But food is important, and thankfully there are apps that can keep you vitalized and let you take control. These are some of the best apps for eating disorder treatment made by patients, for patients.
Table of Contents
BEST APPS FOR EATING DISRDER
A quick look at the best eating disorder apps
Best overall: Recovery Record: Eating Disorder Management
Best interactive app: Rise Up + Recover: An Eating Disorder Monitoring and Management Tool for Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating, and EDNOS
Best app with CBT: MindShift CBT
Most comprehensive: What’s Up? – A Mental Health App
Best for self-improvement: Cognitive Diary CBT Self-Help
Developing a positive relationship with food can be a complex process, especially for those living with or recovering from disordered eating. It’s not something that can be fixed by comparing notes with friends or reading information from the internet.
However, if properly vetted and used as a supplement to appropriate medical care, technology can be helpful in eating disorder recovery. There are apps that can help you understand how to monitor your habits, improve your mental health, and take positive steps toward a stronger mind and body.
What is disordered eating?
It’s key to differentiate between eating disorders and disordered eating. Disordered eating might not involve a diagnosable eating disorder, like anorexia or bulimia, but it does involve dangerous abnormal eating behaviors that can potentially lead to these conditions.
Disordered eating may involve:
eating for other reasons besides hunger and nourishment, such as stress, boredom, or to mask emotions
eating the same thing every day
completely eliminating certain food groups
occasionally or regularly engaging in destructive behaviors, like binge eating, purging, or abusing laxatives
Eating disorders may entail different types of behavior depending on the type:
Anorexia nervosa. People may not eat enough and could appear very thin.
Bulimia nervosa. People may overeat and then purge to avoid gaining weight. They may also abuse laxatives and diet pills.
Binge eating. People may eat uncontrollably but not purge.
Getting help
If you’re experiencing disordered eating, you can contact the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) helpline for support, resources, and treatment. You can call or text NEDA at 800-931-2237.
If it’s an emergency situation, you should call 911. The NEDA crisis text line is also available by texting
Can eating disorder apps help with disordered eating?
It’s important to seek out appropriate medical care from trained professionals when it comes to treating mental health conditions, like eating disorders and disordered eating.
However, properly vetted programs and apps can be useful in eating disorder recovery when used as a supplement to professional help and group therapy.

In fact, a 2015 study found that apps (specifically the Recovery Record app) can be helpful in this manner, as they contain features to help with self-monitoring and coping strategies and a portal to communicate with your medical professional.
How we chose
With so many smartphone apps on the market, it can feel overwhelming to wade through them all. Figuring out which ones offer quality services and reputable information is a task in it itself.
We made our selections for the best eating disorder apps based on:
customer ratings and reviews
effectiveness
price
Healthline’s picks for the best eating disorder apps
Best overall
Recovery Record: Eating Disorder Management
iPhone rating: 4.9 stars
Android rating: 4.8 stars
Price: free
This app is designed to be a smart companion for managing your recovery from a variety of eating disorders. You can keep a record of your meals, thoughts, and feelings. You can also customize meal plans, find and learn coping tactics, and log recovery goals.
The app even gives you the ability to communicate with your medical treatment team when you need in-the-moment feedback and support.
Best interactive app
Rise Up + Recover: An Eating Disorder Monitoring and Management Tool for Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating, and EDNOS
iPhone rating: 4.7 stars
Android rating: 4.5 stars
Price: free
If you experience issues with food, dieting, exercise, and body image, Rise Up + Recover offers an empowering range of tools to help you find success.
The app is based on self-monitoring homework, a key aspect of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). You can log your meals, emotions, and behaviors, set custom reminders to keep you inspired and moving forward, and export PDF summaries of your meal log and check-ins to share with your treatment team.
Best app with CBT
MindShift CBT
iPhone rating: 4.3 stars
Android rating: 4 stars
Price: free
MindShift is a scientifically based anxiety tool that teaches you how to be mindful, develop more effective ways of thinking, and proactively take charge of your anxiety.
CBT can help with disordered eating through self-monitoring, helping you understand the interactions between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It can also help you develop strategies to combat negative behaviors.
This app shows you how to address and manage social anxiety and perfectionism with CBT-based tools for lasting positive change.

Most comprehensive app
What’s Up? – A Mental Health App
iPhone rating: 4.4 stars
Android rating: 3.9 stars
Price: free with in-app purchases
What’s Up? is a useful app that offers different therapy methods to help you manage stress, anxiety, depression, and other conditions.
Using this app, you can learn simple methods for overcoming negative thinking patterns, use the diary to track your thoughts, feelings, and habits, and try the app’s breathing exercises for staying calm and relaxed. All of these CBT-based techniques may be useful in supplementing eating disorder recovery treatments.
Best for self-improvement
Cognitive Diary CBT Self-Help
Android rating: 4.3 stars
Price: free with in-app purchases
Cognitive Diary teaches you how to recognize the kind of thinking that interferes with achieving goals in your life, and what you can do to change those negative thoughts.
Negative thoughts and habits are often core aspects of eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors, which is why identifying and combating them can be an effective part of treatment.
Conclusion
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