Have you ever wondered if there were any apps for eating disorder recovery out there? Well, wonder no more because there are!
The 5 apps I’ve reviewed in this post are: 1) FREE! 2) Helpful to document your food, feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and more.
Two of them (possibly 3) are specifically for eating disorders, but the others are helpful too.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Please note that I only recommend products I have used or would use myself!
1. Recovery Record
Rating:
- Apple: 4.9 stars
- Android: 4.8 stars
Overview
This app was developed by a team of psychologists and engineers to be the BEST app for the management of eating disorders. It is also based on CBT (cognitive-based therapy) and self-monitoring research.
Recovery Record is geared toward anyone with anorexia, bulimia, and/or binge eating disorder. It’s also helpful for people with general eating, weight, and/or body image problems.
Highlights
- Log meals and snacks daily (or take pictures of them instead)
- Add unplanned eating times, if needed
- Daily rewards for logging your food
- Check-ins on your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals, and sleep
- Charts for insights, events, and trends to track behavior and recovery
- Questionnaires to track progress
- Personalized meditations
- Meal planner
- Coping skills (add your own or use the built-in templates whenever needed)
- Track weekly skills and goals with prompts and daily reminders
- Ability to link to your treatment team (Recovery Record for Clinicians app)
- Customizable
- Includes resources for professional help
My Review
Oh my goodness, this app is by far my favorite! It makes you think about how you’re feeling about food. I love the meal reminders too in case I forget a meal or wait too long to eat, which usually leads to a binge.
This app has so much to offer. In my opinion, anyone with an eating disorder, or disordered eating behaviors, should try this app!
2. Rise Up & Recover
Ratings:
- Apple: 4.7 stars
- Android: 4.2 stars
Overview
This app is meant for anyone with food, dieting, exercise and/or body image issues. This app is also based on CBT (cognitive-based therapy) and self-monitoring.
“Rise Up + Recover is the perfect addition to your professional treatment for an eating disorder including anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), obsessive eating disorder (OED), binge eating disorder (BED) and compulsive eating disorder (CED).”
Rise Up & Recover app overview on Google Play
Highlights
- Check-ins on emotions, actions, and drugs/medications
- Coping skills for:
- Distress
- Body Image
- Journal Activities
- Mindfulness
- Relationships
- Meal and snack logs with a PDF export to email feature
- Self-affirmations
- Magazine linked to the Recovery Warrior website
- Positive and inspirational quotes
- Set reminders to log your food
- Security PIN
- Resource link for support
- Link to recovery playlists on Spotify
- Recovery Warrior podcast
My Review
This app is very similar to Recovery Record, but not as in-depth. It has its unique features though, like the podcast, magazine articles, and recovery playlists.
I would recommend this app as a runner-up to Recovery Record. Having both is sort of redundant, although they each have their perks.
3. Gratitude- Daily Journal
Ratings:
- Apple: 4.9 stars
- Android: 4.8 stars
Overview
This app helps you think about the small things in life and to be grateful for every day. You can track your thoughts and see how they ebb and flow over time.
Highlights
- Write affirmations and journal entries with prompts
- Positive and uplifting quotes
- Set reminders to log your gratitudes, affirmations, and daily quotes
- Help with stress, anxiety, sleep, concentration, bad habits, and mindfulness
- Security PIN or fingerprint lock
- Customizable with colors and pictures
- No ads
Related: Improve Your Body Image and Mental Health: Take the Challenge
My Review
This is a very simple app with the potential to have big results. I love the simplicity of it. The inspirational quotes are my favorite. I would highly recommend it. Nuff said.
*If you’re more of a pen and paper kind of writer, check out the wonderful, HIGHLY recommended journal below!
4. Nourishly
Ratings
- Apple: 4.8 stars
- Android: 4.7 stars
Overview
This app was made by the same people as Recovery Record but is a little bit different. The main focus of Nourishly is healthy eating and healthy thought patterns around food
Highlights
- Log your meals (or take pictures of them)
- Choose a meal plan from one of their specialized templates or make your own.
- Track your:
- Stress
- Hunger
- Fullness
- Digestive issues
- Sleep
- Meals
- Reminders to take your medication
- Weekly skills and missions
My Review
I’m loving this app! There’s a lot of similarity to Recovery Record, but still different enough to use them both. I would recommend Nourishly to anyone wanting to improve their health or relationship with food.
5. Woebot
Ratings
- Apple: 4.7 stars
- Android: 4.6 stars
Overview
Woebot is your “self-care expert” built by a group of psychologists who worked at Stanford University for over 10 years. They left their jobs on a mission to make mental healthcare more accessible worldwide. (That’s a pretty awesome reason to start an app, in my opinion!)
A study showed that after just 2 weeks of using this app daily, the study participants felt “significantly better” than those in the group not using the app.
According to their website, “CBT (cognitive-based therapy) delivered via the Internet (and even video games!) can be as effective as therapist-delivered CBT for both anxiety and depression.”
Woe! Who knew? 😉
Highlights
- Winner of the 2019 Google Play Award for Standout Well-being App
- Mood tracking over time
- Step-by-step guidance
- Help with everyday problems such as:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Stress
- Loneliness
- Grief
- Addiction
- Pain management
- Daily check-ins
- Available 24/7 to chat
My Review
I like this app because it’s like texting a therapist (or a really smart friend) at any time, day or night. You can message Woebot as much or as little as you need. It makes you feel like you’re not alone in this fight.
Related: What Is Your Reason For Recovery?
Final Thoughts on Apps For Eating Disorder Recovery
I never thought of apps as being able to help with eating disorders. (Is it just me?) I had fun researching this post and learned a lot along the way.
If you struggle with food and/or mental health, it’s well worth it to try these apps. They’re free too, so what have you got to lose?
Do you have an app or 2 for eating disorder recovery? I’d love for you to let me know in the comments (and pin on Pinterest for your friends and family)!
Read next:
- The 7 Best Eating Disorder Recovery Podcasts
- Eating Disorders: Everything You Need To Know
- How To Deal With Food Addiction Relapse
- Where To Turn When You Need Help For An Eating Disorder
- How To Develop A Food Plan You Can Live With
- 18 Life-Changing Lessons Learned From My Eating Disorder
- 11 Tips for Compulsive Overeaters
- 19 Alternatives to Eating (When You’re Not Hungry But REALLY Want To Eat!)
very nice well done
Thanks, I hope you are able to try them out!