Your First 30 Days
of Recovery
A self-guided clinical companion designed by accredited eating disorder dietitians, to walk you through the most uncertain part of recovery: the beginning.
If you're reading this, something brought you here.
Maybe you've been Googling at midnight. Maybe a friend has expressed concern. Maybe you've been telling yourself "it's not that bad" for years and you're tired of carrying it alone.
You don't need a diagnosis to deserve support. You don't need to be "sick enough." Your relationship with food, body, and eating is allowed to be hard, and it's allowed to get better.
This roadmap is your first 30 days. Take it slow. Take it gently.
Recovery Dashboard
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13 Modules + Tracker
Self-paced, in any order. Move through what feels accessible today. All progress saves automatically.
Clinical, Not Crisis
Built by accredited eating disorder dietitians. Evidence-based, gentle, structured.
No Diagnosis Required
For anyone struggling with food or body. You don't have to label it to begin healing.
How to use this roadmap
Read Module 1 first.
It addresses the biggest barrier: doubting whether you're "sick enough" to deserve support.
Then start Module 2: Regular Eating.
This is the foundation everything else rests on. Don't skip it, even if it feels too basic.
Use the rest reactively.
When body image hits hard, use Body Image. Stuck on a fear food, use Fear Foods. Bad day, use Hard Days. Going to a restaurant, use Social Eating.
Tick off the tracker daily.
Even on days you "did nothing right," you read these modules. That counts. Earn badges as you go.
At Day 30, check your Insights dashboard.
See your patterns. Decide whether self-guided work is enough, or whether it's time for professional support.
An important note before you begin
This roadmap is a self-guided clinical resource, not a replacement for one-on-one care. If you're medically unstable, purging, severely restricting, or in crisis, please reach out to your GP or a dietitian alongside using this kit.
Am I Sick Enough?
The single biggest barrier to seeking help. Let's dismantle the myths that have likely kept you stuck.
8 Myths, Dismantled
Tap each card to flip it.
"I'm not underweight, so I can't have an eating disorder."
Less than 6% of people with eating disorders are clinically underweight. EDs exist in every body size. Bulimia, BED, OSFED, and ARFID typically present at "normal" or higher weights. Weight is not a diagnostic criterion.
"Other people have it worse. I shouldn't take up a clinician's time."
Early intervention is the single biggest predictor of recovery. Waiting until things "get worse" is the most dangerous strategy. EDs left untreated tend to escalate, not resolve. You being struggling is enough reason to seek support.
"I still eat. I'm not restricting enough to count."
Restriction isn't just "not eating." It includes mental restriction (constant food rules), eliminating food groups, eating less than your body needs, "earning" food through exercise, or feeling guilty after eating. Most people with EDs eat every day.
"This is just how I am. I've always been this way."
Living with disordered eating for years doesn't mean it's your personality, it means it's your coping mechanism. EDs are highly treatable. The relationship you have with food right now is not the one you have to keep for the rest of your life.
"My GP said I'm fine, so I must be."
EDs are massively under-diagnosed in primary care, especially in people who aren't underweight. Many GPs receive little training in ED recognition. You may need to advocate for yourself or seek a second opinion.
"I just need more discipline. I should fix this myself."
Discipline is the problem, not the solution. The behaviours that look like "discipline" (skipping meals, restricting, over-exercising) are usually the ED. Recovery requires the opposite: surrender, flexibility, and outside support.
"Eating disorders are a young woman's disease. I'm too old/male/different."
EDs affect every gender, age, race, sexuality, body size, and background. 1 in 3 people with EDs are men. Older adults, LGBTQIA+ people, and culturally diverse people are increasingly recognised, and historically under-served by treatment.
"It's just a phase. I'll grow out of it."
Without intervention, EDs typically worsen or transition into other ED presentations. The longer disordered eating goes untreated, the harder it becomes to recover. The best time to intervene was years ago. The second best time is now.
Quick Self-Reflection
Tick any that apply. There's no scoring. This is just to bring awareness to what you're carrying.
A quick education on what eating disorders actually are
Tap each to learn more. You may recognise yourself in more than one.
Recurrent episodes of eating large quantities in a short time, with a sense of loss of control, accompanied by significant distress. No purging behaviours.
BED is the most common ED in Australia. It's more common than anorexia and bulimia combined. Most people with BED are at "normal" weight or higher. It is heavily under-diagnosed because of stigma and weight bias.
Common signs: Eating in secret, eating until uncomfortably full, eating when not physically hungry, feeling intense shame after eating, weight cycling.
Significant disordered eating that doesn't fit the strict criteria for AN, BN, or BED, but it's just as serious. Includes atypical anorexia (all the AN behaviours but at a "normal" weight), subthreshold bulimia, purging disorder, and night eating syndrome.
OSFED is the most commonly diagnosed ED. Being told "you don't quite fit" doesn't mean what you're experiencing isn't valid or treatable.
Recurrent binge eating followed by compensatory behaviours: vomiting, laxatives, fasting, or excessive exercise. The restrict-binge-purge cycle drives it.
Bulimia carries significant medical risks (electrolyte imbalances, cardiac complications, dental erosion). Most people with bulimia are at "normal" weight, which is why it's often missed.
Common signs: Eating in secret, frequent bathroom trips after meals, dental issues, knuckle calluses, mood swings tied to eating.
Severe energy restriction relative to needs, intense fear of weight gain, and disturbed body image. Atypical anorexia presents identically but the person isn't underweight. This is just as serious medically and psychologically.
You can have severe restriction at any body size. Weight is not a measure of suffering or severity. Atypical anorexia is now the most diagnosed form.
Restrictive eating not driven by body image concerns. Driven instead by sensory aversions, fear of choking/vomiting, or low interest in eating. Often co-occurs with autism, ADHD, and anxiety.
ARFID is significantly under-recognised in adults. If you've been a "picky eater" your whole life and it's affecting your nutrition or social life, this may be your experience.
Chronic dieting, food rules, body image distress, and disordered behaviours that don't meet diagnostic criteria, but they absolutely affect your quality of life.
You don't need a formal diagnosis to deserve support. Disordered eating is a recognised clinical concern and is the most common reason people see eating disorder dietitians.
"You don't need permission to begin recovery. You don't need a doctor to tell you it's bad enough. The version of you reading this right now is sick enough, brave enough, worth enough. Start."
The Regular Eating Framework
The most evidence-based intervention in eating disorder recovery: eating consistently, by the clock, regardless of hunger cues.
Your hunger cues are not reliable right now.
If you've been restricting, dieting, bingeing, or eating chaotically. Your hunger and fullness signals have been suppressed or dysregulated. Trying to "listen to your body" right now is like trying to read a thermometer that's been broken.
Mechanical eating, that is, eating every 3-4 hours by the clock, is what allows those cues to come back online over weeks and months.
The Balanced Plate
A satisfying meal contains all three. Tap each segment to learn what to include.
Click any part of the plate to see what foods belong there and why each component matters.
Hunger & Fullness Scale
In early recovery, you may feel "full" or "hungry" at times that don't match what your body actually needs. Use this scale to log how you feel and over time you'll see patterns.
You selected
5 - Neutral
Neither hungry nor full. A comfortable, neutral state. This is often where you'll be 1-2 hours after a meal.
The 3 Meals + 3 Snacks Schedule
Breakfast
Within 1 hr of wakingCarb + protein. Sets your blood sugar baseline. Skipping breakfast is the #1 predictor of evening urges and binges.
Examples: Sourdough toast with eggs and avocado · Oats with yogurt, banana, and peanut butter · Wholemeal wrap with cheese and tomato.
Morning Snack
3 hrs after breakfastA bridge to lunch. Small but substantial.
Examples: Apple with almonds · Greek yogurt · Muesli bar · Cheese and crackers.
Lunch
3 hrs after morning snackSubstantial and satisfying. Carb + protein + fat + colour. Should leave you full for 3+ hrs.
Examples: Sandwich with chicken, cheese, avocado · Pasta salad with protein · Leftover dinner.
Afternoon Snack
3 hrs after lunchThe most important snack. Prevents the late-afternoon crash that drives evening urges.
Examples: Yogurt with fruit · Toast with peanut butter · Cheese and crackers · Banana with nut butter.
Dinner
3 hrs after afternoon snackPlate model: 1/3 carb, 1/3 protein, 1/3 colour. The biggest meal isn't a problem. It's normal.
Examples: Stir-fry with chicken and rice · Roast chicken with potato and greens · Curry with rice and naan.
Evening Snack
If 2.5+ hrs before bedOptional but recommended. Prevents overnight blood sugar drops and middle-of-the-night urges.
Examples: Toast with peanut butter · Yogurt and fruit · Biscuits and tea · Cheese and crackers.
Common Concerns Answered
The 80% Rule
Don't aim for perfect adherence to this structure. Aim for 80%. Missing a snack, having dinner late, eating an "off-plan" meal: none of these break recovery. What breaks recovery is using imperfection as an excuse to abandon the structure entirely. Get back on schedule at the next meal. Always.
Body Image First-Aid
When body image distress hits, you don't need to fix it. You need to survive it without acting on the urge to restrict, purge, or punish your body.
The 5-Step Spiral Interrupt
Name What's Happening
Say out loud: "I am having a body image moment. This is a feeling, not a fact about my body."
Identify the Trigger
What changed in the last hour? A meal? A photo? A comment? A mirror? Body image distress almost always has an upstream trigger.
Stop the Checking
Step away from mirrors. Stop pinching, weighing, photographing. Body checking makes distortion worse, not better.
Change Clothes
Put on something loose, comfortable, and forgiving. Tight or restrictive clothing fuels body image spirals.
Do The Next Thing
You don't have to feel better to keep moving. Eat the next meal. Make the next call. The feeling will pass faster if you don't feed it.
Why Mirrors Lie
When you're in distress, your visual perception of your body is measurably distorted. Studies show people with EDs perceive their body as up to 25% larger than it is. The mirror is not telling you the truth.
Why It's Worse After Eating
Post-meal body image distortion is incredibly common. Your stomach is temporarily distended; your nervous system reads "fullness" as "fatness." This is a sensation, not a lasting body change.
30-Day Body Image Tracker
How are you feeling about your body today? Tracking helps you see patterns. That "bad days" come and go, and they don't define you.
Your 30-day pattern
The Body Checking Audit
Body checking is the behavioural fuel of body image distress. Tick any you do regularly. Each one you can reduce will measurably improve your body image.
Your Personal Trigger Map
Body image triggers are highly personal. Identifying yours is the first step to managing them.
Add your first trigger above.
The Comparison Detox
Comparison is a body image accelerant. Work through this 5-step audit of your information environment.
Audit your social media follows.
Unfollow accounts that consistently make you feel worse about your body. Even fitness accounts you "admire." Even diet/weight loss accounts. Even body-positive accounts that focus heavily on bodies.
Block "before/after" content.
Use platform tools to mute or hide weight loss content, body transformation content, "what I eat in a day" videos, and meal-prep content. These are designed to trigger comparison.
Add neutral content.
Replace what you removed with bookbloggers, illustrators, comedians, science creators, animal accounts. Anything not body or food-focused. The goal is a feed that doesn't constantly redirect your attention to bodies.
Notice the comparison loop in real time.
When you catch yourself comparing, name it: "I'm comparing right now." Then close the app or look away. The comparison itself is the harm, not the post.
Limit time, not just content.
Even healthy content scrolled for 3+ hours a day is too much. Set screen time limits on social apps. The platform itself is the problem more than any single post.
The Mirror Protocol
For the long-term work, neutral mirror exposure (not avoidance, not over-checking) rebuilds your relationship with your reflection.
Daily practice (when you feel ready): Stand in front of a mirror for 60 seconds. Use the script below.
"I am looking at a body. This is my body."
"This body has gotten me through every day of my life so far."
"I am allowed to look at it without judging it."
"I notice my [hair, eyes, hands, shoulders]. These are neutral observations."
"I am not required to love this body today. I am required to not harm it."
Avoid focusing on parts you dislike. Avoid trying to "find something positive." The goal is neutrality, not affection.
"My body is allowed to take up space. My body is allowed to look like a body. The way I feel about my body today is not a reliable measurement of anything except my distress."
Read this aloud when you need it.
Navigating Fear Foods
Build your personal exposure ladder. Start with foods that feel slightly anxious, not the scariest. Climb gently, with progress tracked per food.
Your Fear Food Ladder
Add foods you currently avoid or feel anxious about. Rate each from 1-10. Tap "Eaten" each time you successfully eat it. Foods become neutral after 5-10 exposures.
Your ladder is empty. Add a food above to begin.
The Exposure Protocol
Pick a 3-4 from your ladder.
Not the easiest, not the hardest. The point is to feel some discomfort, because that's how the brain learns the food isn't dangerous. If you start at 1-2, the lesson doesn't stick. If you start at 8-9, you might be too overwhelmed to eat at all.
Choose a safe context.
At home, with a trusted person, when you're not already dysregulated. Not after a stressful day. Not in public for the first time. The brain is trying to learn safety, so give it the conditions to do so.
Start with normal portions.
Not a teaspoon "just to try." Not the whole packet. A normal, recognisable serving. This teaches your brain that this food, in normal portions, is safe.
Repeat until neutral.
A food typically becomes unscary after 5-10 repeated exposures without consequence. The first exposure is usually the hardest. By the fifth, the anxiety is significantly lower. Tap "Eaten" on your ladder each time to track progress.
Resist the urge to compensate.
Don't restrict before, don't restrict after, don't exercise to "balance it out." Compensation tells your brain the food was dangerous. The whole point is teaching the opposite.
Then climb.
Move up the ladder one rung at a time. This is a months-long process, not a weekend. Patience is part of the protocol.
Common types of fear foods
- High-energy foods (chocolate, ice cream, takeaway)
- Foods with hidden ingredients (restaurant meals)
- Foods you can't measure (bread, oils, sauces)
- Foods labelled "bad" by diet culture
- Carbohydrates after a certain time of day
- Foods you've avoided for years
Common mistakes to avoid
- Trying tiny "test" portions
- Doing exposure when already stressed
- Restricting before or after the meal
- Body checking immediately after
- Quitting after one bad attempt
- Climbing too fast up the ladder
The Hard Days Toolkit
Recovery is not linear. Hard days are not failures. They're data. Here's what to reach for when the day goes sideways.
When You Don't Want to Eat
Eat anyway. Smaller portions count. Liquid nutrition counts.
- Smoothie or protein shake
- Toast with peanut butter
- Cereal with milk
- Crackers and cheese
When the Urge to Restrict Hits
Restriction always feels logical. It's never the answer.
- Eat your next planned meal
- Tell someone what's happening
- Re-read Module 1 myths
- Move locations (out of kitchen)
After a Slip
It's a flat tire, not a crashed car. Resume the next meal.
- Don't restrict tomorrow
- Don't body check
- Be gentle with yourself
- Resume regular eating now
The 10-Minute Urge Timer
When an urge hits, set this timer. Most urges peak and recede within 10 minutes if you don't act on them. You don't have to make it 10 minutes on willpower. Just outlast the wave.
Right now, I am feeling an intense urge to [restrict / binge / purge / body check].
My brain is telling me this will make me feel better. It is telling me this is necessary, this is logical, this is the only way.
I recognise that this is just a feeling. It is a neurological signal, a habit loop. It feels urgent, but it is not an actual emergency.
This urge is like a wave. It is building right now. It feels huge, like it might pull me under. But waves peak. They break. They recede.
I am not going to fight this wave. I am not going to act on it either. I am just going to observe it.
I am safe. I can tolerate discomfort. This feeling is temporary, and it is already beginning to pass.
Urge Tracker
Logging urges helps you spot patterns, and prove to yourself that they pass. Every entry is anonymous, saved only on your device.
Quick Daily Check-In
Tick what you've done today. Each one counts. Resets daily.
Today's progress
0 / 6
Hard Days Journal
A place to log a hard moment. Looking back at these later helps you spot patterns, and remember you got through them.
Movement & Exercise
For many people in recovery, exercise is the last behaviour to soften. This module helps you assess your relationship with movement and rebuild it gently.
"Exercise is healthy" doesn't always apply in recovery.
In the general population, more movement = better health outcomes. In eating disorder recovery, this rule frequently doesn't hold.
Compulsive exercise is one of the most common (and most invisible) ED behaviours. It's often praised by everyone around you, which makes it especially hard to recognise.
If your movement is driven by guilt, fear, or compensation, it's not "healthy" anymore. It's the eating disorder in another form.
Compulsive vs Joyful Movement Audit
Tick any that apply. The more you tick on the left, the more your relationship with movement may need attention.
Compulsive Movement
Joyful Movement
Warning Signs Exercise Has Become Disordered
You exercise even when sick, injured, or exhausted
You feel intense anxiety, guilt, or distress on rest days
You exercise specifically to "earn" food or "burn off" what you ate
You skip social events, work, or sleep to exercise
You feel like a "bad" person if you don't hit your daily steps/workout
You wear a fitness tracker constantly and check it compulsively
You hide your exercise from others or downplay how much you do
Your menstrual cycle is irregular or absent (a key medical sign of under-fuelling)
Rest is part of recovery.
You are allowed to take a rest day.
You are allowed to take rest weeks if your body and recovery need it.
You are allowed to skip the gym, the run, the steps, the workout, and still be a worthy, valuable, complete human.
Rest is not laziness. Rest is not weakness. Rest is what allows your body to repair, your nervous system to regulate, and your hormones to recover from prolonged stress.
Today, you have my permission, and more importantly, your own permission to do nothing physical. The world will not fall apart. You will not undo your progress. You are still recovering, even resting.
Gentle Movement Menu
If you're rebuilding your relationship with movement, start here. Choose only when you actually want to, not when you feel you should.
Walk to a coffee shop
Not for steps. For the coffee. Movement as a means, not an end.
Gentle yoga or stretching
10 minutes max. Focus on how it feels, not how it looks.
Dance in your kitchen
3 songs. No tracking. No mirror. Just because.
Time in nature
Sit on grass. Notice trees. Listen to birds. No movement required.
Pet a dog/cat
Soft animals reduce cortisol. Genuinely therapeutic.
Cook a meal
Standing, chopping, stirring. All gentle movement. Nourishment as bonus.
When You Need to Pause Exercise Entirely
For some people, total abstinence from structured exercise is necessary in early recovery. This is hard but often life-changing.
Pause exercise if:
- You are medically unstable (low heart rate, low blood pressure, electrolyte imbalances, irregular periods)
- You cannot eat without compensating through movement
- The thought of stopping exercise causes intense panic or anger
- You have been told to pause by a clinician and have ignored it
This is best done with clinical support. Compulsive exercise carries genuine medical risks, and the withdrawal phase can be psychologically intense. A dietitian and psychologist together provide the scaffolding to do this safely.
Self-Compassion Practice
Self-compassion is not "going easy on yourself." It's a research-backed clinical tool that measurably reduces eating disorder symptoms.
Why self-criticism fuels eating disorders
Research from Dr. Kristin Neff and others shows that self-criticism is one of the strongest predictors of disordered eating, body image distress, and relapse. Self-compassion, by contrast, is associated with reduced binge eating, lower body shame, and more flexible eating.
"You can't hate yourself into a person you love."
Inner Critic vs Inner Ally
Write down what your inner critic typically says, then practise rewriting it as your inner ally would speak. The voice you cultivate matters.
Inner Critic
Inner Ally
7 Self-Compassion Practices
Try one a day for a week. Even 2-3 minutes makes a measurable difference.
Place a hand on your chest. Say to yourself, slowly:
1. "This is a moment of suffering."
2. "Suffering is part of being human. I am not alone in this."
3. "May I be kind to myself in this moment."
2-3 minutes. Use anytime distress arises, especially after eating, before a meal, or during a body image spiral.
Imagine someone who loves you unconditionally, like a friend, grandparent, partner, or even a fictional character. Write a letter from them, to you about your current struggle. Let them say everything they would say if they knew exactly what you were carrying.
You will likely cry. That's the practice working.
Find a photo of yourself as a child, around age 5-8. Look at that child. Really look.
Now imagine talking to them the way you talk to yourself today. Imagine telling them they're disgusting, lazy, or worthless. Imagine saying their body is wrong.
You wouldn't. You couldn't. And yet that child is still inside you. They're the one you're speaking to, every time you criticise yourself.
Touch is one of the most direct routes to nervous system regulation. Try one of these for 1-2 minutes:
- Hand on your heart
- Both hands cupping your face
- One hand on your belly, one on your chest
- A self-hug, gentle squeezing your upper arms
- Stroke your own forearm slowly
This activates the parasympathetic nervous system. The same response a soothing parent would trigger in a distressed child.
When you're suffering, the eating disorder makes you feel uniquely broken, like no one else has these thoughts, this struggle, this shame. This is a lie.
Reflect on this: Right now, in this moment, hundreds of thousands of people around the world are struggling with exactly the same thoughts and feelings. You are not alone. You are connected to a vast, invisible community of people working through this.
Recovery is not a solo achievement. You're walking a path that millions have walked, and many have come out the other side.
Externalise the eating disorder voice. Many people give it a name: "Ed," "Ana," "Mia," or something personal.
When the harsh thought comes ("you don't deserve to eat that"), you can recognise: that's not me. That's the ED voice.
Then you get to choose: do I follow this voice, or do I follow my own?
When you catch yourself in a self-critical thought, ask:
"Would I say this to my best friend if they were going through what I'm going through right now?"
If the answer is no, the thought isn't true. It's just habitual. Replace it with what you would say to your friend. That's what's true.
Identity Beyond the Eating Disorder
For many, the ED has been a personality, a structure, a way of organising every day. Recovery means rebuilding the parts of yourself it crowded out.
"Who am I without this?"
The eating disorder has likely been your most consistent companion through breakups, jobs, moves, friendships. It's been the thing that "made you you." When you start letting it go, the question that follows is terrifying:
If I'm not the disciplined one, the controlled one, the smallest one, the strongest one, the one with the eating disorder, who am I?
This module exists because that question has an answer. You just haven't had room to find it yet.
Who Am I, Really?
Answer one prompt a day. There are no right answers. Save your responses. They form a portrait of the person underneath.
Your Values, Not the ED's
The ED has values: thinness, control, restriction. They've been running the show. What are your values? Tap the ones that resonate. We'll work with your top 5.
Your selected values
When you make a decision, ask: "Does this honour my values, or the eating disorder's values?" That single question can change a day.
What the ED Has Cost You
Sometimes recovery feels like loss. Naming what the ED has actually taken can help reframe it. The ED isn't a friend you're losing, it's a thief you're evicting.
Building Back, Brick by Brick
Recovery isn't just removing the ED. It's filling the space with something else. Try one thing from this menu each week.
Try a creative thing
Drawing, pottery, writing, music. Anything where you make something with your hands and brain instead of measuring or restricting.
Read a book
Fiction. Memoir. Anything that's not about food, bodies, or self-improvement. Reclaim your attention.
Reconnect with someone
A friend you've drifted from. The ED isolates you, and reconnection unwinds that.
Volunteer or care for something
An animal shelter. A garden. A neighbour. Caring for something outside yourself rewires the brain.
Learn something useless
A language. An instrument. Astronomy. Bird identification. The ED hates curiosity for its own sake.
Go somewhere new
A different cafe, suburb, park, library. Novelty creates new neural pathways the ED hasn't colonised.
A reminder: Identity is built slowly. You won't wake up tomorrow knowing who you are without the ED. But every time you make a choice from your values instead of from fear, you're laying a brick. Brick by brick, you build a life the ED can't fit inside anymore.
Your Relapse Prevention Plan
A personalised, written plan you can return to when things wobble. The point is not to prevent every slip. It's to make sure a slip doesn't become a slide.
Lapse vs Relapse
A lapse is a single behaviour. One skipped meal, one body check, one binge. It's a flat tire on the journey.
A relapse is when a lapse gets interpreted as proof you've "failed," and you slide back into the old patterns over days, weeks, or months.
The thing that turns a lapse into a relapse is usually shame. This plan is your shame interruption tool.
Step 1: Your Personal Warning Signs
What are the early signals that things are wobbling for you? Tick the ones that ring true. These are your "yellow lights". The moment to use the plan, before you hit "red."
Add your own:
Step 2: Your Action Plan
When you spot a warning sign, what will you do? Write your responses now, while you're clear-headed. So future-you doesn't have to figure it out in distress.
Plan saved. You can return to this anytime.
Step 3: Your Support Team
Who's in your corner? Map them out so you have specific people to reach for, in specific moments. Vague "support" is hard to access in distress. Named people are not.
Add the first person to your support team above.
A note on slips
A slip is not a sign that you've failed, that recovery isn't working, or that you should give up. It is a sign that you are human, that you are doing something genuinely hard, and that part of you is still in conversation with the eating disorder. That conversation gets quieter over time, not by avoiding slips but by responding to them with curiosity instead of shame.
When to Seek Professional Help
This roadmap is a powerful starting point, but it isn't a substitute for one-on-one care. Here's exactly how to know when it's time, and what to do.
Red Flags: Reach Out This Week
If you tick any of these, please book a GP or dietitian appointment within the next 7 days. None of these are emergencies, but all of them are signs that self-guided work alone isn't enough.
Who Does What in an Eating Disorder Treatment Team
A common reason people don't seek help is not knowing who to call. Here's a plain-English breakdown.
What they do: Medical assessment, blood tests, monitoring, referrals, and the all-important Eating Disorder Plan (EDP), which gives you up to 40 Medicare-rebated dietitian and 40 psychology sessions per year.
When to see them: First. Always start here. Even if you've seen one before and felt dismissed, try again, ideally with a GP who has eating disorder experience.
Cost (AUS): Often bulk-billed; otherwise gap fee under $50 with Medicare rebate.
What they do: Restore regular eating, reintroduce fear foods, address nutritional deficiencies, work on body image, dismantle food rules, and walk alongside you through the food-and-body part of recovery.
When to see one: If your relationship with food is the loudest part of your distress. Most people in recovery see a dietitian fortnightly to start.
Cost (AUS): Around $180-220 per session; with an EDP from your GP, you get a Medicare rebate of around $60 per session.
Bite Into Freedom is an online clinic of accredited eating disorder dietitians. We see clients across Australia via telehealth.
What they do: Address the underlying psychology: trauma, anxiety, perfectionism, self-worth, identity, the "why" of the eating disorder.
When to see one: Ideally alongside a dietitian. The combination is gold-standard. Look for someone who explicitly mentions eating disorders or body image in their bio.
Cost (AUS): $200-300 per session; with an EDP, Medicare rebate of around $90 (clinical psych) or $130 (general psych).
What they do: Diagnose, prescribe, and manage medication for co-occurring conditions like depression, anxiety, OCD, ADHD, which often sit underneath eating disorders.
When to see one: If your GP refers you, or if medication is being considered. Not everyone in recovery needs a psychiatrist.
Cost (AUS): $400-700 first appointment; long Medicare rebate makes ongoing visits more affordable.
Your 3-Step Pathway to Care (Australia)
Book a GP appointment
Specifically request a "long" or "extended" appointment, because ED conversations need time. If you can find one with eating disorder experience, even better.
Ask for an Eating Disorder Plan (EDP)
This is a Medicare-funded plan that covers up to 40 dietitian sessions and 40 psychology sessions per year. It's the most generous mental health funding in Australia. You don't need a formal ED diagnosis, just clinical eligibility.
Find your team
A dietitian for food and body. A psychologist for the mind. Your GP coordinates. You don't need it all at once. Start with one, add others as you can.
What to Say at Your GP Appointment
If you don't know how to start the conversation, read this aloud to your GP. Print it out, screenshot it, or rehearse it.
"I've been struggling with my relationship with food and my body for some time. I'm not sure if it qualifies as an eating disorder, but I know it's affecting my life and I'd like support. I'd like to ask about an Eating Disorder Plan (EDP), and a referral to an accredited eating disorder dietitian and a psychologist who specialises in this area. Can we also do bloods to check how my body is doing?"
Tip: Write this down or save it on your phone. In the appointment, your nervous system might make this hard to remember.
Self-Readiness Check
If you tick 3+ of these, your gut is telling you something. Trust it.
Your 30-Day Tracker
A visual reminder that every day counts. Tap each day as you move through it. Even hard days count. Even days you "did nothing right" count.
Tap each day to mark it complete
What counts as a "completed day"?
A completed day is not a day you ate perfectly, exercised the right amount, felt good in your body, or didn't have any urges.
A completed day is a day you stayed in conversation with your recovery, whether that meant reading a module, eating one more meal than your ED wanted you to, calling a friend, doing a self-compassion practice, or simply choosing not to act on an urge. Tap it. Count it.
Day 30 Reflection
When you reach Day 30, work through this reflection. Be honest with yourself. It's how you know what to do next.
If things feel BETTER
If you're eating more regularly, body image distress is softening, and you feel hope returning, that's the work paying off. Keep going. Continue with the modules. Consider working with a dietitian to consolidate the gains.
Self-guided work + occasional clinical check-ins is a legitimate recovery pathway for people with milder presentations.
If things feel ABOUT THE SAME
Self-guided work has taken you as far as it can. The next layer of recovery typically requires another human in the room. Someone who can see things you can't. This isn't a failure of you or this roadmap; it's information.
This is the moment to book a dietitian or GP appointment. You've laid groundwork. Now you build on it with support.
If things feel WORSE
Sometimes engaging with recovery content surfaces things that have been buried. Sometimes the eating disorder fights back hard when challenged. This is real, and it's a sign you need professional support, not that you've failed.
Please book a GP appointment this week. Bring this roadmap with you if it helps. You don't have to navigate this alone.
Book a session with an accredited eating disorder dietitian
If you've worked through this roadmap and recognise that you need more than self-help, you've already done the hardest part. Reaching out is the next.
Our telehealth dietitians work with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, ARFID, atypical anorexia, OSFED, and disordered eating, across Australia. No diagnosis required. No body size requirement.
Book An AppointmentTelehealth across Australia, with accredited eating disorder dietitians.
"Recovery is not a destination. It is the daily, quiet, brave practice of choosing yourself again and again."
With care, the team at Bite Into Freedom
Your Insights Dashboard
A visual summary of your 30 days. Patterns become visible at scale: things you couldn't see day-to-day. This is also your clinician handover document.
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of 30 tracked
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entries
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explored
Urge Patterns
Which urges have come up most? Where you struggle most often is where targeted clinical support helps most.
No urges logged yet. Use the Hard Days module's urge tracker to log them.
Body Image Across Your 30 Days
Your day-to-day body image ratings, visualised. Fluctuation is normal. Look for the overall direction over time, not day-to-day swings.
No body image ratings yet. Use the Body Image module to start logging.
Fear Food Progress
Each food becomes neutral after 5-10 successful exposures. Here's where you are.
No fear foods added yet. Visit the Fear Foods module to build your ladder.
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written reflections logged
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inner-critic-to-ally translations
Clinician Summary
Generate a printable summary of your 30 days to bring to your first appointment. It saves you having to re-tell everything from scratch.
What this dashboard is, and isn't
This dashboard is a snapshot of behaviours and patterns. It is not a measure of how worthy of recovery you are, how well you're doing, or how much progress you've made.
Some of the most important recovery work. The inner reframing, the soft choices, the moments you didn't act on the urge: none of these will show up in any chart. Recovery happens in the unloggable middle of ordinary days. You have done more than these numbers can hold.
Tap a scenario above to see scripts and strategies.