Eating Disorder Care
Eating disorders can make food feel like the loudest thing in the room. Meals may come with fear, guilt, rules, shame, or a constant sense that you are doing something wrong. Some people know they are struggling with an eating disorder. Others are not sure what to call it yet, but they know their relationship with food and their body does not feel peaceful.
At Wilfong Nutrition, we offer eating disorder care through a compassionate, weight-inclusive, non-diet approach. Our registered dietitian nutritionists help clients build more consistent nourishment, challenge food rules, and move toward a healthier relationship with food without judgment, shame, or one-size-fits-all plans.
What Eating Disorder Care Is
Eating disorder care focuses on supporting your nutrition, eating patterns, and relationship with food during recovery. This can include support for anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, chronic dieting, food anxiety, restriction, emotional eating, and other disordered eating patterns.
A dietitian’s role is not to criticize your choices or hand you a strict meal plan and send you on your way. It is to help you understand what is happening, create more stability around meals, and support your body with enough nourishment. Recovery often takes time, and nutrition counseling provides you a place to work through the practical aspects of that process.
Signs You May Need Support
Eating disorders and disordered eating do not always look the way people expect. You do not have to look a certain way, weigh a certain amount, or have a specific diagnosis to deserve help. If food is taking up too much space in your mind, it may be time to reach out.
Common signs include:
Skipping meals or limiting food groups because of fear or guilt
Feeling anxious before, during, or after eating
Binge eating or feeling out of control around food
Compensating after meals through restriction, exercise, or purging
Following rigid food rules that interfere with normal life
Feeling disconnected from hunger, fullness, or satisfaction
Avoiding social events because of food or body concerns
Constantly thinking about weight, calories, or body shape
Feeling shame after eating foods you enjoy
Even if you are not sure whether your experience “counts,” you are allowed to ask for support. Early care can make a meaningful difference.
Why Personalized Care Matters
Eating disorder recovery is personal. Two people with the same diagnosis can need very different kinds of nutritional support. One person may need help eating more consistently throughout the day. Another may need support in reducing binge episodes. Someone else may be working through fear foods, digestive discomfort, or years of chronic dieting.
That is why Wilfong Nutrition does not use a one-size-fits-all approach. We take time to understand your history, your current eating patterns, your health needs, and what feels hardest right now. From there, we build a plan that is realistic, flexible, and supportive.
A non-diet approach is especially important in eating disorder care. Many clients have already spent years trying to follow strict rules, shrink their bodies, or “fix” themselves through food. Our goal is different. We help you move toward nourishment, trust, and stability.
How Wilfong Nutrition Supports Eating Disorder Care
At Wilfong Nutrition, eating disorder care starts with listening. We want to understand what your relationship with food has looked like, what you are struggling with now, and what kind of support would feel safe and useful to you. Your first session may include a conversation about your eating patterns, health history, symptoms, goals, and past experiences with dieting or nutrition advice.
Our team can also collaborate with therapists, physicians, and other members of your care team when needed. Eating disorder recovery often works best when support is coordinated, especially when medical monitoring or mental health care is part of the picture.
Wilfong Nutrition offers in-person appointments in Austin and telehealth appointments across Texas. This gives clients more flexibility while still receiving personalized, evidence-based nutrition support.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an eating disorder diagnosis to work with a dietitian?
No. You don't have to be formally diagnosed with an eating disorder (or anything else) to seek support. People reach out for a number of reasons, such as chronic dieting, binge/restrict cycles, food anxiety, or body image concerns. If your relationship with food feels stressful, confusing, or simply hard to manage, working with a registered dietitian may help you make sense of it all and develop a supportive plan for the future.
Will eating disorder care include a meal plan?
It can be helpful, but it also depends on what you are looking for as a client. A few clients may find the structure of planned meals helpful with consistency and overwhelm. Many clients, however, will require some flexibility and support in planning to help establish trust and work through their rigidity. The purpose of the plan should not be to create additional "rules" for eating; rather, it should be to provide you with adequate nutrition while supporting your recovery.
Is eating disorder care only for people who are underweight?
No. Eating disorders can affect people of any body size. Someone can be medically or emotionally struggling even if they do not “look sick” to other people. Weight is not the only sign that someone needs care. Your behaviors, thoughts, symptoms, and distress all matter.
Can a dietitian help with binge eating?
Yes. A registered dietitian can help you understand the patterns that may contribute to binge eating, such as restriction, inconsistent meals, food rules, stress, and guilt. At Wilfong Nutrition, the approach is non-diet and supportive. Instead of using more restrictions to “control” binge eating, we focus on adequacy, flexibility, and a more peaceful relationship with food.
Schedule Eating Disorder Care With Wilfong Nutrition
If food feels stressful, rigid, or out of control, you do not have to work through it alone. Wilfong Nutrition offers compassionate eating disorder care for clients in Austin and across Texas through telehealth. Our team helps you build steadier eating patterns, challenge harmful food rules, and move toward a more peaceful relationship with food.
We’re in-network with most major insurance plans
We can assist you in determining if your insurance plan may provide you with coverage for medical nutrition therapy.
Insurance FAQs
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We are in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, and United. Majority of our patients access nutrition counseling as an in-network benefit through their insurance, many with low or no copays. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, health insurance companies must cover nutrition counseling from a Registered Dietitian (RD) or a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) for at-risk individuals.
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If you have an out-of-network plan, you may be eligible to be reimbursed for our nutrition counseling services if your plan provides out-of-network coverage. However, you are responsible to know and understand the specific benefits of your plan, along with any financial responsibility you might have for our services.
We can also provide you with a super bill, detailing the services and amount you paid, for you to submit directly to your insurance provider.
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The cost of initial visits are $200.00, and follow-up visits are $38.00 per 15 minutes, and must be between 30 and 60 minutes per session.
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We accept payment by credit card and require a credit card be kept on file for clients, all payments are due at the time of service.