The main focus of dietary treatment for anorexia is not centered around eating specific foods but rather developing a more healthy relationship with food in general.  Nutritional therapy is an aspect of treatment that focuses on a person's thoughts and feelings about food.   Nutritional therapy works to overcome unhealthy thoughts and behavioral patterns related to food in addition to encouraging positive thoughts and behaviors.  Nutritional therapy focuses on a variety of food related topics.  It includes education about carbohydrates, proteins, and fats and how much your body needs of each of these nutrients.  It seeks to understand the factors that contributed to a person's unhealthy relationship with food in order to work through these problems.  It helps people develop a meal plan in order to get the nutrients they need to recover physically from the damage anorexia has done to their body.  It also helps educate about portion control and how to eat a balanced diet.

The actual nutritional component to treatment includes gradually increasing caloric intake back to a healthy level.  Generally patients will start with a 1,200 calorie diet and increase the amount of calories eaten by 200 every other day.  Starting small and gradually increasing caloric intake reduces a patients risk of suffering from referring syndrome.

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