It seems like when it comes to ADHD and food, people fall into 1 of 2 camps: There’s the “I’m so hyper-focused and/or distracted that I forget to eat” people, and the “my brain needs dopamine so I can’t stop eating” people. I wish I was someone in the first camp, but here I am, standing in the kitchen, eating peanut butter directly out of the jar because I can’t focus long enough to actually make myself anything.
Loosing weight requires a lot of planning and impulse control, something which we aren’t exactly great at. I’ve managed to loose 60 lbs so far, about a year ago, and luckily I have kept all but 15 of those pounds off since I stopped actively trying.
When I was loosing weight, weight loss was the center of my world, my hyper focus, it was all I could think about. I was obsessed with researching, planning, tracking. Loosing weight was novel, interesting, and challenging. But eventually it became both boring and overwhelming as the novelty wore off.
I would do anything to go back to that mindset where weight loss was my hyper focus again, but as you know, we cannot control what sparks our brains. Now, counting calories is absolutely overwhelming. It takes me over an hour to cook a simple healthy dinner because of distractions, there is no way I can add weighing my food and logging my calories into this process when it’s already a miracle I’m even cooking. It’s just too many steps.
And planning my meals or prepping? I tried to make a meal plan this week and it took so long and was so overwhelming, I literally had to lie down and rest afterward and it was the only thing I did that day. And no, I absolutely did not follow my meal plan because the moment I have an impulse that says “just eat microwaved veggie burger patties and olives out of the jar”, I’m sitting on the couch with a belly full of Morningstar and fingers covered in olive juice before I even realize what just happened.
Loosing weight with ADHD has some unique problems that neurotypical people don’t have to deal with. But there are some advantages too, like hyper focus, that I think could potentially make weight loss easier, if only there were some way to control what grabs our hyper focus next.
So, my friends with ADHD, how are you managing this? What works for you and what common advice for neurotypicals does not?
How do you keep your weight loss journey novel and exciting for a brain that hates routine?
How do you manage adding the steps of measuring/weighing, some math, and entering your food into MFP or Lose it without giving up?
Any tips for managing impulse control issues?
I still have another 60-70 lbs to loose, but I’m halfway there! I am ready to get back on track, but tired of constantly failing myself when I can’t overcome these same issues, every time I try. I am open to any and all tips, tricks, or ideas.
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