Hey all
Long time lurker. Long time everything really, trying so hard to take care of myself so I’m healthy for a long time to come.
It hasn’t been easy, and while I’ve made some major achievements, one thing that has always tormented me was HOW HARD it was to just: eat when I was hungry, not wolf down donuts I passed by a shop window, to stick to anything (healthy balanced and flexible diet, long term exercise, etc). Despite significant progress in other areas of my life (overcoming trauma, building self-esteem, dealing with anxiety) and knowing what I need to do but bing unable to do it, I knew my impulse control and ability to stick to a plan were my barriers to eating healthy and exercising regularly.
So, life changing experience. I was diagnosed with ADHD at 36 and medicated, after a life of being prescribed anti-depressants that never felt like a right fit. The profound impact medication has had on impulsivity, consistency, self-awareness (amongst a whole other list of unexpected things) was one of the defining moments of my life for so many reasons not related to weight management. The meds do curb appetite initially, but that went away for me and life became simply thinking about food when I was hungry, and finding consistency astronomically easier - which my psych explained is because I’m not not searching for a constant dopamine fix.
With such a huge shift, I started to research the link. I learned just HOW strong the correlation is between ADHD and obesity, - “decades of research show a strong correlation between ADHD and obesity — so strong, in fact, that someone with ADHD is four times more likely to become obese than is someone without ADHD. Brain chemistry, poor impulse control, and erratic sleeping habits all conspire to encourage unhealthy eating — and to make weight loss feel impossible (https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-and-obesity-hard-wired-for-weight-gain/)
It blew my mind that despite a lifelong search for why it just seemed so hard for me, that I never heard this. Now I’m not saving you have ADHD if you struggle, but I’m here sharing my story because more people need to be aware of this if they are genuinely trying their best and it all feels utterly impossible to do the things you want to do in other areas of life too (like work, or drug use, or relationships, the list goes in).
If this resonates, get evaluated: and women, we are so much more likely to not be diagnosed because we mask things well, so especially you.
If this helps one person I’ll be delighted. Thanks for listening.
TLDR: Realised undiagnosed ADHD was the reason I could never consistently kick goals, life is forever changed.
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