In this post, I will talk why people like us with ADHD are more prone to obesity and find it hard to stay consistent with their diet. I will also give you 4 tips you can apply to your life to help you stay on track with your diet. If you prefer watching a video click on the link below.
People like us who have ADHD, they have higher concentration of dopamine transmitters in their brain. There transmitters’ job is to remove dopamine from the brain and because t
here are so many of them, they remove dopamine too quickly and as a result, dopamine won’t have enough time to exert its effects.
We crave dopamine a lot and we tend to look for foods that are high in carbohydrates and sugar to get the dopamine we crave so badly!
One of the other interesting problems we face is that we are very impulsive. When we see a picture of a food we really crave, we will
drop everything to go grab it. This characteristic combined with addiction to food is what creates a bad relationship with food and makes It very hard to make healthier choices. But it’s not impossible! If I did it, you can do it too and in this video I will try to share as many as my secrets as I can.
Never Stay Hungry
This might sound counter intuitive but when you put your body in starvation mode, it will learn to store nutrients as fat so it can use it for energy later if its put in the same mode.
Make sure you eat every 2-3 hours so you never feel like you are starving. If that's too many meals to prepare make sure you have healthy snacks on you like naturally dried fruits and nuts (Not quoted with vegetable oils)
Carbs are NOT your enemy
We love carbohydrates after all, that’s where we like to get our dopamine from! We just have to make sure we are consuming the healthiest types of carbohydrates and in small amounts. I personally lost most of my weight while I was consuming carbs such as whole grain rice, wild rice and sweet potatoes. Don’t be scared or feel guilty about loving carbs! All you have to do is to eat in moderation.
Impulsivity
We open the fridge and want to eat something yummy! The trick to this is to always have healthy food and snack at home so you don’t have access to bad food.
1. Never go grocery shopping when you are hungry.
2. Make sure you have a list with you before you go and never wander around. Check out all the items on your list and come straight home! If someone else does the grocery shopping, you want to ask them to lock away all the unhealthy options because I know if we have access to it, it is super hard to resist it.
3. Talk to your family and make sure you are not tempted constantly.
To be honest, to this day, if I have a jar of Nutella on my counter, you know it will have the whole thing by tomorrow!
The secret is to never buy it so you won’t eat it.
4. When you're out with your friends, it is so easy to act on impulse. My tip is to always know where you are going to eat; check out the menu and plan it ahead. Even if you are going to have a burger, plan that you won’t have cheese or not going to order fries!
If you want to get an idea of what kind of food is good for you and which type of food to avoid, click here to check out my free program. It’s a free diet and exercise plan that will get you started on making healthier choices and getting rid of the bad ones. It’s 100% free and it let’s you track your progress.
Exercise and Sleep
Honestly on days I don’t exercise, which is usually once a week, I find it so hard to stick with my calories and I will end up craving bad food. When you exercise your body releases dopamine and Norepinephrine. Therefore when you exercise, you won’t feel the need of getting our dopamine from bad food.
Lack of sleep effects hormones that are in charge of our appetite akaThe Hunger Hormone! If you are not sleeping 7-9 hours per night, your body will crave more food and it will most likely be the unhealthiest choices. .
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