Any tips on loosing weight when you've got ADHD?
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The things that get in the way for me are: getting instantly bored with any weight loss strategy, an inability to do things if I'm told I have to, forgetting that I need to lose weight, needing the sensory input of food, inability to recognise when I'm full, hyper-focusing on weight loss for a month and losing a ton of weight and then putting it all back on the next month because I celebrated the weight loss with cake...
I just wonder if there are any ADHD behaviour hacks where I could use my neurospicyness to actually help me lose weight consistently.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]A lot of focus on diet in these comments but almost no mention of exercise.
For me, I found the couch to 5K running program for beginners highly engaging. With a running tracker app I could see my progress and really enjoy fixating on the details. If you do decide to get into running here are some tips:
- Really good running shoes are a must. Take your time trying on shoes until you find the right pair. They should feel extremely comfortable in the store, like a pair of bedroom slippers, and there should be no rubbing of parts of your feet/toes while walking around. They’re expensive to buy but much cheaper than any gym membership
- Other nice to haves are good shorts and shirts made of breathable material
- Don’t try to skip ahead on the C25K program. You really do need to take it gradually or you will feel a lot of pain and give up
- Some pain is normal though but eventually it all clears up and starts to feel amazing (as your distances go up)
- If the pain gets worse and worse then slow down or stop. Some level of soreness / fatigue is normal until you’re an experienced runner. Severe pain is not normal and could indicate or lead to injury
- If you’re running out of breath then you’re running too fast. The goal of running is to run, not sprint, which means staying entirely in the aerobic zone. Learning to regulate your pace and your breathing is challenging at first but soon becomes natural
- If you’re overweight then you probably need to go even slower than the C25K program recommends. Spend a lot more time walking than running and be mindful of your joints. You should not be taking big running strides or striking your heels. Try to be very mindful of your joints and if they hurt then slow down or stop. You can lose weight just by walking a lot while improving your diet but trying to force yourself to run while overweight can harm your joints or cause other injuries
So why run at all? Well, besides the obvious exercise and cardiovascular health benefits, running is a lot of fun. It actually feels amazing to be running on a beautiful morning/evening and seeing the world go by at a rapid pace, the wind blowing gently in your hair. Running releases endorphins which feel amazing and give you a “runner’s high”.
Furthermore, the cardio fitness benefits of running extend to everything else in life. You’ll sleep better, you’ll feel better all the time, you’ll develop a slower resting heart rate which allows you to relax much more deeply, and you’ll feel more awake and better able to focus rather than being in a fog for much of the time.
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Take your meds regularly. One of the side effects is losing your appetite.
Unfortunately not everyone gets that one
Actually I don't think I've had any side effects. From concerta, elvanse, nor any adhd unrelated meds. Antibiotics gave me the yellow shits once but that's barely a side effect, killing bacteria is the entire point of those.
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The things that get in the way for me are: getting instantly bored with any weight loss strategy, an inability to do things if I'm told I have to, forgetting that I need to lose weight, needing the sensory input of food, inability to recognise when I'm full, hyper-focusing on weight loss for a month and losing a ton of weight and then putting it all back on the next month because I celebrated the weight loss with cake...
I just wonder if there are any ADHD behaviour hacks where I could use my neurospicyness to actually help me lose weight consistently.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]There has been exactly one thing that worked for me (other than the new relationship high when you do things with your new partner all the time, go places, lots of activity and little time for hunger. This is not sustainable though)
I watched 2 bears 1 cave when it started because I like comedy, Bert is funny and honestly a caricature unto himself, and it didn't have as many annoying sponsor segments. Anyway, they were talking about what they were doing for Sober October and Bert, who seems to have a lot of problems similar to mine, said he was trying One Meal A Day and it felt like the first time in a looong time that his mind was sharpish and he didn't feel the constant need to snack. So I tried it, lost 25 KG over 4 months (healthy loss, I never felt starved, I just had a high starting weight) and gained half of it back from COVID lockdown. FML. Rest came back over the next 3 years of working mostly from home and not having the spine to stick to it again. But when I was doing it, starting day 2 or 3 I did feel sort of... Free. The constant blood sugar rush-crash cycle was no more.
TL;DR: One Meal a Day. It's awesome. No you won't feel hungry all day.
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There has been exactly one thing that worked for me (other than the new relationship high when you do things with your new partner all the time, go places, lots of activity and little time for hunger. This is not sustainable though)
I watched 2 bears 1 cave when it started because I like comedy, Bert is funny and honestly a caricature unto himself, and it didn't have as many annoying sponsor segments. Anyway, they were talking about what they were doing for Sober October and Bert, who seems to have a lot of problems similar to mine, said he was trying One Meal A Day and it felt like the first time in a looong time that his mind was sharpish and he didn't feel the constant need to snack. So I tried it, lost 25 KG over 4 months (healthy loss, I never felt starved, I just had a high starting weight) and gained half of it back from COVID lockdown. FML. Rest came back over the next 3 years of working mostly from home and not having the spine to stick to it again. But when I was doing it, starting day 2 or 3 I did feel sort of... Free. The constant blood sugar rush-crash cycle was no more.
TL;DR: One Meal a Day. It's awesome. No you won't feel hungry all day.
I do omad too and have lost 50 lbs this year and am closing in on my goal weight but have 0 desire to stop omad. I’ll just eat a bigger meal to start maintaining. Nothing really to add other than it’s easy and works.
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There has been exactly one thing that worked for me (other than the new relationship high when you do things with your new partner all the time, go places, lots of activity and little time for hunger. This is not sustainable though)
I watched 2 bears 1 cave when it started because I like comedy, Bert is funny and honestly a caricature unto himself, and it didn't have as many annoying sponsor segments. Anyway, they were talking about what they were doing for Sober October and Bert, who seems to have a lot of problems similar to mine, said he was trying One Meal A Day and it felt like the first time in a looong time that his mind was sharpish and he didn't feel the constant need to snack. So I tried it, lost 25 KG over 4 months (healthy loss, I never felt starved, I just had a high starting weight) and gained half of it back from COVID lockdown. FML. Rest came back over the next 3 years of working mostly from home and not having the spine to stick to it again. But when I was doing it, starting day 2 or 3 I did feel sort of... Free. The constant blood sugar rush-crash cycle was no more.
TL;DR: One Meal a Day. It's awesome. No you won't feel hungry all day.
Covid legit fucked me over too, lol.
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The things that get in the way for me are: getting instantly bored with any weight loss strategy, an inability to do things if I'm told I have to, forgetting that I need to lose weight, needing the sensory input of food, inability to recognise when I'm full, hyper-focusing on weight loss for a month and losing a ton of weight and then putting it all back on the next month because I celebrated the weight loss with cake...
I just wonder if there are any ADHD behaviour hacks where I could use my neurospicyness to actually help me lose weight consistently.
I get tremendous joy from riding my bike. I bought a used one but a good one and it feels like flying. I go out 2-3 a day if I'm not working. It doesn't feel like exercise.
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The things that get in the way for me are: getting instantly bored with any weight loss strategy, an inability to do things if I'm told I have to, forgetting that I need to lose weight, needing the sensory input of food, inability to recognise when I'm full, hyper-focusing on weight loss for a month and losing a ton of weight and then putting it all back on the next month because I celebrated the weight loss with cake...
I just wonder if there are any ADHD behaviour hacks where I could use my neurospicyness to actually help me lose weight consistently.
Amphetamines?
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I do omad too and have lost 50 lbs this year and am closing in on my goal weight but have 0 desire to stop omad. I’ll just eat a bigger meal to start maintaining. Nothing really to add other than it’s easy and works.
Honestly I was losing weight crazy fast while eating a huge meal from mcdonalds or burger king twice or thrice a week. The other days I made something filling but with low calorie content (usually fried some frozen veggie mix, chicken fillet and added a bunch of Sriracha to make it less boring - all in all a huge plate of food with around 700-800 kcal)
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Covid legit fucked me over too, lol.
Are you sure it was Covid and not Tengil?
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Whenever you want to eat junk food, take of your clothes and stand in front of the mirror.
Sir, this is a Wendy's!
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I have definitely used my difficulty starting tasks to help myself lose weight. I find its way easier to just be hungry than to make food. Most of the time.
I still have to make sure I'm not eating snacks without thinking about it. A good option for me has been keeping easy, small, healthy foods, that can get me through hunger pang. My favorite is a pot of Greek yogurt. They're like 80¢ at Aldi where I live. Fresh fruit works great as well! And for late night treats, I eat frozen fruit. It fills the ice cream niche, without being packed with calories and extra sugar
If you have very ripe bananas, you can freeze them and then they make a nice ice cream substitute blended.
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One day, try going the whole day on just water. Pick your day carefully so you are free to do nothing if you choose.
Whenever you get hungry, pause, drink a glass of water, and check in with yourself. Odds are you aren't that physically hungry, but your mind is going ape shit trying to get you to eat.
You don't have to go crazy here, if you start not feeling well, then eat.
Try that again a few times at your leisure, but aim to actually go a full day at some point.
The point of that exercise isn't to lose weight per se, it's to gain a better understanding of how much of your eating habits are mental/psychological and also to show yourself that you have the ability to go a full day without food, so when a random Tuesday rolls around and you're slightly peckish, you can grab a banana and get past it rather than going bananas at a Chinese buffet and downloading five thousand empty calories into your gut.
That is an imperfect approach, but it helps you get to know yourself and provide context for how "hungry" you are when it's two hours past breakfast and two hours until lunch.
Obviously don't do this if you have any kind of medical condition that requires you to eat. I am not a doctor.
I'll back this up. That's what started my weight loss journey. I felt like crap after having eaten way too much on Christmas. I stumbled upon a conduit called Eat Stop Eat, which is basically a 24 hour water fast. It's a lot easier to get into than a longer fast, since if you've just eaten lunch, you only have to wait until lunch the next day.
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The things that get in the way for me are: getting instantly bored with any weight loss strategy, an inability to do things if I'm told I have to, forgetting that I need to lose weight, needing the sensory input of food, inability to recognise when I'm full, hyper-focusing on weight loss for a month and losing a ton of weight and then putting it all back on the next month because I celebrated the weight loss with cake...
I just wonder if there are any ADHD behaviour hacks where I could use my neurospicyness to actually help me lose weight consistently.
Vyvanse is an ADHD drug, but also is prescribed and approved as a weight loss drug, too. I lost a bunch of weight on it.
Just make sure you drink lots of water. It also suppresses your thirst response in your brain, so you can get dehydrated easily.
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The things that get in the way for me are: getting instantly bored with any weight loss strategy, an inability to do things if I'm told I have to, forgetting that I need to lose weight, needing the sensory input of food, inability to recognise when I'm full, hyper-focusing on weight loss for a month and losing a ton of weight and then putting it all back on the next month because I celebrated the weight loss with cake...
I just wonder if there are any ADHD behaviour hacks where I could use my neurospicyness to actually help me lose weight consistently.
I've found it's easier to create a set of rules that define my lifestyle than it is to commit to a diet. Like, think of strict keto as a way of living rather than a diet. Eat all you want, but sugar and carbs are no longer food. Don't focus on losing weight, focus on following the rules. The weight loss will happen in its own.
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The things that get in the way for me are: getting instantly bored with any weight loss strategy, an inability to do things if I'm told I have to, forgetting that I need to lose weight, needing the sensory input of food, inability to recognise when I'm full, hyper-focusing on weight loss for a month and losing a ton of weight and then putting it all back on the next month because I celebrated the weight loss with cake...
I just wonder if there are any ADHD behaviour hacks where I could use my neurospicyness to actually help me lose weight consistently.
Usually what I do is just stop eating/barely eat at all. Keep this up for weeks and weeks and you will lose weight fast. And its easy. Its less work to do this than to workout or change your diet (in a different way). You can also distract yourself so you don’t focus on the hunger that you feel. Give it a shot and lmk
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I don't notice body signals when I hyperfocus, so if I eat a good breakfast on my days off, and don't keep s ack food around, I might go all the way to bedtime without another meal. I think that's called intermittent fasting?
But fr, the main thing that helped me was accountability. I used one of those paid apps that turn tracking and nutrition into a group activity and partially gamify it. I got lucky with a good coach and a good group but it did help. Just knowing that someone was looking over my shoulder to make sure I did the food logging made it easier to remember to do. And the "numbers go bigger" part of my brain turned out to like "numbers go smaller", so the gamification helped too.
Do you mind sharing the app you used?
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Do you mind sharing the app you used?
I used Noom, got a pretty good trial price and then extended it.
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I used Noom, got a pretty good trial price and then extended it.
Thanks. Noom didn't work for me 🫤
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Unfortunately not everyone gets that one
Actually I don't think I've had any side effects. From concerta, elvanse, nor any adhd unrelated meds. Antibiotics gave me the yellow shits once but that's barely a side effect, killing bacteria is the entire point of those.
Well, antibiotica is not an ADHD medication. My daughters ADHD meds reduce her appetite, and that is a problem because she is at the lower end of the weight spectrum.
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Are you sure it was Covid and not Tengil?
That asshole did this to me because Katla had cravings. That bish.
