ADHD and Food Part 1
It's food and diet week over here. How do you eat well with ADHD?
Before we get into what eating "well" is, let's talk about some "dietary" struggles with ADHD:
- Forgetting to eat
- Not noticing that you're hungry
- Forgetting that you noticed that you're hungry
- Not noticing what you are eating (or that you are still eating it)
and finally…
- Forgetting that you are eating, or were eating before you wandered off to the bathroom and then started doing something else.
A more complex part of managing memory and food is to know what times are mealtimes in general, and to structure your day and activities around that. The advantage of doing so is that you have something to organize around- and that then you can start to think about what you put "in the engine" as my 3 year-old aptly puts it, and make sure it gets there before you crash and burn because you're out of fuel.
As a side note, some people are concerned, if they are thinking about taking ADD meds that they won't eat well because of their appetite suppression. While I have found that this can be an issue with my clients, I've also found that it can be more than outweighed by the ability to remember to eat, and to plan ahead. (I am not advocating for or against medication. Just noting what my clients report!)
May 11, 2011 @ 20:15:32
All of those potential ADHD dietary challenges – I tend to do all of them, with my favorite bonus pitfall: not recognizing when you have crashed and you do realize it, not remembering that eating might help. After spending the last month working hard to overcome those tendencies, I now plan my meals for the week. When I remember to look at the plan, it provides enough support for me to eat something – no decisions needed.
What I haven’t sorted yet is recognizing meal times and planning around them. My schedule is different every day & from week to week, which makes developing regular mealtimes challenging. This means I sometimes eat lunch at 7pm, usually in a very bad mood. Does anyone have any suggestions for remembering meal times?
May 13, 2011 @ 09:01:15
That is the bonus pitfall for ADHD folks indeed: in other words, you forget to eat–> get more forgetful/less aware of your body—>forget to eat some more—> spiral. Have you tried (1) establishing regular mealtimes that you’ll use if there are no conflicts (2) putting mealtimes in your calendar when you look at your schedule for the week and/or (3) making sure to eat something at your mealtimes (or as close as possible) even if you can’t sit down and eat? Like a protein-type bar or nuts? For me it works better to err on the early side- if you’re going into a meeting (or whatever where you can’t eat), eat something before it even if it’s not mealtime. –Becca