An ADHD-Friendly Way to Lose Weight? Yes!
By Linda Williams Swanson
Imagine if you set goals of gaining weight and living an unhealthy lifestyle. If those were your goals, you’d do the things I did for several decades of my life, including:
- Eat any food available 24-7 and eat often
- Eat to soothe emotions – feeling sad, anxious, or stressed
- Eat to ease boredom
- Eat when you can’t sleep
- Jump from one diet plan to another — plans that restrict your food intake, make demands on your executive functioning, and that require you to record total food consumption, caloric intake, and daily weight
Can ADHD Affect Your Weight?
I didn’t know it, but something else was affecting my lifestyle choices – ADHD. I didn’t get my ADHD diagnosis until my mid-60s, but I see now that it was always a huge factor in my weight challenges.
Today, we are more aware of the relationship between ADHD and weight gain. Dr. Roberto Olivardia, states, “Someone with ADHD is four times more likely to become obese than someone without ADHD.”
I tried dieting – often! Twice I lost 60 pounds.
The pounds returned after my first “success.” And they were coming back after my second 60-pound loss, at least until I found a better, ADHD-friendly diet to control my eating and my weight.
Almost eight years ago, I made a lifestyle choice that has worked for me like nothing else. Intermittent fasting (IF) has been a very positive experience for me.
Many people hear the word “fasting” and assume it’s impossible for them to follow this plan for eating. Don’t let the word scare you off! You already fast while you sleep.
Intermittent fasting extends the time you go without eating each day.
Intermittent Fasting, Weight Loss, and ADHD
I asked Dr. Russell Barkley for his thoughts on intermittent fasting for adults with ADHD.
His feedback was quite positive. He explained that intermittent fasting’s simplicity is what makes it such a good plan for those of us with ADHD.
I agree!
There is one basic rule of intermittent fasting: eat only during your eating window.
That’s it!
One simple rule!
Diets make huge demands on your executive functions, where ADHD adults struggle most. Intermittent fasting is simple!
As an intermittent faster, you have no records to keep. The only thing to consider when you think of eating is, “Am I in my eating window?” (the hours you have chosen for eating).
If the answer is yes, you may eat. If the answer is no, you can have a non-caloric drink.
How Does Fasting Result in Weight Loss?
When our body receives no food for 12 to 14 hours, it burns stored fat as its energy source. Complicated biological processes are behind it, but this is the primary one.
We run on short-term energy from food when we “graze” around the clock. After 12 to 14 hours of fasting, our bodies use stored fat as fuel. And the pounds begin to disappear. (Many other health benefits result from this process.)
Several eating schedules qualify as intermittent fasting. In one, you fast two full days each week and eat the other five days. I didn’t try that plan, as fasting for two days seemed too drastic.
Instead, I eat during the same five-hour eating window every day. I fast (but stay hydrated) the balance of every 24 hours.
Some people have an eating window of eight or even ten hours each day. Others have shorter windows.
The easy intermittent fasting regimen I use is 5/19. It has a five-hour eating window and a 19-hour fasting window. It allowed me to achieve my goal weight.
I eat from 7 a.m. to noon each day. If you try intermittent fasting, you may choose a 6/18, an 8/16, or even a 10/14 plan. You may prefer an eating window later in the day so you can have dinner with friends or family.
It’s up to you!
Some people start intermittent fasting with a longer eating window. Then they shorten it as their body adapts to the new schedule. I eat a good breakfast, a snack, and lunch by noon.
I drink water throughout the day, and if I’m a little hungry during my fasting window, I drink a cup of hot tea, and the hunger is gone.
If you try intermittent fasting, experiment to find a plan that works well for you – one that lets you achieve the results you want.
You can eat whatever you want within your eating window. Some intermittent fasters are omnivores and eat anything and everything they want.
Others are vegetarians or vegans. What we all have in common is that we all eat only within our designated eating windows.
On this plan, you don’t track your weight, food, or calories. It makes fewer demands on your executive functions, so it’s less challenging for adults with ADHD.
As a bonus, the eating schedule provides much-needed structure to the day. Each day follows the same pattern, with an “eating window” and a “fasting window.” That structure can be a huge support.
Who Should Not Do Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting is not recommended for:
- People who are underweight or suffering from an eating disorder
- Pregnant or breastfeeding women
- People under 18.
As with any significant lifestyle change, check with your doctor first. Be sure you don’t have any conditions that make intermittent fasting a poor choice for you.
Intermittent Fasting with ADHD
When you have ADHD, support can make intermittent fasting much easier to start. When I started intermittent fasting, I had my own built-in support group.
My husband and I began (and continue) together. We have shared our challenges and successes.
As an adult with ADHD, I saw the benefits of intermittent fasting. I also found it much easier to start intermittent fasting with a partner.
If you’re struggling with weight loss and ADHD, and curious about intermittent fasting, reach out to us at Free to Be Coaching.
Want more strategies to lead a healthy lifestyle with ADHD? Try the Healthy Habits and the ADHD Brain Group. Join a supportive community of people thriving with ADHD in ADDA+.
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11 Comments
How long do the migraines last, I have been doing intermittent fasting for about 8 now and the migraines have caused me to have weekly sick days and I am getting in trouble at work for that and a drop in work quality. I drink tons of water, eat lots of protein anfd veggies during the day. Take hydrolyte, and apparently everything else is healthy numbers wise?S
My daughter sent me the link to this article, and I’m glad she did! It jibes with everything I’ve been learning these last couple years, especially since I’ve got a bit of ADHD. I was 40 lbs overweight and found it hard to lose weight and harder still to keep it off. (I swear, just walking by a bakery and smelling bread baking, I’d gain 10 lbs, lol.) So my daughter told me how intermittent fasting was helping her, so I studied up on it. Now, I have a simple routine that my body likes, and I’m steadily making 1 lb per week disappear, and I don’t even notice it. Here’s my plan in case it can help anyone else:
1. Wake up between 5-6am, do my vigorous half hour workout (treadmill, biking, weights). I eat nothing and only drink water and black coffee until 8-9am.
2. At 8-9am, I eat a light breakfast and continue drinking coffee, green tea (or matcha), or water.
3. Lunch at 1pm, dinner at 5-6pm.
4. After dinner, I begin fasting.
One great benefit it’s that my morning exercise is burning core fat. And it’s working! I started losing 1 lb per week, and now it’s at 1.5 lbs per week. And an interesting dude effect is that I rarely feel like having between-meal snacks any more! Eating on a fairly strict schedule also results in new more thinking about food any more, especially with eating because of stress or boredom.
Note: the pre-breakfast workouts are a free side benefit…burning extra core fat on top of my testing. Oh, and the coffee & green tea (or matcha) are helping with my general health and I’m having fun experimenting at the same time. (I have osteoarthritis and those are helping reduce inflammation while helping my teeth, joints, and biogut.)
Tip: don’t add ANY dairy to coffee…it negates nearly all of the benefits of coffee.
I’m rarely hungry in the mornings, so IF comes naturally to me. But my problem is I have no appetite at all until past midnight, often taking virtually all of my food between 1am and 4am. This late night appetite surge seems to be independent of when I take stimulants, my last dose typically wearing off by 9pm, but this patterns persists even on days I take no stimulant medication at all.
I fully agree with the simplicity of the approach being great for ADHD brains! I get very overwhelmed with too many things to track/adjust/be mindful of when making health changes. Fasting is actually doing less, instead of more! It does challenge impulsivity and for some that might be quite hard but it’s amazing how fast the body (mine and other people I know who fast) adjusts and the impulse for eating settles down.
I appreciate this post! I have a question though – do ADHD medications break a fast? Would appreciate any information on this! 🙂
I am very glad to see this article. My experience is quite similar to the author’s, regarding both previous dieting attempts (going back 50+ years!) and now Intermittent Fasting. I.F. has proven to be the right thing for me. I’m also a science geek. Multiple studies in both lab animals and humans have shown the raft of beneficial aspects of I.F. in relation to cellular functioning, metabolism, appetite transmitter and insulin sensitivity. The benefits in neurological functioning are not a myth. I find my ADHD is far better, brain function is far more normal. My wife comments on how relaxed I seem, and I’ve changed nothing in my medication (old fashioned Bupropion HCL 150). As the New England Journal of Medicine reported in the last few years, I.F.’s main benefits are actually disengaged from weight-loss, which is simply a nice side effect. To those afraid of the hunger – I find it gets better, as long as I don’t take ANYTHING during the fasting period except water, black coffee or plain tea. Nothing else. Otherwise it’s been shown insulin is released, even if it’s something flavored but zero-calorie. If I break that rule, then I WILL feel very miserably hungry.
I agree with Jane in that it’s not for everyone. I’m glad it works for this author and a certain percentage of people. Some of us get extremely hungry, and this persistent, agonising hunger doesn’t go away. This gnawing hunger makes me irritable, and even dizzy, and I also get headaches. And, for a person like
I agree with Jane in that this is not for everyone. I tried it for months, and I hate it! First, I can’t stand this gnawing hunger that never seems to go away. In addition, I get headaches, irritable, and I even feel shaky. With
ADHD causes enough distractions! So much discomfort would be unsustainable for the rest of my life. Moreover, I already take antidepressants and antipsychotics which greatly increase my appetite.
I love intermittent fasting and do some form of it almost every day.
I used to think we needed to eat six mini meals a day, and consequently spent most of my day cooking, eating, ordering takeout, or reaching for some sort of snack. I never really felt satisfied.
Now I do IF combined with keto and I’m a happy camper. I’ve found it’s improved my focus and concentration so much. I also sleep better too, and my emotions are not quite so overwhelming as they used to be.
I still have my rough days, but they are now very few and far between.
Hi folks. I love IF
There is one issue though, how do you make it work with stimulant meds
I can take my elvanse with breakfast at 7am, and then start fasting at 12 noon (so it’s 5/19). However when it comes to around 4pm I need a small 10mg top up of dex, I can’t really take this with food.
What to do?
This isn’t a good idea for like 99% of people
Uhhhh actually it’s a great idea for most people, and extremely healthy, especially in modern times. We evolved fasting and there are a myriad of health benefits.
I have been using intermittent fasting for around 6 years now (diagnosed with ADHD 4 years ago). I began with the eat-stop-eat approach with 1 to 2 days of 24 hour fasting per week, which eventually became a 16 hour daily one (convenience and a set plan). In doing so it made my life much more convenient and satisfying. There is no need to slow down for a morning breakfast. I get to feel full in the evening (making it easier to slumber). I had tried many other diets prior to fasting and to be honest they were miserable and even unhealthy long term in many ways. I now can eat balanced / nourished, without wiping out anything unnecessarily.
I’ve never looked back, and have adopted it as part of my life style. I got to the point where I hit my goal (lost half of my current weight at the time) and now expand the window / caloric density to gain lean weight periodically.