ADHD & Weight Loss: 7 Behaviors That Stall Your Progress

Weight loss in adults with ADHD can be a pretty sensitive subject. Studies suggest that more than two-thirds of individuals with this condition have one or more comorbidities. (R) But not too much attention is paid to obesity, despite the fact that mounting evidence pointed out a strong correlation between ADHD and excess body weight. (R, R) Mostly the problem is attributed to unhealthy eating patterns and a sedentary lifestyle. But oftentimes the difficulty to lose weight and keep it off can be caused by not so obvious neurological and psychological reasons.

If you feel like you’re already trying so hard to eat well and be more active but some invisible power forces you to slip off the track over and over again, I hear you! In this article, you’ll find out what typical ADHD behaviors may make you more prone to gaining unwanted weight — and what you can do to get healthy.

Hyperfocus burnout

Weight loss plans can be hard to achieve if your ADHD brain tends to zero in on something so intensely it makes you forget about everything else, including your intentions to eat a healthy meal or get your body moving. Hyperfocus is a confusing symptom of ADHD because it’s the opposite of inattentiveness and distractability. When you’re in the “zone”, it might feel great because you’re finally able to fully concentrate on the task (of course, if it’s something productive like work, study, or cleaning and not watching Netflix or hanging out on Facebook). You can work on the project for hours or even days at a time which makes you feel like a superhero — so determined and unstoppable!

The problem is, if you’re unable to shift attention from the activity and give your body a break long enough, the nervous system is forced to work in overdrive which can easily lead to burn-out, leaving you flat, irritated, and physically drained. So what do you do? You overeat “fast” carbs and sugar and drink excessive amounts of coffee to pull through. Until eventually you still crash and need a long time to recharge. And often this “recovery” period involves more social isolation, more junk food, and more time spent sedentary.

Related: ADHD and Appetite control

You want to avoid these prolonged dopamine highs to prevent the extreme lows. In order to do so, you need to develop effective ways to snap you out of whatever you’re engaging in and pause, even for a short time.

Yes, for many ADHDers it’s very challenging to sense that tipping point, and when you do it’s almost impossible to talk yourself out of continuing. You have a feeling that you’re about to finish and if interrupted, you’d lose that flow. You might think that you’ve got to get “just this one thing” done (as if it can help you make up for all the other unaccomplished plans). Unfortunately, with poor time management, the task usually ends up being extended on a much longer time while you keep adding more and more “important” stuff to it.

That’s why we need external cues to help us manage time and redirect your attention. Timers, alarms, or phone reminders are all great options. Use them to:

1. Check in with yourself a few times a day and identify how you’re feeling. This can help you notice when you become too wrapped up in the project, short-tempered, more mentally hyperactive, and unable to manage your racing thoughts.
2. Schedule short breaks. Set a specific time to have a balanced meal or a healthy snack, drink water, talk to a friend or a family member, go for a walk, meditate, or do a quick workout. These activities can restore your physical and mental energy, improve mood, and help you sustain a healthier diet and stay in better shape!
   • I like to set the timer for 30 minutes of work with absolutely no distractions and place it away from the table so that I need to stand up to turn it off. Then I take a 10-min pleasurable break which doesn’t involve any use of my executive function or willpower. I try not to check my Instagram during this time (unless I stick with funny videos of cats) or emails as it doesn’t really restore my energy and motivation pool.
3. Move on to fulfilling other responsibilities. Eating clean means making time to do groceries and prepping your meals. And hyperfocus can really get in the way of getting these things done. That’s why deciding how much time a day you can fairly dedicate to each domain of your life to stay consistent with your values (e.g. career, home & family, fitness & health) is crucial for long-term success.
   • Start by making a weekly calendar. Since developing healthy eating habits is on your priorities list now, you want to schedule the exact time when you will go shopping and begin cooking. And don’t forget to set alarms to ensure you carry out your intentions!
   • Allow ten to fifteen minutes each week to review and adjust your planner.
4. Get ready for bed. Do you often find yourself hyper-focusing on something after dinner? The time just passes by until you finally realize that it’s already three or four in the morning… While technologies can be the culprit when it comes to zoning out at night, they can also be used as a signal that’s it’s time to rest and recover. You’ll find more information on the importance of good sleep and the best sleep routines in the next section of this post.

While electronic reminders are awsome tools don’t be afraid to ask people who care to give you a call at a specific time or gently tap you in the shoulder so that you can “snap out” of the intense focus mode.

Remember, when managed, the ability to hyperfocus can be used as a strength that helps you succeed in certain areas of your life without sacrificing your healthy eating habits, weight loss plans, other important responsibilities, and relationships with the loved ones.

Skipping meds

Makings decisions about ADHD medications is very personal and depends on the severity of the symptoms. You must work closely with your doctor to determine the most effective medication, dose, and timing, all of which usually change throughout life. 

Initially, ADHD meds can result in weight loss due to their appetite-suppressing effects. Lots of people find this side-effect pretty convenient because it finally helps them get their minds off food. In their words, stimulants provide their brains with dopamine “fix” that’s more powerful than the one they get from sweets and other hyper-palatable foods. So they temporarily lose their interest in them.

But when talking about long-term lifestyle improvements, medication can help a person take charge of her behaviors and develop better eating and activity habits. Skipping meds, on the other hand, or taking them irregularly can make it much harder to establish a desired healthy routine.

So it’s best to come up with the optimal schedule and stick to it unless you plan only the occasional use, covering certain activities.

Tips to remember your meds:

1. Use a pillbox with a compartment for each day of the week.
2. Set phone reminders.
3. Take your daily dose at the same time you perform a daily task, like right after you had your breakfast or brushed your teeth.

Not prioritizing sleep

Blue light negatively affects your sleep

Sleep problems are very common among people with ADHD and they can easily sabotage any weight loss attempts. Did you know that bad night sleep on average makes people eat over 300 kcal more the next day without any increases in the activity level (R)? During the periods of sleep deprivation, your brain senses that the leptin (our satiety hormone) levels in the body are insufficient and tells you you’re are hungry, even if you had an adequate calorie intake. Plus we tend to eat more sugary and processed foods when we don’t sleep well. Soon enough, making unhealthy sleep and food decisions can become a new norm, making you gain pounds progressively year after year…

Make it a goal to get 7-8 hours of quality sleep daily. Here some ways to achieve this:

1. Go to bed and get up at about the same time every day (even on weekends), according to your regular schedule. If you’re a morning type, you need to wind down by 9-10 PM to wake up at 5-6 AM. If you’re more an evening-type person (which is normal, by the way, because it’s hard-wired to your genes to be an early riser, night owl, or someone in between) then you’ll get enough zzz’s if you get to bed by 12-1 AM and get up at 8-9 AM.
   • Whichever chronotype you have, your most optimal sleep will still be through the night, when the sun is down, and in line with your fixed sleep-wake routine. Going to sleep too late disrupts your deep sleep which negatively affects your memory, hormones, and detoxification processes. Waking up too early shortens the REM-sleep phase which hinders your ability to regulate emotions, concentrate, and learn.
   • Irregular sleeping patterns will also throw your circadian rhythms off the balance and disturb sleep quality, even if the total time you spend in bed is about the same.
2. Get a dose of sunlight first thing in the morning. Taking a peek outside upon awakening will cue your brain to start your internal clock, improve arousal, alertness, and mood, and help you sleep better at night.
3. Spend at least 20 minutes outdoors during a day. Allowing your eyes and skin to get exposed to the blue daylight helps regulate your sleep cycle, hormones, and behavior. Keep in mind that sunglasses block the beneficial sun rays. Wearing a hat is a better alternative if it’s really bright outside.
4. Avoid caffeine after 2 PM as it increases light sleep and shortens deep sleep time (R).
5. Stop eating three hours before bed so that your body can shift its energy expenditure from digestion to recovery. Unless you’re hypoglycemic and hunger wakes you up in the middle of the night — then you might want to have a light, healthy snack within an hour of bedtime.
6. Avoid alcohol before bed as it reduces your REM sleep (R).
7. Dim the night lights and switch all your electronic devices to the night shift mode at least 2 hours before sleep (R).  I also prefer keeping electronics away from my bed or put them on the airplane mode until morning.
8. Keep a journal by your bed to write down three positive things that happened that day, what you’re thankful for, or maybe a to-do list, especially if you tend to ruminate at night. You can also perform light stretching, deep breathing, or meditation to calm your mind.
9. Sleep in a pitch dark room and at a cool temperature to improve sleep quality. Maybe use a white noise machine to block any unwanted sounds. (R)
10. Address mouth-breathing or snoring as they make for poor sleep. Maybe it’s excess body weight; maybe it’s sinus congestion due to allergies, food intolerances, polluted air, or mold exposure; maybe it’s nasal septum deviation that obstructs the air pathway or other facial structure abnormalities (like tongue-tie). Talk to your doctor to find out what your best solution is. Lots of people swear by mouth taping as their secret to combating mild sleep apnea and mouth-breathing and promoting deep, restful sleep.

All-or-nothing thinking

Healthy eating and exercise for weight loss

When it comes to fitness and weight loss, someone with ADHD typically wants noticeable results right here right now. So she is likely to look for other quick fixes rather than making gradual steps. Planning for the future just doesn’t seem very exciting … 

As a result, a lot of people are not only trying to change everything at once but also do many unnecessary, strict interventions like cutting off entire food groups (including lots of healthy options like nuts, egg yolks, fruits, and starchy vegetables), limiting their dietary choices to only a few types of food, working out vigorously most days of the week, undersleeping regularly so they can fit in a “fat-burning” high-intensity interval training in the morning, and so forth. It’s like in our heads we must get extremely uncomfortable in order to achieve real outcomes. But that’s just not true! 

Choosing to suffer and overcome hardships day after day just don’t go very well with ADHD brain wiring. The poor executive function makes it almost impossible for us to motivate ourselves to do things that we hate on a regular basis. Plus radical changes put the body under too much physical and mental stress and can cause anyone (not only ADHDers) to binge on sugary, salty, and high-fat foods, all of which stress the system even more.

When you start a new diet and/or exercise protocol you’ve got to ask yourself a question: “Will I be able to maintain this lifestyle long-term?” And if the answer is “no” then you know you’re probably setting yourself up for another failure and disappointment. 

Adopting new, healthier habits and improving your lifestyle is not a sprint, it’s a marathon! By making gradual changes, you have a lot more chances to succeed in the long run.

Related: ADHD-Friendly Diet Tips

Overtraining

Injury due to overtraining

Generally speaking, exercise is great both for weight loss and improving ADHD symptoms. It burns calories and promotes dopamine and endorphins production. Win-win!

Starting always seems to be the hardest part but the process itself is stimulating and usually makes us feel good. The problem is we don’t always understand the body’s cues that it’s time to stop and switch to a recovery mode. Once we got into it, we get obsessed with “more”. More training days, more time spent in the gym, more exercises per session, more cardio, more weight on the bar, more effort each time, etc.

But there definitely can be too much of a good thing, when continuously overexerting your body puts a strain on the muscle and joint tissues, energy metabolism, and central nervous system (CNS) which eventually, can throw you off the track for quite a while.

So what are the signs you may be working out too much?

1. Low appetite, nausea after the training, indigestion
2. Insatiable hunger, food cravings
3. Severe muscle soreness, chronic pain, and stress (overuse) injuries
4. Moodiness, fuzzy thinking, irritability, anxiety
5. Lack of energy
6. Low libido, irregular or missing menstrual cycles
7. Lower metabolism, cold hands and feet, trouble losing fat
8. Reduced strength and ability to gain muscles
9. Getting sick more often, delayed wound healing
10. Poor sleep quality, early wakeups.

The main point is more is not always better. Our bodies need enough downtime to adapt and get healthier, stronger, and leaner. Certainly, everyone is different and needs different stress vs. rest ratio to get the best results. So you want to pay close attention to how the training affects you physically, mentally, and behaviorally. Write about how you feel in your daily journal, track your progress, and adjust the workout routine depending on the circumstances. Remember, you don’t need to “kill it” every single time.

General training/recovery tips*:

1. Workout with weights 2-4 times a week, do some form of cardio (interval or steady-state) 1-2 times per week, make at least 10k steps daily.
2. Have 2-3 active recovery days a week, when you still make around 10k steps and maybe add a stretching routine, mobility session, or light yoga practice.
3. If your workout is quite intense (8-10 on the RPE scale), try to keep it short — under 45 minutes including a warmup.
4. Periodize your training routine. For example:
   • The Muscle building phase is 6-12 weeks-long
     • Light to medium weights
     • 8-15 reps
     • Higher training frequency
     • Focus on the technique and mind-muscle connection
   • The Strength phase lasts 3-4 weeks
     • Heavier weights
     • 3-6 repetitions, 3-5 sets
   • The Cutting phase is 2-3 weeks
     • HIIT
     • Isolation exercises with a high rep range
     • Lots of walking
     • A caloric deficit
   • The Deloading phase is a 1-2 weeks break from your regular workout routine to let your body recover and “resensitize” to the training. You’ll still move around a lot, maybe do Yoga and light mobility exercises that will help you perfect your movement patterns. As you return, it will take you a few sessions to get back to your previous intensities. But then you’re likely to make even better progress and overcome plateaus.
5. Sleep 7-9 hours a day. If you slept less then 7 hours have an active recovery day or just rest.
6. Drink enough water and provide your body with all the nutrients essential for better performance and recovery.
7. Ease back if you had a stressful day.

* Not applicable if you’re already in a state of adrenal burnout.

Trying to be a neurotypical

Learning about my ADHD was one of the biggest eye-opening moments for me. My whole life I was trying to keep up with everyone else beating myself up for all the mistakes I make considering them my personal flaws… It really took me some time to realize that:

1. No one is perfect.
2. I’m not a neurotypical so I shouldn’t try to be one!
3. There will always be some bad days and that’s ok!

When you put too much pressure on yourself trying to do everything “right”, you constantly stimulate your body’s stress system. Perfectionism damages your mental health by building negative self-talk and toxic response patterns — very common ADHD-related issues that are detrimental to health and weight loss goals.

The overflowing stress hormones make you more likely to:

• Procrastinate and/or give up on your fitness plans
• Crave foods that are not good for you, and
• Gain fat around your abdomen because stress slows down your fat metabolism (oh no!) 

So how do you deal with mistakes without sabotaging yourself?

1. Acknowledge your errors and become accountable for them, understanding that mistakes are inevitable and they don’t make you any less of a person (separate the behavior from the character).
2. Don’t just “try harder” next time. Think about what this situation has thought you. How can you improve? 
3. Remember that failures are an important part of the progress. But don’t just expect them to happen and let them define you. Resilient people see each mistake as an opportunity to learn and get better, and each challenge as a skill that they have the power to develop.
4. Celebrate your successes!

For example, on the day when you hardly made it to a gym and had a lazy sort of workout, you could tell yourself: “Yes, the training didn’t go as I planned. But you know what? I still did a good job by showing up! It’s better than I would stay at home and watch TV! Working out after work is hard for me because I just feel too exhausted. I can try eating a bigger lunch so that I have enough energy to push harder or I could go to the gym during the morning hours.”

Not making time for yourself

Make time for yourself

Women with ADD or ADHD often become “people-pleasers” doing their best to fit in and feel liked by others. I know this for myself: I almost never ask for help because I don’t want to bother anyone and at the same time, I have a hard time saying “no”. So I spent a lot of energy doing things that don’t benefit me in any way but then the important tasks take forever to get done.

While there’s nothing wrong with the desire to be accepted (after all, there is a reason why we all have a special “bonding” hormone called oxytocin). But not when you do that at the expense of your own major health and wellbeing.

First of all, when trying to be that “superhuman” in order to deserve someone else’s approval and praise there is always a big chance you’re setting yourself up for disappointment even if you’re doing the best you can. You can’t really control others’ reactions. There is no guarantee that people will love you more because you have a perfect body, you’re successful, or because you selflessly try to make them happy.  Instead, you want to focus on things that are within your control with special attention paid to how your behavioral changes improve your body and mind.

Second, all these stories we tell ourselves that usually start with what we should or shouldn’t do put us under enormous pressure. Like “I should look a certain way / I should change / I should try harder / I shouldn’t make such mistakes.  Otherwise, I won’t be considered lovable.” No wonder how low self-esteem and fear of rejection can make someone overcommit. In the case of ADHD, this mindset usually results in poor self-care, weight loss plateau, a bunch of unfinished projects, and as a consequence, a feeling of guilt and anxiety. Remember, chronic stress can’t be good for any health-related intentions!

If clean eating and managing healthy weight are truly important goals for you, you want to commit to them along with other main values. The activities that might seem relevant but are not on your priority list will have to be sacrificed, at least temporarily. Keep in mind that this also includes cutting down all the pleasurable things that don’t serve the purpose (like browsing on Facebook or Instagram, playing video games, watching Netflix, or shopping). This change will require you to sit down in a quiet place and choose what goes on that priority list and what doesn’t. 

I’m sure you’ve heard this one before but I’ll repeat it: Making time for yourself is not selfish!

Start by doing things that you love (increase dopamine production) and things that good for you (replenish your body):

1. Getting enough sleep.
2. Doing any form of physical activity you enjoy. It could be walking in nature, playing tennis, practicing yoga, dancing, etc. You name it!
3. Treating yourself with relaxing procedures every once in a while. For example, going to a sauna, taking a long bath, getting a massage, mani-pedi, or a facial treatment.
4. Scheduling small breaks throughout a day to eat a healthy meal, listen to your favorite music, call a friend, meditate, or take a power nap.
5. Removing junk food from the house and stocking pantry with healthier options.
6. Enforcing a rule of not working past 9 pm and through the weekend.
7. Connecting with family and/or friends on Sundays.
8. Saying “no.” Cutting out activities that drain energy and time without giving you much in return.
9. Asking for help. You want to learn how to delegate some of your work to your family, friends, and colleagues. Especially the tasks that you tend to procrastinate over the most, like the ones that require good planning skills and attention to detail.
10. Finding an accountability partner who understands the magnitude of your struggles. Weight loss is hard — and it can be twice as hard for someone with ADHD. Sharing your worries and dilemmas with someone who really “gets” it and who’s there to help you stay committed can be a true game-changer!

Conclusion

ADHD can definitely add a few extra challenges to your weight loss journey, and it can’t be simply explained by natural brain chemistry which makes you lack willpower, have poor eating habits and low motivation to exercise. There are certain behaviors that we tend to do on a regular basis without realizing that they sabotage our fitness goals.

1. Hyper-focusing on something makes us neglect the important weight loss factors such as following a healthy meal schedule, drinking water, getting to a gym, and going to bed on time.
2. Taking ADHD medications irregularly affects how consistently we’re able to follow the plan.
3. Not prioritizing sleep promotes the desire to eat more junk food and move less.
4. Trying to change everything at once is unrealistic and unsustainable.
5. Overtraining drains our energy levels, increases cravings and chances of injuries.
6. Trying to be neurotypical makes us more likely to procrastinate and/or give up on our weight loss plans.
7. Overcommitting results in poor self-care, a host of unfinished projects, anxiety, and a feeling of guilt.

Additionally, most of these typical ADHD behaviors put our nervous system under too much stress which by itself can wreak havoc on any weight loss attempts.

But remember, the way your brain is wired doesn’t mean you’re doomed to a life of obesity! You can either continue fighting your ADHD or accept it and look deeper into underlying causes that make your symptoms worse and stall your progress. By making smart goals, establishing simple and clear rules, setting external cues and reminders, and practicing self-compassion  you’ll have much better chances for successful lifestyle and body transformation. And when your efforts start to pay off, the results for your physical and mental health will be so worth it!