Recently Shelley from The House of Smiths wrote a post about how her ADHD affects her attempts at losing weight. Here’s what she said:

I had my hormones tested, got my thyroid checked out, found out I had a very minor pituitary gland issue and was even diagnosed with ADD; one of the BIGGEST reasons I overate. My mind and body were always trying to stay busy and active (no shocker, because I’ve always got a trillion things going), but since I wasn’t releasing off the specific chemical in my brain, naturally, that made me feel good and relieve stress, I would do it with food; which sent it off for me.

Can you relate? I know I can.

I encourage you to read the entire post because if you’re trying to lose weight, Shelley has some really good, real life tips and advice.

You know, it’s true that your ADHD can make it easier for you to gain weight and harder to lose it.

A lot of us do what is called emotional eating. We eat when we’re bored or stressed or depressed. Then when something wonderful happens, we celebrate with food! 🙂

When you have Attention Deficit Disorder, you’re also more likely to have depression and/or anxiety. I think it’s easier for us to get stressed and that in general our ADHD makes our lives more stressful. Easily bored? That’s a given.

So maybe you’ve decided that it’s time to lose some weight and get healthy.

You get all excited and join a gym. You may join a group like Weight Watchers or something similar. You go out and buy new shoes and cute work out gear. (Let me tell you, shopping for fitness stuff can be fun, but it won’t reduce the size of your butt.)

So now that you have all this stuff together, you start walking or going to the gym. You try really hard – probably too hard – to not eat so much.

And a few days later, you’re starved and sore and you don’t feel any better.

That’s because your ADHD took control of the losing weight thing. It grabbed onto it because it was new and exciting. And it kept your attention for a week or two.

Then boredom set in. You got discouraged. You didn’t lose any weight.

Real lasting weight loss comes from deeper than that.

Forgive yourself for going overboard and start over.

I’ve been on my own weight loss journey for a few months now and I’ve lost 11 lbs so far. What’s even better is the way I feel. I’m more confident, more energetic, more positive. Happier.

I started because I happened to lose a pound or two accidentally. (I got a part time job which meant I was moving more.)

That motivated me to keep it going.

I started parking at the back end of the lot. Maybe not all the way, but not as close as I could get. I got a pedometer that I love because it motivates me to move more.

I joined Weight Watchers online and started making healthier food choices. Plus I was more aware of when I was eating and why.

And I found something athletic that I love. 5K races. I just walk them. 5K is 3.1 miles, which isn’t so bad. Whats fun for me is the actual race day and all of the other participants. Everyone is so encouraging.

I wish I could tell you how huge this is for me. I am the original non athlete. No coordination. No desire to compete. Not interested at all. Now I’m a different person.

And by the way, as much as you don’t want to, please follow Shelley’s advice about seeing a doctor first. I have a wonderful one who encouraged me to improve my health. Because of her, I had my thyroid checked and started hormone replacement therapy. It has made a world of difference.

Please take good care of yourself. You are so important to so many people.