PSA to anyone that has struggled with chronic binge eating forever - realising I have ADHD and seeking medical help has changed my life
TLDR - getting diagnosed with ADHD and starting stimulant medication has changed my life and “cured” a lifetime of binge eating overnight. I’m leaving this sub because I don’t need it anymore - weight loss has actually become achievable and somewhat effortless. I actually have other hobbies and interests now. If the symptoms of ADHD resonate with you and you struggle with BED, even if you’re female, “too smart”, “not fat enough”, “too successful”, please consider chatting to your doctor - you don’t have to live life on hard mode.
I’m 31 and I’ve spent at least the last 20 years of my life trying to lose weight. Not just as a side interest but it’s literally been my only hobby. The thing is, I have never been overweight but a chronic binge eater (and used to be bulimic) - I never thought I was bad enough or big enough to seek professional help.
I’m your typical type A, high achiever, well educated, good career etc. From the outside you would never think there was a problem. But I have been all consumed by my desire to stop binging and lose weight, spending tens of thousands of dollars on new diet programs, online coaches, gym memberships, I even started a nutrition degree. I don’t think there is anyone in the world that knows more about weight loss than I do. I have scoured this sub, r/progresspics and r/CICO for years, cataloguing the plethora of tips, sure that if I could just find the right advice it would finally work “this time”. I’ve spent hours of my life creating new diet plans, buying new foods for my plan, creating new health and fitness instagrams for motivation, ghosting coaches when I inevitably fail after a few days. I thought all of this was normal because “95% of diets fail” and thought I just wasn’t trying hard enough, was just too weak willed and lacked motivation (perhaps because I didn’t truly have a weight problem).
I started engaging with some ADHD content on social media as it has become more mainstream the last few years and always thought “ha that sounds like me, doesn’t everyone have ADHD now?” It wasn’t till I had a baby and my habits really began to spiral out of control that my husband pushed me to go and seek a diagnosis because everything was not alright. What I thought were cute personality quirks actually ended up being symptoms of ADHD, which is very often comorbid with eating disorders, particularly binge eating. I didn’t think medical professionals would take me seriously because on paper there is nothing wrong with my life and how could someone who’s not overweight truly be eating 4000+ calories most days. Thankfully my GP and then my psychiatrist did take me seriously and I’ve now been trialling stimulant medication for a few months.
The difference has been unbelievable. The medication allows me to “pause” whenever I have a binge urge and make a better choice that aligns with my goals. It’s relatively effortless to eat healthily, high protein and binging huge amounts of sugar just isn’t appealing anymore. It does have a mild appetite suppression effect but not so much that I don’t get hungry at all anymore - my brain is finally just working like a neurotypical brain and I can’t believe how much easier everything is. I used to think people were lying when they stuck to challenges consistently for 8 weeks, how could someone not fall off track after a few days? They stuck to their diet on the weekend?! Bullshit!
Anyway, it’s time for me to leave this sub and the other weight loss subs on reddit and my health Insta. They simply don’t hold any interest for me anymore, I don’t need to consume so much weight loss content because I’m just doing it and my brain can actually focus on other interests now. Pretty soon I’ll be at my goal weight and I’m finally living like the healthy person I always wanted to be.
There are so many posts on here that read like a manuscript for an ADHD brain - the lack of impulse control, black and white thinking, obsession with starting over and finding the perfect plan, helplessness and frustration at spending years on futile attempts.
I know this post won’t be for everyone but if I can help just one person realise that maybe there is something else going on and it’s not just a lack of willpower, i will be happy. Very happy to answer any questions about my ADHD or medication if that would be helpful.
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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/16tdwr6/psa_to_anyone_that_has_struggled_with_chronic/
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