In the last year I had a little epithany. The biggest obstacle for me in losing weight is my ADD. I have done a little research and found there is a HUGE connection between ADD and weight gain.
As I've been trying to lose it's so hard because I just don't have the attention span to track my calories. That falls into the category of niggling detail my brain doesn't deal with well. I just finisshed reading an online article about it and it all made so much sense. And left me feeling pretty hopeless about being able to overcome it all to lose. I also have mild PCOS which increases the challenge further.
I've slowly lost weight since September (a whopping 20 lbs.) and I am proud of that. I'm proud that I'm still trying to lose as I've never been able to pay attention and stick with something for the longer than 6-8 weeks before. But I'm frustrated too. Other people can do this and I just flounder. Lots of self-esteem crap from the ADD beyond the weight. I'm considering going back to work and I'm worried about how my performance with work might be affected by this. I've struggled a little in the past with work because of it.
I find that for the first time in my life, I am seriously considering being medicated for it. I'm scared to do that because of the potential of abuse associated with the meds. I don't have any sort of history of that (I don't drink at all, never smoked and have never done drugs) but it's serious medication and not to be taken lightly. The fear of developing a problem has kept me from being medicated in the past.
Does anyone else struggle with ADD and weight issues? What has helped you overcome the challenges?
As I've been trying to lose it's so hard because I just don't have the attention span to track my calories. That falls into the category of niggling detail my brain doesn't deal with well. I just finisshed reading an online article about it and it all made so much sense. And left me feeling pretty hopeless about being able to overcome it all to lose. I also have mild PCOS which increases the challenge further.
I've slowly lost weight since September (a whopping 20 lbs.) and I am proud of that. I'm proud that I'm still trying to lose as I've never been able to pay attention and stick with something for the longer than 6-8 weeks before. But I'm frustrated too. Other people can do this and I just flounder. Lots of self-esteem crap from the ADD beyond the weight. I'm considering going back to work and I'm worried about how my performance with work might be affected by this. I've struggled a little in the past with work because of it.
I find that for the first time in my life, I am seriously considering being medicated for it. I'm scared to do that because of the potential of abuse associated with the meds. I don't have any sort of history of that (I don't drink at all, never smoked and have never done drugs) but it's serious medication and not to be taken lightly. The fear of developing a problem has kept me from being medicated in the past.
Does anyone else struggle with ADD and weight issues? What has helped you overcome the challenges?
My daughter has ADD and also struggles with her weight – but the opposite. She is thin and cannot seem to gain. However, she is only 15 and I keep telling her that she should be more concerned with being healthy. But here is what I wanted to say about the meds. Yes, most ADD meds are Class 1 narcotics but they will truly improve your quality of life. As long as there is no history of substance abuse I can’t see that there would be an issue. You would be required to have a psych monitor your progress. The benefits are worth it…