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Exercise
It's a simple equation: Energy Consumed - Energy Burned = Weight. Consuming energy (calories and carbohydrates) without burning it off is like continuing to fill your car's gas tank without ever turning on the motor. Eventually the tank will overflow. If it didn't spill out of the top, the tank would eventually burst.
Additionally, exercise can help control some ADHD symptoms by increasing dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain. These neurotransmitters play leading roles in regulating the attention system. With regular physical activity, ADD adults can raise the baseline levels of dopamine and norepinephrine by spurring the growth of new receptors in certain brain areas, further regulating attention.
If you've been sedentary for some time, you will need to gradually rebuild muscle tone, flexibility, and stamina. Talk with your doctor to make sure you can handle intense physical activity, but know that even just walking can be great exercise. As you lose weight, you'll be able to go for longer walks.
Treadmills, elliptical machines, and stationary bikes all offer great cardiovascular activity, but they can also get boring very quickly. Interval training is the perfect solution to keep your interest. Interval training alternates a short burst of high-intensity exercise with bouts of low-intensity activity, burning more fat in 20 minutes than longer workouts do.
Here's how to do it:
- Warm up for five or 10 minutes on a stationary bike, treadmill, or on a run.
- Then pedal, walk, or run as fast as you can, for 20 to 30 seconds, followed by a minute or two of low-intensity activity.
- Speed up again, then lay back. Do five or six alternations in 20 minutes.
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