Exercise & Health
Return to The Dopamine Deficiency That's Sabotaging Your Diet

The Dopamine Deficiency That's Sabotaging Your Diet

The ADHD brain craves dopamine, the neurotransmitter that impacts mood, motivation, memory, and more. Dopamine is released when we exercise — and when we eat doughnuts, which is a problem. Understand the neurology behind your cravings, and how to manage your weight-loss plan.

4 Comments: The Dopamine Deficiency That's Sabotaging Your Diet

  1. Most of the dietary advice for people with ADHD involves some kind of “eat a lot of protein” advice. The “protein” of choice is always meat. I am a vegetarian. It’s not becauze of pgilosphical choice, but health: I react (a food sensitivity or allergy) to “corn” in all forms: all the sweeteners made from corn (there are MANY), the food starches from corn, corn oils (nearly all margarines) and numerous food flavorings, colorings and similar additives. And, I seem to be reactive to “meats” from animals that are primarily fed corn, as well. So, by default, I might consume some fish, maybe some seafood occasionally, and no other “animal” flesh (meat) at all.

    Back to the ADHD dietary advice, then: I’d love to see more details about healthy non-meat foods and sensible advice about plant-based diet choices. I don’t make breads, pastas or potatoes a major part of my diet. I eat BROWN (whole grain) rice maybe a couple times a month. I eat a VARIETY of fresh vegetables and some fruit; less fruit and mostly veggies.

    The most difficult time of day to be “mindful” of food choices for me is evenings–when my mental focus is at its lowest, when I am not influenced by stimulant, when I am also LEAST mindful of my need for sleep. I do NOT know how to creatively manage the aberrant urge to “eat for self-medication” in the evening. I’m thus likely to succumb to an almost unbearable yearning for more stimulation and “food” is part of that, along with too much activity before a (very late) bedtime.

  2. I think that for me the problem was that I couldn’t follow any diet. Exercieses are great, I can utilize energy, but then I’m eating like a crazy person (well I’m a little bit 😉 ). My girlfriend told me about this guide – parental-love.com/weight-loss/simpe-weight-loss-system which is a bit about diet without diet. I didn’t have to drop everything in one day, stop eating doughnuts and other not diet products. Just slowly day by day. And it worked! Combined with my activity, losing this 22 pounds was a piece of cake 🙂

    1. For crazy persons as we are every diet is hard to sustain. They say that slow and steady wins the race, but would it work for us? I must check this Simple Weight Loss System if it’s not a scam 😛

  3. Love this! I’ve never heard of this association before, but it makes complete sense. I just wanted to add a note that in additional to adding protein to your diet, you might also consider having food sensitivity testing. I always struggled to lose weight until I realized through a blood panel (I had a fantastic experience with RightSize if you were curious about testing https://www.rightsizeweightloss.com) that I had food sensitivities to some healthy foods, including a few proteins! Once I cut them from my diet, it was MUCH easier to lose weight. Anyway, it’s worth looking into! 🙂

Leave a Reply