ADHD

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How do you handle overeating caused by boredom and innatentiveness? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 3 days ago by zzffyfajzkzhnsweqm@sh.itjust.works to c/adhd@lemmy.world

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I figured my overeating might be caused by my undiagnosed inattentive ADHD I have been suspecting to have it.

Like with other habits I try to make any plan or strategy falls apart in max few weeks. But I need a long term solution. However I have never thought about it as caused by ADHD. But When I think about it, I overeat only when I am bored.

During meals I eat normal portions. But when I am bored I will be eating small chunks of food every time I visit fridge. I do not stop that because of my inattentiveness I do not even know I ate a lot. While watching a movie I get bored - even if it is interesting and I am very invested in it. I get some snack and I will eat a whole bag not even knowing when that happened. This happens even if snack was some special offer that tasted bad.

Few examples I get bored and overeating:

watching a movie - somehow movie is not enough stimuli for me
after I eat my meal and I wait for others to finish (I eat exactly as twice as fast as my wife)
when I am visiting someone and there is a food in front of me (conversation somehow is also not enough stimuli)
random parts of the day - usually if I have to wait.

No standard recommender diet practices worked in the long run (portion control, mindful eating, intermittent fasting, healthy eating, building a healthy lifestyle/routine...) Especially those based on building routine failed the most.

Do you have similar issues? Do you have a strategy that works in the long run? Have you successfully substituted eating for other stimuli?

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[–] AndyMFK@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 2 days ago

I don't think snacking and overeating have to go hand in hand. You can snack without overeating - if you know you're a big snacker, try having smaller portions at meal time to compensate for it.

Replace snacking with drinking water or chewing on ice cubes. It's the same stimuli, and it's healthy.

Celery sticks/carrot sticks are good, healthy and give you something to bite into that isn't ice. 1 carrot gives you probably 20 carrot sticks, which would probably get you through a movie. And I wouldn't be concerned about 1 carrots worth of extra calories a day.

Or a charcuterie board, not as healthy as above but at least it's not full of sugar. Having some crackers with hummus, and some cornichons is a relatively healthy snack, maybe some cherry tomatoes and prosciutto, and a little bit of cheese to go with it although that's getting into meal territory - but I found that if I'm having a charcuterie board for dinner, you can drag it out, eat it over a couple hours, slowing down your intake and satisfying your craving for snacking without it being in addition to a meal - it is the meal.

Lastly, if you only snack when you're bored, don't get bored (lol easier said than done). I find that I love a project and when I'm working on a project time flies and I haven't eaten anything because I've been busy.