Well Autumn has well and truly hit in the UK ADHDers, and with it my Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is in full swing. Though I’m a little more prepared this year because I’ve being taking muti-vitamins every day, including vitamin D for weeks now, and I’ve also been using my SAD lamp for an hour or two a day.
For those of you who have never heard of seasonal affective disorder, it’s a very common comorbid condition of ADHD, in fact 75% of people with ADHD have it, but what does it mean? Well in a nutshell it means that your body struggles from October- March because it doesn’t receive an adequate of sunlight. This cannot only make ADHD symptoms worst (believe me it does mine, the brain frog is horrific at this time of year), but it can affect everything from your mood to your sleep patterns.
“A lot of people don’t understand that S.A.D affects the majority of ADHDers and can have a big impact on diet.”
ADHD gIRL
Now when I diet, I usually diet hard meaning I go all in and in the past, this has meant following high protein low carb diet, which has always helped me to lose weight. Well has anyone ever tried to cut carbs in the colder or darker months? News flash: it is not pretty! Every year at this time I’ve struggled with either with the guilt of carb binges or with the depression of my dopamine levels being at rock bottom due to no carbs.
Wel in the past month I’ve been working with a heathy lifestyle coach who insists that I shouldn’t be cutting carbs at all, yes, it’s important to eat large amounts of protein to keep me full but carbs can also be enjoyed alongside with a calorie deficit. Anyway, I am nine days in, and I am feeling really good!! I’ve been hitting the gym three times a week (adding my weighted hula hoop into the mix this week), I’ve not been hungry, and my mood is holding better than it usually does.
“I’ll definitely be sharing the results of my new healthy lifestyle, even if it doesn’t work, because all of it’s a learning curve.”
The main question is, will I lose weight? Well, I feel a lot healthy and maybe I have but while I’m motivated, I’m going to leave the weight till my next healthy lifestyle appointment in a few weeks and let you guys now. She seems to take more of a holistic approach to the food relationship which I like so fingers crossed it works!!
Same time next week ADHDers, and if you think you are struggling with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD- note in the USA SAD is refered to as Seasonal Depression.) yourself then be sure to take some vitamin D supplements, invest in a SAD lamp and be kind to yourself. Be sure to look out for this month’s podcast which is all about the relationship with food and ADHD.
