How to stay on track with nutrition if you’re a driven person with ADHD

People with ADHD struggle to remember to eat sometimes. When you are caught up in work and you have a lot of tasks to complete, sometimes it’s easy to lose track of time and forget to eat. To avoid this I recommend booking your eating times/meals into your diary everyday at the same time if possible so that you know when it’s time to eat and to build the habit and consistency of eating at that time, and also prioritising meal prep. Having something ready to go will mean less stress and you won’t be at the mercy of the often limited options eating out, and therefore it will be easier for you to stay on track.

If you’re not fussed about eating gourmet like me, keep your meal prep simple and stupid. I get my meal prep done in under 2 hours, if you’re very efficient, you could even do it in 1.

Here is a simple formula that you can use for your meals. Adjust this formula according to caloric needs. I make 5 meals from one batch.

1. Pick a protein source

• Select 1 kg of a specific protein source such as minced beef or diced chicken breast, if you are a smaller person then use less, if bigger use more

• Pre-cut meats such as the ones mentioned will save you a lot of prep time and energy

1. Pick a carb source

• The 2 simplest, easiest options are rice or pasta. These take 10 minutes to cook max. Potatoes are also an option.

• Use 300-600g of rice, depending on size of human you are and phase of nutrition (cut, bulk, maintain)

• 500g packet of pasta (more or less as with the rice)

1. Pick a veggie source

• Frozen veggies are a great option as they save a shit load of time (no chopping, washing, minimal cooking) whilst still preserving micronutrients and fiber

• Though any kind of fresh greens, or onions, or carrots, or whatever you prefer are great options

1. Make sure to have some kind of seasoning or sauce so that it doesn’t taste like cardboard

• Cooking in coconut oil or ghee can enhance the flavour (these are both healthy fats)

• Pasta sauce should be obvious for pasta

• Soy, oyster & fish sauce can help enhance rice based dishes

• Other seasonings: herbs, salt and pepper, paprika, cumin, turmeric, chilli flakes if you like spice, Moroccan seasoning

1. Cook everything and mix it all together, and you’re done.

I cook 2 lots of meals so this means 10 meals for the weekdays Mon-Fri. This is the sweet spot for me as if I make another batch of meals it’s too much effort and if I only do 1 batch it’s not enough food for the week.

In the morning for breakfast I’ll usually have some toast with peanut butter and some eggs, which are very easy to whip up, and you can even boil a bunch at the start of the week which will mean you have eggs ready to go without having to prep them. Other healthy breakfast options are:

• Greek yoghurt with berries and chia seeds

• Protein smoothie: protein powder, peanut butter, banana, oats

• Salmon and avocado on toast

The bottom line is, people with ADHD need to put strategies into place that will ensure success and allow us to stay on track with our goals. It’s very important to have a structure and schedule around your food so that you don’t forget to eat. Meal prepping will also reduce stress and decision fatigue. If you genuinely dislike cooking, I’d recommend ordering from a meal prep company such as Macros or Fed.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this article and taken away some useful tips that you can start applying immediately!