People are searching for an ADHD diet shopping list. Obviously, because they have ADHD or someone they know has ADHD and they are trying to improve their condition.
I completely understand this because living with ADHD can be frustrating and I know that I’m constantly trying everything in hopes that it will improve my ADHD.
In this post, I will share a bit about how ADHD affects my life, what food makes me mentally sharp, and how I continue to stay on plan… 80% of the time.
This is my approved ADHD Diet Shopping List. I am not a doctor, nutritionist, or dietician, and this list is specific to my needs, but I wanted to share it in hopes that it would help others.
Bacon Is A Gateway Drug
I have ADHD. Not only do I have ADHD I have Binge Eating Disorder. ADHD causes my binge eating because with ADHD you’re constantly looking for that dopamine hit and the easiest way for me is to shovel all of the sugary starchy foods into my mouth.
I didn’t take my health seriously. I had always been overweight and tried every diet imaginable. Eventually, somehow I figured out a way to lose weight. It wasn’t the healthiest way, but I was in shock.
I had lost 50 pounds and I didn’t even exercise.
How? Well, I’ll save that for a different post. However, I wanted to keep this up, but I was getting a little crazy with the plan I was focusing on.
My “hot” friend told me about Atkins. I did the research. I found a partner and then I began my Atkins life.
To ease into the diet I started with lots of bacon. I didn’t know how to cook really, and I was a busy young professional, hah.
150 pounds later my life had changed. Not just because of the weight loss, but because I moved out on my own, got married, had an even busier life, and got a career.
Not a job. A serious big girl career and I needed to focus as my life depended on it because for once it truly did.
I ended up trying a friend’s medication and realized how my concentration improved drastically. I no longer had to fight all of the thoughts swirling in my mind and could just hug that single task until completion. I decided to finally see the doctor to get an official diagnosis.
Life Is Different With Adderall
I finally got to say “OMG, I was so busy I forgot about eating!” Those words were always a dream to me because that’s extremely hard for me to do. I was constantly wanting, dreaming, and thinking about food.
The more I “forgot” to eat the more I would make up for the missed meal by eating something sugar-laden and definitely not good for anything really. In my head, since this was my one meal why not make waffles dripping in Nutella? I only ate once, right?
Wrong.
I was very wrong.
I started to notice how sluggish I had become even with a higher dose of Adderall. I didn’t want to get out of bed. It took me hours to get my brain in sync with everything going on around me, and I would lose my temper a bit faster than normal.
I realized that medication can only do so much lifting and that I also have to do my part in keeping my mind sharp and body good.
Researching How Diet Affects ADHD
I ended up asking friends and family how their food affects their life. Many said they try to not overdo it with carbs, sugar, alcohol, etc.
Not all of these people have ADHD in fact I don’t think a single person I asked did, but it was good for my own research purposes.
After reading “Eat Bacon, Don’t Jog” by Grant Peterson and “Grain Brain” by David Perlmutter I realized that I was right. Being a healthy happy bright person on earth is hard work, but it is something that I truly want in life so I have to manage it.
Plus, I had started to gain weight again because once you eat sugar you want even more sugar.
Getting Healthy Again With The ADHD Diet Shopping List
I decided to get back on track, but how do you get back on track when all of the other food is so frickin’ good? Funnel cakes, fries, heavy pasta dishes, yum.
Easy. Try this for a week. Track everything that you eat and write down how you felt afterward. I know that after eating a delicious lip-smacking bowl of pasta or fries I felt heavy, gross, and more of a space cadet than usual.
I had a thought when starting the journey again which was… I was making my food unsexy.
Eating food starts with the eyes.
How many times have you chosen a dish because there was a picture of it or you saw someone’s plate and thought that looks delicious?
I started plating my dishes like a student of Gordon Ramsey. I wanted to make him proud, and I was always impressed with how pretty I could make the food presentation that I started to enjoy the process of making a great nutritious meal.
I started making life easier by meal-prepping my lunches along with filling my fridge with pre-cooked items that could be assembled in minutes without getting annoyed.
The ADHD Diet Shopping List
This is my approved ADHD diet shopping list. No, I’m not a nutritionist, even though I could be since I have the credentials for it, but these are all of the foods that I eat to keep myself sane, happy, bright, energized, and fully spirited.
The list is basically everything I eat when I’m 100% in, but even then I still like to eat something sweet. I know I just can’t get away from loving sweet food. Here are some other items that I incorporate into my ADHD diet shopping list that aren’t in the list below.
Protein Bars, I used to love eating the Atkin bars, but I realized I would eat too many which would kill my small intestine, hah. I still buy them, but not often. Instead, I buy the Fulfil Protein bars and my favorite flavor is… all of them. I also enjoy the Love Good Fats Truffle Coconut Chocolate Chip.
Konjac Noodles, I love these noodles. Adore them! I honestly cannot eat pasta anymore due to health issues, but I love eating noodles still. You can normally find konjac noodles at Sprouts and sometimes they are at King Soopers, but sometimes they’re so hard to find locally that I end up buying them either on Netrition or Amazon.
Protein Shakes, my favorite protein shake brands are Premier Protein and Atkins. My favorite Premier Protein flavors are: Caramel and Chocolate Peanut Butter and my favorite Atkin Flavors are: Dark Chocolate Royale and the Iced Coffee Cafe Caramel.
I try to only use protein bars and protein shakes as supplements when I don’t have actual food available or I’m not that hungry/I just don’t want to cook.
I love konjac noodles because they take on the flavor of whatever you put them in. So think of those yummy ramen bowls you see in anime.
Before you say anything… No, there isn’t any fruit or nuts. You can eat fruit or nuts, I just choose not to because it is so easy for me to overdo it.
ProteinVeggiesFatsSalmonBroccoliButterTunaCauliflowerOlive OilSteakRomaine LettuceAvocado OilBeefButter LettuceFish OilChickenBok ChoyCheeseSardinesBrussel SproutsHeavy (Whipping) CreamOystersAny Sprouts* Dark ChocolateMackeralCabbageEggsSauerkrautSausagePicklesMY OFFICIAL APPROVED ADHD DIET SHOPPING LIST
Did My ADHD Diet Shopping List Help You?
I hope so, even if you don’t like my list maybe it will give you some ideas on what will help you with your ADHD. If you did enjoy my ADHD diet shopping list feel free to print this post or share it with someone who would benefit from reading it.
Do you have some suggestions, tips, and or tricks that help you with your ADHD diet? I’d love to know!
Leave a comment below or feel free to send me a message, or an email or hit your girl up on Twitter and/or Instagram.
Here are a few more recommendations. Please, read David Perlmutter’s “Brain Maker” and if you are more of a video person I suggest checking out these Youtube channels: Dr. Berg, Dr. Berry, Dr. Sten Ekberg, and Thomas DeLauer.
