Eating With ADHD Doesn’t Have to Be So Hard

It’s true that eating with ADHD can feel like a full-time job.

One minute you’re hyper focused and haven’t eaten in 8 hours, the next you’re raiding the pantry like you’ve never seen food before. It’s frustrating. And if you’re trying to practice intuitive eating on top of it all? That can feel downright impossible.

But here’s the truth: You’re not doing it wrong. Your brain just works differently, and intuitive eating can still work for you.

This week on the podcast, I’m unpacking why ADHD makes food so tricky (spoiler: it’s not about willpower) and how to support your body and your brain without falling back into diet culture.

Why Intuitive Eating Isn’t Always “Intuitive” With ADHD

If you’ve been trying to listen to your hunger and fullness cues but feel like they’re completely MIA, that’s not a personal flaw. It’s something called interoception, your ability to notice internal cues—and ADHD can absolutely interfere with it.

Not to mention the executive functioning piece. Meal planning, grocery shopping, prepping lunch? Those tasks might sound simple, but with ADHD, they can feel huge and overwhelming. So you end up either skipping meals entirely or winging it with random snacks, and then wondering why you’re starving or bingeing later.

You are not alone in this. I talk with clients all the time who say things like, “Why can’t I just eat like a normal person?” And the answer is: You’re not broken. You just need different tools.

When ADHD and Diet Culture Collide

If you’ve ever felt tempted to use your ADHD medication as a sneaky way to suppress appetite, or if you’ve noticed the restrict-binge cycle getting worse with your meds, you are so not the only one.

I wrote about this recently in “How to Get Summer-Ready Without Dieting or Shrinking Your Body” and how these patterns can sneak in under the radar, even when you think you’ve ditched diet culture for good. It’s especially true for those of us with ADHD, where appetite can be all over the place and food becomes a form of dopamine chasing.

And yes, I talk about this in the episode too. If you’re on a stimulant like Vyvanse or Adderall, you’ve got to approach eating a little differently to avoid falling into that binge-restrict trap.

6 ADHD-Friendly Ways to Make Eating Easier

You don’t need a rigid food schedule or fancy meal plan. But you do need support. Here are a few of my favorite tips from the episode:

1. Use structure to support your cues.
   Timers, calendar blocks, visual reminders, whatever helps you remember to eat regularly.
   
2. Have a conversation with your doctor.
   If you’re on a stimulant, make sure you’re eating enough during the day. And if you’re struggling with binge eating too, there might be more going on beneath the surface.
   
3. Think “meal prep light.”
   Keep it simple. Bagged salads + rotisserie chicken = meal. Cheese, crackers, fruit = meal. This isn’t about gourmet, it’s about doable.
   
4. Lower the bar.
   A microwave quesadilla counts. A smoothie and a granola bar count. You’re feeding your body, and that matters more than anything.
   
5. Pause before you eat.
   Ask yourself: What do I want? What do I need? What do I have? This isn’t about micromanaging, it’s about being present and curious.
   
6. Give yourself so much grace.
   Your brain works differently. That’s not something to fight—it’s something to work with.

You’re Not Broken, You Just Need a Different Approach

ADHD doesn’t disqualify you from intuitive eating. If anything, it means you deserve more support, more compassion, and more structure that fits you.

So if you’re constantly wondering, “Why is this so hard for me?”—just know, I see you. And this episode is for you. Listen to the full episode here.

🎧 Listen & subscribe:

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Referenced Episode: Ep.187 – Intuitive Eating with ADHD: How to Handle Hunger, Impulse Control, and Gentle Nutrition

Looking for more resources?

• Work with Katy
• How to Get Summer-Ready Without Dieting or Shrinking Your Body
• Join the Intuitive Eating Made Easy Facebook Group
• Grab my FREE Daily 3 Body Kindness Journal Pages
• Intuitive eating education on the blog