ADHD, Food, and Finding What Works: Eve’s Story

Being Diagnosed with ADHD

I was first diagnosed with ADHD in 2021, when I was 29 years old. It was after the pandemic had taken away the routines and coping mechanisms that I had put in place over the years of being undiagnosed, and without that support structure I realised that something was different with the way I thought compared to the way most other people seemed to.

When I got the diagnosis everything started to make more sense, and the reason I had struggled with timings and food prep and social commitments became clear. I was very pleased to have an ADHD diagnosis that brought answers with it, but also a little upset that it had taken almost three decades of struggling to get to that point.

Women are generally under diagnosed when it comes to ADHD, and as someone who was diagnosed with Autism at the same time, they are very good at hiding each other!

Food, Focus, and the ADHD Struggle

My relationship with food has always been tough - a lot of people with ADHD also suffer from disordered eating at some point in their lives. For me it was forgetting to eat after I moved to uni when I was 20 (due to racing thoughts and distractions), and then binge eating later in the day when my brain finally caught up with the fact that my body was hungry.

When I did remember to eat, executive function issues made preparing a healthy meal feel like an unsurmountable task, so often I would spend money on takeaways or just eat snacks, rather than going for anything with nutritional value at all.

This is where Field Doctor has really helped since I've started working here - I've tried a number of the meals and they're so easily done in the microwave or the oven, and they’re actually healthy!

My ADHD also comes with some severe gastrointestinal issues, causing intolerances to lactose and gluten, along with mild reactions to onions and other irritants. This makes finding healthy ready meals so hard (as so many in supermarkets are pasta-based with very few gluten free options).

When Eating Feels Like a Challenge

It's always hardest for me to eat in the morning, and then as I go through the day I don't feel hungry (or even think of food that much). When I take my ADHD stimulant medication, this is even worse, as that is notorious for killing your appetite for 8–12 hours.

This often leads to lower energy levels in the afternoon and sometimes a full crash towards the evening, leading me to try and grab something that's quick and easy, and not always caring about how good for me it is.

Having some of the Field Doctor ready meals at hand has been really helpful, as I know the low FODMAP range is good for me and won't aggravate any of my intolerances or gut issues. It takes away the pressure of having to prepare a meal, saves me money I would otherwise be spending on expensive takeaways, and removes an element of the decision paralysis that often goes hand in hand with ADHD.

I have a bad habit of finding a favourite dish and just hyper-focusing and eating it for three weeks straight, but I've actually been trying all of the Field Doctor low FODMAP range and the variety is brilliant. Everything is so tasty, and my favourite dish so far is the 3 bean and tofu chilli, which is insane, because I've never really liked tofu before. And I'm still trying to get over the fact that I can have an easy, healthy ready meal, not have to think about preparing anything, and still feel good after eating it because it caters to all my intolerances - it's fabulous!

Nutrition, Energy, and Wellbeing

When you have ADHD, not getting proper nutrition can impact you greatly - for me, it makes me far more distractible and makes it harder to carry out day-to-day tasks. It can also increase my anxiety and brain fog.

Often, I’m only reminded to hydrate when I eat a meal, so not eating regularly also means I can end up dehydrated - it’s all connected!

Still Learning, but Feeling Better

It’s only been a couple of years since my diagnosis, so I’m still learning how to best navigate life with ADHD. But finding Field Doctor has really helped my relationship with food - which is such an important part of feeling good. It’s great!