[Chica]

Thank you munchkin – that was the advice I was hoping for. Hope the standard app can cope with so many alarms – I think I will be needing at least 10 a day – yikes.

You are right about the structured morning routine and I think that is a big reason why the diet worked so well for me psychologically before I had any idea that I might have ADD. I liked the feeling that all the detailed specific work of a diet was over by breakfast and after that all I had to do was eat meals on time and try listening to my real appetite. This meant I could drop the eat less, don’t do that, do-the-opposite-of-what-you-want stuff that I tried before. I totally surprised myself by wanting healthier food much more often than I thought I would, and I usually didn’t grab opportunities for junk food because there was an open promise that if that was what I really wanted next meal I was allowed to have it, guilt free. For some reason, that morning routine did have a big influence on cravings.

Mornings are a really vulnerable time for me, I tend to float aimlessly till I hit a deadline and start running late. Being given structure at this time of day didn’t infringe on my sense of personal freedom. Just lately, I have been in a phase of low mood and winter is so windy and cold just now it is too easy to avoid the morning routine – but actually, when I do get up and get going it hurts so much less than I think it does when I stay in the warm. Without the entertainment of my iPod though, I don’t think I could do it month after month.

But being consistent is so hard. Impossible really. I hope meds will support my good efforts long term, although I am a bit torn between hope and experience.

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[Chica]

I am in the process of being diagnosed with ADD – In Denmark we get six hours of evaluation over 4 meetings with a psychiatrist. It is pretty clear just half way through I will be starting Ritalin sometime in February.

I got my first intuition that I might have ADD through a diet I tried in 2010. After a lifetime of chaotic eating and struggling with weight – alongside other ADD issues – I thought I had atypical depression, so I tried a diet that used very gentle intuitive methods to raise natural serotonin levels. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit it was the Mars & Venus diet, but it did something spectacular for me.

I live in Denmark, so I was not able to buy the diet product that is touted in the book, but I was able to follow the advice which boils down to

1 Go to bed at 10pm and get up at dawn or 6am.

2 When you wake drink some water with lemon, honey, aloe vera and minerals, then shake yourself awake for 5 mins to get the system going.

3 Take your daily exercise which for me was a walk in a park for about 80 mins with my iPod for entertainment.

4 Have a breakfast of fruit smoothie with hemp protein powder, ground linseed, plus a vitamin and mineral supplement and omega 3.

5 Eat lunch at 12, supper at 6, snacks if you need them and when you eat, try and choose healthy food if you can, in a balanced meal.

The spectacular difference was that my appetite changed. For the first time ever, I felt very few cravings so I gravitated to natural food and I forgot about overeating because my mind would wander once my natural hunger was satisfied. I lost 3kg a month for 6 months and felt like I had found the holy grail.

Unfortunately I have ADD, so I was not really able to follow the routine indefinitely. I maintained the weight loss for a year, but noticed that although I was genuinely trying to be diligent, I was still having problems with energy, attention, wakefulness, memory and being consistent. The initial taste of success was the foundation for respecting my own intuition, then asking further questions which led me wonder about ADD.

I think the Mars Venus diet got me to prioritise things that are discussed by Lance Levy on a Webinar on this site. My body tells me that these simple measures are very effective, but I have also experienced that they are a good context for ADD, not some kind of cure. I really think the Lance Levy advice for us is golden, and the crux of the matter is doing the things that change your appetite so you can choose healthy food.

Once I start medication, I think I am going to invest in an iPhone to help with all the alarms and reminders I need throughout the day — can someone tell me if there is an app that would do that for me? I’m not that computer savvy so I’m really fishing for some fairly simple advice.

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