If you have seen previous posts on my blog, then you know that I struggle with some of my own challenges including ADHD, PCOS, and being a busy mom. These challenges can all make a wellness journey difficult, and if you have those issues also, I empathize with you.
Anyway, this journey whether you have health issues or not will force you to make a mindset shift, I focused on changing my All or Nothing Mindset to a Something or Everything Mindset. Once I changed my mindset, I was able to start changing my habits without starting and stopping, starting and stopping again. Which is something that all of us with ADHD understand all too well. I have found some tools through much trial and error that have begun working for me and I continue to use. Once I found these tools that worked for me, it changed the game, and I started to progress a lot more. In this blog post I will share 7 of the tools that have helped me the most, maybe you will feel inspired to find the tools that work for you and fit your health and wellness journey too.
My Health and Wellness Tools
1) Alternate Day Fasting (ADF)
I greatly struggle with remembering to count my calories every day, I find it extremely challenging, and it fills me with such disappointment whenever I say I’m going to do it and set myself up for failure. I had started intermittent fasting for 16 hours and that worked great. But one day I found a YouTube video about ADF. ADF is a fasting schedule where you eat for 12 hours one day, and don’t eat anything at all the next. In some cases people opt to eat 200-400 calories on fasting days. In my opinion, that is breaking the fast and your body has to start all over again to get back to a state of autophagy. I fast for 36 hours three days a week without food, making sure I have my tea on deck and the proper electrolytes to stay hydrated throughout my fast. My fasting days are Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but I always listen to my body and my cycle. ALWAYS talk to your doctor before trying something new especially when it comes to fasting and especially if you take medications for any health conditions. I got the green light from my doctor, and I knew that this would work for me I just had a strong feeling about it. It took me some time to work up to 24-36 hours, but I made it there and I’ve been feeling good since I started.
ADF and ADHD, for me, work really well together. My goal is to work with my mind as it is, not to try to change it. So with my brain ADF complements it quite well because I can easily go into hyperfocus mode on the days I am fasting that allow me to stay away from food and be consistent with my Celtic Sea salt on fasting days) and water intake. I love this way of eating/fasting for myself because on my eating days I can eat my maintenance calories (2300 calories), for me that is A LOT of food, and I am definitely a foodie.
2) The Starch Solution (Plant-based eating)
I have recently started doing the Starch solution again and if you followed my previous posts, I had done the starch solution for about 3-4 months before I discovered I had a nickel allergy. Nickel is very high in a lot of plant-based foods, and this was very discouraging for me to discover. I had lost 30lbs from following this lifestyle, it is a truly amazing diet. I also spoke to my doctor about this diet as well and they encouraged me to try it and see how it works for me. Of course, at the time my doctor and I didn’t know I had a nickel allergy.
I am able to do the Starch Solution again by sticking to the foods that are lowest in nickel and by supplementation. I am not someone who is completely against eating in an omnivorous way, I just feel my best when I’m eating mainly whole foods and that may change in the future. For right now plant-based eating keeps me feeling energized and healthy. Not only does it keep me energized, but most of the time I don’t have to worry about tracking my calories because I am eating such low-calorie density food. Which has been great for my ADHD mind and made it so easy for me.
3) Meeting My Daily Step Goal
I tried for the longest time to hop on the 10,000 steps a day bandwagon, and that is my ultimate goal. But instead of shaming myself every day that I never hit the mark I have set the bar low enough that I know I can be consistent with it. Because in my opinion consistency is the most important thing. Having ADHD makes it very hard for me to maintain consistency, especially when something seems so out of reach. Setting smaller doable goals on the way to the big goal has gotten me the most success thus far.
I have set my daily step goal to 5,000 steps a day, there is no science to it, nor did I determine this based on health goals. I chose this number simply because I knew I could hit it every day. With ADHD getting some form of instant gratification for the dopamine release in my brain is hard to fight against. Forcing myself to go after a big goal all at once overwhelms me and I get bored of it.
When I set the bar at 5,000 steps a day it’s so low that I am determined to hit the goal before lunchtime and then naturally throughout the day I accumulate 2-3,000 more steps which gets me 7-8,000 steps a day. I am quite pleased with this and will eventually be moving my step goal to 6,000 steps so that I can hit 8-9,000 steps and keep gradually increasing. This way I am working with my mind and not against it.
4) Strength Training
For the longest time I avoided strength training, not because I thought it was bad. Simply because I didn’t want to do it anymore, I wanted to be comfortable and one thing there is no room for in strength training is being comfortable. My goals changed my mind about strength training and in the past, I had been into powerlifting and bodybuilding. When I got pregnant, I got so busy and so tired all the time, then when the baby came that did not change. I didn’t have any energy left to give myself, and I felt so defeated and kind of gave up for a while.
It’s not about perfection over here, it’s about creating small attainable goals that lead to the big goal. I started out by exercising with just walking. Then I started with 1 day of strength training a week, then 2 and I have finally made it to strength training 3 days a week. When I started doing it again, I realized how much I had missed it, it feels good to feel strong. It is because of strength training that I no longer feel like a bowl full of Jello, I feel stronger mentally and physically.
I believe I can do anything the more I accomplish the things that intimidate me. Of course, resting when getting into strength training is just as if not more important than lifting weights itself. The body NEEDS time to heal and mend itself and it does that by getting a day or a few off and by being fueled with whole foods.
5) Staying HYDRATED
There is absolutely no way around this one, water. Have to drink water, our body’s need hydration to function properly. If you don’t like water, I understand that, but water is a necessity. There are some forms of hydration I use when I want some flavor in my life like electrolyte packets, or I drink many different types of tea, because I have PCOS I drink a lot of spearmint tea. If you are struggling to be consistent with anything in your journey, drinking enough water per day is where I started. I started by drinking half of my body weight in fluid ounces and have worked my way up from there, just like everything else starting little by little to avoid overwhelm. Try using a water tracking app. There are some gamified ones that are great for ADHD and give you that feeling of accomplishment.
6) Rebounding
Rebounding is not an exercise I do every day, but it is something I use as a wellness tool. I maybe do it 10 minutes 3 times a week. I learned about rebounding from Broccoli Mum o YouTube originally when I was learning about The Starch Solution. It wasn’t till later on when I watched a Barbara O’neill video where she was talking about rebounding that I started to do my own personal research on it. There are claims that when you jump on a rebounder for 5-10 minutes that it increases lymphatic fluid flow in your body, I don’t know if this is true. What I do know is that rebounding makes me feel really good and happy. It takes me back to a good part of my childhood when I was able to jump on a trampoline, so freeing.
Aside from the health claims that have been made, it is a great form of cardio I engage in occasionally. I do not enjoy running, but I do enjoy jumping. And if you find something you enjoy, you are more likely to keep going with it.
7) Renewing My Mind
Changing my mindset is the very first thing I had to do before I was able to do anything physically with success. Dieting and exercise only got my so far when my mind was full of junk I had to let go. When I started spending time in prayer, meditating and journalling more often, I noticed more weight come off my body. The more I gave to God the more I was freeing myself from the burdens and weight of the past, all the things that hurt me are gone from my life, so it was time for them to be gone from my mind too. “Cast all your anxiety on the Lord, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7. This Should have been #1 on the list, but I wanted it to be last so that it could be remembered.
During my emotional healing journey, that I am still on, the first thing I discovered in relation to my weight loss was that subconsciously I wanted to keep the weight on so that I could protect myself. It was an outer layer that I thought could hide me from all the harmful things. The truth of the matter is that it has caused me more harm than good, I now have insulin resistance and PCOS and my body views itself as an enemy. So, my #1 health and wellness goal are to find peace and balance within myself, being able to show my body that I love me and care about me. Showing my body and myself that we are a safe space to show up and care for one another in authentic and meaningful way.
Conclusion
I have many different tools that I use to help me during my health and wellness journey, but if I shared everything in this blog post it would be as long as a book. I don’t think you have that kind of time, so I included the top 7 things I do to ensure I reach my goals and continue to remain consistent. For a long time, weight loss and looking better was what drove me, it was a motivation that kept me failing, but when I changed my mind set to wanting to feel good and be healthy again, I have been able to keep going. It’s okay to take our time while we are finding what works for our bodies and what doesn’t. We are all different and we all go at our own pace. I hope this blog post has given you encouragement to follow what works best for you and inspired you to keep going on you own health journey.
Til next time Butterflies,
Riah Brea
The Green Kaleidoscope
Disclaimer:
The content shared in this blog post is based on my personal experiences, opinions, and healing journey. I am not a licensed therapist, doctor, or medical professional. Nothing shared here is meant to replace professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for guidance that fits your individual needs.
Additionally, I sometimes discuss topics related to weight loss, body image, and wellness. If these subjects are triggering or sensitive for you, please feel free to skip this content or prioritize your mental and emotional well-being first.