Focused Distractions

Saturday, July 8. 2006

The ADD Diet

Impulsivity. Internal anxiety. Poor planning. These are just a few of the reasons why so many people with AD/HD have eating issues. Though I never had a weight problem, getting older, hormonal changes, and long depressing Michigan winters haven't helped me to stay slim. My chocolate fetish caught up with me and for the last 10+ years, I've had excess weight that's been well...more than depressing to try and get rid of.

I can't say I have much impulsivity with my collection of ADD symptoms, but I do crave chocolate, like many of us do. As many of my readers know, I also hate to cook and will do anything to get in and out of the kitchen as quickly as possible. That usually means ordering Carry Out, or GOING out, as much as I can get away with! That, plus raising picky picky eaters, has made all of this "food stuff" a tricky thing to navigate.

In my book, I share the fact that when I wake up in the morning, the first thing I think of (other than, will I be late?) is..."What should I make for dinner tonight?". Yes, this is true.

But I digress.

4 1/2 years ago (no, I don't have a good memory; I just remember needing to get these 20 pounds off for a family gathering in Maryland), I joined Weight Watchers. It wasn't easy, but I prevailed and religiously followed the diet and attended the meetings. And exercised. Within months, the weight was gone and I was ecstatic at how I looked and felt.

But then I stopped going to the meetings. Winter came. The chocolate chip cookies were crying for my attention. You know the rest.

After numerous attempts of getting the weight off AGAIN, I nearly gave up. You know that depressed feeling of KNOWING that you need to just DO IT, but...can't?? It's an awful feeling.

In May, I returned from NYC where I'd done some ADD media work, and came down with a nasty cold which turned into an ear infection. I went to see my doc and we chatted about diets- she had lost weight and looked fabulous.

She mentioned she was on the Seattle Sutton Diet. I'd never heard of it, and she suggested I give it a try.

And now for the good news. I started the diet and have already lost 10 pounds in 2 1/2 weeks. This is not a sales pitch. I don't have stock in the company or earn any revenue if people sign up for the program. But I'm so excited about this diet, that I wanted to share it here.

How does it work? Well, first let me repeat: this is an ADD diet made in heaven. At least for those of us who hate cooking, can't plan or forget to even BUY the food we went to the store to get (all those distractions...).

Seattle Sutton has prepared FRESH food all ready to go. It's calorie, fat and portion controlled so that you don't have to do ANYTHING but pick it up (they also deliver) and throw it in your fridge. They give you a week's worth of food (though you have to pick it up twice a week so that they stay fresh). And most of it is delicioius, though I admit- I do miss those cookies.

All you do is put the meal in the microwave for 2 minutes and your meals are ready. They give you EVERYTHING you need, except you're supposed to supplement it with two glasses of skim milk per day. I don't "do" milk, so I instead have either fat free yogurt or FF chocolate pudding.

This will give you an idea of what the food looks like. I always remove the food and put it on plates, to make it look more home made: