Most ADHDers Have Disordered Eating: How to Improve your Relationship with Food with Becca King, RDN

If you've ever struggled with feeding yourself consistently, felt overwhelmed by meal planning, or wondered how ADHD impacts your relationship with food—this episode is for you. I sat down with Becca King, a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified intuitive eating counselor who also happens to have ADHD herself. Becca’s story is incredibly relatable and eye-opening. She shares how her ADHD played a role in her past eating disorder, and how she now uses that lived experience to help other ADHDers find food freedom without shame or restriction.

In this conversation, we explore how dopamine, executive dysfunction, sensory issues, and emotional regulation all intersect with eating behaviors. We also talk about what disordered eating actually looks like (it’s more common than you think) and how to start building a healthier, more sustainable relationship with food. Becca’s weight-inclusive approach is all about permission over perfection, and her advice is both practical and compassionate. You’ll walk away from this episode with real, ADHD-friendly tools to help you nourish your body without the guilt.

Becca King is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist & Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor from Charlotte, North Carolina. As an adult with ADHD who struggled for years with disordered eating, Becca is passionate about helping other adults with ADHD who struggle with binge eating, chronic dieting, and body image issues find food freedom and improve their self-esteem. She uses the Principles of Intuitive Eating and a weight-inclusive approach to nutrition for ADHD in her virtual practice.

Episode Highlights:

[0:58] – Meet Becca King, RDN: Her journey with ADHD and disordered eating.
[6:03] – Finding the connection between ADHD and private practice dietetics.
[7:06] – How her eating disorder developed and tied into ADHD symptoms.
[9:57] – The role of dopamine in disordered eating.
[10:22] – Why so many ADHDers struggle with binge eating and food regulation.
[12:51] – Defining disordered eating and how it manifests in ADHDers.
[16:40] – Living in recovery and developing healthier coping tools.
[18:25] – Emotional dysregulation, sensory issues, and other overlooked triggers.
[22:20] – Real talk about ARFID, safe foods, and honoring sensory needs.
[24:54] – Mindful eating and how it actually looks for ADHD brains.
[27:33] – Simple, realistic advice for feeding yourself with ADHD.
[30:50] – Debunking the fear around processed foods and shortcuts.
[33:57] – Intermittent fasting and ADHD—what you really need to know.
[37:19] – Becca’s upcoming book and her practical nutrition philosophy.
[38:55] – Final advice: Let go of "shoulds" and find what works for you.

Connect with Becca King:

• Follow Becca King on Instagram: @adhd.nutritionist
• Becca’s Book: How to Eat Well for Adults with ADHD – Available on Amazon and major booksellers

Thank you for tuning into "SuccessFULL with ADHD." If this episode has impacted you, remember to rate, follow, share, and review our podcast. Your support helps us reach and help more individuals navigating their journeys with ADHD.

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Transcript

Rebecca King: 0:00

If you struggle with feeding yourself, like giving yourself permission to use, like, what I call shortcuts, but like convenience types of things that make it just easier to feed yourself. If it's like getting single serving cups of Greek yogurt versus a big container, because that means you'll actually use the Greek yogurt. Those kind of little things don't seem like a lot, or even giving you an idea of portions and how much is enough. Like, getting things that are individually packaged sometimes is nice because it gives you, like, a natural stopping point, right? Like, if you tend to clean your plate or eat the whole bag of chips until the chips are gone, it's like, okay, if I get a little individual size, I can go get more if I want them, there's there's more than, you know, one bag of chips. But at least it makes me pause and check in with myself to see, like I've already had this little bag of potato chips. Do I Do I really want more, versus it being, you know, the big family size, and you're just sitting and eating it, it's a lot easier for half that bag or more to just kind of disappear, and you're like, where did all that go?

Brooke Schnittman: 0:58

Welcome to successful with ADHD. I'm Brooke schnittman, let's get started. Hi everyone, and welcome back to another episode of successful with ADHD. Today I have dietitian and author, Becca King, who's a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified Intuitive Eating counselor from Charlotte, North Carolina. We are going to talk all things eating and ADHD and learn about Becca's journey on today's episode, because she's an adult with ADHD who actually struggled for years with disordered eating, and she's passionate about helping other adults with ADHD who struggle with binge eating, chronic dieting and body image issues, find food freedom and improve their self esteem. And Becca uses the principles of intuitive eating and a weight inclusive approach to nutrition for ADHD in her virtual practice. So I'm sure if you're listening here today and you're on Instagram, you're likely following Becca at ADHD dot nutritionist on Instagram. And I am thrilled that we're finally doing this. We're in the making. Yay.

Rebecca King: 2:14

Thanks for having me. Brooke,

Brooke Schnittman: 2:16

absolutely, this is going to be a great one, because I know you personally, professionally, and I can't wait to dig in a little bit more for every one listening. So Becca, when did you learn you had ADHD? I

Rebecca King: 2:34

learned I had ADHD my sophomore year of college, so I kind of started to think I had in my freshman year, but didn't really do a whole lot about it. And then my sophomore year, I was really, I really struggled my freshman year and and my sophomore year with school, and pretty much everything. I decided to bring it up with my therapist, because I was like, there's just everything is feels like way harder than it is for everybody else than I know.

Brooke Schnittman: 3:08

And the therapist suggested that you had it, yeah,

Rebecca King: 3:11

we started, she kind of started the diagnostic process with me, which was, which was helpful. And then I was like, yes, you have the combined type of ADHD. And that was, I was like, Okay. And then looking back, it was like, you know, all of those moments you're like, okay, yeah, now I get why all these things were a challenge for me.

Brooke Schnittman: 3:31

And what were you going to school for at the time, to be

Rebecca King: 3:35

a doctor. Actually, I wanted to be an anesthesiologist, and I didn't do well enough in my own words my freshman year, but I did perfectly fine. So then I was like, I'll switch to business. And then I hated business, not for me. And then I was like, I think I'll go to nursing school. So I went to nursing school, and I loved my nutrition class, and then my GPA was like, point oh, for something from getting into, like, the second half of nursing school. And so I was like, Oh my gosh, what am I going to do? And you have basically the time. My program only had one time you could apply for the second half, so you had to pay for a whole year of tuition that went towards no minors or anything. They were like, the credits don't count, but you have to be a full time student to apply again. So it's like, I'm not paying a year's worth of tuition that's not going to at least get me, like, a minor in Spanish or something, you know, yeah. And so I was like, Ah, well, I really like this nutrition class, and a dietitian taught it. And then I was like, man, I've seen a dietitian, you know, when I was in high school for my eating disorder. I was like, go have coffee with her and see, like, what it's like to be a dietitian. And I was like, I actually kind of like this better, I think, like, in terms of the work life balance and like, nutrition is probably, would say, a special. Interest of mine. And so I was like, Okay, I'm gonna start going down that path. So I changed my degree to public health, and that's what I finally landed on, and then went and got my master's in nutrition afterwards. So definitely changed my major lots of times,

Brooke Schnittman: 5:16

but it sounded like in each one of those you always wanted to help people, yes. And the science behind Yeah, how you can help people? Yes, yeah. Like,

Rebecca King: 5:26

I knew whatever I did I wanted to help people in some capacity. I just kind of found my way to nutrition, so, which is nice, because I was like, Oh, I don't really want to work 12 hour shifts or work, you know, holidays or weekends like sometimes you do that as a dietitian, but you are pretty much like a nine to five kind of hospital, usually, if you're in the hospital setting, type of dietitian. And I was like, you know, I that's not, that's not too bad. But being a nurse would be, you know, is a lot of a lot more sacrifice there. Mm, hmm,

Brooke Schnittman: 6:03

yeah, so the schedule sounded a lot better having your own business. Yeah, Titian, and that obviously

Rebecca King: 6:09

wasn't really even on my radar until grad school. And I was like, starting to listen to some podcasts and stuff about being a dietitian. And I was like, oh, private practice is a thing. This would be cool, and totally matches up with having ADHD like, I'm pretty sure most of the dietitians I know that have their own practice are neurodivergent.

Brooke Schnittman: 6:35

I think I've seen most of them.

Rebecca King: 6:39

It's so funny when like, one of my like, someone will share, like, even if they're not in the like, ADHD space, but they're in kind of my space, and they'll share something about having an HD and I'm like, That makes so much sense. Okay,

Brooke Schnittman: 6:54

so how do you think your eating disorder at the time correlated or not to your undiagnosed. ADHD, ooh, so

Rebecca King: 7:06

my junior year of high school, my family moved from Atlanta or outside of Atlanta to Charlotte, and that I remember specifically being like, I can't control anything, but I can control what I eat and and becoming very like perfectionist, all or nothing, like I'm gonna eat as healthy as possible. And that was just this pathway down to to an eating disorder of like, okay, I have all of these super intense food world. So I struggled with the anorexia, and then kind of through my recovery process, kind of the pendulum swung the other way and towards, like grad schools more so like in a binge restrict cycle with things. But I think it was a lot of things feeling out of control, and it was something I felt like I had a little bit of control, and like, my brain felt chaotic. And like that was something almost I could, like, hyper focus on. Was like learning everything I could about nutrition and health and stuff like that in high school. And I did Yeah, and it was just kind of a slippery slope, unfortunately, with taking it just a little too far with things, so

Brooke Schnittman: 8:20

you mean the binging and the restricting, yeah, and just

Rebecca King: 8:23

the restriction in general, like I was especially, like, my junior, senior year of high school, everyone and be like, Oh, Becca, you're such a, you know, healthy eater, all that kind of stuff. But, like, I was very restrictive with what I ate, and had like, an a ton of food, rolls, like, and a miserable person to probably go out to eat with. I like, I remember apologizing to my sister a few years ago. I was like, I'm sorry that you had to deal with me like, going out to eat, because that was stressful for me, you know, because it's like, oh my gosh, there's too many calories on the menu and all these things, and having to look up the menu and then not eating, like, just having weird things about food. So it's just kind of, I'm glad that things kind of have shifted and changed over time, and now I don't binge and I'm not in that cycle anymore. But it was definitely, I think, gave me, like, something I could focus attention on and not deal with everything else that was in my brain.

Brooke Schnittman: 9:24

Sure, sure. So you were hyper focusing on

Rebecca King: 9:29

that. And I think the dopamine from it too, like your view or get something I was good at. And so that was like stimulating to my brain to be, to be good at that, which is not a good thing, definitely not healthy at all. But it was like, Oh, I can, you know, put my attention towards this, and it worked out. Not so great, but like my brain thought it did at the time, yeah, so

Brooke Schnittman: 9:59

there's a lot of. Correlation between disordered eating and ADHD, and you were one of the first ADHD dietitians that came out on social media. Yeah, and I'm curious you mentioned the dopamine piece. Why do so many people with ADHD struggled with disordered eating, yeah, I

Rebecca King: 10:23

think it's a multi, like multiple, almost like, kind of like pillars that, you know, kind of everything, kind of feeds together, in a way. I would say the dopamine piece is one. So binge eating and bulimia are like the two most common eating disorders. So kind of the difference between them is, with bulimia, you usually are engaging in like compensatory behaviors to make up for binge eating, usually, like purging over exercising, laxatives, those kind of things where someone who's binge eating, they're just eating large amounts of food in small, short or periods of time, and not doing those those things. But that, there's some research to show that, like, our since our brains at a very oversimplified way of explaining it, you know, are lower in dopamine, and food is a very accessible, tasty, low effort way to get our brains that dopamine, but it's hard to regulate, and then usually I think of it as Like, especially sugars. Like, it's a fun the source of dopamine, but it's not like, it's not like the most rewarding or long lasting. It's kind of like a quick, quick or cheap dopamine that, like, I just want more of that. Kind of, like social media is, if you're like, you're like, cool, I got like, I'm getting dopamine from this, but I need more of it, versus like, doing maybe some other things that might be a little more help promoting than maybe, you know, eating candy or whatever for stimulation. But I'd say that executive dysfunction is another thing, like being able to plan and to follow through on the plan and to cook, and cooking itself just requires every part of our executive functions is involved in feeding ourselves. So, like, it makes sense that it would be challenging, and if you don't like cooking, it's really hard to motivate yourself to do it on a regular basis. So there can be that disconnect of, like, I know I should be cooking more meals at home, or I should be, you know, eating more vegetables and doing these things, but there's all these barriers that are getting in the way for me from being able to do that. So I think for ADHD ers, we get exposed to diet culture too. So we did deal with all that pressure of trying to be thin or that we should be thin. We have to deal with all that. And I think there's just some unintentional restriction often that happens as a part of ADHD, of not having a plan, or things on hand, or being impulsive of like, oh my gosh, I forgot that I need to eat breakfast, and now I'm going to stop through the drive thru. And that just kind of becomes, you know, a pattern kind of thing.

Brooke Schnittman: 12:48

So how would you define then, disordered eating?

Rebecca King: 12:52

So technically, it's like anything that's like, any type of eating that's like, not considered like the norm. So I think that that binge restrict cycle would be a great example of like, disordered eating that can be very unintentional. For ADHD ers, it's not like they're waking up, like I'm not going to eat until, you know, five or six o'clock at night, and then I'm going to eat, you know, my majority of the of my energy from six o'clock until I go to bed. Usually it's unintentional, like my med suppress my appetite, or I'm just so busy I don't even think about food, or I think about it, and whatever's available is not healthy enough or good enough, so I'm just not going to eat. Or there's too many you know, that transition is too complicated. Of like, I'm working, and I don't want to transition to go, do, you know, prepare myself food and then get back to work. So I'm just gonna keep working, and I'll get to it in a second, and then, you know, four hours go by and you still haven't eaten.

Brooke Schnittman: 13:47

Yeah? So, yeah. So disordered eating, it sounds like, and I don't know if you have the stats, but the good majority of people with ADHD have disordered eating. Yeah,

Rebecca King: 13:59

I would argue, probably a lot of times, disordered eating is like, kind of that, like, step down from an eating disorder, where you don't quite fit, like a specific eating disorder diagnosis, but you kind of have some traits of of an eating disorder, but it's not something that like fits that criteria. But a lot of folks, especially that I work with, I would say definitely have disordered eating behaviors. So

Brooke Schnittman: 14:26

if you're talking about like, different levels, there's disordered eating, and then eating disorder on top, yeah, yeah,

Rebecca King: 14:33

eating disorders would be, like, more restrictive, yeah, more severe. So like, binge eating would be something that you're probably doing multiple times a week or even in a day, depending on how bad it is. But there's probably, there's probably a lot more guilt and shame with an eating disorder versus disordered eating, I would say.

Brooke Schnittman: 14:56

So how would you treat someone with an eating. Eating Disorder compared to disordered eating,

Rebecca King: 15:03

it would depend on how severe there's like their behaviors are depending on that severity, like someone might go to, like an inpatient facility, like if someone especially, like if someone needed to kind of be refed, if they were so, so, so restrictive that they're malnourished. You know, going inpatient means that they're going to be getting meals provided, and they're going to see a therapist, and someone you know, is going to be monitoring them basically all the time. Then there's like, outpatient rehab that some people will do, where they may not be quite severe enough to be admitted, but they'll kind of go during the day for a few hours, come home, and that way. There's still some supervision, but there's still a little bit more freedom, if you like, needed to go work or do things. You could someone who has disordered eating, probably wouldn't go to an eating disorder facility or something like that. They might just work more with, like a dietitian outside and not in, like a facility type of place. And then usually, like, once you're a little bit more like stable, is when you'll kind of start seeing somebody, hopefully on the outside. And usually it's kind of a team. When you have an eating disorder, you're seeing a doctor, you're seeking a therapist, you're seeking a dietician, you might have group support in some kind of way. If there's anything else, like any special people that might need to be added to the treatment team too, they'll do that. So

Brooke Schnittman: 16:29

I'm gonna ask you a tough question. So if it's too tough, feel free not to answer. Would you say that you still have an eating disorder? Oh,

Rebecca King: 16:40

I think, like many people, I remember reading this when I was struggling with immediate disorders, reading some girls blog, and she was like, you know, like, you never really, really recover. And like, it doesn't ever fully go away. And I would say that that's true. It's just more so knowing, like, Yeah, I'm in recovery. But just like, you know, like an alcoholic who could relapse and start drinking again, like I could engage in those behaviors again, but I'm not currently, which is amazing, and I'm really happy about that, and done a lot of work to get there, but I think it's just knowing that, like, recovery is an ongoing, ongoing, yeah, that you're always worried like, having to work On because there's things that like, pop up in life that are like a trigger that could be like, Oh, that's how I'm gonna basically go, like, regulate myself, is to binge and so being like, Okay, I'm dysregulated. What can I do that's actually gonna serve me when I'm feeling dysregulated and help my nervous system, versus, like, going and binge eating is going to make me not feel good in the moment. It might take care of like that dysregulation, but the feeling afterwards, physically and mentally, like, isn't worth engaging in those like, in that behavior again, that's like, oh, that's an option. And you kind of like, see it blip, you know, Blip by. And you're like, but I need to go do something else, you know, or reach out for support in some way or something like that. Yeah.

Brooke Schnittman: 18:06

So like you mentioned, it's all essentially starting with awareness, and then if it continues to stay top of mind for you that this is something that used to be out of your control, but now you know how to control it in a different way. Yeah, you have other healthier options. Yes,

Rebecca King: 18:26

yeah, like you have, I have the skills and like, I have the tools now, whereas before, you know, years ago, I didn't really have those tools. And, like, I think not knowing, like, if I look back my freshman sophomore year, and I was, like, it was really hard. Like, if I would, if someone would have told me emotional dysregulation was a thing back then, it would have made my life so much easier because, like, I just didn't understand how to eat. Like, emotions are this big scary thing, and I think that because of that, I would turn to food also from from that like, not just from stimulation, but being emotionally dysregulated. And food was easy and accessible, and, you know, did the trick, but it really wasn't doing the trick. Long term. You're like, actually, I need to learn how to regulate myself a little bit better.

Brooke Schnittman: 19:18

So we have the emotional dysregulation, the in frequency of dopamine, the highs, the lows, the medication, binge eating because of the medication, yeah. What else do you see as a trigger for ADHD years to struggle with disordered eating or an eating disorder? Yeah, sensory

Rebecca King: 19:39

sensitivities would be another big one. There's a eating disorder. It's called arfid, so avoidant, restrictive food intake disorder, and there's going to be a little bit more research on it, but I would suspect that the statistics are much higher, like they always talk about arfid as kind of this, like Kid, teen eating. Disorder that you just like, somehow magically grow out of, kind of like ADHD, where they're like, oh, all of a sudden, you just don't have this thing anymore. It's cured. Yeah, you grew up.

Brooke Schnittman: 20:09

You're fine, you're you're not, like a chose not to have it

Rebecca King: 20:13

anymore, like you chose to be a picky eater anymore. Quote, unquote, because, and it's like, oh no. Like, sensory issues, that's one way they can kind of manifest where, like you might almost someone might look almost like they have anorexia, but they're not restricting because of fear of weight gain. They're restricting because, like foods, the taste, the texture. Maybe they had food related trauma in some, some kind of way. Or there's some people are just, like, genuinely not interested in food in the way that other people are. And so it can be hard to kind of, again, motivate yourself with, like, it's like, foods just boring and like, if you know, they're type of people who are like, if I could just, like, take, take a pill to, like, get my nutrition needs in for the day, I would my husband's, yeah, and I'm like, I would be over it. And I'm like, Man, I just love food so much. Like I I could never, never do that. Like I saw these. I used to get this ad for these, like, Jelly things, and they were like, you know, one little jelly thing was, like, a bunch of nutrition. And I was like, I don't even know how that's physically possible to pack that in this little thing, but I was like, but I also want to eat, like, I just, I like, enjoy it, and I enjoy it, yeah? And I enjoy cooking. When I have this, like, the capacity to do it, it's something I enjoy. But that's not all the time, and that's also okay, so yeah, just interesting because, yeah, there's some people. It's so different, yeah. So I think, I think there will be more research into Aravind and how that connects with people that are neurodivergent, because I think there's a big, big overlap of people that I work with too, who are adults, even, who are like, who really struggle, especially with, like, certain tastes and textures and feel really stuck because they're like, I only, you know, all I hear about is, I shouldn't be eating all these things, but these are literally the only foods that I can't I like eating that feels safe to me and everything else. Like I trying to eat fruit. Sometimes it's just like, and I'm not gonna do it. So trying to, like, work around some of those challenges too.

Brooke Schnittman: 22:21

We were talking my husband and I about my stepson, and we believe that he is our fit as well. He had a traumatic experience with food where he choked when he was younger, and he has ADHD and other complexities, but what he does with the food is he puts it in the front of his mouth and he moves it around, and he doesn't swallow it, right? So what we do with him is we give him safe foods, like yeah shakes and sure shakes. So he's getting protein, is getting nutrients, somehow, some way, that feels safe to him and my husband, like you mentioned, he would take a pill. He said he would inject himself if he could, with the nutrients. But me on the other hand, and we, our whole family has ADHD and me on the other hand. I love eating, and I eat very fast, but I love

Rebecca King: 23:17

I know it's like, like, man, it's over so quick. Like, I remembered you. Like, trying to eat slow is really hard for me. No, yeah, like I am a fast eater, and I kind of have accepted that I am a faster eater. I still like, try to check in and like, be a little bit mindful with my food. But it is, I'll say even mindful eating can feel really inaccessible for eighth years or like eating without distractions. I have yet to have a client who's like, it is just so easy to sit down and just eat and like, focus on the food. And you know, for most of my clients, like, we're tweaking what mindful eating looks like, like, I think about it, of like, okay, you probably need some extra sensory input. Like, what is that gonna be so you can actually eat and, like, not be, like, on your phone and watching TV and trying to eat because you were at that point, like, really, probably very disconnected from from your body, so it's a lot easier to overeat.

Brooke Schnittman: 24:22

So funny, and then I want to dig into that a little bit more. I remember seeing a therapist growing up, and I don't know she saw me eating somehow, some way, and she goes, Can you like, really be present to the eating process? I'm like, No. And this again before I knew I had ADHD, so I thought there was something wrong in me. I was like, Well, I don't know why I eat so fast, but I just do and I and I can't, like, make it an experience, I love eating, but it just happens,

Rebecca King: 24:55

yeah, it's like, I love eating the way that I eat. Like, yeah. Exactly any other way? Yeah, it's exactly, yeah, I love it. So,

Brooke Schnittman: 25:06

yeah, tell me about you mentioned about the sensory input with eating. So how do you regulate that for something?

Rebecca King: 25:15

So I think of it as, like, your Goldilocks spot kind of thing, of like, what's the right amount of sensory input for you? And that will look a little different for everybody. Like, for me, like listening to music or a podcast or a TV show like the office or Parks and Rec that I've seen like, a million times, and I don't need to, like, you know, be engaged with the TV show, versus, like, Oh, my new favorite show I'm not eating well meal while I watch that, because I won't even know when the food is gone. So like, something like that, for me, having something I can listen to, so my eyes can still, like, be engaged with the food. For some of my clients, it is sometimes having a show on or very few of my clients feel connected, like, with extra sensory input from, like, their phone or work while they're eating. So like trying, I try to find other things that my clients can do. Sometimes even it's like, Let me have a fidget in my hand. I have some clients who are like, I like to play, like, word games or something like that. Kind of like, you know, when we were I always did this, like, looked over the like, back of the cereal box when I was a kid, even though, like you would especially like, see the same cereal box every morning, but I'm playing the games every single morning because I needed, like something else to do. So sometimes it's just finding like that right thing that can make it like a little bit more enjoyable, or give you something. Because, like, to me, when I eat in just dead silence, it's like nails on a chalkboard, kind of like, Let me hurry up, like that. Eating fast happens really fast if there's nothing going on done, yeah, like, Let me hurry up and do the next thing. So like adding music or something that that will help me slow down a little bit. Sometimes, even just sitting outside of my balcony, there's just, like, enough going on around in the city that I can, like, make it work. So, yeah,

Brooke Schnittman: 27:09

fair enough. What else do you recommend for people who are having a hard time eating, whether it be the executive function issue of planning and prep, or someone who has arfid, or someone who just has sensory issues, doesn't necessarily have arfid, but people who are struggling with food, what would be that first step,

Rebecca King: 27:35

I would say, giving yourself permission to, like, figure out what's going to work for you and what's going to help you feed yourself. So like, eating enough and eating regularly, to me, are kind of like the foundation of things, and then we can start tweaking that nutrition piece. But so often people like, oh, I need to eat I need to eat healthier. I need to do this, I need to do that, and then I'm like, but we're only eating, you know, if we're only eating twice a day, let's say, or, you know, we're eating breakfast and then not eating until six o'clock at night. Like, we just need to get into the routine of eating like, kind of adopting that like Fed is best mantra of like, okay, what can we eat? And like, what can lower the barrier to eating? So for people with arfid, like, making sure you have seafoods on hand, making sure even if you don't have arfid, but if you struggle with feeding yourself, like giving yourself permission to use, like, what I call shortcuts, but like convenience types of things that make it just easier to feed yourself, if it's like getting single serving cups of Greek yogurt versus a big container, because that means you'll actually use the Greek yogurt. You know, those kind of little things don't seem like a lot, or even from like a giving you an idea of portions and how much is enough, like, getting things that are individually packaged sometimes is nice because it gives you, like, a natural stopping point, right? Like, if you tend to clean your plate or eat the whole bag of chips until the chips are gone, it's like, okay, if I get a little individual size, I can go get more chips. If I want them, there's, there's more than, you know, one bag of chips, but at least it pot makes me pause and check in with myself to see, like, Hmm, I've already had this little bag of potato chips. Do I? Do I really want more? Versus it being, you know, the big family size, and you're just sitting and eating it, it's a lot easier for half that bag or more to just kind of disappear. And you're like, where did all that go? So I think, like, giving yourself permission to use some of those things, because people are like, Oh, well, you know, a lot of the like, oh, processed food is bad kind of thing. But like, there's lots of processed foods that are very nutrient dense. So I think people, like, kind of forget that in that that conversation around processed foods, it's like you can find more some of them might be a little bit more expensive, but you can find things that are more processed, that are still low in sodium and saturated fats and are higher in protein and fiber, because that's really when it comes to like, people saying, oh, processed foods are bad. There's some extra additives and some Ultra processed foods, but you can still find all like, what would. An ultra processed food that is like a protein bar or a protein shake, even those ensure drinks would be like an ultra processed food. But it means that, you know, it means your step son's getting the really important nutrients that he needs so he can grow. And that's what matters more, than being like, Oh, I can't have that. It's like, okay, well, if we're not eating anything, that's far worse than maybe eating something that like might be deemed a little, you know, bad because it's processed, but at the end of the day, again, it's still getting all the things that you need in for your body, and that's, that's what's important. Yeah,

Brooke Schnittman: 30:36

I'm so glad that you're sharing now, because I know there's a lot of talk and a lot of fear mongering, yes, fear mongering about bad foods.

Rebecca King: 30:51

Yeah, eating.

Brooke Schnittman: 30:52

And I know there's this line, it's like you've mentioned so many times, that eating, regardless of what it is, is still better than not eating. Yeah,

Rebecca King: 31:03

and like, keeping eating on a regular basis, like, and keeping your blood sugar more stable that way, like, it makes such a difference. And I think we just end up getting on this, like, roller coaster. If we're eating and consistently, our blood sugar is also on a roller coaster, and that doesn't make us feel good, either. So, so when

Brooke Schnittman: 31:21

you say eating consistently three to four hours, yep, about

Rebecca King: 31:25

about that. It doesn't have to be perfect. I have some clients like who are like, I two hours is actually like, my sweet two to three is my sweet spot. And then I have some who are like, I can kind of push it a little bit longer, but like, five to six is when your blood sugar will, like, start to drop. So if you notice, especially for a lot of folks, like, we even if you, if you're medicated or unmedicated, you might not get a growling stomach. And that's like, that's just like, one hunger cue. So like, you think it's important to remember that, like, you probably have hunger cues, you just don't connect them to hunger. And that, because it happens with a lot of my clients, like, I don't really know what hunger feels like, and then we start and then we start, like, eating more regularly, and I start asking them about their hunger cues, and they're like, Oh yeah, I get a headache in the afternoon, or I, you know, my mood changes and I get really hangry, or my energy dips, or even though I'm on my medication, I like, really can't focus all of the sudden, And that, it makes no sense. And then they're like, oh, then I realized I need to eat, and I eat, and then I imagine that I can, like, go, I can go, do what I need to, you know, what I was trying to focus on. So I think noticing some of those, those patterns throughout the day of like, Hey, does my energy tank at this time? Or, you know, does my mood change, like, for me, when I'm on my meds, I get very irritated at, like, little things that normally wouldn't irritate me, like my Internet being slow, and it's not slow, so it's like, when did that's usually just like a cue for me, like, when did we last eat? Because if we're feeling this, we're angry at this, or like, some little thing, like if a noise is bothering me, or those kind of things I'm like that normally wouldn't bother me. What like? When was the last time we and 99% of the time it's time to eat? So,

Brooke Schnittman: 33:11

so hangry is a real thing. It

Rebecca King: 33:13

is. Yes, it is a real thing. It's harder to regulate our emotions when we're hungry. So if you notice that that might be a sign that you're like, my whole family gets hang grace when we're like, on vacation together as a family. It's like, okay, if we if anyone starts to kind of slightly snap at each other, we're like, All right, we need to make plans to get food in the next like 20 minutes so that no one gets angry at each other.

Brooke Schnittman: 33:39

I love that. I love that, yeah. When I start, you know, saying something to my husband, and it's like, 630 at night, he's like, Uh oh, I've lost you already. You're angry, yeah. What about intermittent fasting? Because that kind of goes against what we're talking about. If

Rebecca King: 33:57

you have a history of an eating disorder, intermittent fasting is not recommended because it is a form of restriction. So I always like to mention that, or if you notice like you're prone to it, there isn't a whole lot of research for ADHD into intermittent fasting yet. I haven't really seen anything on that. From a weight loss perspective, it's not really any different than other forms of calorie restriction. So it's kind of like whatever works best for you. And I'd say like, I would rather for me, I don't, since I'm an intuitive dietitian, I don't encourage restricted dieting. But if you find like, I don't know like, to me, you're not fueling your brain regularly with carbs throughout the day. And to me, that's like just making it harder to function for and for most of my clients, I which is a definitely a bias, but like most of my clients, struggle with binge eating or disordered eating, and like that evening, chunk of the time is the most challenging time of the day. So if they're like, fasting until two or. 3pm that's, like, already usually that witching hour, and then they're kind of in this, that binge cycle, you know, throughout the evening. So it's like, okay, cool, yeah, I'm intermittent fasting. Quote, unquote. But like, if you're, like, binge eating during that eating window, like it's not, it probably isn't helping as much as you thought it would. And for a lot of folks that I work with, if they have a tried intermittent fasting, it like becomes kind of the game of like, oh, like, oh, I have this many minutes before I can, you know, I have to be done eating, or, you know, those kind of things. And so if it works for you, great. But if it also, if it doesn't like, allow you to live a fulfilling life, or the life that you want to like. For me, I'm like, I could never do that, because I like breakfast way too much. And I could never do like, go sit at a brunch with my girlfriends and have like, them all eat food, and me just sit there and like, I'll just drink a black coffee and watch you guys enjoy your food. I would be miserable. So. But I think whatever is sustainable and works for you, if you have to like work, if, if it feels like you have to work 10 times harder just to feed yourself to do it, that's probably not like a sustainable eating pattern, because we want it to be easier to feed yourself like it shouldn't be this big, really hard, complicated process. And I think sometimes we, especially with, like, meal planning, I have so many clients, like, it needs to be this whole, like, elaborate, you know, system that they're trying to set up. But it's like, well, that might look nice and pretty, just kind of like, you know, getting a planner and, like, having some pretty organization system, right? Like, I'll do that, and then I'll totally it'll solve all my problems. It's like, all my problems, yeah. And then it's like, and now I still don't follow through the meal plan, and then you feel terrible because, like, I just spent hours setting up this system and it doesn't work. And it's like, can we make this system simpler? Like, because it doesn't, probably doesn't need to be super complicated, yeah, because I think I It would be lovely to make it, you know, cool and technological and all of that. But it's like, sometimes it's like, simple, simple as what works. So keep

Brooke Schnittman: 37:11

it super simple. Yes. So Becca, you have a book coming out, yes. Can you tell us about it? It's called

Rebecca King: 37:19

How to Eat well for adults with ADHD, I'm really excited about it, because it's going to be a non diet book to food and nutrition for ADHD or so, kind of like a how to guide to feed yourself, because I think it's just something that I saw that was missing from a lot of the books on diet. And ADHD was like, eat this, not that you know, or here's all these nutrients to be focusing on. And I'm like, that is awesome and amazing, but most of the clients that I work with, we're still, like, on the foundation of, how do we feed ourselves? How do I know when I'm hungry? You know, things that maybe are a little bit farther back before we're like, really tweaking what it is you're eating or adding more of these nutrients in, because I've worked with someone like, once had it was eating one meal a day, and was like, I want to optimize my nutrition. And I was like, well, first we just have to start eating more, like, because, like, right now, like one meal a day, there's not much to optimize because you can't eat anymore that meal. We have to, we have to build some more into your day. So I think figuring out how to do that in a way that's doable and easier is kind of my goal. So

Brooke Schnittman: 38:31

amazing, amazing. So what would be your one piece of advice that you would want to leave? And I know this is really hard for people with ADHD, just leaving one thing. So if it's more than one, that's okay. But in your expertise, personally and professionally, in this field of ADHD and disordered eating, what is your one piece of advice for people?

Rebecca King: 38:55

I would say I might have two things. One thing I would say is that like things, and I would say, you taught me this when I worked with you, is that like things are always going to be like, What Works one day might not work anymore, and that's really okay. Like meal planning, there's going to be things that are going to ebb and flow. And that doesn't mean that you've failed, or you're, you know, not doing good with nutrition or something like that. It's just like, Okay, I just need to problem solve and figure out, like, what? Maybe I need to add some novelty in. Maybe I just need to change up the way that I'm doing things a little bit. And that's okay, because I think sometimes people think again without, like, once I get the one meal plan figured out, I'm never going to have to do it again. And that's like, yep, but then you're going to get to a new seat. You're going to get a new job, or you're gonna have a kid, right? Or you're gonna

Brooke Schnittman: 39:46

your hyper fixation will end, yeah, yeah, you'll be

Rebecca King: 39:50

Yeah, like, it will change. And that's, that's okay. And so it's like, being okay with that, like, ebb and flow of things, and like, letting go of the should. Slit of like, there is no one right way to feed ourselves. So like, really letting go of that idea and figuring out, hey, what helps me nourish my body in a way that works for me? And being okay with that, you know, and accepting that, because I think we get a lot of pushback. Sometimes, some people like, well, you could just do this, or you could just do that, and it's like, but this is working, so I'm just gonna rock and roll with it, so

Brooke Schnittman: 40:28

I know my body. Thank you very much. So for the people who want more tips or want to work with you, Becca, where should they go?

Rebecca King: 40:39

You can find me on Instagram and Facebook and threads at ADHD, dot nutritionist. I'm on Tiktok, but I don't use it, so if you communicate with me there, I probably will never see it. And if you do want to work with me, the link in my bio has my discovery call link if you want to chat with me,

Brooke Schnittman: 41:02

and your book will be available on Amazon. Yes,

Rebecca King: 41:05

you can find it on Amazon. I think Barnes and Nobles and two other bookstores amazing.

Brooke Schnittman: 41:12

I'm so glad we finally got to do this. Go out if you're not already following Becca King. Follow her at ADHD, dot nutritionist. Buy her book. You want to say it one more time for everyone listening how

Rebecca King: 41:24

to eat well for adults with ADHD, awesome

Brooke Schnittman: 41:27

and do yourself a favor, go eat Yes,

Rebecca King: 41:32

that is best.

Brooke Schnittman: 41:34

Thanks for listening to this episode of successful with ADHD. I hope it helps you on your journey, and if you need any additional support for you or a loved one with ADHD, feel free to reach out to us at coaching with brooke.com and all social media platforms at coaching with Brooke, and remember, it's Brooke with an E. Thanks again for listening. See you next time you