Medication, Appetite and Your Relationship With Food (Neurodiversion ADHD Series)

Stimulant medication changes your appetite, but your relationship with food is far more complicated than hunger. After 10 years of coaching women, I explain why not feeling hungry doesn't mean your body doesn't need fuel, and why I don't trust hunger cues for neurodivergent women. That includes my own.

In this episode, I cover:

How stimulants suppress appetite, and why constant food thoughts can work as a form of stimming
The risks of under-fueling, including relative energy deficiency syndrome, menstrual cycle and hormone disruption, and dehydration.
Why I eat whether I'm hungry or not, as someone on medication who runs marathons.
Why evening is when food problems peak: medication wearing off, accumulated hunger, and the 8 or 9 p.m. fridge raid
How sensory elements like crunch, texture, smoothness and sound change the way I build meals for female clients
Why appetite suppression gets mistaken for successful dieting
Why rigid meal plans and spreadsheets tend to fail neurodivergent women
Why I say intuitive eating isn't a thing for neurodivergence
Moving from appetite control to sustainable nourishment, with calories and macros first and micros for health

Timestamps

(0:00) Series intro and who this episode is for
(0:29) How stimulants change appetite beyond simple hunger
(1:27) Under-fueling, RED-S, hormones and dehydration
(1:56) Why I can't trust my hunger cues and eat anyway
(2:20) Appetite vs. physiological energy needs
(2:50) ADHD, executive function and the eating pendulum swing
(3:14) Why evenings go wrong: wear-off and accumulated hunger
(3:44) Dopamine, food reward and sensory stimulation
(5:07) Appetite suppression mistaken for dieting success
(6:04) Emotional relationship with hunger and food
(6:33) Why rigid meal plans fail neurodivergent women
(7:34) Two sides of extreme success in body composition
(8:01) How I coach: basic, accessible, consistent nourishment
(8:58) From appetite control to sustainable nourishment
(9:27) Why intuitive eating doesn't work for neurodivergence
(10:24) ADHD, self-criticism and the compassionate outcome
(10:50) Forgetting to eat, drink and take meds: the domino effect

Key Takeaways
The absence of hunger is not evidence that your body has stopped needing nourishment.

Overriding your body's signals isn't a life hack. Your brain has to down-regulate, including hormonal processing, which is surviving, not thriving.