Why Binging Happens for Women with ADHD and How To Reduce It

As an active pal with ADHD I know the sequence of forgetting to eating for hours resulting in binging at night. When you’re lifting several days a week, joining your local run clubs, taking hot girl walks (inside or outside) and walking around during the day to get errands done without scheduling in food or bringing snacks those “oh sh*t, I need to eat" moments hit hard!

Then you find yourself ravenous with no food plan. It leads to a chaotic hour (or 2) in a blackout stage where you’re opening and closing containers and boxes, grabbing a handful of this and that, and you simply cannot be stopped. And then suddenly you realize you feel uncomfortably full. 

If you want that confident, sturdy girl lifestyle, learning to minimize the ravenous chaotic moments is key. And this has nothing to do with our weight obsessed society. In order too support your activity level, recovery, and seeing improvement in your strength training, cardio, and everyday life, what you need is a plan!

Let’s chat about why those living with ADHD struggle to fuel themselves with a non diet, body neutral breakdown rooted in performance nutrition.

Alternatively we can start with the below anecdote:

A little story: Maya lifts three times a week, runs on Saturdays, and works a demanding job. Her ADHD meds blunt her morning appetite. She hyperfocuses through lunch.

By evening she is exhausted, starving, and has major raccoon energy. She thinks she has “no willpower.” In reality she is just underfed.

Does this sound like you?

What causes women with ADHD to unintentionally restrict their intake:

ADHD brains are not broken… they are wired differently. Your neurospicy brain comes with unpredictable, yet predictable barriers. 

1. Medication Appetite Suppression

   Medications dampen hunger cues. This means you may not hear your signs of hunger at all until your medication wares off. All of a sudden, when you can hear your cues you are ravenous! This often leads to missed meal and snack times.  

   
   

2. Hyperfocus Hijacks Mealtime

   “I will just finish up this one task and then I’ll eat”… 2 hours later (insert SpongeBob reference here). Time flies when you’re in hyperfocus land. It’s possible that you might fly through a meal or snack in the “I will just finish this one task” moment. Now you’re in a major deficit, and your body is trying to catch up. 

   
   

3. Unrecognized hunger cues

   Most of us believe that being hungry is only when your stomach growls. For people with ADHD, signs of hunger may include mood changes, thinking about food, fatigue, inability to focus, brain fog, and so much more. The problem is that you haven’t identified which of these signs are your hunger bat signals! 

   
   

4. Decision Fatigue

   You’ve spent all day making decisions at work, maybe what workout to do, and what to wear. By lunchtime you’re at your decision making limit. You look in the fridge and can’t decide what to eat, so you give up completely and tell yourself you’re not “that” hungry. (Hint: you are). By the time dinner rolls around, decision fatigue hits again, but at this point, your body is begging to be fed, and you find yourself with serious raccoon energy. 

   
   

5. Time blindness

   Related to hyper focus, time blindness is that feeling when one minute it is 11am and the next its 2:30pm and you steam rolled right through lunch. Or you’re out doing errands that were supposed to take 45 minutes, but then you decided to take a detour and it’s been 3 hours. Now you’re on the verge of running on vibes with an iced coffee in hand. And then that caffeine masks your appetite, prolonging the next time you consume food. 

   
   

All of this makes daytime under-fueling extremely common which sets the stage for nighttime binging.

Why Binging Happens at Night

1. Your Body Is Legitimately Hungry

Especially on days where you are more active, under-fueling during the daytime leads to overcompensating in the evening to make up for what was missed all day. At this point, your body is running on such little energy it can be hard to slow down and make balanced sturdy food choices. 

2. Your brain wants quick energy

No, you’re not addicted to carbs. What’s really happening is that your brain is seeking quick energy that is easy to prep, consume and digest! It is saying “eat the carb because if my brain and body don’t get fuel fast, it won’t be a good time.” Quick energy = carb rich = less nutrient dense foods. It’s physiology. 

3. You Finally Notice Hunger

Evening is often the first moment where you are finally able to self regulate. Your stress and anxiety levels may decrease, which allow you to finally notice your body’s needs. 

4. Your Brain Wants Dopamine

After putting executive functioning into overdrive completing tasks, your brain might reach for a dopamine hit in the form of carbs. Eating lights the dopamine receptor, and it feels good in the moment! 

This isn’t a failure, it’s not that you don’t have willpower. It is the ADHD neurochemistry.

Strategies To Reduce Nighttime Binging for Active Women with ADHD

Using the strategies below to support intentional eating as an everyday athlete with ADHD. These are rooted in a non diet approach that is meant to support your needs without judgement. 

1. Use Daily Structure Tools

Structure helps your brain relax into a rhythm.

• Set gentle alarms at breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack. Be mindful not to ignore. Press snooze instead if you are nearing the end of a task.

• Use apps like Finch or Due for a gamified approach. Little dopamine hits all day long

• Try photo journaling meals as a visual cue instead of tracking macros, this can be a helpful visual behavioral reminder and cue to add balance at meals and snacks

• Habit Stack: trying pairing meals with routines you already have like feeding your animal, taking your medication, pouring yourself a cup of coffee, or reading your book 

2. Reduce Food Decision Fatigue

make eating easier for you in those low energy and higher hunger moments.

• Create three default lunches you can grab with little thought (link other blog)

• Keep grab and go options ready in your fridge or pantry (link blog)

• Stock easy passive snacks in your work bag or car (link blog)

• Put a whiteboard on your fridge with a menu of meal and snack options to choose from weekly

3. Support Yourself When You Arrive at a Meal Famished

Being famished is not a failure. It just means you need food quickly.

Start with a no prep snack that bridges you to a full meal.

Focus on one small items first:

• yogurt cups

• string cheese

• deli turkey slices

• crackers

• fruit cups

• trail mix

• ready to drink protein shakes

  
  

Then follow with a balanced meal or snack once you’re feeling more regulated. This stabilizes your energy instead of spiraling into chaotic raccoon eating.

4. Add Accountability or Community Support

Many people with ADHD thrive with external pressure. 

• Share a daily fueling check in with a friend. Simply putting a goal out into the ether can be enough to cue your brain to hit pause to nourish yourself. This accountability isn’t meant to shame you if it doesn’t happen! As a client said one: try it out, you might like it!

• Join a community for nutrition for active women such as Strong + Sturdy!

• Work with a non-diet dietitian on our team! We are New Orleans based and virtual serving 15 states across the US.

  
  

5. Build a Fueling Pattern That Helps Strength, Not Restriction

Your body thrives on steady, predictable intake of energy. Even your bowel movements improve when you have a steady routine (you’re welcome). This steadiness improves your lifts by providing you with adequate energy to support progressive overload.

Consuming food throughout the day support recovery of your muscles by giving it the protein and antioxidants it needs to grow stronger reduce inflammation. And fuel support executive function, which those living with ADHD struggle with daily. 

Fueling for strength training does not have to be complicated. It just has to be consistent and ADHD friendly.

Nighttime binging is not about discipline or willpower. It is almost always about underfueling and the layers that make ADHD eating genuinely difficult. When you build simple, compassionate systems that support your brain and your training, your evenings feel calmer and your body feels more grounded.

If you want real life fueling support for ADHD friendly eating, intuitive eating for athletes, and performance nutrition for women, our nondiet dietitians in New Orleans and our virtual team can help you build strength and nourishment without restriction.

Ready to feel steady, strong, and well fueled? Reach out anytime!