The Neverending Story

As many ADHD adults know overeating and ADHD often go hand in hand.  It's certainly not the whole story as to why I have always struggled with my weight but it's a big contributing factor. 

 This is the Cliff Notes version of my weight history:

• Ages 5 - 14: Overweight and ending at weighing in 240 at age 14 (at 5ft. 8in).

• Ages 14 - 16 - Went from 240 - 170.  Done with the willpower of a young, moderately obsessed teenager.  My normal and healthy weight is 170, which you see below in 1993 when I was living in France for my junior year of college.

• Ages 16 - 28: My weight remained steady at 175'ish but ticked up up to 220 or so around 1997, when I stopped working on a farm (read eating well and doing physical work).

 Now I measure in years - 

• Summer 2001 - Weighed in at 220 and made concerted effort to lose weight. Lost 18 or so pounds.

•  2001 - 2013: Weight steady around 204 give or take a few pounds

• 2013 - 2014: Gained ten pounds steadily to now weight in at 214.  

What changed in the past year? Two things: My doctor doubled the antidepressant (venlafaxine - generic Effexor) that I've taken for 13 years from 75mg to 150mg.  This was most certainly a good decision.  My mood and sense of resiliency has been wonderfully stable this past year.  Is it the medication affecting my metabolism or is it my general feeling of resilience and good mood that is leading more overeating than I have done in the past?

I'm not sure of the answer to this but I do feel the need to revisit a weight loss plan.  I may never get to 170 again but losing 15 lbs would be a good thing for me on all levels. 

The good news is that through all of this I keep myself fit.  I do yoga, I bike, I powerwalk.  Years ago I realized that fitness need not be connected to what I weigh.  In fact I feel that it's imperative that it isn't.  

Like any addict, my struggle with my weight has been, is and will be lifelong.  This she-demon is always there but working with her and all the things that are better, stronger and more worthy than indulging cravings is what I seek.