Welcome to 2/7 of health & performance for ADHD.

Today, we are going to talk about movement and training, ideally daily, which is a non-negotiable for ADHD people.

I have always been really fit, but I also like to eat a lot...

So the more I train, the more I am allowed to eat. Which sounds pretty good to me.🤷‍♂️

Yes, I could eat less and train less. But do I want to eat less, move less, and get less sunlight and spend less time outdoors?

Definitely not, and luckily science backs this up.

2.1) Eat more, move more.

Thomas Delauer often talks about moving more and eating more.

1. You get more sunlight exposure, more muscle build-up, more oxygen, and your cardiovascular health improves.
2. You eat more, so you get more nutrients.
3. You sleep better. (as talked about in Day 1)

But here is one big thing I realized with ADHD.

Most scientists are saying you need to do keto or a low-carb diet.

I have done it for a while, and it helps with focus, especially if you have ADHD. You don’t get any insulin spikes, and you don’t experience any brain fog, which is a really good thing.

But I have experienced 2-3 downsides.

1. Higher cortisol levels.
2. You feel heavier and probably train less.
3. You don’t get super ripped, and training performance goes down.

For most people who are office workers, keto or low-carb might be a really good option, which might be the majority of the population, and that’s why everyone online talks about its effectiveness.

But I am a huge fan of triathlon training and marathon training. I actually don’t compete; I just do it for fun in my free time. I just like to run, cycle and sometimes swim. (I was a water polo player when I was younger)

When I am low-carb, I feel much heavier when I eat more fat, which means less movement and less sunlight exposure. If I eat more carbs, I tend to train and move more to offset the side effects of insulin spikes. Additionally, I don’t feel great getting +3000kcal per day from mainly fat sources.

When I was younger, I always went for high-carb and low-fat.

I tend to get super ripped, have extremely high training performance, spend a lot of time outdoors, and have lower cortisol levels because carbs reduce cortisol in the body (hugely important for women). I like to drink coffee for focus & performance reasons, especially with my ADHD. The carbs I consume during early lunch seem to lower my cortisol and stress levels, and I feel much better during training and my time off work. (Which is backed by research that keto increases cortisol)

One side effect is that you shouldn’t go lower than 50-60g of fat per day. Otherwise, testosterone goes down, which is hugely important.

For example, in a bodybuilding competition, you go below 30g of fat per day. That’s why it’s unsustainable.

So, to summarize, I feel much better eating more carbs, more calories, and train more.

2.2) Training makes you more intelligent.

As mentioned, training and movement improve sleep. The more you train and spend time outdoors (ideally with other people), the more sun exposure you get, and the better your sleep quality.

Training is, for me, the most important thing if I want to improve my health & performance with ADHD.

• It determines my sleep quality.
• Increases my sun-exposure time
• Improves my flow states the next day
• It also improves my physical appearance because I look and feel healthier. (charisma)

2.3) The Theory of the Hunter

This is a theory discussed by many doctors and scientists, and one of my favourites, Dr. K (Healthy Gamer GG).

And I think this is true.

Look at where we are right now. Our modern world has only existed for the last decade. Massive progress in technology, AI, and scientific data has happened in the last 10-20 years.

Look at the difference between the first iPhone (2007) and the iPhone Duo today, or how TVs looked 20 years ago.

Now reflect on how neurotypical people behave and how ADHD people behave.

Most “neurotypical” people stay at a job they hate for 40 years, never making any changes in their lives. Now compare it with yourself or someone who has ADHD, and this person might change jobs every few months or years.

→ Neurotypicals are the farmers. They can do the “boring sh*t” every single day.

→ ADHD’ers are the hunters. Highly aware, highly sensitive and highly dopamine-driven.

The "disorder" is a mismatch between your ancient wiring and a modern world built for settlers/farmers. (To make the hierarchy work)

The more you move, train, and “hunt” for dopamine, the more you align with your biological clock and circadian rhythm, making it easier to build and maintain habits in this modern world (we'll talk about this in the next few days).

To give you a better way to implement it into your life:

→ Think about what hunter-gatherers did thousands of years ago.

They spent most of their time outdoors, hunting or gathering food, staying aware of their surroundings, the little noises and cracks in the forest. And now reflect that in our modern world, living in a big city with close to zero nature and forests.

And now we are wondering why so many people are depressed.

To leave you with something you can reflect on and implement.

→ Think about how you can align your health & performance (productivity) with nature’s cycle. The more you can connect modern solutions with natural “old” patterns, the better you are going to perform and the healthier you become.

Thanks for reading.

Jeff

P.S. Whenever you're ready, there are 2 more ways I can help you:

1) (Free & Paid) The Weekly Bonfire (Every Thursday 8 pm EDT): A tribe of ADHD Creatorpreneurs. Where I teach my frameworks and systems (For example, my Chaos To Clarity Notion System) every week for managing a life & business around ADHD.

2) (Paid) Data-Driven Health & Performance Coaching for ADHD: A 90-day, data-driven health & performance coaching program for ADHD entrepreneurs, creators and career-focused individuals. You only provide the data. I provide weekly personalized instructions to optimize your health and performance. (Guaranteed Improvements)

​​​​