August 12, 2025 • 8 mins
Logging Food - trying to eat healthy? In this episode of Quick Wins for ADHD Moms, Jess gets real about why tracking meals is so tough for ADHD brains, and shares a simple, flexible workaround that actually works.
Ditch the guilt, embrace repeatable meals, and discover how to make nutrition easier for you and your family. Tune in for practical tips, a dose of science, and a reminder that progress beats perfection!
To find more tips and support, visit theADHDMom.com and subscribe to the show!
Jessica is a Creative wife & mom of 3 from Northwest Pennsylvania. She is a voiceover artist at Jessica Lewis Voice and enjoys creating calming art through macro and landscape photography at The Painted Square.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Are you health conscious?
Have you been logging food andjust want to scream?
Well, hey, welcome to Quick Winsfor ADHD moms.
I'm Jess, and today's episode isfor all of us who have ever
tried logging our food for likethree days and then just ghosted
the idea, whether it's an app orsomething on the side of our
(00:22):
refrigerator because it's soannoying to do the repeated
process of logging our food.
Logging our food again.
Yeah, I've been there.
I've used Chronometer app totrack my macros, and I paid for
it, and then I hated it andunsubscribed from it, and then I
paid for it again because.
It really worked last time andit's gonna work this time, and
(00:42):
then I get overwhelmed and thenunsubscribe from it again.
It's a love hate relationship.
You know, I want to do well.
I've seen results in the past,but at the end of the day, I
just don't like tracking food.
And when you have ADHD and youdon't see a shortcut or that
inspirational routine is justtoo complicated.
(01:04):
Everything disappears.
You lose interest and now youeat everything.
Feel me here.
So today I wanna walk youthrough why food logging is so
hard with ADHD.
Uh, maybe a simple workaroundthat I'm learning how to
implement myself and the brainscience behind why this is
actually normal for us and justnot a failure.
(01:25):
So today's quick win repeatablemeals.
Here's the workaround that I'mgoing to be trying this fall as
the kids go back to school andI've been reflecting on what's
working and what's not working,and then you tweak the process
and then the kids grow older andthings change and they eat
different things.
So today's quick win is createtwo to three repeatable, macro
(01:49):
balanced days that's going tohit your nutrition goals, and
then just rotate those days.
No decisions.
No constant logging, juststructure with flexibility.
We love flexibility, but we needstructure.
Keep protein anchors on hand.
I love having a meal planningday where we shred the chicken
(02:09):
and then put it in the freezerand then we can grab little bags
as we need it throughout theweek.
So protein anchors like theshredded chicken, maybe taco
meat, Greek yogurt, those arereally great.
Um, the OCO triple Zero.
You know what I'm talking about.
Those are great to just grab andgo, um, and then you can build
(02:29):
simple meals around thoseshredded chicken taco meat, you
know, whatever.
So try using visual checklistslike, okay, am I getting my
macros?
Do I have my protein, a highenergy carb, a veggie, and a
healthy fat?
If I can check those things offthree times a day, I know I'm
winning even if I don't enter asingle thing into my app.
(02:53):
Now if you are new to mealplanning or trying to figure out
your macros, we can dive deeperinto this if you're really
interested.
But I know that nutrition isreally important for our ADHD
brains and just for living ahealthy life in general and
showing our kids how to makegood food choices, um, getting a
well-balanced diet.
So for our ADHD brains, why dowe have to adjust how we log our
(03:17):
food?
Well, like I've said before, itgets boring.
Routines are boring.
We get fatigued, and fatigue isreal.
Logging food sounds simple.
You just tap a few buttons, youadd your grilled chicken and you
move on with your day.
And this was new chronometer wasbeta testing it, just snap a
(03:37):
picture of your food and itcalculates it for you.
And I love this idea and I triedit and it will get better, but
it's not perfect yet.
So I have to go back in andadjust the actual amount of
almonds I ate or confess thatthere's just too much cheese on
my salad and it's hiddenunderneath the lettuce.
So when logging food, if you'relike me, uh, what actually
(03:59):
happens is.
You forget to log one meal oryou just get bored with it and
tell yourself, no, I'm, I'mrebelling against that.
I'm not logging food today.
And then you try to backtrackand you can't remember what you
ate and it, it just feels messy.
And now the kids are hungry.
You are like, oh, I'll juststart this over tomorrow.
(04:19):
And when you're managing ahousehold, maybe you work from
home, you've got all these snackrequests.
Missing socks and your own brainnoise.
That tiny extra task of loggingyour food becomes just one
thing.
Too many logging.
Fatigue isn't laziness.
It's just decision fatigue.
It's working memory overload.
(04:41):
It's your brain saying, pleasestop asking me to multitask my
own nutrition.
Just eat a cookie.
Here's the science behind foodlogging and fatigue, and maybe
something we can do about it.
The first thing is knowingwhat's going on in our brains
and understanding how our brainswork and working with our
brains.
Not against it because someoneon YouTube had a new hack that
(05:05):
suddenly works.
So our working memory, that'sthe part of your brain that
helps you hold multiple piecesof information at once.
It's not quite as strong in ADHDbrains, so remembering what you
ate for breakfast while figuringout lunch wrangling, kids,
calculating macros.
It's just a hard ask.
(05:25):
There's also the issue ofexecutive function, and that's
the system that helps youinitiate tasks, follow through
on things, and evaluate.
That's also affected becauselogging food after you eat
doesn't give you that dopaminehit.
It just feels like a chore andthere's no immediate payoff.
And if you're already in gomode, pausing to log a meal,
(05:49):
breaks your flow, or it's gonnamake you even more late, which
makes it harder to stick withconsistently.
So it's not a failure.
We just need to figure out otherways to work with our brains.
So when it comes to trying tolive a healthier life and making
better food choices and, andhaving a balanced nutrition,
what is it that you need to heartoday?
(06:09):
Well, you need to hear that youdon't need to be perfect.
You don't need a perfect log tobe consistent.
Use your brain's strengths likepattern recognition and
creativity to build a plan thatworks with you.
Progress comes from repeatablehabits, not from perfect
tracking.
And I love this one, repeatablehabits, and that's what our
(06:32):
quick win, creating rotatingdays of pre-planned meals and
keeping it simple, but stayingon track.
Is such a big deal.
Oh, here's something else, andthis is probably for another
episode about staying on top ofordering groceries so that you
have the food for those rotatingdays.
You hear me there?
(06:52):
We're trying to createautomation with flexibility and
it takes time to build yourflexible automations.
I'm gonna say that again.
It takes time for you to buildin those automations something
that works for you.
I've, I've been through this andI just wanna share my
experiences and what has workedand what has not worked.
(07:14):
Look, I'm not perfect.
I'm still in the middle offiguring all this out, but I
hope I can at least get youthinking about how you can tweak
your own meal plans andautomations.
Like I said before, food andnutrition is such a huge part of
our day and it affects ourbodies and brains and of course
our kids' bodies and brains, andit's a huge part of living a
healthy ADHD life.
(07:35):
It's a journey.
You're not going to figure itout today or right now, and
that's okay, but being aware ofthis and taking on that journey
to better food choices, totallyworth it.
Try setting up a few repeatablemeals.
Screenshot the ones that work,and then just give your brain a
break.
Get the kids involved.
(07:56):
Ask them some of their favoritemeals.
Figure out how to make it morehealthy.
Put it in the rotation.
If you know another ADHD momwho's struggling with just chaos
in life, I would love for you toshare this episode with them.
We all need a little bit ofsupport, right?
And if you've figured out yourown way to track your food
(08:16):
without tracking it, or if youwant more episodes like this, I
would love to hear somefeedback.
You can find me Jessica at the aadhd mom.com.
You are doing amazing.
Listen, you're showing up.
You're finding ways to thriveeven in the chaos, and in my
book, that's a win.
All right?
Go out and have a beautiful day.
Are you health conscious?
Have you been logging food andjust want to scream?
Well, hey, welcome to Quick Winsfor ADHD moms.
I'm Jess, and today's episode isfor all of us who have ever
tried logging our food for likethree days and then just ghosted
the idea, whether it's an app orsomething on the side of our
(00:22):
refrigerator because it's soannoying to do the repeated
process of logging our food.
Logging our food again.
Yeah, I've been there.
I've used Chronometer app totrack my macros, and I paid for
it, and then I hated it andunsubscribed from it, and then I
paid for it again because.
It really worked last time andit's gonna work this time, and
(00:42):
then I get overwhelmed and thenunsubscribe from it again.
It's a love hate relationship.
You know, I want to do well.
I've seen results in the past,but at the end of the day, I
just don't like tracking food.
And when you have ADHD and youdon't see a shortcut or that
inspirational routine is justtoo complicated.
(01:04):
Everything disappears.
You lose interest and now youeat everything.
Feel me here.
So today I wanna walk youthrough why food logging is so
hard with ADHD.
Uh, maybe a simple workaroundthat I'm learning how to
implement myself and the brainscience behind why this is
actually normal for us and justnot a failure.
(01:25):
So today's quick win repeatablemeals.
Here's the workaround that I'mgoing to be trying this fall as
the kids go back to school andI've been reflecting on what's
working and what's not working,and then you tweak the process
and then the kids grow older andthings change and they eat
different things.
So today's quick win is createtwo to three repeatable, macro
(01:49):
balanced days that's going tohit your nutrition goals, and
then just rotate those days.
No decisions.
No constant logging, juststructure with flexibility.
We love flexibility, but we needstructure.
Keep protein anchors on hand.
I love having a meal planningday where we shred the chicken
(02:09):
and then put it in the freezerand then we can grab little bags
as we need it throughout theweek.
So protein anchors like theshredded chicken, maybe taco
meat, Greek yogurt, those arereally great.
Um, the OCO triple Zero.
You know what I'm talking about.
Those are great to just grab andgo, um, and then you can build
(02:29):
simple meals around thoseshredded chicken taco meat, you
know, whatever.
So try using visual checklistslike, okay, am I getting my
macros?
Do I have my protein, a highenergy carb, a veggie, and a
healthy fat?
If I can check those things offthree times a day, I know I'm
winning even if I don't enter asingle thing into my app.
(02:53):
Now if you are new to mealplanning or trying to figure out
your macros, we can dive deeperinto this if you're really
interested.
But I know that nutrition isreally important for our ADHD
brains and just for living ahealthy life in general and
showing our kids how to makegood food choices, um, getting a
well-balanced diet.
So for our ADHD brains, why dowe have to adjust how we log our
(03:17):
food?
Well, like I've said before, itgets boring.
Routines are boring.
We get fatigued, and fatigue isreal.
Logging food sounds simple.
You just tap a few buttons, youadd your grilled chicken and you
move on with your day.
And this was new chronometer wasbeta testing it, just snap a
(03:37):
picture of your food and itcalculates it for you.
And I love this idea and I triedit and it will get better, but
it's not perfect yet.
So I have to go back in andadjust the actual amount of
almonds I ate or confess thatthere's just too much cheese on
my salad and it's hiddenunderneath the lettuce.
So when logging food, if you'relike me, uh, what actually
(03:59):
happens is.
You forget to log one meal oryou just get bored with it and
tell yourself, no, I'm, I'mrebelling against that.
I'm not logging food today.
And then you try to backtrackand you can't remember what you
ate and it, it just feels messy.
And now the kids are hungry.
You are like, oh, I'll juststart this over tomorrow.
(04:19):
And when you're managing ahousehold, maybe you work from
home, you've got all these snackrequests.
Missing socks and your own brainnoise.
That tiny extra task of loggingyour food becomes just one
thing.
Too many logging.
Fatigue isn't laziness.
It's just decision fatigue.
It's working memory overload.
(04:41):
It's your brain saying, pleasestop asking me to multitask my
own nutrition.
Just eat a cookie.
Here's the science behind foodlogging and fatigue, and maybe
something we can do about it.
The first thing is knowingwhat's going on in our brains
and understanding how our brainswork and working with our
brains.
Not against it because someoneon YouTube had a new hack that
(05:05):
suddenly works.
So our working memory, that'sthe part of your brain that
helps you hold multiple piecesof information at once.
It's not quite as strong in ADHDbrains, so remembering what you
ate for breakfast while figuringout lunch wrangling, kids,
calculating macros.
It's just a hard ask.
(05:25):
There's also the issue ofexecutive function, and that's
the system that helps youinitiate tasks, follow through
on things, and evaluate.
That's also affected becauselogging food after you eat
doesn't give you that dopaminehit.
It just feels like a chore andthere's no immediate payoff.
And if you're already in gomode, pausing to log a meal,
(05:49):
breaks your flow, or it's gonnamake you even more late, which
makes it harder to stick withconsistently.
So it's not a failure.
We just need to figure out otherways to work with our brains.
So when it comes to trying tolive a healthier life and making
better food choices and, andhaving a balanced nutrition,
what is it that you need to heartoday?
(06:09):
Well, you need to hear that youdon't need to be perfect.
You don't need a perfect log tobe consistent.
Use your brain's strengths likepattern recognition and
creativity to build a plan thatworks with you.
Progress comes from repeatablehabits, not from perfect
tracking.
And I love this one, repeatablehabits, and that's what our
(06:32):
quick win, creating rotatingdays of pre-planned meals and
keeping it simple, but stayingon track.
Is such a big deal.
Oh, here's something else, andthis is probably for another
episode about staying on top ofordering groceries so that you
have the food for those rotatingdays.
You hear me there?
(06:52):
We're trying to createautomation with flexibility and
it takes time to build yourflexible automations.
I'm gonna say that again.
It takes time for you to buildin those automations something
that works for you.
I've, I've been through this andI just wanna share my
experiences and what has workedand what has not worked.
(07:14):
Look, I'm not perfect.
I'm still in the middle offiguring all this out, but I
hope I can at least get youthinking about how you can tweak
your own meal plans andautomations.
Like I said before, food andnutrition is such a huge part of
our day and it affects ourbodies and brains and of course
our kids' bodies and brains, andit's a huge part of living a
healthy ADHD life.
(07:35):
It's a journey.
You're not going to figure itout today or right now, and
that's okay, but being aware ofthis and taking on that journey
to better food choices, totallyworth it.
Try setting up a few repeatablemeals.
Screenshot the ones that work,and then just give your brain a
break.
Get the kids involved.
(07:56):
Ask them some of their favoritemeals.
Figure out how to make it morehealthy.
Put it in the rotation.
If you know another ADHD momwho's struggling with just chaos
in life, I would love for you toshare this episode with them.
We all need a little bit ofsupport, right?
And if you've figured out yourown way to track your food
(08:16):
without tracking it, or if youwant more episodes like this, I
would love to hear somefeedback.
You can find me Jessica at the aadhd mom.com.
You are doing amazing.
Listen, you're showing up.
You're finding ways to thriveeven in the chaos, and in my
book, that's a win.
All right?
Go out and have a beautiful day.
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