¶ Intro / Opening
There's so many different factors as to how I stopped binging it was compassion for myself. It was making sure I was eating enough during the day people often see binge eating as eating too much or this like loss of control. It's actually a restrictive eating disorder. If you're binging you are restricting. So we want to figure out when you're restricting, why are you restricting? Is it because you're just not hungry because
of medication? Or is it because you're intentionally trying to restrict, and then you don't want to talk to anyone about it. But being able to talk to someone about it and opening up about it can help reduce some of that shame, because we want to figure out why is this going on? And how can we, you know, support you and sobbing
Welcome to successful with ADHD. I'm Brooke Shipman. Let's get started.
Hello. I'm so excited to be here
truly excited to have you. Brittany is a registered dietitian, no food fears is her handle. We go way back. Brittany, tell me what's going on for you?
Yes, well, I feel like it's been so long since I was part of your group. It was what 2020 Like in writing the beginning of the pandemic. Since then, you know, I have lost my full time job just through the pandemic at working at a hospital. And I'm slowly working in private practice with a main focus on intuitive eating, helping people just heal their relationship with food. And I also love working with
people with ADHD. It's like something that I feel so passionate about, because it's something that I've lived with. And I, you know, I, I know firsthand what it might feel like eating on certain medications and feeling hyper fixated on certain tasks and forgetting to eat. So there's so much there when it comes to nutrition and ADHD that we're, you know, first learning in recent
¶ ADHD and the challenges Brittany faced in her educational journey.
years. Absolutely. Yeah, that connection with binge eating and searching for dopamine.
Yes. And what's so interesting, and so I'll explain, you know, when I first was diagnosed, I was attending a private school in New York, and I was in seventh grade. And prior to that, I definitely had struggles in school. But essentially, I was about to get kicked out of school. They said Brittany is failing out, she's getting, you know, C's and DS, and we don't think this is the right environment for her. And my parents were freaking out because I gone to this great
school. You know, Missy and I were there, my sister together. And they sent me to get tested for learning disabilities and ADHD. Unsurprisingly, I had ADHD, and they started me on medication. And I went from getting C's and DS to A's and B's, almost immediately. Wow. Like, just when the medication shots from the medication it was like and what did they prescribe you? I tried everything. I believe the first one was maybe like Ritalin, and then Concerta, and, like Vyvanse, and Adderall.
And the best way to describe it as like a light switch turned on, I was able to not just focus more, but actually retain the information. And I always think about how hard it is for neurodivergent folks in a regular school system. It is not designed for us to learn all of this information and to sit there for like eight hours a day. And I have all my report cards from middle school in high
school. And what's so funny is every single teacher described my ADHD symptoms, but nobody said Brittany should get tested ADHD. Yeah, she there were like Brittany's, you know, it's really hard for her to pay attention in class, she's always turned around 180 degrees, like, you know, she has so much potential. And I did have so much potential and I will never forget my teacher, my science teacher at the time. Oh, no, it was. It was either a college counselor or somebody else that
I was working with. And they said, you know why you should not take anatomy and physiology, because it's too much memorization. And I went back, wow, my high school years later, and I said, I just want to let you know that I ended up getting a master's degree in science. And, you know, it sucks that I was dissuaded from pursuing something that I'm passionate about, because I ended up going on to do incredibly well, my master's program. And you're motivated that extra love. Yeah.
¶ The lasting impact of teachers' words.
Yeah. Wow. What teachers say good or bad. They stick for years to come. And thank God you are resilient enough to go ahead and move forward and get your master's in science.
And by the way, it was not easy. Like I had to work twice as hard as most of my peers but it was something that I felt so passionately about something I wanted so badly like I would have these like visualizations of me getting accepted into my grad school program, I would have visualizations would be, you know, walking down the stage getting my diploma, and I did it. And I don't know if I could do it again, it's really bad and I loved it.
¶ The common issue in school getting diagnosed with ADHD.
Visualization really works, it helps the reticular activating system in your prefrontal cortex. And it really does help you get to your bigger goal. And I would also just like to go into what you shared about your teacher describing the symptoms of ADHD without labeling it or recommending anything that is so
common. And one thing is discussed before that not every teacher is educated in ADHD, even doctors, not everyone knows about the science of ADHD, but also, teachers aren't legally, I know this from being an administrator in special education, they're not legally allowed to say you should go for an ADHD diagnosis or you should go for this diagnosis. Because if they do, what happens is that the school district very often will have to pay for that test
at that point. So they can't recommend something officially or unofficially, without the school that yeah, having to provide it.
That makes so much sense. And another thing that always comes to mind, and something I think about often is just like, I grew up with privilege, like I had privilege where my parents could send me to private testing. And I think about it all the time, because I don't know how my schooling would have ended up and where I would have ended up had I not had the privilege of being able to get tutoring and, you know, get that extra help and attention that I so badly
needed. And it should be in every school and it's not our school systems are failing us and they're failing. You know, folks who do have ADHD.
¶ Columbia Prep classes and how they equipped Brittany.
Absolutely. So you went to Columbia prep, right? How many people were in your class,
I had a small class of 95 students. But in addition to that, Columbia prep is known for their learning resource center. LRC. So I had the opportunity of working with people during the day and taking slower classes. So instead of having, you know, Spanish, one, I had Spanish one, a Spanish one, B, I was able to take it at a slower pace. Okay, you broke
it down, broke it down. And I was given so many tools as far as organization and scheduling, things that I incorporate every single day now being a business owner. And I feel so grateful that I had that opportunity to be able to learn just how to manage a lot of the symptoms that come with ADHD.
Now, where are those tools given to you after you got the ADHD diagnosis? And you started the medication? Yes. Okay. So
you know what I probably I'm sorry, I spoke I started the LRC program in seventh grade, and I was formally diagnosed in eighth grade. I think they knew there were some slower learning, maybe some learning disabilities, but the ADHD diagnosis did not come until a year later. But without the medication, it was really hard for me to actually put into place a lot of the things that they were discussing, just because the way the school system is set up, like you're
waking up at 7am or 630. And you're going straight for like eight hours. Like that's really hard.
Sure, absolutely. I mean, I think it's hard for anyone to focus a brain is not meant to focus for eight hours on it. No. So, okay, you mentioned that you were provided the organizational tools and the help of their executive functions. At the private school, you went on medication, you were fortunate enough that the medication worked right away for you. Some people have to try all these different medications for two years before they find the right medication for them.
And it was just like you said, a light switch. Everything changed
it. It's interesting, because if I say that the medication definitely worked as far as helping me to focus helping me to retain information, there were side effects, like I was very irritable, I wasn't sleeping, I think I went to bed at like one or two in the morning every night because my body was so just like filled with energy and I was binge eating like I would skip breakfast, I would skip lunch, I would get home and I have this memory of just like ransacking my freezer and the
refrigerator, come four or 5pm So it worked incredibly well for me and my brain, in school and with my homework, but there were definitely side effects that were not spoken about and I I was not told. And then years later, I kind of connected the dots of like what was going on?
Yeah. So you likely were not eating until your medication would wear off. And then you benched. Yep. And what kind of toll did that have on you?
¶ Unintended restrict-binge cycle due to medication and its repercussions.
It's interesting, because when we think about food during the day, it's almost counterproductive to take this medication to help you focus and then you're not eating to sustain your energy. Right, help you focus focus, right? Yeah. And so that's like, those are things that I help my clients with now, because I'm like, with the medication, we want to make sure that you're having like a solid breakfast,
protein, carbs. And then at least something during the day, it took a toll because I was, you know, eating so much later on in the evenings. It didn't first of all feel good. And it kind of set me up for this almost like restrict binge cycle because I wasn't intentionally restricting. But I was binging so I would eat really late at night, and then I would wake up not hungry. And then I would eat late at night, and I would wake up not hungry. So I fell into the cycle, which was really
hard. And it lasted throughout college as well.
¶ Brittany's journey as a registered dietitian.
It's interesting, it almost obviously, it's been cheating, but it also Oh, sounds like what so many people say these days as intermittent fasting diet. So talk to me. I'm sure you're not supposed to binge while you are doing an intermittent fasting. However, talk to me about like, now you're a registered dietician you help people with and without ADHD, with food freedom. So how does your experience now play into how you help your clients today?
Yeah, well, first of all, it gives me the lived experience like I've, I've kind of been through it all, like generalized anxiety, ADHD, I've definitely struggled with disordered eating, possibly an undiagnosed eating disorder. I was never diagnosed. But I think that there were definitely patterns and signs of that.
And you said that you also had a learning disability.
¶ Reading comprehension and math difficulties.
I had issues reading and math was really hard. For me. I never was diagnosed with anything like dyslexia. So I don't know what the actual learning disabilities were. But I definitely had issues with reading comprehension early on. And math has always been very hard.
Was it the word problems in the math? Or was it just math in general,
the word oh my god, and during LSAT prep, like the word problems when they would say, if this person went seven inches,
extra confusing. Oh,
my God. Yeah, my brain just does not. Yeah.
So with a reading comprehension, it may or may not have been a learning disability with, you know, a diagnosis of a reading learning disability. Or it could have just been your ADHD, where you were having trouble staying focused on the words, which then impacted your comprehension.
¶ The impact of medication on hunger signals.
And I think it was the latter, because once I was diagnosed with ADHD, like the conversation around learning disabilities, pretty much went out the window, outside of like the ADHD diagnosis. Gotcha. But going back to, you know, I had, I have lived experience and I can understand what it's like to be on medication and not have any hunger signs, like, it really, you know, it impacts
your hunger and fullness. I've had experience of generalized anxiety, which we know has really strong connections to add me to kind of Yeah, it's like the chicken or the egg, like what comes for.
¶ Intricate connections between generalized anxiety disorder and ADHD.
Right? Right. And you have to really weed things out when getting the diagnosis. It there is that overlap of symptoms with generalized anxiety disorder and ADHD? But is it one or the other? Or is it both?
Exactly, exactly. And in my case, it was definitely both like I've had anxiety since I was five. I couldn't label it. I didn't know what I was experiencing. But looking back, like it was really debilitating to me from a very young age.
How did that go play into your ADHD?
That's such a good question. How did the I kind of I almost saw them as complementing one another like they they lived alongside each other. I was never somebody who had terrible anxiety from you know, exam taking or anything to do with that. But i i Something that does happen is I will procrastinate. And then I all of a sudden feel really overwhelmed. And then I feel really anxious. So they
definitely are connected. What's interesting is like throughout my life, I've seen them as two separate entities that have affected me like I have my ADHD and like I see my generalized anxiety and I kind of work on both. But I do think there's such a strong overlap because if I'm Yes, you manage some of the symptoms of a THG I noticed a decrease in anxiety.
Totally. And so that for obviously, I'm not a therapist, but when people say, Oh, do I have a generalized anxiety disorder or an anxiety disorder? Or is anxiety, a manifestation of ADHD? Well, if your ADHD symptoms are then manifesting things xiety, then it's likely part of the ADHD. But if it's a standalone where you're experiencing anxiety, pretty much in all areas of life that might not have to do with your ADHD, that's a generalized anxiety disorder
completely. Yeah, I would agree that.
So how, how did you treat the generalized anxiety disorder.
¶ Brittany shares her experience with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
So I have been therapy for a really long time. And I started cognitive behavioral therapy. Because the best I was getting chronic panic attacks, like up to seven a day. I started CBT, probably 10 years ago, which is funny because they're like, it's kind of a shorter term, man, but I love my therapist, and she's now like my talk therapist who happens to use, obviously, the CBT techniques. And then I started Lexapro, and that has been a complete life changer. It's an
anti anxiety medication. It has allowed my generalized anxiety to sit so much lower. So the threshold edge off, totally takes the edge off the way that my therapists used to describe panic attacks me is like when you're generalizing, xiety is higher, there's less room to jump from anxiety to panic. But now that my anxiety is so much lower, that threshold is so much
greater. So for me to get to a panic attack, like I cannot tell you the last time I've had panic, which is huge, considering I would have chronic panic attacks multiple times a day.
Wow. So the Lexapro and a stimulant. You're taking the stimulant for ADHD and the Lexapro for anxiety? And now
I'm actually taking no stimulants. Oh, wow.
¶ How Brittany is currently managing her ADHD without stimulants.
Okay, so how are we managing our ADHD?
Okay, so it's, it is hard. And it goes back to the symptoms. And I've spoken to people, and they've said, Well, maybe you're not on the right stimulant. I've tried almost all of them at this point. I don't love my personality on them. Like, I joke that my fiance will say, like, did you take your, like Adderall today? Because I'm like, in a bad mood. And I'm like, No, I'm just in a bad mood. Like, there's nothing just medication. But I, I will sometimes take the medication.
So I would say about once or twice a month, when I have so much work that I need to power through, I will take the Adderall. But from a day to day, I am able to show up for my clients. You know, because I'm so interested in what it is that they're saying I'm able to really be able to focus and I've learned to manage in my own way. So for example, I try to go for walks I exercise. I'm always consistently eating food, I try to get good quality sleep, does it like quote unquote fixie
ADHD? Absolutely not. But I have tools that I'm able to manage it. And I'm also learning to give myself more compassion because I used to have so much shame. When I felt completely unmotivated. I felt like I was doing absolutely no work some days, and I've learned to give myself compassion. Like it's okay if that's what's going on. But I find like, always writing out a schedule, always having to do lists. I'm really good with
my calendar. If it's not on the calendar, it doesn't exist doesn't exist yet does not exactly so I have learned to manage my own life and also with the impulsivity which I've found to be a huge part of my ADHD. That's something I work on. Every single day I work on in therapy. You know, I used to blurt out and like respond to things now I write things down. Like if I'm in session with someone and something's coming to mind. I don't want to forget it. I jot it down.
¶ The nuances of handling ADHD while in a professional setting.
Yeah, so you parking lot it. You put it on a post it you put it down so you don't have to interrupt them. Exactly. I used to do that with my students who are impulsive. Here's a whiteboard. Here's some post sets if you have a thought and you can't hold it in, write it on the post it put it on the whiteboard, and we'll see it and get to it when it's the right
time. Yeah, yes. Yeah. No way.
It's like you're validating someone like it's hard, because I will forget sometimes if, and I and I'm so curious, like your experience too. But I've had to have many conversations with my fiance who was the most neurotypical person you will ever meet. If he says I'm going to do X he actually does it by And he doesn't immediately where I will say, I'm going to do this, and then I like linger. And then I forget.
And then he reminds me. So we've had many conversations where I am always teaching him about ADHD, I'm explaining to him why I do the things that I do in a certain way. And he's helping me, you know, by writing lists for me, and so that I can help remember, he will remind me to do certain things in like a really not pushy way, but just like in a gentle, like, nudge type way. And it really works. And I've, I've,
I don't feel like he's parenting you, you feel like it's just him helping you with your executive functions. So
in the beginning, it didn't feel like parenting. And then we had to have conversations around it because I, it felt a little bit like parenting. And I said, I feel like I'm being parented. And it's doesn't feel good here, though. And he said, like, how can I help you? Like, how can I support you? In a way that doesn't feel like I'm parenting you? And so we've had like, multiple conversations. I bought him a book, I think it's called when you love someone with ADHD?
Uh huh. It's like you might have recommended actually. Yeah. And so it's an ongoing conversation. But I think he has such a better understanding now than when we first you know, met each other. But it's hard for someone who doesn't have the lived experience to fully understand and grasp, like, what it's like to be in my body and with my brain.
Absolutely. So he's helping you in a way that's working for the relationship where you don't feel like he's parenting you you communicated, you know, your needs, and where it would be too much where you don't have that parent child relationship. And when you're doing something you love working helping clients, you're able to really hyper focus into what they're saying, and put down the thoughts on, you know, posted or piece paper to come back to when it's the appropriate time. And then how
are you managing notes? And all those other fun things?
Yes. So you mean like when I'm working in sessions. So I have a portal where I'm meeting clients like an EMR electronic medical record. So on one screen, it's my clients face, because I'm 100%, virtual, and then I'm taking notes. And for me, I think one of the biggest things is not having to write every single thing down what they're saying. So I can be more present
in conversation. That's been something that I'm learning over time, and just jotting down things that I may want to remember or be are noteworthy, and possibly will come up again, in future sessions. So it's been fine. As far as note taking goes. But that's been a little bit more of a process of knowing exactly what's necessary to write down, wanting to write down everything. Yeah,
it reminds me of when we're reading in school, and we just highlight it.
Right? No, I used to do that has. That is too funny, because in my textbook, the entire page would be yellow. Oh, yeah. Yellow, yellow light. So what's the point? Yes,
¶ The importance of having a reliable scheduling system.
yes, yeah, yep. Yep. I used to not actually give highlighters to my students with ADHD because it was more of a distraction to them than it was a help. So they had pieces of paper to block out the rest of the lines. And they would focus on what it was important. And then afterwards, summarize what they just read, rather than underlining or highlighting things. Yeah, that's really smart. So you figured out systems that work for you, you live and die on your schedule on
your calendar? And how do you use your calendar.
So I have my Google calendars, kind of like my primary calendar, every single meeting is on there. And if I put reminders in there, so for example, we were getting a box of chocolate delivered to our apartment yesterday, I knew that wasn't written down on my calendar, I would forget to get it and it would melt. So on top of my calendar, it's like, reminder by chocolate, like bring chocolates upstairs. And so I have reminders on there, I have all my meetings on there.
If I want to follow up with someone, let's say a client paused work for a month, and they say I would love to get back in touch next month, I will go a month ahead and put in my note, you know, follow up with this person. So I have that calendar. And then I actually recently purchased this great template. And it's not online. It's like a paper template where it's a full schedule. So it's like, again, similar to what I have on my calendar. But then on the left side, there's tasks,
things you have to do. But what's great about this is at the top of the page, it says your three primary top goals for today. Yes, what I have found is I have 40 goals, and then I'm overwhelmed and then I do yes, yes reach tasks that are I want to make sure I complete today. Done. That's it. Yes, yes. And if I get two more great, but great, three tasks.
¶ How Brittany overcame binge eating.
Wonderful, wonderful. So talk to me about how you overcame binge eating.
¶ The correlation between ADHD and body image.
So with binge eating, I think first, being off the medication was helpful for me for that time being. It was also just gaining awareness, because I ended up did going back on medication. So it's not that the medication itself causes binge eating disorder, it puts you at slightly higher risk for it just because it's, you know, it's depleting your appetite during the day. So I'll kind of discuss both when I was
on the medication. One way to reduce the binge eating was making sure I have a big breakfast before I take the medication. And I know this is hard for some people, some people are just not hungry in the morning. So anything that sounds good to you anything, I find the movies, I even find more carb, like foods people
tend to do better with. So even if you did like a waffle with peanut butter, or peanut butter toast, something like that, for lunch, something like soup, or smoothie or protein shake, where you can have something to drink during the day, maybe a peanut butter sandwich, something very easy that you can physically see yourself eating is the primary. And then at nighttime, hopefully by then you're not so famished. But my binge eating was also coupled with dieting. So yes, it
was ADHD. And you know, it was related to the ADHD and the medication. But I was also intentionally restricting food for you know, different points in my life. I was always on a diet. I was seeing nutritionists from the age of 12. And so that I took a longer time to kind of overcome. For me, I there's so many different factors as to how I stopped binging it was compassion for myself. It was making sure I was eating enough
during the day. That's a really big one people often see binge eating as eating, you know, too much or this like loss of control. It's actually a restrictive eating disorder. If you're binging you are restricting. So we want to figure out, you know, when you're restricting, why are you restricting? Is it because you're not hungry because of medication? Or is it because you're intentionally trying to restrict, and there can be so
much shame in binging? Like I remember in episodes of when I binge like, I just felt so ashamed. And then you don't want to talk to anyone about it. Because it's like, how, how did I let this happen? You know, I fully lost control. But being able to talk to someone about it and opening up about it can help reduce some of that shame, because there's nothing to feel ashamed about. It's just, we want to figure out why is this going on? And how can we, you know, support you and sobbing?
Do you just random thoughts think that because society is now more accepting of all bodies, ads have, you know, full shape models? Do you think that that's helping also some of the young folks who you're seeing or who are moving up in the rankings,
though, I think that we as a society have still so much work to do. And what I've noticed, especially even like parents of my clients, we've all been conditioned to really idolize the Nasus. And for a lot of people we view fatness as lack of health or laziness. And it's, it's so not the case. Like there are people in all size bodies that exist in their bodies. And a lot of it has to do with genetics. Like that's just how your body is
wired. And when you try to fight your setpoint your body is going to fight back. And that's why it's really, really hard to actually lose weight and keep it off. So I think that we're really moving in the right direction, this new generation on Tik Tok I'm really excited about because there's much more acceptance that is happening. And yet I still think that we
have a lot of work to do. But my hope is that people can start to accept their bodies and love themselves more and be kinder, like we're so mean to ourselves. And I think this goes back to the ADHD piece too. Like for so many years, I was so frustrated with how my brain was and I was so I was angry at times and I was, you know, mad because I'm like, this is and fair, that's so much easier for some of my peers. And over the years, I have learned to become so much more compassionate with myself.
And it's completely changed the way I view my ADHD like I'm trying to see it for, there's a ton of benefits to it. And you like you and your groups and social media has really helped me into accepting ADHD which is so cool.
Yeah. Well, I loved having you as a client with their see activation. You're an amazing member. And I still remember to this day, you texting the group a year after you finish the group saying, I for the first time accomplished all the goals on my list. I
really, yes. And it was that's really cool. It was that group that helped me I had my real estate license like a fun like side hustle. I don't know if I would have been able to do that without the group because I needed the extra push and the motivation and the check ins. It was really, really helpful for my own accountability. And just having the support of other people being like, yeah, I totally get it like I, I've been there like
I understand. It's so eye opening because like, I'm not alone in this, like there are so many other people who get it and who are dealing with the same thing that I am.
Absolutely. So if someone is having difficulty with eating, and they need help getting over their fear of food, where can they reach you?
Yes, so I'm mostly hanging out on Instagram, no food fears. And I will I realized that I did not send you any my info, but maybe we'll put my website into the show notes.
Maybe Maybe you'll send it to me, maybe we'll put it out calendar,
¶ The importance of connecting with one's body and food in a non-judgmental way.
my calendar, but my website is Brittany modell rd.com and you can reach me there and I you know I'm always looking for people who are interested in just having a kinder, gentle way of connecting to their bodies and connecting to food. Because I think there could be so much judgment that we're experiencing day to day and just learning to be okay with where you are is the most empowering thing you can do.
¶ The pitfalls of striving for perfection.
So that would be your number one pro tip learning to be okay with where you are you think,
¶ The significance of compassion and not pushing oneself to extremes.
not striving for perfection. And I think this also can assist you. Yeah, it's, you know, there's such black and white thinking with people that I work with, where it's like, I'm either 100% doing this, or I'm 100% not doing this. And, you know, with dieting, you're either 100% on it, or you're 100% off of it. Like there's no middle ground. With the work
that I do. There's this gray area that people feel uncomfortable to sit in, because it's like, well, I feel like I should be doing this 100% But that's where the compassion comes in. Through permissions, just do the best you can like, you don't have to go 100%.
Right, right, we're not going to be excited to restrict ourselves over time. And in fact, it will have a negative impact on us in anything, right? If we have to be a certain way. We're going to strive until we hit some road bumps, and then we're gonna go the opposite way. So in life, we can't be so attached to the outcome, we have to think about the process and enjoy it.
Yes, and to be present. And to you know, this is it's hard for someone with generalized anxiety to not worry about the future and not worry about everything. But I've I'm truly trying to just be present and enjoy what's happening right now. And if there's something to worry about in six months, a year or two years, I can worry about it, then I don't need to spend my energy and worry about it now, because that's what I
spent years doing. It's just like, what's going to happen, you know, at this point, or it's like, for what reason? Like none of it even happened.
Exactly. And that CBT must be really helpful with that along with fancy depressant.
Yes. Yeah. 100%
Well, thank you for being on another episode of successful with ADHD. It's wonderful to see your face, Brittany.
So fun. Thank you so much for having me on.
Thanks for listening to this episode of successful with ADHD. I hope it helps you on your journey. And if you need any additional support for you or a loved one with ADHD, feel free to reach out to us at coaching with brooke.com and all social media platforms at coaching with Brooke and remember, it's Brooke with any Thanks again for listening. See you next time.