Nutrition as a neurodivergent can bring additional struggles to the table: forgetting to eat, suppressed appetite from medication, overstimulation from caffeine, nighttime binges, changing food aversions, sensory and tactile issues around meals, seeking dopamine from food, increased risk of eating disorders, difficulty sensing hunger and fullness cues, and overwhelm from the thought of planning or cooking meals, to name a few.

There is no fixed solution to these problems, and every individual requires a personal approach to ensure their dietary needs are met. We asked our resident neurodivergents, Coach Mitchell and Coach Calum, how they manage their nutrition:

Calum: “My biggest struggle is primarily executive function based. It is not uncommon for me to avoid eating for over a day because I feel unable to decide what to eat and/or I am forced away from my typical eating schedule. This will extend into other aspects of my life in that I’m unable to complete other tasks because I know I need to eat first but am unable to do so.”

Mitchell: “My biggest struggle with nutrition usually occurs when I have to make decisions on what to eat/order. I become overwhelmed and overloaded with options, my brain shuts down, and I just go with what is easiest/most accessible or procrastinate until my next meal. This is particularly challenging if I’m busy since I will get stuck between being hungry and needing to finish work, but needing to eat so I can focus on my current task.”

Calum: “I meal prep basically everything I eat beforehand. It is extremely rare that I eat something that I made that same day. I also follow a pretty strict routine about what I eat, when, and how much. The more choice I can remove from the process the better. So I eat the same breakfast, smoothie, and lunch every day each week, and on Sundays I make one big batch of my dinners for the week.”

Mitchell: “My meals are very routine; I eat largely the same thing at pretty much the same time every single day. I prep my breakfast and coffee every night before bed to signal the beginning of my bedtime routine, so prepping all of my breakfasts a week in advance just doesn’t work for me. Lunches are repeated but typically made fresh unless I have something scheduled at my usual meal time, and dinners are prepared every two to three nights to increase variety but limit decision making.”

Calum: “My go-to is a chicken wrap (whole grain wrap, hummus, spinach, alfalfa sprouts, 160g of pulled chicken or turkey, honey mustard, 2 slices of medium cheddar) or yogurt with granola, chia, and powdered peanut butter.”

Mitchell: “I love cooking and it’s only ever overwhelming for me if I’m unprepared or if I’m cooking for more than two people. My air-fryer has been a game-changer because I can cook without thinking about it, and I don’t have to babysit the process so I can take care of other things at the same time. For snacks, it’s usually some kind of protein bar or greek yogurt with raspberry jam, a couple of crushed Oreo Thins, and pretzels.”