Hey guys - long time lurker, finally registered simply to post this message and get some feedback.
I take 20 mg of Adderall daily - with a prescription - to manage my adult ADHD. I’m 35. Anybody who has taken this crap knows what it does to your appetite - it makes you feel full for hours and hours.
I have serious ADHD - with the adderall I’m on top of my business, and literally at the number one spot in the undergraduate science courses (physics, chemistry, anatomy) I’m taking. Without it I can barely function - I’m a fun guy but nothing gets done.
What to do? I’m dropping muscle and feeling weak. I can manage about 500-600 calories of oatmeal and a protein shake in the morning. At the same time I take the pill, which kicks in about an hour later. After that it’s a solid 12 hours of no appetite, during which I can maybe manage another 500 calories if I really try. And unfortunately those 500 tend to be junk because eating clean while on Adderall? Forget it. I simply can’t choke down a chicken breast and a plate of spinach while on amphetamines. Then at night I pig out after the drugs wear off. The last two nights have been giant burritos. Despite this attempt at eating my chest, shoulders and biceps have visibly shrunk in only 4 weeks. My waist measurement is holding steady at 29.5 inches but it is ALSO getting FLABBY. I think I’m losing muscle and gaining fat from the poor diet intake and timing. And I’m not training because my diet has been thrown off so bad and I feel weak.
This really blows. Before I went on this stuff a month ago (going back to school, which is why I need it now - i took it years ago in school, stopped when i left school, and now i’m doing it again - anything less than A’s are not an option) I spent the winter ski racing, doing crossfit three days a week, and eating super clean (meal delivery service + protein shakes). I was at the leanest bodyfat of my life, the abs were starting to show, I was in the best shape of my life and I was toned. I had planned to stop crossfit and bulk up this summer with a typical gainer routine before the next ski season starts.
Okay - so what to do? Anybody in my boat?
1 - Train in the morning before the drugs hit, during the day while on adderall, or at night when it wears off?
2 - I’m gonna do whatever I can do get my calories back up to about 3,000-3,500 at least. But that means major eating at night. It is really hard to eat 2,000 calories of clean food in a 3 hour time span at night.
Another option - junk food + a ton of training?
Anything I can do to stave off muscle loss.
I’ll take any supplements that are legal.