I am currently up to 45mg a day and I am trying to get my tolerance back down or at least keep it from building by not taking it on weekends when I don't need it. My problem is on the first day off I absolutely cannot stop eating! I just eat and eat and never feel full. I crave everything and anything.

I am 5'7", 20 years old, and I used to weigh 145. I was really unhappy with it and even before I started taking adderall I got down to 130 by quitting fast food, snacks, soda, and generally being more active. I began taking it about 6 months ago and since I've gotten down to 120 and stayed there and been extremely happy with it. Typically I don't eat big meals, I'll have an egg or two for breakfast, some sort of pasta in the afternoon, and a couple chicken nuggets later on. Through the day I'll snack on carrots, crackers, or cereal in very small amounts to keep my metabolism going. It's very controlled.

When I try to go a day without taking my meds I don't feel as focused, but I can handle it. My issue is these uncontrollable eating habits. I will try to tell myself that I'm not really hungry, I'm just bored and I can manage to walk away from food for about 5 mins, but then I just turn back around and shove it in my mouth before I can even tell myself no. I will repeat this over and over and over!! I don't keep junk in the house so I'll end up eating insane amounts of pasta, a whole box of cereal, the entire bag of crackers, and the whole bag of carrots!!! A lot of times I'll run out and impulse buy a bunch of fast food and just stuff my face. Why is it that I never ever feel full? My dose recently went up from 40mg to 45mg, could it have something to do with the fact that my "off" days are a bigger change than ever before?

I also recently quit smoking(I break down every once in a while but never have more than 2 in a day), could my old oral fixation habits be subconciously doing this to me?

It has done amazing things for me, but I don't want to have to take it everyday! I also don't want to throw all my dieting efforts out the window and hate my body like I used to. I love the weight I'm at and I have great self confidence.

Is there something here that I'm not seeing that killed my self control? Has anyone else experienced this? I googled it like crazy and didn't find a thing!
Help!

I have heard that a lack of dopamine can cause hunger like that. I get the same thing when I don't take my adderall. Hopefully there is a solution.

Yup, been there too! But it did dissapate over time.

There are several things going on at once. The Adderall may interfere with both(deep) sleep and hunger sensations. Therefore, days off cause an increase in both appitite and desire for sleep. The need for sleep can cause an insatiable craving for (junky) food as the body attemps to compensate for the lack of energy. In turn, this may cause difficulties getting the needed sleep - and preoccupation with food. Advice from a dietician may be helpful (I married one).

Changing your smoking and eating (and any other) habits will also change the way your body will metabolizes what it consumes. It may think it is hungry but it may just be missing certain types of nutrients. I recently went through a few days of bizarre fixations of food. I have also been exercising nearly every day. Nothing appealed to me (because of the Adderall) but I was REALLY HUNGRY ALL THE TIME! My wife added a deboned chicken leg to my salad - and I felt much better for several days after. Then we found me standing at the meat counter at the grocery store. I was gazing at the pot roasts and fish fillets like they were bags of candy. Hmmmm, we thought. Might be something we're missing...

You can try compensating for the days off during the week by eating, hydrating, sleeping, and relaxing as much as possible (yeah, in our disorganized lives?!). If we ignore our limitations, they will grow and produce seeds...

Thank you so much, that does make a lot of sense! I have been hydrating a lot more lately which does make me feel better overall, and also I haven't had a lot of protein which lately I have been trying to get as much as possible. I used to take a multivitamin but I seem to have fallen out of the habit of taking it... I completely forgot about it! I'll see what happens when I start getting more vitamins in my body.
Thanks!!!

Don't worry, that's very common. Extreme fatigue and extreme hunger are common rebound effects when amphetamines wear off. I'm on Dex and when I take a day off, I eat everything. I've actually gained weight since starting meds because I get insanely hungry in the evenings when Dex wears off. Makes me feel kinda special though. I'm doing something that no one else can do: gaining weight on amphetamines! :p I have to laugh about it or else I'll cry.

I usually take weekends off and I absolutely can't stop eating. I become a bottomless pit. I also want to sleep constantly.

i am extremely poor right now due to school. im dreading the weekend break from adderall because i dont have enough food lol (3/4 joking). i tend to eat like a maniac when im off it.

I am on 30mg Adderall XR and I experience the same effects. So what exactly is causing the extreme fatigue and cravings for junk food? Is it really a result from a Dopamine blockage? Or lack of Dopamine? I also feel so spaced out and can't hardly get moving whenever I take breaks I have only been on this drug for about 2 months.

I force myself to workout no matter how tired I feel on a day off and it energizes me.

jsmith, it is because your dopamine levels drop rapidly when you take a break from your meds. A drop in dopamine triggers appetite and fatigue. It's not actually withdrawal though, it's just a short-term rebound effect.

Yup, been there too! But it did dissapate over time.

There are several things going on at once. The Adderall may interfere with both(deep) sleep and hunger sensations. Therefore, days off cause an increase in both appitite and desire for sleep. The need for sleep can cause an insatiable craving for (junky) food as the body attemps to compensate for the lack of energy. In turn, this may cause difficulties getting the needed sleep - and preoccupation with food. Advice from a dietician may be helpful (I married one).

Changing your smoking and eating (and any other) habits will also change the way your body will metabolizes what it consumes. It may think it is hungry but it may just be missing certain types of nutrients. I recently went through a few days of bizarre fixations of food. I have also been exercising nearly every day. Nothing appealed to me (because of the Adderall) but I was REALLY HUNGRY ALL THE TIME! My wife added a deboned chicken leg to my salad - and I felt much better for several days after. Then we found me standing at the meat counter at the grocery store. I was gazing at the pot roasts and fish fillets like they were bags of candy. Hmmmm, we thought. Might be something we're missing...

You can try compensating for the days off during the week by eating, hydrating, sleeping, and relaxing as much as possible (yeah, in our disorganized lives?!). If we ignore our limitations, they will grow and produce seeds...

Great post! This helps me understand why I experience the crash on my Adderall holidays. Also why I occassionally get the munchies and eat anything not nailed down.