Food Noise: Why It Happens and How to Quiet It
I first heard the term food noise about 15 years ago when I was sitting in an inpatient treatment center for eating disorders. I struggled with food noise when I struggled with anorexia throughout my teens and early 20s. When you're starving yourself that tends to happen.
But it's not the only reason, and quite frankly many of you reading this are starving yourselves and don't even know it. And that's what I want to help you change!! Because that noise is draininggggg ... and I know you have bigger and better things to think on.
First some definitions, here is one that I think captures:
Persistent thoughts about food that are perceived by the individual as being unwanted and/or dysphoric and may cause harm to the individual, including social, mental, or physical problems.
Source: Nature, Nutrition & Diabetes
5-10 years ago this term wasn't mainstream. Then GLP-1RAs hit the market and the term became more and more popular. In addition to supporting weight loss and metabolic health, these medications started making those incessant thoughts around food suddenly go silent for people… but is that the only solution if you struggle with this?
Not at all.
And I also think there are many people on these medications for "food noise" when they should have been directed elsewhere. Now before I go on, I'm not a hater of these drugs. I have clients I guide who are on them or have used them as tools for various reasons in the past.
This newsletter is for those of you who are struggling with that mental chatter of constantly thinking about food, "did I eat too much, not enough?", "should I be eating this?", maybe you're thinking about food while you're eating food, stressed about your macros after dinner before you even finish breakfast… If that's too familiar, please know that doesn't have to be your reality. Read on:
P.S. We have a podcast where we really went in on some of the nuances of GLP-1 here.
Why you may struggle with food noise (and what to do about it)
Truly not eating enough
Baby girl, you may not be able to stop thinking about food because you aren’t eating enough of it! Think about it, that’s basic physiology.Think about it: Human is underfed . Brain is going to drive said human to think about food to seek it out. Many active women are widely underestimating how much their body needs. 2000 calories may be 1000 too little .
Under eating or irregular meal patterns during part of the day
This also falls into not eating enough. You may be meeting calorie needs but if breakfast is an iced coffee and a protein bar, lunch is a bagel thin with turkey and an apple, yeah I'm not shocked that afternoon "snack" is endless chatter about dinner that you try to quell with some flavored electrolytes and then feel guilty when you "lose control" of those thoughts at dinner. Your body has been starving all day!
Ideally I recommend eating every 3-4 hours, and having something balanced which means including protein, fat, fiber and color at all meals. If you're riding a blood sugar roller coaster that can also make you feel out of control around food.
Over eating calories , under eating nutrients
Another common one. Protein and fiber are too of the most under consumed nutrients . And they are also two of the most satiating. If you struggle with food noise you want to look at adding quality protein (Protein 101 ) and fiber from whole food sources (nuts, seeds, fruit, veg, potatoes, whole grains , avocado , beans … ) to meals. Water is included in this one!
Needing hunger hormones to catch up
