June 4, 2025 • 25 mins
If you’ve ever wondered, “Why am I always thinking about food—even when I’m not hungry?” you’re not alone. That persistent mental chatter around eating has a name: food noise.
In today’s episode, I’m diving into what food noise actually is, why it might show up more often for some people, and how it can affect your relationship with food—especially if you've struggled with weight most of your life. We’ll talk about brain science, mental load (especially for the default parent managing food for the household), and how food noise is different from cravings.
You'll learn:
- What food noise is and how researchers define it
- Why it might be both innate and learned
- The difference between cravings and persistent food thoughts
- Solutions—from practical tools to, yes, GLP-1 medications as an option
If your brain feels like it’s constantly tuned to the “food station,” this episode is for you.
START HERE: Download my FREE GLP-1 Success Starter Kit
Let’s talk about whether support for GLP-1 use is right for you—book a free consult HERE
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This is Eat Well.
Think Well Live Well podcast Iam Lisa Salsbury and this is
episode 150.
What to Do About Food Noise?
Welcome to eat well.
Well, the podcast for busy womenwho want to lose weight without
constantly counting, tracking,or stressing over every bite.
I'm Lisa Salsbury, a certifiedhealth weight loss and life
(00:22):
coach, and most importantly, arecovered chronic dieter here.
You'll learn to listen to yourbody and uncover the reasons
you're reaching for food.
When you're not truly hungry,freeing you to focus on a
healthier, more fulfillingapproach to eating.
So I didn't even really registeruntil today that this was gonna
be episode 150, which is like,so fun.
(00:45):
Um, it's just, you know, littlemilestone things.
So I was like, oh, I should dosomething special.
But, um, I didn't have anythinglike new or unusual other than
just like a really great episodeif I do say so myself.
I'm really excited to share thisinformation with you.
I've done quite a bit ofresearch for this episode, so
let's just jump right in.
To understanding food noise,what is it?
(01:07):
And, you know, what is this likenagging thing that, that we
maybe have?
So first I wanna define it, foodnoise is the persistent,
intrusive thoughts about food,and it's often unrelated to
physical hunger.
So some examples of this wouldbe like thinking about dinner
while eating lunch.
(01:29):
Not so much like, what am Igoing to have for dinner?
Like, oh, we're gonna haveMexican food, so I don't want to
eat a quesadilla for lunch, butlike, when do I get to eat next?
That kind of thought.
See the difference there?
It's um, constant food planningbeyond meal planning.
It's the background chatter andit's also questions like, did I
eat too much?
(01:49):
Um, I can't wait till lunch.
When should I eat next?
When can I eat next?
When will the next time thatfood be available?
Maybe there's something betterin the pantry.
These are the kinds of thoughtsthat would be considered food
noise.
You can differentiate it fromnormal appetite or interest in
food because it's often likethinking about food while you're
(02:11):
still eating And so.
People without a lot of foodnoise can often go several hours
without even thinking about foodor when they'll eat again.
A good friend of mine describedthis as like that siren call to
the pantry at night when she wastrying to wind down, and it's
also often the first thing youthink of when you wake up.
(02:32):
So it's persistent.
Even when you're not physicallyhungry, and it's kind of an
ongoing background mentalactivity.
So it can be tied to emotions,to habits, to mental load, which
we're gonna talk about.
It doesn't always lead toeating.
This is an interesting kind ofcaveat, but it takes up a lot of
(02:56):
brain space.
So it's different than cravings.
I wanna kind of differentiatethe two between food, noise and
cravings.
Cravings are strong and oftensudden desire to eat a specific
food.
You're probably gonna feel thisin your body, like, um, that
pole towards salty chips orchocolate.
And it can be accompanied byphysical sensations like
(03:19):
mouthwatering or restlessness.
Cravings tend, as opposed tofood, noise cravings tend to be
more acute.
And specific I want ice cream,right?
Whereas food noise is more ofthe background chatter for any
food.
When are we going to eat next?
Right?
Cravings tend to be triggered byum, emotions, restrictions,
(03:42):
habits, and they are a littlebit more easily managed with
awareness or distraction.
And of course, using some of mytried and true coaching methods
for managing cravings, which.
Is, you know, involvesprocessing them just like any
other feeling.
So lots of episodes available onthis for you, but cravings tend
(04:02):
to sound a little bit more likean emergency, whereas food noise
is that constant background.
Hum.
Okay, so that's a little bit ofthe definition and how it's
different than cravings.
I, so I hope that's clear andyou can identify if this is
something that you, um, that younotice in your life or if it's
(04:22):
kind of, um, something thathappens to you like in certain
periods or certain times of themonth.
So it's not something that hasto be, like, it has to be all
consuming to be considered foodnoise.
Okay.
There's definitely differentlevels.
Let's talk about how food noisecan develop.
So one way is that it could bean innate or on the biological
(04:43):
level.
So some people may have a brainthat's more responsive to food
cues.
So there's obesity research thatsuggests that that those living
at higher weights have a highersensitivity in their reward
pathways.
Things like in the dopaminepathway, in the ghrelin pathway,
those kinds of things.
These studies also show thatpeople with lifelong struggles
(05:03):
with weight often experiencemore intense food thoughts.
So when it comes tounderstanding why food noise
shows up, for some people morethan others, especially in those
who struggle with overeating orwith obesity, researchers have
two main theories that seemalmost opposite, but both can
make sense depending on theindividual.
(05:24):
So number one is the hyperH-Y-P-E-R, hyper responsiveness
theory.
So this view suggests that forsome people, the brain's reward
system is extra sensitive tofood.
So when they see or even thinkabout food, especially highly
palatable processed foods, theirbrain lights up more than
someone without thatsensitivity.
(05:46):
Imaging studies have shown thatpeople with obesity often have
greater activation in thebrain's reward areas when
they're shown pictures of food.
And this might help explain whyfood thoughts feel more
persistent or harder to ignorebecause the brain is responding
to those cues more intensely,which could lead to more
(06:06):
cravings, more food, noise, andpotentially overeating.
On the flip side, we have thehypo HYPO, hypo responsive
theory.
This one is a little bit of adifferent angle.
It suggests that in some people,the brain doesn't respond enough
to food once it's actuallyconsumed.
So while the anticipation offood might still be strong, the
(06:29):
satisfaction or reward.
After eating is blunted.
So in this case, people may keepeating more than they need, not
because the food is moretempting, but because their
brain isn't getting thatsatisfied signal.
Some imaging studies here showthat people with obesity can
have a lower activity in thepart of the brain called the
(06:51):
dorsal striatum, which plays arole in that feeling reward.
So, it can have a lower activitythere when they eat.
So while these two mechanismsare different, the hyper and the
hypo responsive one is about thebrain lighting up too much in
anticipation.
And the other is about it notlighting up.
(07:13):
Enough after eating both cancontribute to overeating and a
constant mental focus on foodand either one could be a factor
in why food noise feels so loud.
For some people, it's like youthink about food because it's so
amazing.
In the hyper responders orbecause you're just never
(07:33):
satisfied in the hyporesponders.
So that is one way that,researchers believe that food
noise can develop.
Um, the second way is actuallymy theory.
I have not like confirmed thisother than anecdotally with
other women.
And especially I talked to awoman, um, who has been on.
(07:57):
GLP one medication for about ayear and a half, and she was
like, a hundred percent.
That is my lived experience.
So, you know, my sample size isvery small, but I'm gonna give
it, I'm gonna give you thistheory anyway.
I think that food noise can beespecially common in women who
have been the food manager intheir homes.
(08:17):
If you hold the mental load ofmanaging the food for the
family, let's think about whatthat entails.
I've been married for 29 yearsand my oldest child is 26.
I was a stay at home mom, a homeengineer, if you will, and one
of my jobs was to keep everyonefed and this is what I feel like
that entailed.
(08:37):
Knowing the inventory of thefridge, the pantry, the freezer,
making grocery lists andshopping for all the food,
usually at multiple different.
Locations, the regular grocerystore, the Costco type grocery
stores.
Sometimes I even went to, um, a,like a cheaper place because of
course, when we were young andhad little ones, we were living
on a budget.
So keeping track of the staplesas well as the perishables.
(09:00):
You don't need flour and, youknow, oats every time you shop,
but you've gotta keep track ofthat inventory, remembering
everyone's preferences andrequests for food, knowing which
kid likes Hammond mustard ontheir sandwich and which, which
kid likes Turkey and avocado.
Right.
You gotta remember who likeswhat when you're out and about.
Are the kids going to gethungry?
Do I bring snacks?
Will there be food when we getthere?
(09:21):
Will they like said food when wearrive at someone else's home,
trying to make dinners that arehealthy, affordable, quick, and
liked by everyone.
This is a impossible task.
Figuring out what meals alignwith the schedule, right?
We need quick dinners onpractice nights, freezer meals
for when I'm working late,remembering who's eating where
(09:41):
and when.
You've got kids that are eatingat friends' houses.
You have a partner that mightcome home late and not be
available for dinner.
I know my spouse traveled quitea bit for work, so my meal plans
were different based on if hewas home or if he was not home
when they were little.
I made breakfast and lunch alsoplus snacks.
And if you're not a stay at homemom, you're packing all of that
(10:04):
stuff.
So you've gotta make all of thatfood ahead to send with them to
daycare or school.
And maybe it's taken care of atsome, but not always.
Um, then you have to keep trackof the leftovers from the dinner
you made.
Make sure those don't go bad.
Make sure we have leftovernight.
Are there things that need to beused up?
Like you have ingredients thatyou used a partial amount for,
something that you purchased andyou need to plan something else
(10:27):
to use it up before it goes bad?
All the while trying to feedyourself and trying to model
healthy eating while managingyour own relationship with food.
Are you exhausted listening tothat list?
This can continue into midlifeeven after these
responsibilities lessen and kidsleave the home.
(10:47):
Because this is so ingrained inwhat you have done.
If this wasn't your livedexperience, maybe because you
didn't have children or yourpartner really split the food
manager role with you, thenthat's great, but this is just
one way that I see food noiseshowing up for my midlife
clients.
This kind of mental rehearsalaround food day in and day out
(11:08):
can absolutely condition yourbrain to keep food top of mind.
And over time, this contributesto your own personal food noise,
even when you're not activelyhungry or needing to make all of
these decisions.
Okay.
What could make food noiseworse?
So let's say you have what youconsider food noise, but you
(11:29):
notice that some days it'sbetter, some days it's worse.
What?
What's going on there?
So.
I know you're gonna be like, notat all surprised when I tell you
this list, but obviously stress,poor sleep, those are gonna be
top of list for making foodnoise worse.
Also, over restriction and dietmentality.
(11:49):
I.
So diet mentality specificallyhere is, um, well, it's a lot of
things that I talk about on thispodcast, but think about things
like labeling food, good or bad,believing that some foods are
off limits or special occasionfoods, earning foods with
workouts.
Um, the constant feeling ofneeding to start over because
you had one like off limit food.
(12:10):
Those kinds of diet mentalitythoughts can make food noise.
Worse.
Um, another thing that can makeit worse is exposure to food
cues.
So things like ads, socialmedia, constant availability of
food, just driving by yourfavorite donut place every
single day.
Um, or on a closer to homeexample, walking by the pantry
(12:30):
that you stock with what you'recalling kids specific snacks,
but of course you love them aswell.
another thing that can make itworse is like emotional triggers
or boredom.
So this can be a big one, andthat is also like that, that
sort of siren call to the pantryat eight 30 or nine o'clock.
(12:50):
It's not, it can be a craving.
Sometimes it's like a specificthing you're heading for, but
often it's just this underlyingneed to go get something.
I have to have some food.
So, okay.
I think we've pretty wellestablished what it is, what,
what causes it, what makes itworse.
Let's talk about some solutionsfor managing the food noise.
(13:13):
Some of these are gonna soundsimilar to managing cravings, so
that's why I wanted to be clearabout the differences in the
beginning.
Even if some of these solutionstend to sound the same, they,
um, they are some of them, butthey also can, there's also some
things that we're gonna be talkthat I'm gonna give you that are
specific to food noise.
Also, remember, there aredifferent levels of food noise,
(13:35):
and not all food noise isproblematic in terms of weight
for a person.
So not all people with obesity.
Struggle with food noise andconversely, There are people of
normal weight who do strugglewith it and can do some managing
of it through some of thesesolutions.
Okay, so number one would beawareness and self-monitoring.
So journaling when food thoughtscome up.
(13:59):
If it's a constant chatter, wecan't be writing all day.
So if you are on like the lowerend of food noise where you're
hearing it, but it's not superintrusive, you can journal at
the end of the day about some ofthese thoughts.
It's not like in the momenthaving to do it, you know,
journaling in the moment I.
There is a new tool called theFood Noise Questionnaire to
assess patterns.
(14:20):
This just came out in a studythat was published in January of
this year.
So I have not personallyincorporated this into my
practice yet, but there is someevidence that it could be used
going forward.
So this would be something onthe self-monitoring aspect where
you would take it and thenseveral months later after doing
some work, you would take itagain.
(14:41):
It was shown in the study tohave.
Excellent internal consistencyand strong test, retest
reliability.
So it, that indicates that itconsistently measured the
construct of food noise overtime.
So that's kind of how this studyread like this was kind of
their, their.
Uh, conclusion, if you will.
So it could be a good tool forself-monitoring, um, right now
(15:04):
to see if what you're doing isworking.
I just, like I said, I haven'tincorporated it.
I, I didn't even find like aready to go one that we could
use.
So, um, this is kind of like oneof those, like possibly on the
horizon kind of thing.
Um, but.
Until we get that, using yourjournal to just be like, noting
(15:25):
down how you are feeling can bereally helpful.
So there's also some cognitiveand environmental strategies,
so.
Simply like pausing beforeeating, managing stress and
sleep.
Obviously I said those made itworse.
So managing stress and sleep andthen reducing exposure to
(15:45):
unnecessary food cues.
So this is some environmentalstrategy.
Sometimes my clients and I talkabout not just not bringing
certain foods into the housewhen we're working on cravings
because it just requires so muchextra work.
Right.
When you have a craving forsomething that's readily
available in the house, it's,it's just more work.
(16:06):
And so it's not that we can't dothat work to process the urge,
it's just about making the earlypart of doing this work when
you're really working on thechange part a bit easier.
So same with food noise.
You can just choose not to havecertain foods in the house.
Or another way if you're like,well, I have to have like.
(16:26):
A cheese cracker for my kids,like choose snack foods for
other members of your householdthat don't interest you.
I, I'm not like a huge cheesecracker person myself, but I
have half my family likeCheez-Its, and the other half
like goldfish.
And so if you were like part ofmy family, if you were just
like, okay, well I don't haveany interest in goldfish, like
(16:47):
that would be a solution for youto just like choose the goldfish
for the kids and then you're notinterested if you're like a
Cheez-It fan.
Right?
So, um, just trying to choosesnack foods.
That you, that might notinterest you as much as, um,
some of the ones that might bemore of a trigger for you.
And then another thing you cando on the like cognitive
environmental strategy side isto set up.
(17:09):
Structured predictable meals toreduce the constant decision
making.
Ah, I love this one.
I love it.
It's the core behind my go-tomeals free ebook.
I eat the same breakfast like95% of the time because I just
don't wanna think about it.
And it really does help reducethat.
Like, what am I gonna eat forbreakfast today?
(17:30):
Food noise for me when I wakeup, because I already know it's
already decided.
It's a go-to meal, so if youdon't have that, be sure to
download that.
It's, um, that link is always inthe show notes.
It's been a free resource foryears and years for my clients
and, and future clients, sothat's always available to you.
But yeah, just getting astructured, predictable meal
(17:50):
plan going can really help sothat you can just reduce some of
that decision making, if that isone of the causes of your.
Food noise.
Okay.
And then we have the emotionalwork side.
You might need to address someemotional attachments and roles
tied to food, especially, uh, ifyou have this as a caregiver.
(18:10):
So taking a look at that mentalload that you may have carried
over time, if that is stillaffecting you today.
Um, so coaching or therapy.
It could possibly help unpacksome of this.
Maybe you could call it overresponsibility for others' food
needs.
Um, there also might be somescarcity feelings here,
especially if food was notplentiful for you as a child.
(18:34):
So if you grew up in anenvironment where there was food
insecurity, that most likelywould be a good thing to work
through.
With a therapist that is someemotional work that could be
contributing to your food noiseand that would be a good thing
to get worked out, in therapy.
Just, and I, and I say thatbecause therapists are much
better equipped than coaches andthe way I was trained to work on
(18:57):
childhood issues.
Um, okay, so.
A couple more things we can do.
Um, nutritional interventions.
So from the nutritional side,making sure you're getting
enough protein.
And this obviously goes back tosome of those like go-to meals.
All your go-to meals are goingto be high protein.
And so you don't have to thinkabout to, am I getting enough
(19:19):
protein?
Because if you're designingthese meals around protein and
um, fiber.
You are going to be gettingenough.
So making sure you're gettingenough protein.
And I define this by the way, as1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram of
body weight.
So there are online calculatorsthat can help you with that.
You don't need to go all the wayup to the gram per pound of body
(19:43):
weight.
That is a bigger number.
that's going to be a lot more.
That's that number when you seethat one out in the world in
online spaces.
Is typically for musclebuilding.
So if you're trying to reallyput on pounds of muscle, that's
when you're looking at a pound,or sorry, a, a gram of protein
per pound of body weight.
(20:04):
Um, but to maintain muscle aswell as to get just kind of be
in that I'm getting enoughprotein to help calm my brain,
1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram ofbody weight.
second nutritional thing you cando is limit added sugars.
Of course, this is not includingthe sugars found in dairy or
fresh fruits and vegetables, butlimiting, adding, um, added
(20:26):
sugars.
So these are, you know, sweettreats, cakes, cookies,
brownies, muffins.
So those are really the two.
There's, there's other thingsthat we could do nutritionally,
but just, just for starters,these are the two main things
that are going to really helpfrom the nutritional aspect.
Okay.
And lastly.
(20:47):
solutions for managing foodnoise is of course, medications.
So the GLP one, medications likesemaglutide and tirzepatide have
been shown to reduce food noise.
Remember, these medications arenot approved.
They're not FDA approved toreduce food noise, meaning you
can't go in with a diagnosis offood noise and get these
(21:08):
medications, however.
There's very, very good datathat this totally works.
It's not a magic fix.
These definitely lower hungersignals and reduce mental
preoccupation, but they don'terase the emotional or habit
driven food thoughts completely.
Basically, the food noise quietsthink about turning down the
(21:31):
volume on the soundtrack, butthey don't automatically make
you not habitually head for thekitchen when you arrive home.
Like that's just your.
Body's gonna just do thatautomatically.
Right?
So it's important to pair thesemedications with coaching or
other therapeutic support forlong-term success because these
(21:51):
medications don't lose theweight for you.
They give you the mental andphysical space to.
Build the habits that actuallywill end up changing your life.
So they just allow you to be ina space of quiet so you can
actually do the activities likeprioritizing protein, like I
mentioned, like making thosenutritional changes, um, you
know, and getting some movementin, whereas before you maybe
(22:15):
knew what you were supposed todo, but like the food noise was
so distracting, it was justreally hard to make.
You know, quote unquote gooddecisions.
So, remember also thatmedication is not the first line
of action.
If you are someone that is,feels like food noise has been
kind of a recent development oryou feel like it's something
(22:36):
that you're just kind ofrecently recognizing in
yourself.
It's not that I likerecommending that you go to
medication as a first line.
It's a great line.
Of action for sure.
But before you go and think thatyour neighbor who finally lost
some weight was lazy up untilthe moment that she took that
first shot, and now she triedeating right and exercise for
the first time, like that's justnot true.
(22:57):
Most people that choose to gowith medication have tried and
tried hard.
And GLP ones finally give themthe peace to be able to make the
habits stick.
And that's why I support myclients that want to go this
route.
So if you feel like you havetried some of these other
solutions, you have tried thecoaching, you have tried the,
(23:20):
the, um, nutritionalinterventions and it's just not
working, just know that GLPones.
Do help calm this food noise.
So if food feels like it's justtaking up way too much real
estate in your brain, if it'sthe background hum, you can't
turn off, you're not broken andyou're not alone.
(23:41):
We talked today about how foodnoise might show up because of
lifelong patterns.
The mental load of being thefood manager, or even just brain
chemistry that respondsdifferently to food cues.
And we looked at how food noiseis different from cravings.
So this, remember, it's not justwanting a cookie.
It's thinking about cookies allday long and cake and muffin.
(24:03):
And chips.
So the good news is there areways to quiet the noise.
Go back and listen to thatsection if you need some help
there.
They are really valid tools.
And then, yes, medication is onthe table for some people as
well.
The key is finding what quietsyour mind.
Not just your appetite, okay?
(24:24):
If the things in this episodehit home for you and you want
support working through thatconstant chatter around food, I
would love to support you.
I have two free resources rightnow that I know will help.
So first, download the What toDo When You Overeat Course, if
you find yourself.
Overeating too many times in aweek to see lasting weight loss.
You'll get the reset and recoverguide and figure out how to
(24:47):
reduce overeats and not beatyourself up about it.
Or number two is you can grab mybrand new GLP one Success
Starter kit.
This is for anyone already onGLP ones from like their primary
care physician.
That don't have any support orstructure around what to do, or
maybe if you're just gettingthem from an online pharmacy
(25:07):
compounded, uh, you know, youmight not have the kind of
support that I offer.
this also is for you if you'reeven remotely considering
medication.
Grab this so you know what toexpect.
You can also schedule a freeconsult session to see if my
Premier 12 week one-on-onecoaching program is right for
you, or my brand new GLP oneconfidence method that I have
(25:31):
recently developed is theperfect fit.
So all the links are in the shownotes for both of these free
resources as well as the link toschedule an appointment.
With me.
Remember, it's not just aboutthe food.
It's about empowering yourselfwith the choices that truly
serve You.
Have a great week and as always,thanks for listening and sharing
the Eat Well Think Well LiveWell podcast.
This is Eat Well.
Think Well Live Well podcast Iam Lisa Salsbury and this is
episode 150.
What to Do About Food Noise?
Welcome to eat well.
Well, the podcast for busy womenwho want to lose weight without
constantly counting, tracking,or stressing over every bite.
I'm Lisa Salsbury, a certifiedhealth weight loss and life
(00:22):
coach, and most importantly, arecovered chronic dieter here.
You'll learn to listen to yourbody and uncover the reasons
you're reaching for food.
When you're not truly hungry,freeing you to focus on a
healthier, more fulfillingapproach to eating.
So I didn't even really registeruntil today that this was gonna
be episode 150, which is like,so fun.
(00:45):
Um, it's just, you know, littlemilestone things.
So I was like, oh, I should dosomething special.
But, um, I didn't have anythinglike new or unusual other than
just like a really great episodeif I do say so myself.
I'm really excited to share thisinformation with you.
I've done quite a bit ofresearch for this episode, so
let's just jump right in.
To understanding food noise,what is it?
(01:07):
And, you know, what is this likenagging thing that, that we
maybe have?
So first I wanna define it, foodnoise is the persistent,
intrusive thoughts about food,and it's often unrelated to
physical hunger.
So some examples of this wouldbe like thinking about dinner
while eating lunch.
(01:29):
Not so much like, what am Igoing to have for dinner?
Like, oh, we're gonna haveMexican food, so I don't want to
eat a quesadilla for lunch, butlike, when do I get to eat next?
That kind of thought.
See the difference there?
It's um, constant food planningbeyond meal planning.
It's the background chatter andit's also questions like, did I
eat too much?
(01:49):
Um, I can't wait till lunch.
When should I eat next?
When can I eat next?
When will the next time thatfood be available?
Maybe there's something betterin the pantry.
These are the kinds of thoughtsthat would be considered food
noise.
You can differentiate it fromnormal appetite or interest in
food because it's often likethinking about food while you're
(02:11):
still eating And so.
People without a lot of foodnoise can often go several hours
without even thinking about foodor when they'll eat again.
A good friend of mine describedthis as like that siren call to
the pantry at night when she wastrying to wind down, and it's
also often the first thing youthink of when you wake up.
(02:32):
So it's persistent.
Even when you're not physicallyhungry, and it's kind of an
ongoing background mentalactivity.
So it can be tied to emotions,to habits, to mental load, which
we're gonna talk about.
It doesn't always lead toeating.
This is an interesting kind ofcaveat, but it takes up a lot of
(02:56):
brain space.
So it's different than cravings.
I wanna kind of differentiatethe two between food, noise and
cravings.
Cravings are strong and oftensudden desire to eat a specific
food.
You're probably gonna feel thisin your body, like, um, that
pole towards salty chips orchocolate.
And it can be accompanied byphysical sensations like
(03:19):
mouthwatering or restlessness.
Cravings tend, as opposed tofood, noise cravings tend to be
more acute.
And specific I want ice cream,right?
Whereas food noise is more ofthe background chatter for any
food.
When are we going to eat next?
Right?
Cravings tend to be triggered byum, emotions, restrictions,
(03:42):
habits, and they are a littlebit more easily managed with
awareness or distraction.
And of course, using some of mytried and true coaching methods
for managing cravings, which.
Is, you know, involvesprocessing them just like any
other feeling.
So lots of episodes available onthis for you, but cravings tend
(04:02):
to sound a little bit more likean emergency, whereas food noise
is that constant background.
Hum.
Okay, so that's a little bit ofthe definition and how it's
different than cravings.
I, so I hope that's clear andyou can identify if this is
something that you, um, that younotice in your life or if it's
(04:22):
kind of, um, something thathappens to you like in certain
periods or certain times of themonth.
So it's not something that hasto be, like, it has to be all
consuming to be considered foodnoise.
Okay.
There's definitely differentlevels.
Let's talk about how food noisecan develop.
So one way is that it could bean innate or on the biological
(04:43):
level.
So some people may have a brainthat's more responsive to food
cues.
So there's obesity research thatsuggests that that those living
at higher weights have a highersensitivity in their reward
pathways.
Things like in the dopaminepathway, in the ghrelin pathway,
those kinds of things.
These studies also show thatpeople with lifelong struggles
(05:03):
with weight often experiencemore intense food thoughts.
So when it comes tounderstanding why food noise
shows up, for some people morethan others, especially in those
who struggle with overeating orwith obesity, researchers have
two main theories that seemalmost opposite, but both can
make sense depending on theindividual.
(05:24):
So number one is the hyperH-Y-P-E-R, hyper responsiveness
theory.
So this view suggests that forsome people, the brain's reward
system is extra sensitive tofood.
So when they see or even thinkabout food, especially highly
palatable processed foods, theirbrain lights up more than
someone without thatsensitivity.
(05:46):
Imaging studies have shown thatpeople with obesity often have
greater activation in thebrain's reward areas when
they're shown pictures of food.
And this might help explain whyfood thoughts feel more
persistent or harder to ignorebecause the brain is responding
to those cues more intensely,which could lead to more
(06:06):
cravings, more food, noise, andpotentially overeating.
On the flip side, we have thehypo HYPO, hypo responsive
theory.
This one is a little bit of adifferent angle.
It suggests that in some people,the brain doesn't respond enough
to food once it's actuallyconsumed.
So while the anticipation offood might still be strong, the
(06:29):
satisfaction or reward.
After eating is blunted.
So in this case, people may keepeating more than they need, not
because the food is moretempting, but because their
brain isn't getting thatsatisfied signal.
Some imaging studies here showthat people with obesity can
have a lower activity in thepart of the brain called the
(06:51):
dorsal striatum, which plays arole in that feeling reward.
So, it can have a lower activitythere when they eat.
So while these two mechanismsare different, the hyper and the
hypo responsive one is about thebrain lighting up too much in
anticipation.
And the other is about it notlighting up.
(07:13):
Enough after eating both cancontribute to overeating and a
constant mental focus on foodand either one could be a factor
in why food noise feels so loud.
For some people, it's like youthink about food because it's so
amazing.
In the hyper responders orbecause you're just never
(07:33):
satisfied in the hyporesponders.
So that is one way that,researchers believe that food
noise can develop.
Um, the second way is actuallymy theory.
I have not like confirmed thisother than anecdotally with
other women.
And especially I talked to awoman, um, who has been on.
(07:57):
GLP one medication for about ayear and a half, and she was
like, a hundred percent.
That is my lived experience.
So, you know, my sample size isvery small, but I'm gonna give
it, I'm gonna give you thistheory anyway.
I think that food noise can beespecially common in women who
have been the food manager intheir homes.
(08:17):
If you hold the mental load ofmanaging the food for the
family, let's think about whatthat entails.
I've been married for 29 yearsand my oldest child is 26.
I was a stay at home mom, a homeengineer, if you will, and one
of my jobs was to keep everyonefed and this is what I feel like
that entailed.
(08:37):
Knowing the inventory of thefridge, the pantry, the freezer,
making grocery lists andshopping for all the food,
usually at multiple different.
Locations, the regular grocerystore, the Costco type grocery
stores.
Sometimes I even went to, um, a,like a cheaper place because of
course, when we were young andhad little ones, we were living
on a budget.
So keeping track of the staplesas well as the perishables.
(09:00):
You don't need flour and, youknow, oats every time you shop,
but you've gotta keep track ofthat inventory, remembering
everyone's preferences andrequests for food, knowing which
kid likes Hammond mustard ontheir sandwich and which, which
kid likes Turkey and avocado.
Right.
You gotta remember who likeswhat when you're out and about.
Are the kids going to gethungry?
Do I bring snacks?
Will there be food when we getthere?
(09:21):
Will they like said food when wearrive at someone else's home,
trying to make dinners that arehealthy, affordable, quick, and
liked by everyone.
This is a impossible task.
Figuring out what meals alignwith the schedule, right?
We need quick dinners onpractice nights, freezer meals
for when I'm working late,remembering who's eating where
(09:41):
and when.
You've got kids that are eatingat friends' houses.
You have a partner that mightcome home late and not be
available for dinner.
I know my spouse traveled quitea bit for work, so my meal plans
were different based on if hewas home or if he was not home
when they were little.
I made breakfast and lunch alsoplus snacks.
And if you're not a stay at homemom, you're packing all of that
(10:04):
stuff.
So you've gotta make all of thatfood ahead to send with them to
daycare or school.
And maybe it's taken care of atsome, but not always.
Um, then you have to keep trackof the leftovers from the dinner
you made.
Make sure those don't go bad.
Make sure we have leftovernight.
Are there things that need to beused up?
Like you have ingredients thatyou used a partial amount for,
something that you purchased andyou need to plan something else
(10:27):
to use it up before it goes bad?
All the while trying to feedyourself and trying to model
healthy eating while managingyour own relationship with food.
Are you exhausted listening tothat list?
This can continue into midlifeeven after these
responsibilities lessen and kidsleave the home.
(10:47):
Because this is so ingrained inwhat you have done.
If this wasn't your livedexperience, maybe because you
didn't have children or yourpartner really split the food
manager role with you, thenthat's great, but this is just
one way that I see food noiseshowing up for my midlife
clients.
This kind of mental rehearsalaround food day in and day out
(11:08):
can absolutely condition yourbrain to keep food top of mind.
And over time, this contributesto your own personal food noise,
even when you're not activelyhungry or needing to make all of
these decisions.
Okay.
What could make food noiseworse?
So let's say you have what youconsider food noise, but you
(11:29):
notice that some days it'sbetter, some days it's worse.
What?
What's going on there?
So.
I know you're gonna be like, notat all surprised when I tell you
this list, but obviously stress,poor sleep, those are gonna be
top of list for making foodnoise worse.
Also, over restriction and dietmentality.
(11:49):
I.
So diet mentality specificallyhere is, um, well, it's a lot of
things that I talk about on thispodcast, but think about things
like labeling food, good or bad,believing that some foods are
off limits or special occasionfoods, earning foods with
workouts.
Um, the constant feeling ofneeding to start over because
you had one like off limit food.
(12:10):
Those kinds of diet mentalitythoughts can make food noise.
Worse.
Um, another thing that can makeit worse is exposure to food
cues.
So things like ads, socialmedia, constant availability of
food, just driving by yourfavorite donut place every
single day.
Um, or on a closer to homeexample, walking by the pantry
(12:30):
that you stock with what you'recalling kids specific snacks,
but of course you love them aswell.
another thing that can make itworse is like emotional triggers
or boredom.
So this can be a big one, andthat is also like that, that
sort of siren call to the pantryat eight 30 or nine o'clock.
(12:50):
It's not, it can be a craving.
Sometimes it's like a specificthing you're heading for, but
often it's just this underlyingneed to go get something.
I have to have some food.
So, okay.
I think we've pretty wellestablished what it is, what,
what causes it, what makes itworse.
Let's talk about some solutionsfor managing the food noise.
(13:13):
Some of these are gonna soundsimilar to managing cravings, so
that's why I wanted to be clearabout the differences in the
beginning.
Even if some of these solutionstend to sound the same, they,
um, they are some of them, butthey also can, there's also some
things that we're gonna be talkthat I'm gonna give you that are
specific to food noise.
Also, remember, there aredifferent levels of food noise,
(13:35):
and not all food noise isproblematic in terms of weight
for a person.
So not all people with obesity.
Struggle with food noise andconversely, There are people of
normal weight who do strugglewith it and can do some managing
of it through some of thesesolutions.
Okay, so number one would beawareness and self-monitoring.
So journaling when food thoughtscome up.
(13:59):
If it's a constant chatter, wecan't be writing all day.
So if you are on like the lowerend of food noise where you're
hearing it, but it's not superintrusive, you can journal at
the end of the day about some ofthese thoughts.
It's not like in the momenthaving to do it, you know,
journaling in the moment I.
There is a new tool called theFood Noise Questionnaire to
assess patterns.
(14:20):
This just came out in a studythat was published in January of
this year.
So I have not personallyincorporated this into my
practice yet, but there is someevidence that it could be used
going forward.
So this would be something onthe self-monitoring aspect where
you would take it and thenseveral months later after doing
some work, you would take itagain.
(14:41):
It was shown in the study tohave.
Excellent internal consistencyand strong test, retest
reliability.
So it, that indicates that itconsistently measured the
construct of food noise overtime.
So that's kind of how this studyread like this was kind of
their, their.
Uh, conclusion, if you will.
So it could be a good tool forself-monitoring, um, right now
(15:04):
to see if what you're doing isworking.
I just, like I said, I haven'tincorporated it.
I, I didn't even find like aready to go one that we could
use.
So, um, this is kind of like oneof those, like possibly on the
horizon kind of thing.
Um, but.
Until we get that, using yourjournal to just be like, noting
(15:25):
down how you are feeling can bereally helpful.
So there's also some cognitiveand environmental strategies,
so.
Simply like pausing beforeeating, managing stress and
sleep.
Obviously I said those made itworse.
So managing stress and sleep andthen reducing exposure to
(15:45):
unnecessary food cues.
So this is some environmentalstrategy.
Sometimes my clients and I talkabout not just not bringing
certain foods into the housewhen we're working on cravings
because it just requires so muchextra work.
Right.
When you have a craving forsomething that's readily
available in the house, it's,it's just more work.
(16:06):
And so it's not that we can't dothat work to process the urge,
it's just about making the earlypart of doing this work when
you're really working on thechange part a bit easier.
So same with food noise.
You can just choose not to havecertain foods in the house.
Or another way if you're like,well, I have to have like.
(16:26):
A cheese cracker for my kids,like choose snack foods for
other members of your householdthat don't interest you.
I, I'm not like a huge cheesecracker person myself, but I
have half my family likeCheez-Its, and the other half
like goldfish.
And so if you were like part ofmy family, if you were just
like, okay, well I don't haveany interest in goldfish, like
(16:47):
that would be a solution for youto just like choose the goldfish
for the kids and then you're notinterested if you're like a
Cheez-It fan.
Right?
So, um, just trying to choosesnack foods.
That you, that might notinterest you as much as, um,
some of the ones that might bemore of a trigger for you.
And then another thing you cando on the like cognitive
environmental strategy side isto set up.
(17:09):
Structured predictable meals toreduce the constant decision
making.
Ah, I love this one.
I love it.
It's the core behind my go-tomeals free ebook.
I eat the same breakfast like95% of the time because I just
don't wanna think about it.
And it really does help reducethat.
Like, what am I gonna eat forbreakfast today?
(17:30):
Food noise for me when I wakeup, because I already know it's
already decided.
It's a go-to meal, so if youdon't have that, be sure to
download that.
It's, um, that link is always inthe show notes.
It's been a free resource foryears and years for my clients
and, and future clients, sothat's always available to you.
But yeah, just getting astructured, predictable meal
(17:50):
plan going can really help sothat you can just reduce some of
that decision making, if that isone of the causes of your.
Food noise.
Okay.
And then we have the emotionalwork side.
You might need to address someemotional attachments and roles
tied to food, especially, uh, ifyou have this as a caregiver.
(18:10):
So taking a look at that mentalload that you may have carried
over time, if that is stillaffecting you today.
Um, so coaching or therapy.
It could possibly help unpacksome of this.
Maybe you could call it overresponsibility for others' food
needs.
Um, there also might be somescarcity feelings here,
especially if food was notplentiful for you as a child.
(18:34):
So if you grew up in anenvironment where there was food
insecurity, that most likelywould be a good thing to work
through.
With a therapist that is someemotional work that could be
contributing to your food noiseand that would be a good thing
to get worked out, in therapy.
Just, and I, and I say thatbecause therapists are much
better equipped than coaches andthe way I was trained to work on
(18:57):
childhood issues.
Um, okay, so.
A couple more things we can do.
Um, nutritional interventions.
So from the nutritional side,making sure you're getting
enough protein.
And this obviously goes back tosome of those like go-to meals.
All your go-to meals are goingto be high protein.
And so you don't have to thinkabout to, am I getting enough
(19:19):
protein?
Because if you're designingthese meals around protein and
um, fiber.
You are going to be gettingenough.
So making sure you're gettingenough protein.
And I define this by the way, as1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram of
body weight.
So there are online calculatorsthat can help you with that.
You don't need to go all the wayup to the gram per pound of body
(19:43):
weight.
That is a bigger number.
that's going to be a lot more.
That's that number when you seethat one out in the world in
online spaces.
Is typically for musclebuilding.
So if you're trying to reallyput on pounds of muscle, that's
when you're looking at a pound,or sorry, a, a gram of protein
per pound of body weight.
(20:04):
Um, but to maintain muscle aswell as to get just kind of be
in that I'm getting enoughprotein to help calm my brain,
1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram ofbody weight.
second nutritional thing you cando is limit added sugars.
Of course, this is not includingthe sugars found in dairy or
fresh fruits and vegetables, butlimiting, adding, um, added
(20:26):
sugars.
So these are, you know, sweettreats, cakes, cookies,
brownies, muffins.
So those are really the two.
There's, there's other thingsthat we could do nutritionally,
but just, just for starters,these are the two main things
that are going to really helpfrom the nutritional aspect.
Okay.
And lastly.
(20:47):
solutions for managing foodnoise is of course, medications.
So the GLP one, medications likesemaglutide and tirzepatide have
been shown to reduce food noise.
Remember, these medications arenot approved.
They're not FDA approved toreduce food noise, meaning you
can't go in with a diagnosis offood noise and get these
(21:08):
medications, however.
There's very, very good datathat this totally works.
It's not a magic fix.
These definitely lower hungersignals and reduce mental
preoccupation, but they don'terase the emotional or habit
driven food thoughts completely.
Basically, the food noise quietsthink about turning down the
(21:31):
volume on the soundtrack, butthey don't automatically make
you not habitually head for thekitchen when you arrive home.
Like that's just your.
Body's gonna just do thatautomatically.
Right?
So it's important to pair thesemedications with coaching or
other therapeutic support forlong-term success because these
(21:51):
medications don't lose theweight for you.
They give you the mental andphysical space to.
Build the habits that actuallywill end up changing your life.
So they just allow you to be ina space of quiet so you can
actually do the activities likeprioritizing protein, like I
mentioned, like making thosenutritional changes, um, you
know, and getting some movementin, whereas before you maybe
(22:15):
knew what you were supposed todo, but like the food noise was
so distracting, it was justreally hard to make.
You know, quote unquote gooddecisions.
So, remember also thatmedication is not the first line
of action.
If you are someone that is,feels like food noise has been
kind of a recent development oryou feel like it's something
(22:36):
that you're just kind ofrecently recognizing in
yourself.
It's not that I likerecommending that you go to
medication as a first line.
It's a great line.
Of action for sure.
But before you go and think thatyour neighbor who finally lost
some weight was lazy up untilthe moment that she took that
first shot, and now she triedeating right and exercise for
the first time, like that's justnot true.
(22:57):
Most people that choose to gowith medication have tried and
tried hard.
And GLP ones finally give themthe peace to be able to make the
habits stick.
And that's why I support myclients that want to go this
route.
So if you feel like you havetried some of these other
solutions, you have tried thecoaching, you have tried the,
(23:20):
the, um, nutritionalinterventions and it's just not
working, just know that GLPones.
Do help calm this food noise.
So if food feels like it's justtaking up way too much real
estate in your brain, if it'sthe background hum, you can't
turn off, you're not broken andyou're not alone.
(23:41):
We talked today about how foodnoise might show up because of
lifelong patterns.
The mental load of being thefood manager, or even just brain
chemistry that respondsdifferently to food cues.
And we looked at how food noiseis different from cravings.
So this, remember, it's not justwanting a cookie.
It's thinking about cookies allday long and cake and muffin.
(24:03):
And chips.
So the good news is there areways to quiet the noise.
Go back and listen to thatsection if you need some help
there.
They are really valid tools.
And then, yes, medication is onthe table for some people as
well.
The key is finding what quietsyour mind.
Not just your appetite, okay?
(24:24):
If the things in this episodehit home for you and you want
support working through thatconstant chatter around food, I
would love to support you.
I have two free resources rightnow that I know will help.
So first, download the What toDo When You Overeat Course, if
you find yourself.
Overeating too many times in aweek to see lasting weight loss.
You'll get the reset and recoverguide and figure out how to
(24:47):
reduce overeats and not beatyourself up about it.
Or number two is you can grab mybrand new GLP one Success
Starter kit.
This is for anyone already onGLP ones from like their primary
care physician.
That don't have any support orstructure around what to do, or
maybe if you're just gettingthem from an online pharmacy
(25:07):
compounded, uh, you know, youmight not have the kind of
support that I offer.
this also is for you if you'reeven remotely considering
medication.
Grab this so you know what toexpect.
You can also schedule a freeconsult session to see if my
Premier 12 week one-on-onecoaching program is right for
you, or my brand new GLP oneconfidence method that I have
(25:31):
recently developed is theperfect fit.
So all the links are in the shownotes for both of these free
resources as well as the link toschedule an appointment.
With me.
Remember, it's not just aboutthe food.
It's about empowering yourselfwith the choices that truly
serve You.
Have a great week and as always,thanks for listening and sharing
the Eat Well Think Well LiveWell podcast.
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