Food Noise: Strategies to Quiet the Chatter + GLP-1 Effects - Part 3
5 minutes
This blog post is part three of a three-part series on food noise. If you haven't read the first two posts yet, begin here.
Food Noise and Medication
Before discussing strategies to reduce food noise, it's important to acknowledge the growing use of medications that reportedly help some individuals quiet their excessive preoccupation with food. This topic is contentious within the eating disorder mental health community, given the reluctance towards any medication aiding in food restriction. This makes sense because understanding how restriction can lead to a life of disordered eating or a full-blown eating disorder calls for caution. With that said, I take a more neutral stance, recognizing that each individual has unique circumstances to consider and autonomy. Therefore, individuals with an eating disorder, a history of yo-yo dieting, overexercise, or negative body image, who opt to take medication aiding in food restriction, should strive to gather comprehensive information about potential risks beyond physical side effects. Moreover, seeking therapy, especially from an eating disorder specialist, can address underlying issues and promote a holistic approach.
GLP-1 Drugs and Stimulants
The emergence of stimulant drugs like Vyvanse, approved to treat binge eating disorder, as well as GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide and tirzepatide (brand names like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mojourno, and Zepbound) have gained popularity. Many people describe these medications as a "game changer" or “miracle drug,” not only for weight loss but also due to the dramatic reduction in their food noise while taking the medication. While there's still much to learn about how these medications reduce food noise, it's reasonable to assume that one mechanism is by inducing a quicker feeling of fullness and reducing cravings. This allows individuals to stop eating before feeling uncomfortable, fostering a sense of self-trust. Consequently, they can approach food without fear, experiencing newfound freedom that enables greater presence in social situations, increased participation in food-related activities, and the ability to enjoy cravings and feelings of fullness without fear or shame, resulting in reduced food noise intensity.
If you're currently benefiting from one of these medications, it's a good opportunity to explore the origins of your excessive food noise and develop strategies to maintain this reduced level, whether you decide to continue or discontinue the medication. We can't be certain if long-term usage will indefinitely silence the incessant food and body chatter.
Strategies to Reduce Food Noise
As discussed earlier in this series, the experience of food noise is subjective and varies significantly among individuals. These thoughts may manifest as cognitive symptoms of a clinical eating disorder or as responses to chronic dieting, excessive exercise, malnourishment, or food insecurity.
In my practice, a common example related to food noise is craving more food after just finishing a meal, often seen as abnormal. However, it's natural for people to crave more when a meal is over, especially if it's tasty or if they have a rule about what they can or cannot eat later. While some may find it less intense or persistent, the key takeaway is that we should aim to reframe the goal to reduce food noise rather than eliminate it.
These first two strategies are physiological and by no means simple to execute.
Eat Protein and Good Fats: While I'm not a dietician or nutritionist, I've learned a lot from being in the eating disorder field. If your body isn't receiving foods it recognizes as substantial, food noise will unquestionably increase. Ask yourself this: when your food noise is persistent, is it focused on chips, cookies, doughnuts, etc., or is it craving steak, avocado, or beans? Would you be interested in binging on the latter foods? Most people will say no which demonstrates that if our bodies are not well-nourished, we'll feel unsatisfied and crave nourishment masked in craving food that brings a quick dopamine hit (i.e sugary, salty, starchy, etc).
Avoid Restriction and Food Rules: There's ample evidence that restriction and deprivation increase craving and preoccupation with food (as I described in the previous post with the Minnesota Starvation Experiment). To illustrate with another and unrelated example, think about a time when you were fixated on a new relationship or crush. You may have been glued to your phone hoping for a text or stalking them on social media. Your thoughts were persistent because you were feeling restricted or deprived of contact, whether self-imposed (i.e. I have to wait for them to reach out) or not. When not feeling completely secure or satisfied with where we stand in a relationship we hyper-focus on it seeking ways to quell that feeling. Similarly, when telling yourself you can't have, chocolate, pizza, catering at a work event, etc, your thoughts will focus on wanting just that.
These next steps are psychological, and I encourage you to explore them to understand the roots of your persistent food noise. As a therapist, these are some of the areas I work on with my clients.
Taking Inventory: While journaling is often recommended, I understand that many people may not enjoy or have the patience for traditional journaling. Instead, this involves jotting down some data to help recognize patterns over time. Here are some prompts:
Did you restrict food today, including fasting or saving calories for the evening?
How much sleep did you get last night?
Did you exercise today
What stress did you face today? Rate it on a scale of 1 to 10 and label its source (work, friends, partner, body image).
When was the food noise at its worst today?
Did you feel lonely, sad, attacked, or overwhelmed today?
Did you act on the food noise? Was it planned or impromptu?
Did acting on it (or not) help or exacerbate the noise?
Feel free to add anything else you find relevant.
Check-In on Quieter Days: If the food noise was quieter on a given day, take a moment to reflect. We're often aware when it's loud but may not recognize when it's quieter. It's similar to not noticing good health until you're sick and longing for healthier days. Pay attention to those days and consider what contributed to the reduction in noise.
Distract Yourself: While this doesn't address underlying issues, it's okay to find something to give your brain a break. (Note this won't work if your body is physically hungry and in need of nourishment). Can you acknowledge that the food noise is persistent and distressing, and then decide to go for a walk, listen to a podcast, call a friend or work on a puzzle? If you're resistant to implementing a distraction, what's behind that resistance? Is it more comfortable to sit with the food noise?
I understand that if you're reading this, you may feel frustrated and hopeless, perhaps even resigning yourself to being a food addict, but of course, you cannot become food sober. Yet, here you are reading this perhaps with some lingering hope. It's essential not to oversimplify this complex issue. While genetic factors, childhood experiences societal pressure, and lifestyle play a role, food noise is not an untreatable condition. If you're reading this, you likely recognize this complexity.
The strategies above promote curiosity and information gathering. Share this list with your therapist and discuss it. Consider working on it with a friend who's also struggling. Remember, the goal isn't to eliminate food noise entirely, but to quiet it and develop a healthier relationship where you can peacefully coexist with it.
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