Let's Talk About Food Noise

Personal Examples & Scientific Explanations

If you have it, you know what it is. If you don’t, you probably think I’m just talking about the noise people make when eating - like chewing. Misophonia is a rare condition that causes people to have strong emotional reactions to everyday sounds, such as chewing, that are usually not noticed by others -  but that’s not what we are talking about here.

Food Noise, as it is known in the world of obesity medicine, is both unique to the individual and yet somehow extremely relatable to those of us who suffer from it. I think everyone - even without Obesity - has cues that trigger them to want to eat that are not entirely biological. Everyone has cravings - it's very human to see very tasty food and want to eat it. It’s also a very responsible adult activity to plan your meals and look forward to eating something appealing.  What’s not “normal” is thinking about food constantly in a way that distracts you from everything else and negatively impacts your ability to manage your weight and nutrition in a healthy way. Naturally-lean people who do not struggle with Food Noise are able to eat their usual foods and simply move on. For me though, food noise often felt like a relentless background soundtrack that I couldn’t turn down, influencing all of my food choices and constantly interfering with my daily life. It’s the mental gymnastics around nutrition management that only gets louder the more you try and resist it. It’s that voice in your head that doesn’t shut up about food. And if you aren’t thinking about eating, you’re thinking about how you’re going to start your next diet or how what you’re eating will impact your weight (I call that the “Diet Noise” and “Weight Noise”, Food Noise’s evil twins) as a way to compensate for all the eating you’ve already done. Thankfully, GLP-1s turned that noise off.

The food noise in my head (and the behaviors that ensued) went a little something like this…