to think “food noise” is becoming one of those phrases people hide behind rather than actually dealing with their eating habits?

[foodywoody]

I keep hearing people say they have “food noise” and that’s why they’re constantly thinking about food or snacking, but isn’t that just hunger, boredom, habit, or emotional eating dressed up in a nicer label? I’m not saying it’s not real for some people, especially where there are medical issues involved, but the way it’s thrown around now makes it sound like no one has any control over it at all.

It just feels like another way to remove any personal responsibility. Not everything needs a label. Sometimes it’s just about eating properly and getting enough protein and actually addressing emotional eating.

The thread has contained dozens of posts about WLIs, from the first page onwards.

From what I can see, the introduction of talk about Mounjaro in particular, or the term WLI, came from users of those drugs.

Yes, people were posting their own personal experience of "food noise" which for many relates to the use of WLI and the resulting lack of it which draws attention to the concept.

Yes I think the first post specifically mentioning WLIs was an MJ user, unless I overlooked any. Clearly there have been a great many about WLIs since then from both users and non-users, so that's the context for anyone posting at this stage in the thread.

i do think one big difference in the last 20 years is the sheer proliferation ( depending where you live obviously) of food related businesses around you on a regular basis, and the subsequent smell of food in the air tickling your tastebuds and yes giving you ‘food noise’ !! I live in Bath and obviously we have tons of this and not just shit takeaway/chicken shops too - when I lived as a kid in my midlands mining town that’s the same size as here we basically had littlewoods cafe, a couple of unpleasant greasy spoons , the bus station cafe, a Chinese restaurant, an Indian and maybe 5 or 6 chip shops- but town was full of ‘other stuff’ -so it was quite rare to not eat at home and having a coffee out was maybe a once a week treat with my gran - and you weren’t being assaulted with seeing or smelling food all the time

THIS! I was very emotional for quite a few days after I started MJ because I had no idea that food noise was not an "everybody" problem. To have a pervasive irritant constantly in your head was my normal. Within 24 hrs of my first 2.5 MJ dose it stopped and the realisation that it could be controlled was overwhelming to say the least. The relief was enormous. I started asking people around me about it and I found out for the first time in my life that people actually don't have that voice in their brain constantly yakking on about food and eating.

I may stay on MJ for life, because the relief from food noise is so amazing. I can, like most "ordinary" people now get about my day without constantly planning my next food break. Without my thought process being distrupted by fake hunger and distraction. It is NOT emotional eating because it has been my constant all my life. I have maintained a healthy BMI throughout most of my life but it has been an exhausting battle and it was only menopause that I started to lose the battle and I reached BMI 30 and started WLI.

If you have never experienced Food Noise then you don't and can't understand what it is and honestly I think have no right to comment on it.

I would’ve probably taken the same view about “food noise” and then I tried Mounjaro, and I completely understood. It’s crazy, the unconscious urge to eat just goes.

The reason food noise is associated with WLI is because so many people discovered that they had it when it stopped - because they were taking WLI.

TBH, if someone had told me I had food noise before I started WLI, I would probably not have understood or have thought they were talking bollocks.

I think it is hard to disentangle food noise from WLIs and that's why the topic comes up on this thread so much.

”Food noise” is a general term used in the discussion of weight, eating habits, weight loss and obesity and it’s not specially related to WLIs.

WLIs now have their own dedicated MN forum.

Nonetheless, jab users seem to want to dominate every thread about food, healthy eating, weight etc with discussion of them.

@Aluna or perhaps they just want to offer their perspective? Particularly, as many of them have experienced food noise.

@Aluna yes, the term "food noise" is not specially related to WLI, merely heavily associated with them and popularised by that association.

The section for Weight Loss Injections/Treatments has been around for a good few years now, and it's a great place for people to discuss things in relation to WLI and treatments. Just like with any other sub section, that doesn't mean that people are not allowed to mention them anywhere else on the site. Particularly in the general topics like AIBU and Chat.

The "domination" you mention is probably related to the fact that there will be many hundreds if not thousands of MN members who are taking WLI, and so the topic comes up. There is a general Weight Loss Chat section of course too, it's a pretty quiet section in relation to the number of posts in the WLI/T section.

Not even “heavily associated” with.

The “heaviest” association of the term would be around weight and obesity which now makes up around 60% of the population.

Only 20-30% of obese people even take WLIs according to different sources.

I haven't read enough weight and healthy eating threads to have an opinion on whether that's true of every thread. But it looks like we're both in agreement that this thread has contained lots of WLI discussion already.

It's interesting, I guess each person's perception of association will depend on their own experience.

Users of WLI skew towards female, older (35 to 55) and with sufficient disposal income, in the UK. I would guess that means that they are overrepresented in the MN user pool as a result of that.

Yeah I'd assume so. Everyone seems to think this forum skews higher income than average, obviously it's more female and the average age for first birth is above 30 now.

YNBU They either want:
a) a prettier sounding name for food addiction.
b) a way to justify probably unnecessary medical intervention and putting undue strain on a struggling NHS.
If people want to inject themselves with whatever, cool, totally on them... but I really hope if it's through a mail order company NHS bill them to treat them for the inevitable complictations and they can try and claim it back from said companies.

I agree. Great comparison. Most decent people wouldn’t judge a person who takes an antidepressant or tell them to do better without needing medication.
Then you have the ignorant rude people who believe in saying it like it is, aka cheeky nosy idiots.

Just because you wouldn't dream of doing something, does not mean everyone else has to follow your way If only.

Yep I’m the same. I’ve spent years chastising myself thinking I was a greedy undisciplined pig, I tried so hard to stay on a healthy diet but just couldn’t maintain it long term. My thoughts were constantly about food and what I was going to have for my next meal or snack. The highlight of any day trip or holiday was always the foods involved. Now I’m on MJ I eat only when I’m hungry and my thoughts aren’t dominated by food. I’ve actually started a new hobby, I spend more time in the garden, I’m doing diy, my life has changed drastically, its like I’ve been released from a trance. I’m so thankful for MJ.

Oooh sleeping benefits too...

If you were genuinely interested you'd have read the thread where it has been discussed.

Says the person who has never experienced it. Before taking mounjaro, I literally thought about food every second of every day. Taking mounjaro has been amazing, I think this is what “normal” people must feel like, I only think about food at meal times and I have so much space in my brain for other things.

Others answered my questions and I really learned something. And it increased my understanding in a constructive way. My question was genuine and thankfully, other posters were more helpful.

I'll explain my thought process/,inner dialogue about food before I started wegovy. This was every single day...

Wake up
Right, you're really really fat and it can't go on. Starting from today you're going to fast until you're thin. Yes nothing at all to eat.
Ok actually maybe this is too difficult as I'm feeling really hungry, ok maybe just eat healthily. Ok good idea, so have something small and healthy to eat. Eat. Oh that was nice, now I fancy something sweet...but you're trying to be healthy and sensible and lose weight. But I fancy a biscuit. I tell you what just have half a biscuit....no don't have it, but half is fine, oh ok I'll just have half. Eats half the biscuit. That was delicious, may as well eat the other half...I mean one biscuit is fine. Ok you've had the whole biscuit now. You know what, being fat isn't that awful, sod it, have another biscuit. Ten biscuits down. Well the day is now a write off...so fuck it, eat whatever you want.

Tomorrow you can start again.

The next day was exactly the same.

There are controversies over antidepressants. They don't work for mild depression and have a limited affect on moderate depression.

The big controversy is that people who have sadness may think that they have depression and want to take medication. Someone having a normal feeling (sadness, hunger) but thinking that they are different from most people and that they can't solve their problem the way that most people do.

I'm not judging someone who takes antidepressants. I'm not being a cheeky nosy idiot. I'm not being ignorant.