Stopping the food noise - thoughts from jab users

[CheshireSplat]

Hi everyone

I love reading the weight loss jab threads, there are so many inspirational stories and the "turning off the food noise" resonates so much.

I have a BMI of around 28-29, so the jabs are not an option for me, but I have an inclination that, from reading those threads, I may be able to turn down the food noise.

I have already worked out a few steps. 1. That I am very rarely hungry when I eat. 2. That I have an addiction to eating. 3. That although eating too much makes me feel good, immediately afterwards and always, I feel disgusting.

I feel that step 4 is turning off (hopefully) or down at least, the food noise. I would love to hear from those on the jabs threads what that feels like to you. I have this weird feeling now that if I can immerse myself in these feelings I may be able to slipstream some of you.

I hope that makes sense and doesn't offend anyone for whom the jabs have been the only thing to help.

It is so weird for me on Mounjaro that I don't really think about food very much, so I do know what you mean. I think the closest I came pre jab was when I really prioritised fibre and protein in my diet.

I don't think you'll be able to "induce" this feeling in yourself because it's an absence of feeling. It's not that anything active is happening in my head to make me feel this way, I just don't think about food at all most of the day. And when I do think about it, I don't have any desire for it.

The only comparison I can make is- think of a food you completely don't care about at all. Not one you loathe, but one you're genuinely indifferent to. Or something you don't consider food at all. Like if you were say at your desk and a colleague offered you a raw potato. That's how I feel about all food most of the time now. Before, I'd have almost never turned down food unless I actually didn't like it. But now it doesn't occur to me to say yes.

If you look into GLP-1 hormones you will see, primarily, they regulate blood sugars and appetite, sending signals to the brain to partly suppress thinking about or wanting food when you don't really need it.

Doing this without injections could be tough, I would think you would be looking for a high protein/fibre/healthy fats, low carb type diet to trigger the release of natural GLP-1 hormones and stabilise blood sugars. I have tried keto in the past, but it didn't work/wasn't sustainable for me.

I hope that makes sense and doesn't offend anyone for whom the jabs have been the only thing to help.

imo the WLI community is building confidence and not easily offended. As there has been more education and knowledge around WLI they no longer feel shamed to be using a medication that supports their health needs.

Some pharmacies will accept a BMI > 27 if you have weight relation health issues - high blood pressure, lipedema etc. if you are considering them.

Thank you wings

The reason I am concerned about upsetting people was that I am implying I might be able to induce a placebo effect whereas I know for those who the jabs work for, that there is a GLP-1 problem. And taking it to the next step, maybe implying I can solve it by mind over matter which puts me in the same camp as the "just eat less and move more" camp. Which I am absolutely not. I'm probably over explaining, over worrying.

I've done so much reading around this subject, have a basic grasp of the science and have had counselling - I feel my last obstacle is the food noise and I know many have said the jabs turn it off.

I'll read all responses carefully now, thank you.

I didn't even know I had food noise until until Mounjaro switched it off. Completely.

Can you describe the difference now? So, for me, if I have a break between Teams meetings, I head to the kitchen and root round for food. I'm hoping that instead, I'd just do a 5 minute chore without considering putting anything in my mouth.

I’ve completed my weight loss journey and am now struggling with working out how to come off a low dose of Mj without the food noise hitting me full on.

Even after six months of very healthy eating, high protein, low carbs, lots of vegetables, the food noise is coming back like before. The “ooo I could fancy a glass of wine” the looking at the pudding menu, the longing for a big fat cheese salad bread cake with salad cream, all there shouting out to me like before I started on Mj.

I don’t want to be on this stuff for life, I hoped six months though would reset my food cravings, but sadly it hasn’t.

the best thing that’s working for me right now is continuing to log everything I eat on My Fitness Pal so I can see when I hit my new calorie limit then going to bed if I want to snack. It’s also super helpful for letting me know if I’ve hit my protein targets and kept within my sugar ones.

but gosh its boring.

Eating more fibre and protein did it for me. Also 3 normal meals a day. I snack much much less. Rarely eat take out or ready meals. This week for various reasons has been quite chaotic so after 18 ,oaths of so of being 90% a diet of high fibre and more protein it's been more ready meals/irregular meals and the food noise has come back.

@TimeForATerf well done on your weight loss. Really sorry to read that the food noise has returned for you. I am on Mounjaro but have at least another year to go as I was very very fat when I started. Hope that you can keep going re your health, you have obviously done so well. Are you considering going onto a maintenance dose?

Re comment above I'm not on jabs. 3 stone overweight and have lost 2.

@CheshireSplat you have described exactly what it is like for me. Trawling cupboards and the fridge, filling in idle moments and reacting to stressful situations by eating, these things just don't happen now. It is so strange. It's like a flip of a switch. I've gone from thinking I was greedy and weak, to realising I had a physiological problem that is fixed by Mounjaro. I would not believe it if I hadn't experienced it.

Thank you everyone.

I will work on upping my fibre and protein. I don't think my diet is as good as I think it is...

School office thank you. Your post is helpful. I don't think I have a physiological problem (lucky me) but a psychological one. I think I can flip my switch by visualising what it is like when the food noise goes quiet. (Plan A.)

The "boring" comment from Terf sounds like something I can relate to. I don't want it to be boring, but that is Plan B. Hopefully Plan A will work.

Thank you Dahlia that is really helpful. We're a virtually veggie household, not veggie, but environmentally and animal welfare conscious, so I think I'll up my meat content a little.

OP, if you are weird then I am too, because as soon as I started reading these threads about injections and food noise, something flipped in me and I have been viewing it as a kind of placebo effect. Thank you for articulating it.
From a psychological point of view, I think you could see the food noise as belonging to an early maladaptive schema, to a stress survival mechanism, or to a way of soothing upset emotions. Or for a psychological perspective on a biological process, as a body behaviour that was helpful once to survival.
The first step to changing them is to notice that they are there - so knowing that it is a noise that an injection can turn off makes it 'visible' to you and I and changes the game.
So just notice, for now, every time the food noise is on. And go, oh, look, that's that record playing again.
(Disclaimer, I don't think I have the worst food noise, and I have always been sensitive/ react to subtle shifts. I am under no illusion that this shift is permanent).

I've never used injections but I have lost weight and kept it off, and - sort of - managed to switch off the noise.
I have two or three days every week where I'm very strict with what I eat, so I ignore the noise on those days, basically telling myself I can eat whatever I like the following day but not today.
Sometimes the noise is very loud, especially at this time of year, it's not always easy.

My tactic on the strict days is to eat exactly the same food. If I had to think about what to have for breakfast, what to have for a snack, etc etc, then my mind would wander through all the things I can't eat and then it's difficult to not think about it which then ultimately leads to eating it.

I think I'll have to be on it for life, because I also believe I'm lacking in something that this medication provides for my body.

For me it's like when I was hypnotised to stop smoking. He made me believe that when I took a cigarette out the box I had handling dog poo! And you don't want to put that in your mouth. It's just a feeling if constantly being full and not needing anything. I have to set an alarm to eat anything at all. It's not all the time, last night I ate a burger from the takeaway, bun and all. Today we are going for a pub lunch and right now I can't see how that will be possible as I am so full and not interested. I'll probably just push a starter around and sip a glass of water.