What does food noise mean?

[NCScout]

I’ve heard the expression ‘food noise’ and this is why some people are larger and other slimmer people don’t have this. Please can someone explain this to me? If anyone could direct me to a book that would be great. Many thanks

Good noise is people internally or externally focused on food, what’s for lunch, what snacks when can we have dinner, is there pudding.

People literally turn off the internal voice wanting food.

Food noise is an expression used to describe the constant thoughts about food.

my experience of dieting prior to Mounjaro was

• be offered a piece of cakes say ‘oh no, I’m dieting’, stare at the cake, regret saying no to the cake, remind myself I’ve eaten I’m fine, want the cake, eat something else, still want the cake, mouth watering, stomach rumbling, eat something else healthy, regret saying no to the cake…..3hrs later still thinking about the cake, swing into Morrisons buy a slice of cake, eat it in the car, feel horrible about self, still hungry mouth watering, stomach rumbling…..

My experience since starting mounjaro

• offered a piece of cakes say ‘oh no, I’m dieting’, eat salad. Dont think about cake at all, go about my normal business focused on work or whatever I should be doing.

If you don't know what it means, you haven't had it.

It's when thoughts about food are always in your head, no matter what else you are doing. As an example, as soon as you've had breakfast, you're thinking about lunch. Ruminating over what you might have, craving certain things, wondering if it's healthy enough, mentally writing your shopping list, changing your mind for something else etc. It goes on until you actually eat, and then you're thinking about dinner... Or it might not always be about craving food but thinking about the calorie or nutrient content of food, or about how you can make yourself eat less, what food swaps you can do to be healthier.

I don't know if I've explained it well enough, but basically thoughts about food take up a disproportionate amount of headspace. It's like an obsession and you don't want to be thinking about food all the time but you can't get rid of it.

Thanks all, that explains it well. @SharpLily yes, I don’t have this although I am overweight, I think I just eat the wrong food and portion size. The only time I’ve lost a good amount of weight is when I was on Keto and didn’t feel like eating as often but I wouldn’t describe my thoughts as food noise.

It does seem like how my teenage DS (13) who on the 90% percentile ish for his weight but still just within a healthy weigh thinks about food. It’s constant. I know he’s growing but he plans his meals and snacks in advance, constantly talks about what he is having next etc.

I’m on mounjaro and the suppression has just started to wear off a little (not every day). The noise I’m getting is about wanting unhealthy snacks rather than needing to just satisfy a hunger pang. So it’s “I want a big bag of crisps” as opposed to “some Greek toast yoghurt will do”. I’m fighting it!

When I started ADHD medication my food noise immediately stopped - along with various other compulsions. I mean from day one, like flicking a switch. I have come to realise it was a part of the condition in my case. Interestingly a lot of women have said that taking weight loss injections has improved their ADHD symptoms, by which I think they mean it's stopped some of their compulsions, particularly food.

Is there a reason/theory why some people have it and others don’t?

That’s interesting @SharpLily I've often wondered if he has ADHD. I did ask at the school and they said no. I think because he does quite well and isn’t disruptive.

I'm on weight loss injections now but before I had horrendous food noise. Even if was "being good" and eating healthy and moderately, I would be constantly thinking of food. It was an endless battle in my head, eat, don't eat. Even if I'd eaten something filling, I'd be wanting something else...if something tasted nice I wanted more. The injections have stopped that. I still have to use some self control and willpower but it's a million times easier.

And yes, like you said op I'd love to know why some people are like this and others are not?

I think anyone who worked that out would be able to exploit it and make mega-riches! We're all built differently.

I wasn't disruptive or hyperactive, neither was my daughter. Inattentive kind shows itself differently. It's probably worth looking into.

You can’t work this out all by yourself @NCScout

sheesh

I have it. I'm dieting by calorie counting but I'm always thinking about my next meal, needing to check what calories I have, what I can eat in those calories. Especially focused around sweet treats and I obsess a bit about making sure I have enough calories to have a sweet treat after dinner.

I go on my tesco food shop app and add tonnes of stuff to my shopping order (which I inevitably remove the day before delivery) but its like the need to window shop for food.

I have the willpower to not let the noise "win" but fecking hell it's constant.

I thought I didn’t have it until I went on wegovy. Now I totally get what they mean. My desire for food is completely switched off.

Thanks for starting this thread. Interested in hearing people's experiences of it. I've had this when a bit heavier and it did my head in. Personally I put it down to sugar addiction and subsequent metabolic issues. It can start back any time I eat too much crap for a week or so.

I have this all the time too. I am slim, and stay that way because although the food noise is very very powerful, my desire to be healthy is stronger. It's very hard though.

I can see why it would be easier to stay slim if you don't have food noise all the time, but just to say it is possible to conquer it even if you do experience it. Don't feel defeated!

@Cedrabbage why don’t you have food noise now, do you think? Are you on injections or have you lost the weight and it disappeared?

Sorry @Cedrabbage I see you think it was a sugar addiction. That also makes a lot of sense.

For me food noise is knowing there are crisps/biscuits I like in the house and them seeming calling me until they are all gone. Knowing that I could buy chocolate or crisps etc egg out and about. I wouldn’t buy biscuits or crisps I liked because I would know they were there constantly. Though I’ve also eaten crisps I don’t like to get the hit! If my husband snacked on an evening - I would have to have some also, hungry or not. On SW I moved that onto fruit - I would need to eat 1or 2 pieces of fruit when I saw the fruit bowl, and soon plateaued in weight. So I think it is a sugar addiction thing like someone above said. On MJ and the food noise switched off, but as I’m getting used to the doses I’m noticing it creep back a bit.

I think quite a lot about food (I have a lot of noise in my head in general) but I always assumed it’s normal - we are evolutionary programmed to seek food, it’s the same as thinking about sex, we are meant to survive to propagate our genes, right? As a species we’ve only lived in the times of food abundance for a short while, before massive overproduction of food people who were not interested in seeking food and planning their next meal would be at evolutionary disadvantage.

I think what @CortieTat says makes sense. People who don't have 'food noise' are probably in the minority.

I don't think that's the same. There's thinking about food and obsessing about it. Once you've removed the food noise, however you do it, you realise quite how abnormal it is (and very shameful). I coud never explain it to anyone in real life. This thread is the first time I've really talked about it.

The majority of animals also think about food constantly, a cat for instance will always prefer to hunt, even if already full or with fresh prey. Anyone who has a cat with unrestricted access to food in most cases end up with obese cat. We use the food noise animals have to our advantage by keeping farm animals and fattening them.

Why should humans be different from animals? Our ancestors were hunter-gatherers, a hunter who doesn’t think about food a lot wouldn’t be motivated to cover often long distances to track wounded prey. We still retain preference for moving food and find food that moves more attractive - most food advertisements utilise this preference.