How to Turn Down Food Noise

Stacey Steiner remembers what it was like to hear shouting from the kitchen — even when she was home by herself. Certain items in her cupboards, fridge, and freezer would “call to her” until she got up and ate them, often when she wasn’t hungry.

“This was every single day, every moment,” she recalls. It didn’t matter if she had just eaten or was in the middle of eating. “The only way to deal with it was not having certain foods in the house. But even then, I would still think about them.”

Steiner, now 47, says she’d been ­experiencing a constant chatter nudging her toward eating — particularly sugary, ultraprocessed, and fried foods — since college.

This is an example of food noise, says Emily Dhurandhar, PhD, ­researcher and associate editor of the International Journal of Obesity. In a recent review published in Nutrition & Diabetes, her research team offered the following definition of the phenomenon: “Persistent thoughts about food that are perceived by the individual as being unwanted . . . and may cause harm to the individual, including social, mental, or ­physical problems.”

Food noise can feel incessant and inescapable. “Many people describe their experience like an itch that they can’t scratch, that drives them to distraction at the cost of other things in their life,” Dhurandhar says. “Their entire lives have felt as if they are haunted by food.”

According to anecdotal evi­dence, one of the notable effects of taking GLP-1 medications is that they often quiet food noise, and that can bring profound relief, she says. (Learn more about GLP-1s at “Considering a GLP-1 Agonist? Here’s How to Take a Balanced Approach.”)

Yet these drugs aren’t the only way to turn down the volume, according to Eric Pothen, a men’s eating-disorder recovery coach. ­Developing greater awareness around your relationship with food can offer relief. It can also help you establish a more easeful approach to eating.

 

HEED HUNGER CUES

A crucial strategy for reduc­ing food noise is to ensure you’re eating enough at regular intervals.

Food noise can develop when natural appetite signals are ignored, says nutrition and somatic therapist Heidi Schauster, RD, CEDS-C, SEP, author of the books Nourish and Nurture. She argues that what some consider food noise is really just intense appetite.

She describes hunger cues as alarm bells that tell us it’s time to nourish our bodies.

“Appetite can get noisy when people are restrictive around food,” she says. “That’s because the body and brain don’t like to be underfed. When this happens, we can find ourselves thinking about food a lot.” (Check out “Why Dieting Doesn’t Work — and Never Has” to learn more about landmark starvation study from World War II that provides a cautionary message for today’s low-calorie dieters.)

If you’re concerned about food noise, it’s worth exploring whether you might actually be experiencing a high number of hunger signals. Consistently eating enough can help reduce hunger-related thoughts.

 

IDENTIFY POTENTIAL TRIGGER 

Emotional stress, anxiety, boredom, loneliness, and shame can all trigger food thoughts, especially if you’ve relied on food as a coping tool in the past, says Pothen. Social media, diet talk, and body comparison can also play a huge role.

“One of the most helpful things you can do is start paying attention to when and why the noise shows up,” he says. “You don’t have to overanalyze it, but gently noticing the patterns — like, I always feel this way after scrolling, or I skip lunch and food noise ramps up by 3 p.m. — can be really eye-opening.”

Pothen suggests keeping a food-noise journal. Ask questions when the noise becomes deafening: What happened just before this? What thoughts are looping? What emotions are underneath?

Part of this exploration can involve delving into your food history, suggests ­Jessica Guerrero, NBC-HWC, wellness coach and Eating Freely practitioner. She says food noise might stem from growing up without enough food. Or from having parents who grew up hungry and then emphasized overeating so their children wouldn’t feel deprived. (See “6 Tips for Keeping a Mindful Food Journal” for more.)

“Food noise is often linked to the relationship with food you had in your childhood, and whether restriction or lack of food was involved,” she says. “Sometimes, simply acknowledging that can inform how you think about food now and why you may have that persistent food chatter that feels relentless.”

 

CULTIVATE MINDFULNESS

Rushing through meals, grabbing a snack whenever you have downtime (whether you’re hungry or not), and eating while distracted can all create a disconnect between the brain and the body, which might generate food noise later on, says Pothen.

He suggests practicing mindfulness while eating. Build an appreciation of flavors, textures, and aromas in a new way, he adds. This can enhance your enjoyment of food and eating — which some people coping with food noise might lack.

Mindfulness can also extend to what you’re consuming in other ways.

“We live in a culture that creates food noise through constant messaging about what we should or shouldn’t eat, body ideals, and the glorification of restriction,” he says. “Diet culture makes it nearly impossible to have a quiet, trusting relationship with food.”

Pothen also recommends avoiding social media feeds and influencers who use body-shaming language or post food “hacks” or extreme detoxes.

(For five more tips to help you slow down and eat more mindfully, see “How to Eat Mindfully.”)

 

PRACTICE SELF-COMPASSION

Food noise might get louder when you feel stressed or anxious, Pothen notes. So, it’s important to build a toolkit of self-care strategies that feel nourishing on multiple levels.

Much like identifying your triggers, it’s useful to explore what practices help turn down the volume. These might ­include journaling, taking a yoga class, going for a walk, texting with a friend, or simply resting.

A daily deep-breathing practice or body scan, in which you sit quietly and simply observe each part of your body in turn, can make a difference too, Guerrero adds.

“The aim for all of these is greater awareness,” she says. “You’re learning to pay attention to your body in different ways that don’t involve food and the potential emotional connections you have there.”

Steiner, for example, quieted her food noise through resistance training, which has made her feel stronger and more capable. She says that after decades of calorie counting, restriction, and labeling foods as “good” or “bad,” building muscle has helped her relate to her body in new ways. Instead of trying to whittle it down or control it, Steiner now sees her body as a source of strength and even joy.

“Quieting food noise isn’t about never thinking about food again,” Pothen advises. “It’s about giving yourself enough nourishment, compassion, and safety that food doesn’t have to take up all the space in your mind. Over time, the noise gets quieter. You start trusting yourself more. And life starts to feel a little more spacious, a little more yours.”