What is Food Noise?
Written by Allison Easton, RD
You may be hearing the term food noise thrown around on social media, podcasts or with friends and family. Culturally this may be a newer term, however in the food relationship space it is something we have talked about for many years.
There are many descriptions or definitions of food noise that float about, which makes sense because each human is unique, and so is their experience. If we were to highlight a broad description of food noise, it may be something like experiencing constant, persistent thoughts about foods and eating that are ongoing and difficult to suppress. Often the terms rumination or obsessive preoccupation are associated with food noise.
Some examples of food noise may involve being preoccupied with or thinking about:
what you may eat at your next meal or snack
what you ate at your last meal or snack
what you saw someone else eat
the feelings of good and bad as they relate to food
a comment from someone regarding a food you were eating
a comment from someone regarding a food they were eating
what foods are in your pantry, fridge, or freezer
a food or foods that you have made ‘off-limits’
feeling hungry after eating a meal or snack and still thinking about food
feeling unsatisfied after eating a meal or snack and still thinking about food
Food noise may also be a combination of all the above – on repeat.
These thoughts can take up a lot of mental space which may impact your daily life and overall quality of life.
Food noise is not a medical definition. It is a term used to describe the experience of food related intrusive thoughts (FRITs) and the response to these thoughts. We often hear our clients say, ‘why can’t I stop thinking about food’? It can be emotionally heavy, and clients often feel very frustrated and helpless when living with food noise.
There is not a simple answer to this question because the experience of food noise is very complex. There are many things that contribute to these intrusive thoughts.
In our work with clients, we explore ‘what is the food noise telling us’? In considering this question, we examine several aspects of your experience with food.
Food relationship – how we think, feel, and interact with food – has there been a disruption or rupture in your food relationship
Nutritional adequacy – are you nourishing your body with adequate energy and nutrients
Satisfaction - are you nourishing with a variety/combination of foods that you find satisfying
Food cues and food environment – external and internal food cues and what foods are available to you as well as what food messaging reaches you
Genetics and medical influence – our biology – are there conditions that may increase the likelihood of food noise
Attunement – being aware, present, and connected to the experience we have with food and eating
Emotion regulation – food and emotion are intertwined – heightened emotion may directly impact food noise
Food noise is a response to a collection of experiences. It is often layered and can take time to understand and untangle.
Recognizing that food noise exists is the starting point for navigating it. Offer yourself permission and space to get curious about food noise – curiosity invites self-compassion which is integral to healing your food and body relationship. As a place to begin, think about some of the above considerations – how would you describe your relationship with food? Are you nourishing your body in an adequate way? Are there elements of your environment that may be amplifying food noise?
These questions can be hard when you are ‘in it’ - and the ‘ongoingness’ of food noise can also leave you with limited capacity to begin this process. If you are living with food noise and want support in unraveling the experience we would love to hear from you.
Additionally, we invite you to check out our Self-Compassion Workbook as another helpful resource to support you as you get curious with the questions above.
