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In your effort to lose weight, you too may suffer from the phenomenon of food noise. See how you can silence this “noise” and make the right food choices.
One of the most common obstacles in the battle for weight loss is known as “food noise” . You may have heard the term somewhere. These are thoughts you have about food that often invade your mind uninvited and make it difficult for you to stay true to a healthy and balanced diet plan.
It is a “polylogy” of the mind, which constantly goes to fries and chocolates, disrupts your daily life and undermines your efforts to follow a healthy way of eating. People who suffer from food noise report as symptoms frequent thoughts of tasty and fattening foods , that as they eat their meal they may think about the next one, and that they often catch themselves going in and looking at the menus in various delivery apps.
If the food noise phenomenon has finally managed to distract you too, causing you to gain weight, silencing that noise is of great importance.
What does science say?
In research published in the journal Nutrients , researchers in the United States looked at the methods used in the study of human eating behavior to understand and define the non-scientific term “food noise”.
Extensive research into obesity treatments has led to the development of glucagon peptide-1 receptor agonists, or GLP-1RAs, which have been a fundamental step in weight control and the fight against obesity. Liraglutide and semaglutide , the two glucagon peptide-1 receptor agonists used to treat type 2 diabetes, have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for weight management as well . GLP-1RAs are thought to cross the blood-brain barrier, the cell barrier that limits the entry of substances into the brain , and in doing so regulate appetite and behaviors that use food as a reward.
As clinical studies have shown positive effects on weight loss associated with the administration of GLP-1Rs, anecdotal evidence records patients reporting a reduction in food noise, in other words the intense and persistent thoughts about eating food, which make them feel that food is at the center of their lives. These thoughts undermine the establishment of healthy eating habits and lead to overeating for emotional reasons.
How food noise leads to weight gain
Usually this happens because food noise results in excessive food consumption . This phenomenon is often so intense and intrusive that it directly affects your food choices. “Due to stress, you may feel the need to resort to unhealthy options for relief. The secret lies in how you respond to the food noise thoughts,” says David Creel , PhD, psychologist and nutritionist at the Cleveland Clinic. “The phenomenon of food noise is in itself a very important problem that can lead to obesity and other diseases.”
How can you reduce the volume of food noise
– Consume many and small meals
This practice can help you overcome the feeling of hunger or cravings that food noise thoughts can create for you . If you are hungry or have cravings and force yourself not to eat, you may eat a lot more when you allow yourself to.
– Adopt good habits
Drink plenty of water, try to eat three to four times a day, and consume enough protein and fiber to promote satiety .
– Avoid temptations
Don’t have snacks and sweet temptations within easy reach or in plain sight. If you can’t completely eliminate them from your environment, keep them in the deepest part of the cupboard or on the highest shelf . For example, if you love ice cream and want to limit it, don’t put it in the most visible part of the freezer so you don’t see it every time you open it to get something.
– Identify your eating patterns
Observe under which circumstances the food noise becomes more intense and more problematic. If it is when you watch a series , can you watch it somewhere in the house that is away from the kitchen? The goal is to break the habit so that you don’t feel the same hunger and desire to eat.
– Try mindfulness exercises
Use these exercises to identify the things that trigger these thoughts. If you can’t identify them yourself, ask a nutritionist to help you change some specific habits.
– Reduce stress and negative thoughts.
Use simple exercises and methods such as deep diaphragmatic breathing , meditation, a hobby, relaxing music or a short walk, which are always a good way to clear your mind and feel refreshed.
– Talk to yourself
Recognize the moments when food noise thoughts flood your mind and try to change them. This is of course easy to say but not so easy to do, so in this case you may need to turn to an expert.
