The truth about food noise…
Thinking about food and planning meals can be a source of excitement and creativity, but sometimes people experience overwhelming thoughts about food or constant “food noise” that can disrupt everyday life. If you feel significant stress or anxiety around deciding what to eat, find yourself wrapped up in tracking macros or calories, or just feel like you can’t escape thoughts about food, read on to find out some reasons this could be happening. As always, this is for general information purposes. Please book an appointment to find solutions to your specific needs.
Having a restriction mindset: let’s call it the “forbidden fruit factor”. There is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when something is off limits that makes us want it MORE. By putting certain foods on a pedestal, we spend more time obsessing over what we can have, and often end up eating more of it than if it was just part of our regular diet. In a 2006 study by Maastricht University, children who were restricted from eating red M&Ms ended up eating significantly more M&Ms overall than children who were allowed to eat all of the M&M colors. Even though all M&Ms taste the same, imposing any kind of mental restriction on our consumption can end up increasing our desire to eat.
Even if you’re not “on a diet” it is very common to self-impose arbitrary* food rules. Some of these rules we might not even be consciously aware of anymore. Subtle food rules can sound like:
I can’t have dessert two days in a row
I only have black coffee because liquid calories are bad
I don’t eat fruit because it has too much sugar
Cutting out whole food groups (carbs, fats, fruits, bread, desserts)
Always getting a “healthy alternative” to what you actually want to eat (frozen yogurt instead of ice cream, fruit instead of candy)
*This does not apply to people who need to avoid specific foods for allergies/intolerances or managing a health condition.
When we feel deprived, we spend more time thinking about what we can’t have, and that can drive vicious cycles of food stress, cravings, “willpower” and overeating.
2. Not eating enough!
Another common carryover from diet culture is the impulse to eat as little as possible. Often I see this manifest as having a small breakfast, a small lunch, and then feeling ravenous / out of control after dinner. People, and especially active individuals, often underestimate how much they should actually be eating to sustain themselves. For someone who requires 2,000 calories a day, this would break down to 3 500-calorie meals plus 2 250-calorie snacks. Someone eating a cup of yogurt for breakfast and a salad for lunch would end up at dinner with their body ready for the rest of its energy needs, often feeling unsatisfied and still hungry after dinner.
3. Considering foods “good” or “bad”
Puts an unnecessary stress on deciding whether any given food is “good” or “bad”, and also makes us take on that moral value when we eat a food. If someone wants a food but considers it “bad”, and therefore feels like they are “being bad” by eating it, they’ve effectively lost any joy from eating the food they were looking forward to!
4. Food Perfectionism / Clean Eating
Sometimes a desire to eat well can escalate into perfectionist tendencies and pressure to do better. At a clinical level, this is known as orthorexia, but sub-clinical cases are common too. If you feel anxious about eating a food purely for enjoyment and not a health benefit, it is possible you are being negatively impacted by ideas about “clean eating.”
5. Blood sugar dysregulation
People with metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, or highly reactive blood sugar can experience intense cravings due to the fluctuations of blood sugar and insulin. This “rollercoaster effect” starts when we eat a meal high in simple carbohydrates (sugars) which causes the blood sugar to spike, insulin is released, and the blood sugar quickly crashes, leading to cravings for more sugar to keep our energy up. Feeling “hangry” - (irritable, tired, and ravenous for carbs and sugar) and unable to make rational food decisions is common when this happens.
6. Stress and Emotions
Stress, strong emotions, and boredom are common triggers for food cravings. While food can certainly be a useful tool for coping with emotions, it shouldn’t be the only tool in the toolbox. Working with a qualified mental health professional can help build resilience to life’s stressors and find different ways to manage our emotional and stress responses.
7. Sleep Deprivation
Even minor sleep deprivation causes our hunger hormones to shift. We produce more ghrelin (hormone that increases hunger) and less leptin (hormone that makes us feel full), as well as increased cortisol which promotes insulin resistance. This is our body’s way of ensuring we have enough energy when we’re low on sleep as a survival mechanism. If you’re getting poor sleep and constantly feel like you’re reaching for sugar or carbohydrates for energy, this could be the culprit.