Food Noise - what is it and how to stop it

If you’re constantly thinking about food – what to eat next, how much, when, what you just ate – you’re not alone. For many people, this relentless mental chatter around food is called “food noise.”

It can feel like:

Thinking about food even when you’re not hungry

Feeling overwhelmed by cravings

Finding it hard to focus on anything else

Emotional eating, even when you don’t want to

And while food noise isn’t a medical diagnosis, it’s a very real experience for thousands of people – particularly those trying to manage their weight.

“Food noise” isn’t just a catchy phrase — it’s a way to describe a complex process in the brain where hunger, reward, emotion, and habit all intersect.

Key drivers of food noise include:

Low satiety hormone levels (e.g. leptin, GLP-1)

Blood sugar swings

Stress or emotional triggers

Diet history and restriction patterns

For people struggling with weight, this means the brain may be hyper-focused on food cues, even when you’re physically full.

Many people search for ways to “stop food noise naturally”, and while there’s no quick fix, some techniques can help reduce the mental chatter around food. Here are a few strategies that may offer some relief:

Mindful Eating

Slowing down and becoming more aware of how and why you’re eating can help break the cycle of unconscious cravings. Practising mindfulness at meals — focusing on taste, texture, and fullness — can help you feel more satisfied with less.

Sleep and stress management

Lack of sleep and chronic stress both ramp up hunger hormones like ghrelin while reducing the hormones that signal fullness. Getting more rest, and learning to self-regulate stress (e.g. through breathing teachniques or light movement), can quiet some of the physiological drivers of food noise.

Prioritise protein and fibre

High-protein and high-fibre meals can increase satiety and reduce blood sugar swings, which are often linked to cravings and obsessive food thoughts.

Consistent, nourishing meals

Skipping meals or overly restricting calories often backfires. A regular rhythm of balanced meals may reduce the intensity of food preoccupation, because your brain no longer thinks it’s being starved.

Therapeutic support

For some people, food noise is connected to trauma, emotional eating patterns, or disordered eating behaviours. Working with a therapist, particularly one trained in CBT or intuitive eating, can help build healthier thought patterns around food.

Be realistic about natural

The approaches outlined above can help, but they often aren’t enough on their own for people dealing with obesity, binge eating, or severe hormonal hunger.

That’s where medical treatment options like GLP-1 injections come in. They address the biological drivers of food noise from the inside out, which in turn can make it easier to engage with these natural strategies.

GLP-1 receptor agonists — like Mounjaro, Wegovy, and Saxenda — were originally designed to help regulate blood sugar in people with diabetes.

But patients quickly reported something unexpected:

“For the first time in my life, I wasn’t constantly thinking about food.”

Mounjaro and similar treatments work by:

Mimicking gut hormones that promote satiety and fullness

Slowing digestion, so you feel full longer

Reducing activation in the brain’s reward centres in response to food

Calming the neural ‘noise’ around food thoughts and cravings

If you’re nodding along to any of these, food noise might be a factor for you:

“I eat when I’m not hungry, just to shut the thoughts up.”

“I think about food constantly, even when full.”

“I’ve tried every diet, but I always feel like food is in control.”

It’s not your fault. But there may be help.

You may be a good candidate if:

You have a BMI of 30+, or 27+ with conditions like type 2 diabetes or PCOS

You’ve struggled with previous weight loss attempts

You’re looking for medical support with lifestyle changes

If you’re ready to quieten the food noise and take control of your weight and health, Mounjaro could be the tool that helps you get there. Our clinical team is here to support you every step of the way. Check your eligibility by taking our Free Online Assessment (no appointment needed; no need to speak to a Doctor).

If you have questions or you’d like some more advice and want to speak with someone. Book a free call.