Food noise is real and if you have never had to experience it then consider yourself one lucky duck! So let me start by defining what food noise is in my own words. In my opinion, food noise is those constant thoughts of food that just kind of like whisper in your ear constantly. Telling your you need a cookie or even 3 cookies or you need something to munch on or you need to bowl of popcorn, ice cream, or whatever. Or it can be someone telling you that you don’t need dessert or that ad on social media that is hinting at you weighing too much or even too little. It is all the chatter of the food related things instead of having the occasional hunger cues…it can also be the self talk that happens when making food decisions. Now, a lot of things can come into play here that can add to it as well such as mental health, medical issues, vitamin/nutrient deficiencies, special diets, friends/family, social media, society, etc. Food noise comes in all variations and it just hits you hard sometimes.

In my case I have been battling depression and mental illness of a very long time plus I have some health issues as well as I used to have a unhealthy relationship with food and the food noise! Depression and food do not mix very well…we all know depression is a liar…depression like to lie to you. Depression can also make the food noise louder and more intense! Eat the chips and you will feel better…yeah, for maybe a minute or 2 then your blood pressure creeps up or your blood sugar creeps up or you just feel yucky! See…a sneaky little liar! I have been there more times than I care to admit! I have eaten an entire bag of chips and I am talking about the 16 oz family size bag in one sitting before. And, yes, I felt awful pretty soon after. Now I am in a much better place with my relationship with food…I can calm the food noise. It takes a bit of work but you can get there…it is a journey.

First let me tell you what not to do…do not cut all the food you love out of your life. Because one day you will be struggling with the food noise and you may not be strong enough to resist and then eat that entire bag of chips. Instead have the chips just in a smaller portion. I weigh or count out just about everything out that goes on my plate…especially chips! Because let me tell your 1 or 2 ounces of chips is just as satisfying as the entire bag and it doesn’t have all the bad feelings attached.

One thing that has helped me is to know what a portion size is for all the foods I eat. I learned how to read a nutritional label. I tend to buy organic or, at least, non-GMO (or bioengineered) foods. Also, weighing (or counting) everything that I eat…not only are you holding yourself accountable but you are also keeping track of your calories and/or macros. Using an app making tracking calories and/or macros so much easier. I have used several different ones and haven’t been to impressed with then. I am using one right now and so far I love it…if you’d like the information and a coupon code send me an message with your email.

Please remember these are my opinions and I am not a nutritionist or a medical professional. I am just someone that wants to share my story and experiences.