The difference between hunger and “food noise”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi all,

I’m curious for those of you who are on GLP1s and talk about the reduction of food noise, are you talking about the constant thoughts about food even when you aren’t hungry? Or are you talking about being hungry too often when you’re actually hungry?

I used to have a lot more food noise (in the thoughts about food even when not hungry and sometimes small binges in the evenings when I was tired) but since being medicated for my adhd; I don’t have the binges anymore, but my appetite for real food is still as strong as ever. I eat a lot of healthy foods and don’t drink alcohol, but I’m 25lbs overweight despite it all.

So when people talk about reducing food noise with GLp1s, I know I’m done with the constant thoughts, but I’m still legitimately hungry even after eating solid balanced meals with plenty of protein and healthy fats and fiber.

I’m not a great candidate for the medication because of digestion issues, but I’m curious what people mean about food noise and how you define it.

Did your doctor say you are not a good candidate? Some people find their digestion issues actually get better with the drugs and some people have zero side effects. It could go either way, but you start out on a super low dose so you could always try if your doctor approved it. It would definitely help with the hunger.

And that's great about the ADHD meds! Mine did not do that for me.

[Anonymous]

I have a huge sweet tooth. I’ll eat candy all day until I’m physically ill. I started zepbound in February. I can walk past candy now and not want it. Before it’s all I would think about. If I ate a salad for lunch, I’d binge on something sweet. Now I eat a healthy meal and I’m done, I don’t think about eating again until dinner. It’s so very freeing.

[Anonymous]

Food noise for me was thinking a lot about the next meal, thinking about eating something in the cupboard because it's there, thinking about candy sitting in the break room while at my desk. Seeing food and wanting it. Just thinking about food a lot but not wanting to! I did not want to think about food so much. I never realized how much it bothered me until I was free of it. It's like an addiction but you can't remove the substance completely. You have to eat. Quitting alcohol was easier for me than controlling my food intake because it's everywhere and you have to partake.

[Anonymous]

I was hungry all the time. I would get up from a huge thanksgiving dinner still feeling like I was starving.

On glp1 for two years now and it’s been a crazy experience to finally experience not being hungry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Food noise for me was thinking a lot about the next meal, thinking about eating something in the cupboard because it's there, thinking about candy sitting in the break room while at my desk. Seeing food and wanting it. Just thinking about food a lot but not wanting to! I did not want to think about food so much. I never realized how much it bothered me until I was free of it. It's like an addiction but you can't remove the substance completely. You have to eat. Quitting alcohol was easier for me than controlling my food intake because it's everywhere and you have to partake.

All of this, plus I found a lot of the food tracking strategies for weight loss just made me think about food more. Always thinking about what I'm going to eat, when I'm going to eat it, what I ate so far today ... it's just food food food on the brain all the time. The thing I love about being on GLP-1 is not thinking about food. I think about nutrition when I pack my lunch, but then I don't think about food again until it's time to eat that lunch. Such a relief.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So why, after being on glp for a few months, doesn’t your body retrain itself to stop the food noise. If addicts can stop craving nicotine, alcohol or other drugs after being off them a while, why can’t it be the same with food?
And do glps switch your metabolism or do they simply cause you to eat less. For example, will I lose the same amount of weight if I eat 1200 calories with and without taking meds.

Do true addicts ever really stop craving? Some think about it for the rest of their lives even after recovery and it's a daily struggle.

I think OP described it correctly. People experience food noise in different ways, but for me it was like an addiction - thinking about it constantly and wondering when I could get it next, even when I wasn't hungry. Like a dopamine hit. The drug has mostly stopped that, especially in the first few days after taking it, and it's amazing. It also makes me less hungry - which is a separate thing but also helpful. But it doesn't stop hunger completely, which is obviously a good thing.

There has also been a lot of anecdotal evidence and studies showing that other addicts could be helped by this kind of medicine. Again it is anecdotal, but I barely drink at all anymore and I used to drink a good amount. I didn't even realize it until a few months in.

Yes. Meditation helped me to see that while one part of my body was craving, many other parts of my body specifically didn't want to continue. The realization that I had let one part of my body wrongly speak for all of it was life changing and ended my craving instantly. It's like my eyes were finally opened.

[Anonymous]

I think as women we are biologically wired to have food noise.


“Women often experience increased carbohydrate cravings during the luteal phase (pre-period) due to plummeting progesterone and estrogen, which lowers serotonin and dopamine levels. The brain craves carbs to boost these "feel-good" neurotransmitters, often leading to increased consumption of sweets, starches, and sugary foods to stabilize mood and energy”

“Many women experience increased hunger, cravings, or metabolic changes around ovulation (typically days 10–14 of a cycle). This is primarily driven by a surge in estrogen followed by a rise in progesterone, which can increase calorie needs and trigger cravings for carbohydrates or salty foods. Some may also feel hungrier due to a slightly higher metabolic rate“

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Food noise for me was thinking a lot about the next meal, thinking about eating something in the cupboard because it's there, thinking about candy sitting in the break room while at my desk. Seeing food and wanting it. Just thinking about food a lot but not wanting to! I did not want to think about food so much. I never realized how much it bothered me until I was free of it. It's like an addiction but you can't remove the substance completely. You have to eat. Quitting alcohol was easier for me than controlling my food intake because it's everywhere and you have to partake.

All of this, plus I found a lot of the food tracking strategies for weight loss just made me think about food more. Always thinking about what I'm going to eat, when I'm going to eat it, what I ate so far today ... it's just food food food on the brain all the time. The thing I love about being on GLP-1 is not thinking about food. I think about nutrition when I pack my lunch, but then I don't think about food again until it's time to eat that lunch. Such a relief.

Exactly! Any attempt to lose weight in the past had me tracking every bite, which led to a lot of obsessive behavior and guilt. Looking back at my WW days, it was horrible. And it didn't even really lead to any sustainable weight loss. Now that I'm on Zepbound I can eat in a (reasonable) calorie deficit without obsessive tracking and the scale actually moves.

[Anonymous]

I'm not on a GLP-1 because my insurance wouldn't cover it, but I am on Vyvanse for binge eating. It's been life changing. I used to think about food constantly. Even when I was eating a meal, my mind was already thinking about what I would eat next. If I had a craving, I could not stop thinking about it until I had it.

Now that I'm on Vyvanse I don't think about food. I eat when I'm hungry and I don't have overwhelming cravings for junk food. Someone brought donuts to the office the other day. I ate half of one and then didn't notice them the rest of the day. Without Vyvanse I would have been thinking about those donuts the entire day.

It's hard to explain to people who don't experience food noise. My mother doesn't understand at all. She thinks I just don't have any self control or will power. I know plenty of DCUMers think the same thing. All I know is that the medication is helping me have a normal, healthy relationship with food and I'm so grateful for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of it. I am physically not as hungry. I get satiated much faster, as as soon as I am satiated, I can stop eating. That can be mid-meal or mid-dessert. There is no desire to overeat, not even to the point of feeling full because feeling full does not feel great.

Psychologically, I also think about food completely differently. I used to be a stress eater. If I am stressed out, my first thought is no longer to eat a whole bunch of cookies and start eating them mindlessly. I still sometimes have thoughts of "I would like to eat a chocolate cookie" but then the thought usually passes without effort or overthinking it. If I do decide to eat it, I can stop at one cookie and it felt satisfying and great and guilt-free. In addition to now being a normal weight for the first time in a decade +, it's like a huge burden lifted in terms of my relationship with food, with no more weird feelings attached whatsoever.

What do you do now to handle the stress?