Do you think about food all the time? The signs of “food noise”, this unhealthy relationship with food
Despite ourselves, our days are partly guided by our diet. Our schedule is punctuated by our meals, our thoughts are oriented towards our hunger, our menu and our shopping sometimes represent real headaches. But since we think a lot about food, we tend not to notice when our thoughts become problematic.
Unhealthy relationships with food are often portrayed through the lens of eating disorders, such as anorexia, bulimia or overeating, but there are many nuances that are rarely considered. Understand when diet is a problem is essential to cure.
Recognize “food noise”
“Food noise” is the term for mental chatter that concerns food and eating behaviors. If it is not disturbing when it is similar to occasional background noise, it becomes more disturbing when it is loud and omnipresent. “Food noises are intrusive thoughts in your brain about food,” summarizes Shauna Levy, doctor, for Everyday Health. It’s the voice in your head that makes you think about what you’re going to eat for lunch while you’re eating breakfast.”
This mode of operation can go back so far that it is sometimes difficult to realize for yourself that you are adopting this mode of operation. For Very Well MindObesity doctor Michael Glickman listed signs that can indicate a food noise that is too loudt :
- You wonder if you ate too much.
- You are constantly wondering when you are going to eat, what you are going to eat, if you have eaten enough, etc.
- You constantly think about food to the point of exhaustion and/or emotional distress.
The consequences of this relationship with food on well-being
All these thoughts about food not only result in to occupy our minds a little too much. “Constant thoughts and food noise tend to create judgments, negotiations and fear around food,” says Amy Goldsmith, a sports and eating disorder dietitian, for Very Well Mind. In an article on the subject published in the journal Nutrientsresearchers defined food noise as rumination and obsessive preoccupation with food. And, like any obsessive thought, food noise has immediate consequences on mental health. “This can have an impact on sleep, or lead to guilt, shame about eating or anxious thoughts,” reports Rachel Goldman, psychologist specializing in eating behaviors, for National Geographic. This can prevent a person from functioning to their best ability. »
In addition to the stress and distress that eating can create when you suffer from too much food noise, the way you eat can be directly affected. It can lead to overeating, impulsive and excessive eating because intrusive thoughts blur the feeling of hunger. It can also have the opposite effect with significant restrictions to combat shame and guilt. Finally, it may be linked to emotional eating which involves eating in response to psychological factors.