How to Quiet Food Noise Naturally

00:00Women in perimenopause, women in menopause, they will often report that they have a dramatic increase in food noise. Again, directly connecting to the fluctuating and decline estrogen that affects both appetite regulation and dopamine sensitivity. If your food noise gets significantly louder at specific times of the month or as worsened as you've gotten older, this is worth looking into. You're not eating enough. It's the most common driver of food noise and one that most women don't see as the root cause because it seems counterintuitive.

00:33If I'm thinking about food consistently, surely it's not that I need to eat more, right? But it often is. What's going on, everybody? Hey, you guys. What's up, my friends? Welcome back to another episode of The WarriorBabe Show with your host, Nikki Stott. And on these episodes, we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident.

01:05Today, today's episode came directly from one of you, a follower on Instagram. I put a Q&A box of, if you guys were to pick my next podcast topic, what would it be? And this one specifically came from you guys on how to gain control around food when your brain just will not stop thinking about it. And honestly, when I got this idea from you guys, I was like, this definitely needs a whole episode of its own because food noise is one of the things that so many women experience.

01:39And almost nobody kind of names out loud. I mean, it's definitely becoming more of a hot topic or hot phrase in the fitness space now, especially with like the GLP-1s, Nozempic, and Quiet in the Food Noise, etc., etc. It's like, oh, this is actually what's happening. Or it's just putting light to narratives that have been going on in people's minds that probably really didn't know was happening until someone labels it and puts it out there. So I want to dive into this with you guys.

02:09It's something that is happening. It's something that does happen. It makes food louder in your head than it needs to be. And yeah, today I just want to break it all down and give you guys some real tools on how to, one, acknowledge it. Yes, it's been there. And of course, now with the light of social media and these new drugs be on it, it's calling it louder. Now people are identifying that they have this problem and, you know, we could spiral on those things. I could even spiral on those things. But here we are and I'm going to help you guys work through it.

02:40Okay, so let me first just start by defining what we're actually talking about because food noise isn't just about thinking about food sometimes. It's a normal thing, you know, and that's what it should be. In my opinion, like just it's a normal thing. We talk about food. But for some of and a lot of for a lot of people, especially now with this being top of mind, it can be more constant. It can be intrusive. It can be relentless. It could be this nonstop like mental chatter about food that goes beyond normal hunger signals.

03:10It is it's like thinking about what you're what you're going to eat next while you are still currently eating. And it's like this this type of negotiation that starts the moment that you finish a meal. It's like, oh, was that was that too much? Should I have ate something else? Should I have maybe what should I have later? Like it just is it just starts to occupy your mental bandwidth when you're trying to focus on something else entirely. And for women dealing with this for dealing with dealing with significant food noise, it's generally exhausting.

03:43It's like having a conversation running in the background of your brain all day long. And it's like almost one that you didn't didn't choose to have and one that it's hard to turn off. And here's the first thing I want to just say clearly food noise is not it's not something that is meaning that something is wrong with your character flaw or proof that you like you're weak or you're obsessed with food or that you lack this type of self control. It's your brain.

04:14It's it's a signal from your body. It's your hormones. It's it's something specific that's driving it. So I don't want it to be this new like five people finding a reason to blame why they overeat or blame because of this the label of food noise. It's getting in getting in the fitness space or becoming this thing in the fitness space. It's your body, your brain, your hormones. Simple as that. Okay. And there is something there specifically driving it. Now the three main drivers I'm going to dive into with you guys, I hope will just open you guys up to different solutions.

04:49Because they do they each require different different things to be looked at. So the first thing I want to dive into you guys is the is you're not eating enough. I mean, point blank. I think that's why like, this has been something in our minds that's been going on for decades. But now it's got I'm going to keep going back to this because now it's got this label and now everybody is thinking about it and and turning it to this. But it's it's like, you can control it. You're not eating enough. It's the most common driver of food noise and one of them and one that most women don't see as the root cause.

05:25Because it seems counterintuitive. If I'm thinking about food consistently, surely it's it's not that I need to eat more, right? But it often is. And there's science behind why when you're not eating enough, whether it's overall calories, whether it's protein, whether it's both, your body activates a hunger signaling system. And it increases urgency, like the hormones, ghrelin, that drives your hunger, the other things that drive carbohydrate cravings specifically in your body.

05:57Those things ramp up when the body senses a calorie deficit and they do not stay quietly, politely in the background of your brain. And they get louder and louder and louder and they get more and they get more intrusive. They get more insistence that you follow through on them. This is your body doing exactly what it's designed to do, you guys. And it's it's it's meant to advocate loudly for the fuel that it needs. It's like, hey, you're not eating enough and I'm hungry.

06:27And so I'm going to signal these types of hormones or these types of things into your body to make it more loud so that you feed the body what it wants. The food noise that you experience when you are under eating is not you having a lack of self-control. It is your body's alarm system going off. And the form this takes is very specific. You are not just like genuinely hungry. You are preoccupied with food when it comes to this point. You're thinking about it constantly.

06:59You may find yourself mentally planning meals and snacks far in advance. Like I need to think about what I'm going to eat at 5 p.m. And it's only 9 a.m. in the morning. And you feel out of control around this, especially when it's in the evening time. Because by this point, you've often created a significant deficit throughout the day. And your body is frantically trying to address that. I mean, how many of you guys don't go all day, maybe having one or two meals. And by the end of the day, because you've been so busy, you feel so hungry.

07:29And like you can consume a cow, right? This is what's going on scientifically in your body. And this is why protein is key. Protein is the most satiating macronutrient. It is what suppresses ghrelin, which is your hunger hormone, more effectively than carbohydrates or fat do. So it's going to keep you feeling fuller longer. It's going to reduce the frequency and the intensity of the hunger signals. And it's just going to widen that gap of when you feel like you need to have your next meal.

08:02This is why I can't express this enough on how and why protein on so many different levels. I mean, you guys have heard me talk about this in previous episodes. Why protein is so important for so many different reasons. Women who consistently under eating protein almost always come back saying that they have higher levels of food noise than women who hit their protein targets daily and consistently. You guys could be eating both 2,000 calories in a day.

08:33Yet person A has a target of their body weight and protein. And they're hitting that and their food noise is lower. And the person B is just counting their calories. So majority of their calories are coming from fats and carbs and their protein is really low. And that person is going to report having higher food noise than the other person, person A, who is hitting their target every single day or consistently. So if your food noise, you guys, and this like this again, this dates back to decades.

09:04If your food noise is the loudest in the afternoons and the evenings, then I would audit your morning and your midday eating first. Like you are almost certainly not front loading enough protein and calories in the earlier part of your day. And so your body is compensating loudly later. That is what's happening. That is the quote unquote food noise that now has a name in the fitness space. But this is what's been going on for decades. For those of you that don't eat throughout the day or eat very minimally and you're very hungry at the end of the day.

09:38That is just your body internally being like, yo, feed me. But like also this is one of the most powerful and most underutilized fixes for food noise. More protein. Consistent meals. This is why like in episodes I've done around GLP-1s and Ozempic. Guys, this is the solution. You don't have to go on these medications or these drugs to eliminate this food noise. Just eat more food, more protein. Consistent meals.

10:09Enough. Eating enough is the fix. And I know it sounds so simple and too simple. But it works. And that's all you need to do. The second driver of food noise is more psychological. And it's one that the fitness and diet industry have actively created in millions of women. And that is the restriction mindset. And it makes food louder by making it forbidden. There's research behind this. And it's honestly, in my opinion, so freaking fascinating.

10:40There are studies on dietary restraint consistently show that the more rigidity there is to certain foods by labeling certain foods as like bad or not allowed or like off limits, the more mentally preoccupied you become with those foods. So like the harder you try to not think about something, the more your brain is going to think about it. It's just like, and I've used this comparison. It's just like me telling you to not think about a pink elephant.

11:11Oh, but what are you thinking about right now? A pink elephant. So tell yourself you cannot have the cookie. Guess what? Now you're thinking about the cookie and how much you want it. And then the fitness industry is like, you're not motivated enough. You don't have enough willpower, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You lack self-discipline. Yeah, bro. It is just how the human brain processes you looking at something as bad or wrong or off limits. You're going to want to do it. And women who have been in a diet culture for a long time, women who have spent years categorizing foods as good or bad, clean and dirty,

11:50you being allowed to have it or not allowed to have it, often have the loudest food noise. Because every restrict of food that you've come up against becomes a forbidden object. And forbidden objects are like, they're magnetic to you. You want it. You can't stop thinking about it. And the fix here is counterintuitive, but it is supported by decades of research. Reducing the rigidity around restriction reduces the mental preoccupation with food. Food, not eliminate, you don't, please, please do not.

12:22And we need to fix like, it has nothing to do with bad foods. It has everything to do with the habits and this concept around those foods. You're not eliminating the structure because the structure is how you make progress. But you're shifting from a rules-based relationship with food to more of a value-based one. A rules-based relationship sounds like I can't have that. This is a rule instead of a diet that I am on. I can't have carbs. It's not in my plan. I've already had too many carbs for the day, so I can't have that cookie.

12:54Instead, what it should be switched to is a value-based relationship that sounds like, well, I want to hit my protein. I want to feel energized. Does this fit into it? Is this actually what I want right now? Right? For the way that I look about it is I know that if I consume a whole bag of Sour Patch Kids, I'm going to feel like absolute dog poop afterwards because of now because of how my body has adapted to the sugar intake, it's different than where I was 10 years ago. But tell me 10 years ago, oh, you find me eating a whole bag of Smarties. No problem.

13:25I don't want to eat that because I know how I'm going to feel afterwards. So it's like I'm not looking at ice cream or Sour Patch Kids or cookie as bad. I'm just like, no, I'd rather not have that because it's not going to make me feel good. That's different. Rather than be like, that's not a part of my plan. I can't have that. Quick break. If you're finding this episode helpful so far, it would mean a lot if you could hit pause for just a second, leave a quick rating or a review or share it with someone who could benefit from it.

13:59Your support helps more women discover these tools to build muscle, lose fat and feel confident. Thank you so much for being a part of this journey with me. When food is a choice made from values rather than looking at it like it's a restriction enforced by rules, then this object dynamic, this like forbidden object dynamic will dissolve. You can have the thing. You choose not to or you choose to have it intentionally. Either way, the noise quiets because the thing is not off limits anymore.

14:34So it starts here. It starts here. It starts by you being like, okay, well, no, I just don't want to have that because it's going to make me feel good. Same with like alcohol. It's all a choice. You have the choice rather than being like, no, this is bad or this is off limits or I can't have this or this isn't a part of my plan. You get what I'm saying? This is one of the core principles of sustainable. This is why I love macro tracking. And one of the core principles of sustainably doing it right. It's not a list of rules, guys.

15:05It is a framework that gives you information to make choices. And choices quiet food noise in a way that rules never can. This is why I stand 10 toes deep and I will die on the hill of macronutrients. This is why I created a whole product on the macro method to teach women not another diet, but a skill set that will serve you for the rest of your life. So if you want to learn more about that, go to worrybabe.com.

15:37Check out the macro method. It's $27. I'm even going to link it below this video for you. It's a no brainer. Now, the third thing is hormones and blood sugar. So the driver is more physiological, right? And this one is, I feel like women haven't connected this to their experience around food. So, I mean, this is a big thing in a lot of nuanced research when it comes to women, especially perimenopause, menopause, metabolic health, with this blood sugar dysregulation and hormonal imbalances.

16:13They're the two most significant and most under-recognized drivers of food noise. Ladies, are you feeling frustrated with body changes you're experiencing during menopause? It's time to take control. If you're between 45 and 65 years old and tired of struggling with body fat and muscle loss, Warrior Babe is here for you. At Warrior Babe, we've helped over 18,000 women just like you lose body fat, build toned muscle, and understand their bodies better with personalized plans based on hormone and thyroid testing and more.

16:54Imagine knowing exactly what your body needs to see real results and results that last. Look, don't wait anymore. Take charge of your health and join our community of strong, empowered women. Visit warriorbabe.com forward slash apply today to start your transformation. That's warriorbabe.com forward slash apply. All right, let's get back to the show. Especially the ones that are, that come in more intense ways rather than like they're just steady, quiet background hum.

17:29Like everyone I think has a steady background hum. But with these two factors, like they become more of an intense like waves. So blood sugar dysregulation, it looks like this in terms of food noise. Like you eat a meal that is high in refined carbohydrates and low in protein and fat. And your blood sugar is going to spike quickly. And then during that spike, your blood, your body releases like a surge of insulin to manage that. Your blood sugar drops sometimes below from where it started.

18:04And then this type of thing called reactive hypoglycemia happens. And that drop triggers a powerful, urgent craving signal. And it's not like a gentle hunger. It's like an urgent specific, I want sweet food targeted noise. And what this cycle looks like is spike, crash, you get a craving. Spike, crash, craving. How many of you guys feel like I am speaking to you right now?

18:39And this can run all day in women who are eating low protein and high refined carbs. Eating in that type of pattern. And that food noise, that result can make you feel completely out of control because it is being completely driven by your biochemistry in your body, not by your choice. I mean, it's your choice to have the low protein and the high refined carbs.

19:09But this feeling of the out of control is because you are constantly spiking and crashing your blood sugar. And so your body is like asking for more because it needs to find stabilization. Okay, so the fix to this is what do you guys think I'm going to say? Like I could speak this until I'm blue in my face. And again, another hell and will I die on? The fix is you're building every meal around protein and fiber first.

19:41They both slow down glucose absorption. They will blunt the spike and prevent the crash. A meal that you build around protein like chicken, eggs, fish, yogurt before the carbohydrate produces a significantly flattering blood sugar spike and curve and dramatically less feelings of out of control, like or dramatically more feelings of out of control. This will help to lessen the food noise.

20:16I know majority of women experience this. This is what's happening with this in the background of your body internally in the fix is protein. And the hormonal piece of this is also pretty equally significant. So when it comes to the hormone piece of it, estrogen and progesterone both influence your appetite regulation and the dopamine signaling around food. So my friends who experience other periods on a monthly basis, women who are in the luteal phase of their cycle, like the two weeks before you get your period, you guys experience a natural drop in your serotonin that the brain tries often tries to compensate for driving carbohydrate cravings.

21:02So how many of you guys are like, oh, my appetite for sweets and chocolate and all the things increase around my period? This is why. Again, this is not you being weak and not having a lack of self-control and not all the things that you think are wrong with you. It has nothing to do with that. It is hormonal chemistry. Women in perimenopause, women in menopause, they will often report that they have a dramatic increase in food noise.

21:33Again, directly connecting to the fluctuating and decline estrogen that affects both appetite regulation and dopamine sensitivity. So if your food noise gets significantly louder at specific times of the month or as worsened as you've gotten older, this is worth looking into. And nothing eats you problem, but investigating with the hormone conversation that we talked about in the doctor appointment episode that I filmed last week. I don't know when it drops, but the most recent one that I have filmed solo, right?

22:05Because again, it's not a willpower. It is more of a hormonal one that has a direct solution. What do your levels look like? And where are you deficient? And how can you make them better? Okay? So to bring this all together, you guys know that I'm practical, and I want you guys to leave with practical advice when it comes to understanding why food noise happens. But, and how to quiet it. The GLP ones, you know, they're tools.

22:35Okay? They're tools for somebody that will have a really hard time that may be extremely overweight to be able to dive into the food side of it, eat more protein, right? Be able to have the self-discipline in that aspect. So there's a tool and a resource for it. And that's what I've said in previous episodes when I've recorded episodes around those topics. But for more of my women that want to, that, you know, just need to make these tweaks during their nutrition, and like they don't have a lot of weight to lose, they just maybe have 20 pounds, or a little bit more, a little less.

23:10It's, it's just by making these, these little changes. Front load your protein. Eat more protein. Eat more protein. Eat on a consistent schedule. Don't skip your meals. Don't eat at wildly inconsistent times throughout your day, right? Keep, that keeps your body in a state of uncertainty when it, when, and thinking about when fuel is coming, which then is just going to keep the hunger craving spiking. So just like become, when you eat more consistently, it trains your body's hunger rhythms to be more predictable and less urgent.

23:45And so that noise is going to get quieter when your body trusts a food, it knows food is coming. I mean, this is why like, back in the day when I, like, I eat every two to three hours now. I learned that from my bodybuilding realm, but like, it still applies to the lifestyle that I live. Every two to three hours, my body is like, cool, I know I'm going to get food soon. Cool, I know I'm going to get food soon. And it builds that, like, trust up again, too. Did I say eat more protein? Eat more protein.

24:16No, but seriously, eat more protein. Another one is remove, just take, like, like, remove this forbidden food category. Just give yourself structured permission to eat it. Not, like, be intentional. No, have it planned. Okay, like, you haven't had a cookie in two weeks. Allow yourself to have the cookie. Like, you know what I mean? Like, don't, when it's allowed, it loses its power. When it loses its power, it stops being loud. Right?

24:46So think about that. Don't restrict foods because you're going to think about it harder. Just make a value-based choice around, is this going to make me feel good and energized after? And if not, then don't eat it. And, like, if you have a little off day on, like, a Sunday, okay, cool, Monday's a new day. Like, don't beat yourself up over it. Um, and the other things would be, like, I would get my hormones checked. I would identify triggers, right?

25:17Like, are they louder in specific environments? Watching TV, scrolling, being bored, are you stressed at work? Right? Like, identifying those things within yourself are going to help you to become more aware. And that'll help you to be driven into the right solutions to fix these things, okay? All in all, here's what I want you to take away from today. Food noise is you're not lacking willpower. You're not motivated. You're not this person that lacks self-discipline and self-control.

25:48It's not a character flaw. It's literally your body. It's literally your body telling you that it has a signal, and the signal has a source. And that is either under eating, you have a restriction mindset, you have blood sugar dysregulation, there's hormones that are imbalanced, or there's some combination of them all. And understanding that source is what will give you the ability to actually address it, rather than just, like, pushing yourself through it and letting these labels that the food,

26:20that the fitness industry is now putting on topics and these things to get out of control, right? And it'll allow you to just, like, work through it. So, yeah. Front load your protein. Eat consistently. Eat protein. But seriously, if you've been listening to this, and I think I said bro earlier in the episode. You know that I've gotten to that level of comfort with filming these episodes, being more authentic with how I really speak to my friends and my people. Because, man, I care about you guys. But really, if you just eat more, if you've heard these episodes, you guys have heard me say this over and over and over again.

26:53And protein is really important. So, yeah. Put this stuff in action. And I hope that it helps. And if this episode resonated with you guys, you know, share it with somebody. Share it with someone in your space, in your life, who you know is fighting this battle too quietly. And to the woman that sent me this, this idea or this topic on Instagram, I hope this message gave you what you were looking for. And I hope that it helps you. And, yeah, I just ask that you guys share it.

27:25I ask you guys to share this. And if you guys haven't asked this in a while, but if you haven't rated the podcast, please go rate the podcast. That's what helps this, like, stay top 10 in the fitness space, which have been holding steady for two, almost three years now. But, yeah, it keeps this front-facing for women to be able to hear these episodes and get the truth. That's all that matters if we get the truth out there. All right, guys. I love y'all, and I'll see you in the next episode. Peace out. Hey, really quick, before you go, I have one small favor to ask. If this episode brought you value or sparked something in you,

27:57take just a moment to hit that review button. Your rating and review make all of the difference, helping more women discover the tools they need to transform the fitness and their confidence. It takes less than a minute, but it can change the path of someone else's journey. Thank you so much for leaving that review. I appreciate you so much.

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