26 October 2026 • Full Moon in Taurus
Energy to reconnect with our physical senses and being
For a really long time I kept thinking that my eating disorder was a misunderstanding, that doctors misdiagnosed me and my family exaggerated the problem and that actually things weren’t as bad as they seemed to be.
I now understand this as denial, which can also occur in disordered eating. Anyways, my point is that some of the things that make up disordered eating seem so normal or so easy to “integrate” that our mind has no problem mistaking them for “it’s just what it is”.
Food noise for me was one of these things, something quietly ticking away in the back of my head, like it belongs there yet taking up an enormous amount of my energy, concentration and life joy, a thief really.
Once it was gone I finally had enough distance to see it for what it really was.
So what is food noise?
It seems like it's a buzz word but let me assure you it’s not.
Food noise for people living with it might sound like:
Constant thoughts about what you want to eat.
What you can or can’t eat, what you should be eating (“healthy” instead of the cookie you actually want).
When you can eat.
Why you cannot have a big dinner even if you are starving.
Clocking what other people eat around you.
Wondering how they can eat so much or so little.
Recognising when other people (like you) make up stories like “I have already eaten” that feel familiar.
Wishing you could be free around food like the person sitting across from you in the subway, mindlessly munching on a bag of chips while reading a book.
Feeling extremely upset if your meal plan somehow gets thrown over. Like when your husband starts cooking something else, but you had planned your entire day to let yourself have that dinner you have been craving, and staged your breakfast and missed your lunch for it.
And more…
Food noise can be all-consuming.
It feels like a nagging voice in your head, a control freak holding you hostage, and if you don't obey, the FEAR is so big that you simply cannot get away from it.
So where does it come from?
For some people, food noise is closely connected to body image struggles and disordered eating.
The constant fear of weight gain, obsession about appearance, fitting into a certain clothes size and restrictive eating behaviour can all contribute to it. Family dynamics, health advice and diet culture can also fuel the obsession around food in your mind.
It can be amplified by the behaviours attached to it, for instance, the need to control what you eat to feel safe.
This is not a diagnosis and not medical advice.
What about GLP-1 medication?
When we talk about food noise these days, it’s hard to ignore the hype around GLP-1 medications and their ability to quiet it. And yes, some people experience a significant reduction in food-related thoughts while taking them.
But I think it’s worth looking beyond the noise itself. Quieting the thoughts is not necessarily the same as understanding where they come from, or changing the relationship with food and your body that sits underneath them.
My concern is that we can become so focused on making the noise disappear that we miss the bigger picture: the fear of weight gain, the rules around eating, the constant monitoring of our bodies, and the belief that we need to control what we eat to be okay.
For me, there is another question worth asking: what would it mean to feel freer around food, not just because the noise is quieter, but because food no longer has so much power over your life?
Can things change?
My love, if you are nodding along to any of this, I want you to hear this: it is possible to change your relationship with food. The noise can become quieter, the fears can lose some of their power, and you can begin to experience more freedom around eating.
And if you can relate to some of it but wonder, how do I know if my thoughts about food are taking up too much space?
Because food and thoughts around food are part of our normal life, sometimes it is hard to distinguish between thoughts around food and meal planning and food noise.
I would love for you to reflect on the following questions (get your journal out and let’s go…)
A moment to reflect
You might like to pause for a moment and consider your own relationship with food.
How much time and mental energy do thoughts about food take up in your day?
How do you feel when you eat something you hadn't planned to eat, or when your food plans change?
Do thoughts about food influence your choices, your mood or your ability to be present in other parts of your life?
If food took up less space in your mind, what might you have more room for?
How do you begin to quiet the noise?
Maybe you've just caught a glimpse that the constant chatter in your head about food doesn't have to be a permanent fixture in your life. And perhaps you're wondering how to begin quieting it.
The first step is awareness.
Start noticing the chatter in your head. What is it asking of you? When does it get loudest? What situations make it more intense, and what behaviours does it push you towards?
Understanding what drives the noise can help you see the patterns behind it, rather than simply trying to fight the thoughts themselves.
The second step is deciding whether you're ready for something to change.
Do you want to keep giving so much of your time, energy and headspace to food? Or are you curious about what life could look like if food didn't have quite so much power over you?
You don't have to wait until things get worse to explore a different relationship with food.
If you're ready to take that next step, I'd love to help you understand your own food noise and explore practical ways to reduce its hold on your life.
Ready to quiet the food noise?
You might already recognise how much space food takes up in your mind. But knowing something is going on and knowing how to change it are two different things.
That's where my Food Noise Strategy Package comes in.
This focused, two-session coaching package is designed to help you understand your own patterns around food, explore what might be driving them, and start finding a different way forward.
Together, we'll:
Make sense of your food noise. Identify when it shows up, what triggers it and how it influences your everyday life.
Explore what's underneath it. Look at the beliefs, fears and behaviours that may be keeping the noise going, including the role body image and the need for control can play.
Find ways to interrupt familiar patterns. Explore practical tools and alternative responses you can begin using when food noise gets loud.
Create a starting point for lasting change. You'll have strategies to practise in your everyday life, helping you build a relationship with food that takes up less mental space and leaves more room for living.
The aim isn't to fix everything in two sessions. It's to help you understand what's happening, know where to start and have practical ways to keep working towards more freedom around food long after our sessions end.
Food Noise Strategy Package | 2 × 45-minute sessions | US$150
If you're ready to explore a different relationship with food, I'd love to work with you.
