What is Food Noise? And how is it connected to weight loss?
I’m eating lunch. Munch munch, nom nom. Although actually I’m not thinking much about what I’m eating. I’m thinking about what I’m going to eat for dinner. I’m thinking about that brunch resy I have tomorrow. I’m thinking about turning that little sweet treat for “later” into a post-lunch dessert so I don’t have to feel sad about lunch being over.
Do you think about tacos and cheese and donuts all the time? Do you feel hungry and crave things incessantly?
Countless thoughts are banging around our minds all day and night like bumper cars, taking us for rides we don’t want to go on. And for most of us, a lot of those thoughts revolve around food. It’s called food noise.
But… but why?
Through a weird, circuitous route, scientists are beginning to study this “why.” It turns out that semaglutide (a popular weight loss drug) is quieting food noise. Some patients on the medication have stopped craving food altogether, prompting researchers to think: what causes food noise, and why might something like semaglutide be stopping it?
To answer this question we have to go on a weird, circuitous route ourselves.
So what about me?
If you’re struggling to lose weight, semaglutide has helped thousands of people (food noise there or not). Indeed, we have a calculator based on research that can give you an estimate of how much weight you could lose in the first 1-2 years. Alas, nothing in life is guaranteed, but the scientific evidence is promising. Our very own chief doctor takes semaglutide himself and has seen excellent results. Yup, that’s right–you can’t get world-class medical advice from our doctor and down-to-earth advice from personal experience. Schedule your intake appointment today!
More Than Just “Calories In, Calories Out”
Gaining weight is both simple and highly complex. We can say it’s a simple math equation: too many calories in and not enough out. This indeed leads to weight gain, but it’s not the only cause.
The body regulates weight in the part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which also regulates things like your heart rate, body temperature, and hormone production. It sits underneath the things that make us human—like the cerebral cortex responsible for language—but above the lizard stuff—like the cerebellum responsible for balance and survival urges.
The hypothalamus helps us achieve and maintain homeostasis, a word you might (or might not, no shame) remember from middle school science. Homeostasis is the process by which the body maintains a happy internal equilibrium—for example, making sure our bodies aren’t too cold or too hot.
There’s also energy homeostasis—the process that regulates when and how much we eat. Naturally, this is a multi-player game. We have a bunch of organs involved in digestion that send information up to the brain, which in turn sends information back down or makes certain “executive decisions.”
A very important messenger in this system is GLP-1, or glucagon-like peptide-1.
GLP-1 is produced in our small intestines after we’ve had a meal, and it acts like the messenger from our guts to our hypothalamus. GLP-1 receptors (the listeners) live in the hypothalamus and are stimulated by GLP-1 (the messengers). Once enough of those receptors are stimulated, an “I’m full!” message gets passed to and throughout our nervous system, including the areas of our brain that control our eating patterns. At this point, our brains tell us whether we need to burn calories or consume more.
This highly complex process happens entirely behind the scenes. It’s truly beautiful. But when it doesn’t work well—when the messenger is out to pasture or the listeners aren’t listening—our brains get really confused.
And as it turns out, a whacked out GLP-1 communication system may play a pretty big role in weight gain—both leading to weight gain and being exacerbated by it (vicious cycle, as they say).
You see, when your GLP-1 communication system gets all janky, your body will tell you you’re hungrier than you actually are; it’s giving you faulty information (scoundrel!).
And how are we supposed to make good choices when the information we’re given isn’t accurate?!
It’s like running a race on a rainy day when you were told it would be sunny and you’re left sloshing around in saggy, wet clothes, dripping hair plastered to your face, eyes squinted against the stream, squeaking your way to the finish line behind everyone else. Not exactly fair. Thanks a lot, body.
Hedonic Control
Well okay, that’s all about feeling full or not—i.e., food as an energy source. But what about food as pleasure?
The hedonic control system is the process that regulates how and when you eat for pleasure, not just sustenance. Previously, scientists thought that these two systems—energy homeostasis and hedonic control—were two separate and competing systems. But the latest research suggests that they are more connected than we think.
Indeed, GLP-1 receptors have been found in the neurons that handle hedonic control. This might not seem like an important discovery, but its implications are pretty wild. It means GLP-1 is a mediator between hedonic and central homeostatic controls. It means that GLP-1 doesn’t just play a role in when you feel full but also in the pleasure derived from food.
It’s not you, It’s science.
And now we can circle back to food noise.
Though a lot more research needs to be done, scientists speculate that food noise might be linked to hedonic controls. Maybe the reason why something like semaglutide—a synthetic look alike to GLP-1—quiets food noise is because it gets the brain and gut talking again. It gets us from the “hungry -> eat -> full -> but still want food, still think about food -> more food, please -> more food, please -> more food, please -> GAAAAHHHHHH” cycle of a GLP-1 system gone awry, to the “hungry -> eat -> full -> no hungry -> yay” cycle of a well-oiled GLP-1 machine.
I mean… just imagine a world where your body didn’t lie to you all the time. A world where you didn’t constantly feel hungry, where you didn’t crave and think about food all the time. Where your willpower and energy wasn’t constantly drained by the effort to withstand food temptations. At the end of the day it’s so much easier to decide not to go to Taco Bell when you’re not hungry and aren’t craving it.
So let’s shift the blame to a more appropriate target, shall we? If you’re struggling to lose weight, it’s not you; it’s science.
Yup, semaglutide is the key that unlocks weight loss. But there are two catches: it’s expensive, and it works best with some hard work . Lucky for you, ZipFit makes things a whole lot better.
- Ozempic® (brand name for semaglutide) can cost ~$1k / mo, and it can be pretty difficult to get it covered by insurance when prescribed for weight loss.[*] At ZipFit, we keep the prices down.
- Semaglutide can be effective for weight loss on its own, but the best results are seen when paired with healthy eating and exercise. “But healthy eating and exercise are hard!” Darn right they are. Which is why ZipFit offers a comprehensive wellness program—with check-ins, resources, and personalized coaching—to help you achieve your wildest dreams.
* Ozempic® is FDA-approved for diabetes only, not weight loss. It’s safe for weight loss and thousands of doctors prescribe it for weight loss alone, but insurance only kicks in for diabetes patients.
Disclaimer: The content in this guide is not intended to be medical advice, but rather is meant to inform and inspire you so you can implement positive and sustainable lifestyle changes. ZipFit, in this article, is not acting in the capacity of a doctor, licensed dietitian, or nutritionist, psychologist, or other licensed or registered professional, and the advice provided in this guide is not meant to take the place of advice by these professionals. Any statements or claims about the possible health benefits obtained from any foods or supplements mentioned in this guide have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Any dietary changes or potential dietary supplements use should be discussed with your doctor, and you should not change or discontinue usage of prescription medications without first consulting your doctor.
