"For years, I thought something was wrong with me. No matter what I was doing-sitting in a meeting, walking the dog, or watching TV-my brain was busy debating food. Should I eat? Shouldn't I? I could just have one more bite, couldn't I? What should I eat next? I've blown it today, haven't I? I've failed again. Shall I just eat whatever I want and start again tomorrow? The chatter was constant. It left me exhausted, ashamed, and convinced that I was weak."
"In that moment, for the first time, I paused. I asked myself a simple question: What am I really hungry for right now? The answer wasn't food. It was comfort. Distraction. Relief from stress I hadn't dealt with. It hit me that food wasn't the real problem. The problem was the mental chatter about food, what many people now call food noise."
The brain frequently generates 'food noise'—urgent, repetitive mental urges that push toward eating even when the body is not physically hungry. These urges often arise from needs for comfort, distraction, or relief from unprocessed stress and boredom. Physical hunger presents as stomach growling and low energy, whereas food noise is specific and mentally persistent. Resisting the urges through willpower alone often intensifies the chatter. Pausing to ask what is truly needed—identifying emotional or situational triggers—can reveal non-food needs and interrupt the automatic eating response, enabling more intentional choices around food and self-care.
Read at Tiny Buddha
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