Food Noise and GLP-1s: What You Need to Consider

158 - Food noise isn’t just about hunger. It’s the ongoing conversation in your mind around food… the pull, the back and forth, and the mental drain that comes with it.

In this episode, I take a closer look at what’s really driving that experience and how GLP-1 medications are changing the conversation around weight loss.

You’ll hear a balanced perspective on:

• Why food noise can feel so strong (especially at certain times of day)
• What GLP-1s are doing in the body and brain
• Why many people feel relief when the noise quiets down
• And what still needs to be addressed for long-term success

If you’ve been asking yourself, “Should I try this?” or wondering what happens after the weight comes off, this episode will help you think it through in a more grounded way.

Because this isn’t just about losing weight. It’s about understanding your patterns so you can move forward without feeling like you’re starting over.

Ways to take this further:

Out of the Miserable Maybe Workshop – April 25

If you’ve been stuck in indecision, starting and stopping, or feeling drained from overthinking your next step, this workshop will help you get clear and move forward with confidence.
(In-person + online options available)

https://www.clarendasempowerment.com/courses/out-of-the-miserable-maybe

Complimentary 20-minute consult

If you’d like support with your health or shifting old patterns, you can book a free consult. I’ll help you think through your next step, whether we work together or not.

https://calendly.com/clarendasempowerment/exclusive-20-mins-session

You can always find out more at:

 https://www.clarendasempowerment.com/

Transcript

0:00

If you've ever said to yourself... "Should I have this? No. Oh, but it smells so good. No, just one bite, maybe two." Then you put it away. Suddenly it's just one more until it's then, "Why did I eat it all? Why? When there's so many calories in this?" If you're nodding, then you know what food noise feels like. In fact, I think most of us do, if we're honest. It's that constant back and forth in your mind around food. It's the pull, the draw, and then the negotiation that happens, followed by a defeated feeling of shame and blame. It shows up a lot when you're tired or stressed, or you finally sit down to relax at the end of the day. A common question I get is"Clarenda, is there a way that I can just turn this off?" I get it. That's exhausting when that's what's going on in your mind or in the background of your mind all day long. Before we get into where GLP-1s fit into this conversation, if you're newer here... I'm Clarenda Price. I spent 21 years as a Nurse, and now I work as a Life and Weight Loss Coach. Most of the women I work with are successful, capable, and used to handling a lot. But when it comes to their own health, especially weight and energy, they feel like they're constantly starting again. So my work isn't just about handing you another plan, it's helping you actually understand what's driving your patterns... so you can make changes that actually hold up in real life instead of only when you've had a good week. Welcome to episode 158, Food Noise and GLP-1s: What You Need to Consider. And hey, if you want to have a little fun, I'm gonna give you a heads up. I'm going to be saying GLP-1s a lot in this episode. So if you get a glass of water every time you hear the word GLP-1, just take a drink or two. By now, I bet you would've had 3-4 drinks in. So just see how many glasses of water you can do, giving you that little challenge. Okay, a GLP-1 is a hormone that your body already makes that helps regulate blood sugar, slow down digestion, and signals to your brain that you're full. The medications, the GLP-1 that you hear about are designed to mimic that hormone so that you'll feel satisfied sooner and think less about food. For a lot of people, they say that the food noise quiets down a lot. Some even say they don't have it anymore, so you can imagine the relief that they feel after it being so loud for years. So, to be clear, we're talking about the GLP-1 medication, which stands for Glucagon-like Peptide-1 agonist. That's about as technical as this conversation is going to get. Rather than go back into my nursing experience, I'm staying in my current lane, which is Life and Weight coaching. So sit back and relax. There's no judgment here, and this isn't about whether to take it or not. It's simply offering you things to consider. Some of you are on a GLP-1. Some of you may be thinking about starting a GLP-1, or maybe you're quietly watching someone that you know and are close to and wondering what you would do. So this isn't me telling you what to do, it's just helping you look at it from a few different angles that maybe you haven't considered yet. But let's stay with food noise just for another minute or so, because I think that's something we often will just skim over. We'll talk about what we're eating or what we've eaten, but we're not actually talking about or getting curious about what's going on in the mind while we're eating it or after we eat it. And that's often where the struggle is, right from the first sight of food or the thought about food to the completion. It's not just, "I want it, so I'm going to eat it." It's, "Oh, I want that. It looks so yummy." "Oh, but it's so fattening. No, I shouldn't." "Oh, but I, I just want to have that just this last time so maybe just a little." "I mean, I've been pretty good all day but I know I shouldn't. I'll probably regret it tomorrow. Nah, screw it. I'll just start again tomorrow." And if you have food noise, it probably doesn't just show up once a day or once a week, it can show up often. It is an annoying and draining chatter in the background. You may notice that the food noise gets really loud, maybe late afternoon or into the evening. Your body finally feels like it can slow down and play catch up after just being in go-go mode all day long. I found that the food noise kind of lines up with how I'm feeling, if it's been an intense day, then there'll be more intense urges or desire to just have something just to help us feel better. And more than physically drained, it's the mental drain. That's what really takes its toll. It's when you've been giving all day and now you're tapped out. Maybe something didn't go as well as you had wanted it to, or just plain didn't work out. So you have a lot of lingering disappointment, maybe resentment, and you just feel uncomfortable. So what usually happens next? Our brain offers us a very efficient and pleasurable option. It's a well-known, very much practiced coping mechanism that helps shift our feelings. It's not the only way, but your brain knows that it's the least taxing way on an already taxed mind. So when someone tells me I just need more discipline, maybe, but I don't usually go there. Because this isn't about you trying hard enough usually. It's about a pattern that's been there that's been repeated... a lot. Now back to the GLP-1 Medications. Maybe you've heard names like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound. And what you're hearing about people's experience is they're not as hungry. They're not thinking about food as much, and it just seems easier for them. And in many cases, that's true. These medications change how you respond to food. As I mentioned, they slow digestion, signal fullness sooner and decreases your appetite. They also affect the brain's reward response so that food doesn't have that same pull or urgency, which then results in the food noise quieting. So as you can imagine or are experiencing, if you've had loud food noise for years, then the relief of it quieting along with the weight loss feels like a Godsend. It feels like you can finally breathe again and focus on other things. I want to point out though, that these medications were originally developed for diabetes. That dates me back to my nursing years. Now they're being used for obesity, which medically is classified as a disease, not just a small amount or moderate amount of weight. I decided to do an episode on this because the questions aren't just, "Does this work?" It's "Should I do this?" I had a woman reach out to me that I didn't know personally. She was never part of my fitness classes and I'd never had an interaction with her before, but she said she'd been following me for about 15 years and just found it was inspiring. So I appreciated that she had the trust to, to reach out to me and ask,'cause I know that's not always easy. I always like to share exactly their words, so she said, "I've struggled with the same 40 to 50 pounds since I had my first child. I have a friend who's losing weight quickly on a GLP-1. I'm happy for her, but I'm also concerned. She doesn't look well, especially her face, and she's been avoiding getting together like we used to. At the same time, I can't help but wonder if I should take it too. I'd appreciate your advice." Of course, I referred her back to her medical provider who knows her medical history and can provide the best guidance for her. I'm not an endocrinologist. But I also acknowledge that yes, she's wavering because while she's seeing big results, she's also sensing something else that just leaves her feeling a little uncertain. The reality is some people get life-changing results while others have to deal with a lot of side effects and end up quitting and then having to deal with the rebound effect. Studies show that when patients stop, they regain about 70% of their weight. So that's something to consider when weighing the benefits and the drawbacks. GLP-1s can change your experience with food while you're on them. They can reduce the appetite, drastically reduce urges, and they can make it easier to eat less. But they don't teach you how to handle the moments that led you to eat in the first place. They don't teach you what to do when you're overwhelmed at 3 or 4 o'clock. They don't guide you on how to respond when you're frustrated and you want something to take the edge off. They don't teach you how to talk to yourself at the end of a day that didn't go so well. GLP-1s change the signal, but they don't build the skill. They don't rewire the circuit. I want you to pause and think about that for a moment. Because if food has been something that you've used to calm down to relax and you no longer can eat that food, you just don't have the appetite for it. What then? That pattern is still there. Now maybe you're thinking, "Well, I don't have to deal with that because I'm just gonna stay on this medication forever." Possibly, but we never know. And even if you stay on the medication, what do you do with the feelings that you have at the end of the day, if you don't have food to buffer with? And this just doesn't pertain to GLP-1s. I've seen this and experienced it myself over the years. Any of the quick fixes, any of the appetite suppressants, fat burners, or anything that's a short term solution. Well, I say a short term fix, not a long term solution. You've probably heard that 'things feel easier until they don't', and then what? Then it's like you're back to square one. And that can be very frustrating because you're thinking,"But I was doing so well." So what happens after? After you've reached your healthy zone. Depending on your medical history, and if you've been working with an endocrinologist, what they say, they will know more your body chemistry... you may stay on it forever, but you may not. You'll have things to consider like the cost, access and coverage, side effects. Both short term and long term, known and unknown. I know some people have said they worry about what happens when the appetite does come back. They've had previous experience with bariatric surgery. They're trying not to worry, but they can't help but thinking," How am I gonna handle that?" I also had a client come to me after being on a GLP-1 for at least a year, and then she'd been off of it and she just really struggled with her gut health. And she hadn't lost a whole lot of weight. She was dealing with unpredictable bowels, which kept her from wanting to go out throughout the day. She was kind of scared of having to know where the nearest bathroom was and how quickly she could get there. And her joints were inflamed, so it was painful. In fact, when I talked to her about increasing her water intake, she was like,"Oh, no, Clarenda. Like just to get up to go to the bathroom. I would have to get up more often, and it's so painful." I've mentioned her before and she's the one that, oh, we changed that. And she got her water in and she was decorating and organizing and doing all the things that just amazed her family, which was really fun and really awesome for her to experience. Now, that's not everyone's experience. I know that. But when it comes to my attention, it really does get my attention with my nursing background. And I also realize that because of her side effects, she wasn't able to get in the amount of protein that she needed to get. She wasn't able to build her muscle. So that was a real concern. Another thing to think about is if your appetite is lower, your body still needs to be nourished. So if you're taking GLP-1s,(which... are you drinking? Are you getting... did you get that?) I want to make sure that you are working closely with your medical team. You definitely need to increase your protein and also build your muscle, and there's research and all the science behind that as well. You also want to make sure you're getting adequate sleep. And measuring and watching your bone health. And how you feel overall in your body? That matters as well. So yes, weight can go down, whether you're on a GLP-1 or doing something else, that's all great as long as you're maintaining your muscle. A lot of quick fixes has the muscle depleting and the fat storage is still there. You're just decreasing your metabolism as you lose more muscle. You'll want to use a body composition scale, not just a basic scale that shows pounds only. You need the full picture to do this responsibly. The percentages will really matter, and it's really good to keep an eye on that visceral fat as well. I hope this helps you think it through so you can make an empowered decision for yourself. Everyone's DNA and hormones are different, so this isn't about saying,"Oh, you should and you shouldn't." or"Why are they doing that?" No judgment. Everyone work this out for themself, but do your research. Social media is buzzing on this right now. I don't want to add more noise to that. My goal is to help you, to empower you to make a decision that works for you. And whatever that is, that you have the support in place to help you navigate your health journey. Not just your physical body, but your mind. The mind and body are connected. We need to balance them both out. We need to take care and nurture both. We need to support both. Remember, it's not just "How can I lose weight?" It's "How do I want to live?" Let's just say your food noise gets quiet tomorrow. What do you think you would rely on when you're tired and yet you don't have food to turn to? It's not your go-to anymore because you don't have an appetite. What tools do you have to help you allow and process your emotions? What will you turn to when you're feeling lonely and discouraged? What would you do? That's important to have tools available for you. That's important to know and be equipped. Because you'll have those moments. That's life. And people tell me that it's really hard. It's really hard to navigate. They feel a little bit lost. They're happy that they're losing weight, but they feel emotionally and mentally drained from no longer having food as their comfort food. It's kind of like no longer having a security blankie. So do you have at least one glass finished? In the next episode, I'm going to actually walk you through whether you're on a GLP-1 or not. What actually needs to be in place so you don't feel like you have to start over. Also, so you can feel more confident and at ease that you're set up. That you know how to handle, how to kind of dance with the emotions and dance with all the things that come to you in life. And that you're not relying on willpower to get you through it. Willpower is finite, so you can't rely on that to just keep everything together. So you won't want to miss it. Make sure you've hit "subscribe" and that you've also hit the little bell to give you a notification. It'll pop up when I upload the next episode. Before we wrap up, I want to quickly share two ways that you can take this further. The Out of The Miserable Maybe Workshop is coming April 25th. This is for you if you've been going back and forth on something, thinking about what you should do, maybe starting and stopping and then feeling drained from all of that. Together, we can work on any area of life. It's not just about weight loss when you have a life coach and weight loss coach. You'll love the tool that brings clarity to why you haven't been doing what you say you are going to do or that you want to do, and you'll leave with clarity on your next step. There's both a small in-person option here in Fredericton, New Brunswick, as well as an online option. Space is limited, so I encourage you to register and then get this in your calendar so you can have it to look forward to. We had a great time the last time, so I'm really looking forward to doing this again. And if you want support with your health or shifting old patterns, I'd love to help you with your next step, whether we work together or not. You'll find a complimentary 20-minute consult in the show notes. I do work with a small number of clients, one-on-one privately, as well as in the Feel Light Mind and Body program. That's where we go deeper into this work on things like not just managing your food, but managing your relationship with food. I will see you in the next episode. Thank you for being here. And hey, share this episode with someone. Be a change agent. Be an encourager because we all need as much empowerment as we can get. All right, cheers, and I'll see you next week.