Food Noise and What It’s Telling You

Food noise can feel like a constant battle inside your mind. It may sound like thinking about the next meal straight after breakfast, craving snacks throughout the day, wondering what is for dessert at night, or feeling as though you have no control around certain foods.

In this episode, Nicole Moore reassures listeners that food noise is not a sign of weakness or poor willpower. Instead, it is often the body sending a message that something deeper needs attention.

Nicole shares her own personal experience with food noise, including struggling with hunger, cravings, bloating, tiredness and binging on bread, even while studying dietetics.

This helps normalise the experience for listeners who may feel shame around cravings, binging or repeated attempts at dieting. She explains that many people fall into a cycle of restriction, shame, dieting and binging, but the solution is not simply to “try harder”. The real work begins by understanding what is driving the hunger signals.

A major focus of the episode is insulin resistance. Nicole explains that when the body is exposed to higher amounts of carbohydrates over time, insulin can become elevated and unstable.

This can affect hunger hormones such as ghrelin and leptin, leading the body to feel as though it needs more food even when it has enough energy stored.

She also discusses how stress, cortisol, poor sleep, perimenopause, menopause, low vitamin D, low iron and insufficient protein can all contribute to food noise.

The episode then moves into practical strategies. Nicole encourages listeners to prioritise protein first, aiming for adequate protein across the day, supported by healthy fats, fibre from above-ground vegetables, and a lower carbohydrate baseline.

She also discusses the role of sleep hygiene, hydration, magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin K2, inositol, berberine, hormone testing and iron checks. Throughout the episode, the message is clear: food noise is not your fault, but it is something you can learn to manage with the right lifestyle, nutrition and professional support.