How to rewire your brain to silence ‘food noise’, lose weight and keep it off for good – no fat jabs required! By leading diet expert SANDRA ROYCROFT-DAVIS

Before weight-loss jabs came along and changed everything, no one really talked about the concept of ‘food noise’.

When their attempts to lose weight failed, struggling dieters blamed poor willpower, sugar addiction, chocoholism, ingrained ‘wine o’clock’ habits or the 24/7 availability of delicious treats. 

Yet with increasing numbers taking GLP-1 injections such as Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy, scientists have discovered a striking side-effect – and one of the main mechanisms by which they work.

Astonishingly, these ‘fat jabs’ silence the constant food-related chatter that many of us have running through our brains. And, as if by magic, the desire to overeat simply disappears.

Food noise means constantly thinking about the next meal, planning detailed dishes in your head or believing that a big slice of cake will provide the comfort you think you need to get through the afternoon. Take all that away and it becomes so much easier to stick to any diet plan.

The problem isn’t gone for good, of course. Once you stop jabbing, the food noise returns – loud and clear. In fact, that’s one major reason why so many regain much of their lost weight when the injection regimen ends. 

However, one Harley Street behavioural change expert believes she has discovered a simple way to turn the volume right down on food noise without using injections – offering hope to the thousands struggling to maintain their newfound slenderness when they come off the jabs, or indeed to any woman who wants to lose weight.

Sandra Roycroft-Davis is the brains behind a programme called Slimpod, which combines neuroscience with ‘unconscious persuasion’ to help rewire the brain’s reward system, shifting the mental load to muffle food noise and shunt it right to the back of your mind.

As an online course, Slimpod has been medically endorsed by NHS doctors, while the tips and tricks are now available in a new book, The Weight’s Over: Take Back Control.

Sandra believes that by regularly practising these techniques you can train yourself to ignore food noise so you can happily stick to a healthy diet and maintain your ideal weight without medication.

There’s much more to food noise than an idle fascination with triple-cooked chips and an addiction to cookery shows. For many – particularly women at midlife, and especially those who have dieted repeatedly in the past – it means a head buzzing with a never-ending stream of obsessive and impulsive thoughts related to food.

It is the nagging soundtrack trying to persuade you that pizza or ice cream will lift your mood, or that a bag of crisps will help you feel less lonely, anxious or bored.

It is the voice in your head telling you that you ‘deserve’ a sweet treat as a reward for handling a tough phone call or telling you that eating one biscuit means you might as well polish off the whole packet.

Food noise is often the driver for impossible-to-resist cravings and the prompt for self-recrimination after eating ‘bad’ or ‘forbidden’ foods.

Although plenty of people go through their lives happily unbothered by excessive food noise, dieters rarely escape its clutches, and there’s every reason to believe that food noise shouts loudest at menopause.

According to Sandra, that’s because levels of dopamine (which plays a key role in the brain’s reward system) fluctuate wildly at midlife and increase your cravings for comfort foods. The hunger hormone ghrelin can increase too, while the hormone responsible for signalling that you’re full, leptin, naturally drops.

Menopause can be stressful and stress, she says, will pump up the volume on food noise to deafening levels. Here, she shows how clever tips and tricks can silence various aspects of food noise, making it so much easier to stick to a healthy-eating plan without the need for fat jabs.

NO MORE FOOD GUILT

The problem: Surveys have shown that three-quarters of women in the UK – that’s a whopping 24 million of us – feel guilty about what and how they eat. 

Dieters often find themselves labelling foods as inherently ‘good’ or ‘bad’, but when you put a moral value on what you eat, you can find yourself passing judgment on yourself for eating it, leading to a damaging cycle of self-blame (‘eating bad chocolate means I’m a bad person’), which in turn makes you more likely to binge on ‘bad’ foods.

These feelings could be amplified further if you had got down to your ideal weight on the injections but then watched the numbers steadily rising on the scales again as soon as you stopped them.

The solution: Focus on nourishment rather than deprivation – instead of listing what you can’t eat, concentrate on what you can. Choose foods that make you feel good and provide your body with the nutrients it needs.

• Don’t ban any foods. Accept that no food is inherently good or bad but some foods are healthier than others. Everyone indulges in treats occasionally and if you want to lose weight, being strict about every morsel can sabotage your goals and self-esteem.
• Savour each bite and listen to your body’s hunger and fullness cues.
• Shift your focus from the quantity of the food to the quality of the eating experience (savour the textures, the taste, the ambience).
• Cull food-related social media accounts to limit exposure to food triggers and avoid environments where you are likely to feel pressured to eat.
• Try introducing feared foods (ones you might have labelled ‘bad’ and which trigger over-consumption) in small, manageable amounts so your brain can learn they’re not harmful, reducing anxiety over time.
• Don’t try to be perfect – moderation is key and enjoying the occasional treat can be part of a healthy diet.

CHANGE YOUR NARRATIVE

The problem: Repeat dieters will be familiar with food noise peppered with a scattering of irrational ‘disordered thoughts’ which can exacerbate emotional eating.

Classic examples include all-or-nothing thinking (‘I ate a biscuit so my diet is ruined’); over-generalisation (‘I ate a biscuit so my eating habits are completely out of control’); catastrophising (‘I ate a biscuit so I’m going to gain a stone this week’); self-labelling (‘I ate a biscuit so I’m a hopeless failure’) and mind reading (‘I ate a biscuit and now everyone is judging me for being weak’).

The solution: Identify each disordered thought as it pops into your head and question its validity. Is there evidence to support this thought or have you been exaggerating? Next, replace that distorted thought with a more balanced, rational one (‘I ate a biscuit but that’s fine – one indulgence doesn’t define my overall eating habits’).

BLAME TRUMP

The problem: Do you have an inner critic in your head judging you, doubting you, belittling you and telling you you’re not good enough? Research has shown self-critical people are more likely to experience anxiety and depression – and that can fuel chaotic eating behaviours.

The solution: Make a note every time you hear that self-criticism and give that critical voice the name of someone you really don’t like or have no respect for (‘That’s not me, that’s just Donald wittering on’). 

Research shows that recognising the critic as separate from yourself will reduce its negative impact.

• Turn the harsh, critical voice to a warm, supportive one and imagine someone you respect or admire giving you advice (‘You made a mistake but you can learn from this’).

FLIP THE SCRIPT

The problem: A prominent and destructive aspect of food noise is ‘self-limiting beliefs’. These are unhelpful mantras (‘I’m going to put all that weight back on’, ‘Menopause means I’ll never be slim’) which your mind fabricates to spike your progress.

The solution: Identify and challenge negative thoughts. Are they based on facts or assumptions?

• Flip to positive affirmations. Instead of ‘I’m going to put all that weight back on’, try saying ‘I am capable of maintaining my weight loss’ and repeat these affirmations daily, especially when you’re feeling doubtful.
• Recognise progress, no matter how minor, and focus on small wins to boost confidence and reinforce positive self-belief.

FACE UP TO FAILURE

The problem: Studies have shown the fear of regaining weight can be even more stressful than the initial weight-loss journey, leading to a cycle of self-recrimination hampering further progress.

The solution: Be kind to yourself and realistic – you can expect to regain a little weight once a strict diet regime ends, but set achievable goals (‘it’s OK for my weight to fluctuate by 3-4lb each week’) to give easy wins which will boost your confidence.

• Cultivate resilience by setting targets and challenges (such as fun sporting events) that give a sense of purpose and reduce pressure.
• Always say ‘I can’, not ‘I can’t’.

CONQUER CRAVINGS

The problem: When you restrict food intake, the brain becomes hypersensitive to food-related cues, making it harder to resist cravings. Worse, the part of the brain responsible for decision-making and impulse control can become overworked and fatigued by constant dieting efforts, reducing its ability to regulate cravings effectively.

Research shows we make around 200 food-related decisions every day and each decision requires willpower, but willpower operates on a limited reserve of mental energy which depletes with use. 

When you give in to a craving, you might experience temporary relief – but that will be swiftly followed by negative emotions which can reinforce the cycle of emotional eating.

The solution: Be kind to yourself – when a craving arises acknowledge it without judgment.

• Question your hunger (see box) and drink a large glass of water instead.
• Modify your environment to reduce exposure to cravings/triggering foods. Keep them out of sight or out of your kitchen.

CURB COMFORT EATING

The problem: When emotions take control, food can become a coping mechanism, a way to fill a void or a reward. 

Low self-esteem can drive us to seek solace in eating. Ask yourself: is food giving you a hug? 

Has food become a friend because of loneliness or a reward for reaching the end of a hard day?

The solution: Food should be fuel, not laden with emotional meanings. Awareness is the first step – you need to understand your emotional triggers.

• Keep a journal to track your triggers for emotional eating so you can see them coming and work to address them directly before they take hold.
• Use ‘cost-benefit analysis’ to weigh up the pros and cons of your food thinking and to drive a wedge into your subconscious behaviour: Divide a piece of paper in two columns, one for the costs and one for the benefits, then write down the short and long-term benefits and costs of emotionally eating the unhealthy foods you crave or find yourself emotionally drawn towards.

For instance, benefits might be temporary relief, instant gratification, distraction, sensory pleasure, dopamine release. But are there any long-term benefits?

Costs might be guilt and shame with the long-term impact of weight gain and health issues. This exercise helps create a distance between you and the craving, making it easier to walk away.

SWITCH ANCHORS

The problem: It is easy to fall into unhelpful habits (a glass of wine at 6pm, nibbles in front of the TV, a muffin with your morning coffee, a chocolate bar when you fill the car up with fuel), which your food noise will seek to reinforce.

The solution: Swap the sweet stuff for healthier options. By consistently pairing the same anchor (end of the working day, watching TV, filling the car) with a better choice (a zingy herbal tea, a piece of fruit, a few deep breathing exercises) you will swiftly reprogramme your brain to crave the healthier option.

BE KIND

The problem: When it comes to weight loss, many of us are our own worst critics, berating ourselves for slip-ups, comparing our progress with others and holding ourselves to impossible standards.

This elevates stress levels and increases the risk of overeating and weight gain.

The solution: Harness the power of self-love, which is vital for boosting self-esteem. Studies show self-compassion can significantly reduce binge eating and emotional eating. In place of the inner critic constantly undermining your efforts, aim to develop an inner coach who encourages and uplifts you.

• Take time each day to reflect on the things you appreciate about yourself and your life. Shift the focus away from your perceived flaws and towards your strengths and achievements.
• Engage in self-care activities that bring you joy and relaxation, helping to reinforce the message to yourself that you are worthy of love and care.
• Forgive yourself for setbacks and view them as opportunities for growth and learning rather than reasons for self-criticism and defeat.
• Develop healthy ways to cope. Techniques such as mindfulness, deep-breathing exercises and yoga can alleviate stress without resorting to food.
• Keep a detailed food/mood diary – this can help identify triggers for self-sabotaging behaviours. Recognising these patterns is the first step to changing them.

‘NOISE’ VERSUS HUNGER 

• Emotional hunger is urgent; it is a need that feels immediate and out of control, hijacking your mind. It involves cravings for specific (usually unhealthy) foods, leading to mindless and rapid eating. The need overrides common sense and can lead to feelings of guilt and shame.
• Real hunger comes on gradually, led by physical signs such as a rumbling stomach and a sense of emptiness. You remain in control, eating when ready, allowing time to make healthy choices.

• The Weight’s Over: Take Back Control, by Sandra Roycroft-Davis, is out now.