Festive Food Noise
Learn how to quiet “food noise” and navigate festive-season pressures with mindful, balanced habits.
With the end of the year being a time full some, it’s also a time when the volume dial can crank up on “food noise”.
Food noise, although not a clinical term, is a phrase increasingly used to refer to the constant mental chatter, intrusive thoughts or sense of overwhelm about food. It’s that voice in your head that says you’ve already had too many mince pies or that you should fit in an extra workout to counteract the additional food. It might be obsessing over what to eat, when to eat, whether you’ve eaten “too much”, avoiding certain foods or feeling guilt or anxiety around food.
Food noise can be experienced by anyone. A 2024 study, which was commissioned by Weight Watchers and STOP Obesity Alliance — a coalition of experts focused on addressing the global obesity crisis and housed at George Washington University in the US — found that 57 per cent of research participants said they had experienced food noise.
For some, food noise can turn an otherwise happy and celebratory time into one full of stress and anxiety. If this is something that you struggle with, it’s important to quiet the noise, and there are ways to turn the volume down which are rooted in mindfulness and wellbeing.
’Tis the season
Whether it’s sleeping in longer, consuming more alcohol or a shift in eating habits, the festive season is a time when our health routines can fall out of sync. This is normal and can provide an enjoyable break, but the change can be difficult for some.
“The festive season can be a chaotic and busy time, full of increased festivities centred around food, disruptions to usual routines such as more time off, increased time with family and friends that you might not have seen in a while, and social pressures,” says Natalie Spicer, head of Clinical and Support Services at Butterfly Foundation. “All of this can compound to make ‘food noise’ louder and more difficult to navigate.”
Cultural expectations, or even just being a guest in someone else’s home, may also bring a sense of added pressure or obligation to finish what’s on your plate or eat things you wouldn’t usually choose to.
Turn down the volume
Many of us have overheard some variation of “I’m going to be naughty and have another chocolate!” at a social gathering. But phrases like this can encourage a shameful mindset around food and amplify food noise.
“Stop labelling foods with moral values,” says Spicer. “There’s no such thing as ‘junk’ or ‘bad’ foods, all foods have a place in a varied and balanced diet.”
An important step is to shift your perspective of what “good” or “bad” foods are. This can be tough, as our feelings on this can be based on a lifetime of conditioning by everything from family, friends, media and our broader culture. Remember that eating less nutritionally dense foods for a short period of time, like the new year period, will usually not do any long-term harm to your health. It’s all about balance.
“It can be helpful to remember that a lot of the ‘food rules’ and attitudes our society has towards food — such as labelling foods with moral values like ‘bad’, ‘junk’ or ‘naughty’ — have been created by diet culture,” says Spicer. “Diet culture refers to a set of ever-changing myths about bodies and foods that suggests health is linked to weight, promotes the ‘thin ideal’ as being linked to health and success, encourages fear of fatness and larger bodies, and creates confusion around food. Diet culture profits off your insecurities, so recognising this can alleviate feelings of guilt and shame.”
If you’re working less or not at all over the holiday season, it’s also easy to spend more time scrolling social media. This isn’t helpful for those prone to food noise, especially if you follow accounts that encourage diet or body comparisons or which highlight food-based trends like “what I eat in a day”.
“Comparison nearly always makes you feel bad,” says Dr Warren Ward, associate professor of psychiatry at The University of Queensland and co-author of Renourish, a modern guide to eating disorder recovery. This comparison element may amplify feelings of food noise, so be wary of too much screen time. “Maybe have screen-free days or phone-free days … it’s very important for our mental health to be away from screens for considerable periods of time.”
If you struggle to turn down the noise, to the point where it interferes with daily life or other mental activity, consider speaking with your doctor. Excessive food noise can be a stepping stone to more serious mental illnesses such as body dysmorphia or eating disorders. “While some thoughts of food and intake are normal, if an individual finds themself ruminating to the point that thoughts about food are becoming obsessive, excessive and repetitive, it could be a sign that professional support is warranted,” says Spicer.
Negative talk
The end of year is a time when diaries may become full of parties, social events and family gatherings, and these sometimes provide a platform for unsolicited comments that can trigger food anxiety. Perhaps it’s a colleague saying, “You’re so lucky to be able to eat so much and not put on weight!” at the work Christmas party, or your auntie announcing, “I went to the gym this morning, so I deserve some pavlova” at family games night.
You may internalise these comments without realising. “We know from conversations with people with lived experience that unsolicited comments from family and friends about food, weight, body shape or size and exercise can be triggering, and many have felt guilt and shame when their extended family members comment on their food choices or body size,” says Spicer. To combat this, don’t be afraid to set boundaries around negative food or diet talk. “If you feel comfortable, it can be beneficial to let those around you know that conversations about food and weight are ‘off the table’.”
If you don’t feel confident to say this, or it hasn’t worked, have a list of topics ready to steer the conversation in a different direction. “If someone’s talking about weight or shape in a negative way about themselves or others, try and shift the conversation to something more interesting … like ‘how are the kids going?’ or ‘have you got any holidays planned?’” suggests Ward.
Perhaps you don’t struggle with thoughts around food, but it’s possible that others in your circle do, so be conscious of not contributing to someone else’s food noise.
“Avoid making judgements and comments on the bodies of others,” says Spicer. “For example, avoid saying a person in a larger body shouldn’t eat a particular food or needs to move more.”
Avoid vocalising judgements about your own eating habits too. “I won’t fit into my jeans tomorrow after eating this!” may seem harmless and light-hearted, but others may internalise these types of comments. And remember that someone’s outer appearance or body size is not an indicator of whether they experience food noise.
“Role-model respect for all bodies and remember that a person’s body size is not an indicator of their health status, and nor should it be used as a metric to judge a person’s character or value,” says Spicer. “A healthy body can present in a range of shapes or sizes.”
Celebration, not cynicism
If food noise is a problem for you, plan gatherings to take place away from the table. “It might sound counterintuitive, but not focusing on food during the festive season can help,” says Spicer. “Try to plan events that aren’t centred around food, and make sure your gatherings are focused on connection and reflecting on the things you’re grateful for, rather than on what you are eating or consuming.” Think of what you can bring to the table to focus on connection, whether that’s a story, joke, game or affirmation of gratitude to share with your loved ones.
Keep in mind, when you look back on past holidays, you probably don’t remember how much you ate, but the joyful memories spent with family, friends or neighbours. Stay focused on being present in the moment — your health routine can pick up again in the new year, or whenever you’re ready.
Whether it’s Hanukkah, Christmas or New Year, indulge in the fun and celebration of the season. “When we’re on our deathbed, we won’t be lying there thinking, ‘I wish I kept my BMI below [a certain number]’. We’ll be remembering the happy times with our family, with us sharing food,” says Ward. “What should Christmas [or other holidays] be about? For me, it should be about having fun, lots of laughter, connection and really caring about each other and having some time out of a routine.”
Reach out for support — you don’t have to navigate experiencing “food noise” on your own. For confidential and free support for eating disorders, call the Butterfly National Helpline on 1800 ED HOPE (1800 33 4673) or visit butterfly.org.au to chat online or email.
