Weight Loss

How Weight Loss Medication Helps Reduce Food Noise

Key Takeaways
  • Weight loss medications, in combination with lifestyle interventions, may reduce food noise, but they’re not indicated directly for that use, so there is no ‘food noise medicine’ that patients can specifically take as treatment. For some people, it’s a pleasant side effect of their weight loss prescription.
  • The exact reason why weight loss meds can help control food hunger and cravings isn’t fully understood yet, but it’s believed to be related to the change in dopamine levels in the ‘reward center’ of our brains.
  • If you stop taking your weight loss medications, just like the weight you’ve lost, the food noise may return. It may also return gradually once you reach a steady-state of your medication dosage.
  • It’s best to talk to a healthcare practitioner about food noise if it’s becoming excessive and/or intense, and it’s beginning to have an impact on your health or daily quality of life.

There are a lot of different things that we can do to try and improve our health. However, there are some factors that can make weight management additionally challenging for some people, such as biological and genetic factors.

Another issue that some people face, which has only recently become part of the conversation regarding long-term weight management solutions is ‘food noise’ (i.e., thinking about food or food cravings constantly, etc.).

We’ve talked before about food noise and what it is, but how can we treat excessive food noise? To help you make sense of the relationship between medical weight loss treatment  and food noise, the team at Felix has put together this page of useful information.

If you’d like to talk to find out whether weight loss treatments  could be beneficial as part of your weight management plan, complete an assessment with one of our practitioners. They’ll be able to tell you whether they believe treatments could be right for you, based on your health and medical history.

Can Weight Loss Medications Help Reduce Food Noise?

Anecdotally, they may be able to.

This means that weight loss medications are not indicated for use in direct treatment of excessive or intense food noise. However, because of their impacts on our body, these medications may reduce food noise as a side effect of their intended use.

How Do Weight Loss Medications Reduce Food Noise?

The truth is, we’re not really sure exactly what can cause weight loss medications to reduce food noise.

At this time, the leading theory is that it relates to the decreasing release of dopamine, as well as increased dopamine breakdown, resulting in lower dopamine levels in the ‘reward center’ of our brains.

This theoretically leads to easier control of food and hunger cravings, as well as potentially less frequency or intensity in their appearance.

When to Consider Weight Loss Medications to Help Reduce Food Noise

If you’re living in a larger body and have  obesity (BMI over 30), (or you have a BMI of between 27-30 and have weight-related health issues), and other lifestyle changes alone aren’t helping with your weight management, it may be time to consider adding weight loss medications.

This is particularly true if your weight is beginning to affect your health, or your quality of life.

Felix’s practitioners understand how challenging weight management can be for some individuals. We’re here to help, in our judgment-free environment built on support and positivity.

Just complete an online assessment, and your practitioner will be able to tell you whether they believe weight loss medications could be a valuable treatment option for you, based on your individual needs.

If You Stop Taking Weight Loss Medications for ‘Food Noise’ Does it Come back?

For many people, yes. Food noise may return after a period of time being off their weight loss medications.

Also, for some individuals, food noise may gradually increase once they reach a steady-state on GLP-1 receptor agonist weight loss medications.

The same can be said for weight itself, since many people experience some weight regain if they stop taking their weight loss medications.

Weight loss medications aren’t indicated for direct use in treatment of food noise. However, this is another reason why weight loss medications should be treated as a long-term solution, since cessation can result in the return of pre-treatment symptoms.

When Should I Talk to My Healthcare Practitioner?

Is your weight starting to affect your health or quality of life? Do you experience excessive or intense food noise that’s impacting your ability to make healthy dietary choices? If these apply to you, then it’s time to talk to a healthcare practitioner at Felix.

Complete a short online assessment, and one of our practitioners will be happy to assess whether weight loss medications could be a useful part of your weight management plan, based on your individual needs.

With Felix in your corner, you can take back control of your weight and your health, so that you can get back to living life on your terms - the way it should be.

Medically reviewed by

References

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