You might’ve heard it before. That noise that is blaring non-stop at an eardrum-shattering decibel level in your head, and the only way you can quiet that noise is by feeding it…literally. It’s called Food Noise, and depending on which season of life you’re in, food noise can be triggered for different reasons.

What Causes Perimenopausal Food Noise?

While food noise is often the result of an emotional or habit-based loop, in your 40s and beyond, it has a deeper biological cause. When you understand what’s actually going on in your body, you’ll be better equipped to quiet that noise permanently. It is all about your hormones.

1. The Estrogen + Dopamine Connection

In your 40s—your perimenopause period, your estrogen levels naturally drop. One of the roles estrogen plays in your body is regulating your appetite and other neurotransmitters in your brain’s reward center. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter (and also a hormone), heavily influences your appetite by driving you to seek food. When those estrogen levels drop and that food noise gets louder and louder, your brain isn’t being hijacked by poor food choices.

Your brain is being desensitized by the combination of lower estrogen levels and an altered way of how your brain is processing dopamine.

Food noise can be a siren-like call from your brain to repair a nervous system that is frantically trying to self-medicate a hormonal + neurotransmitter dip through—you guessed it—food. And not just any food. Your brain craves the temporary relief that is found in high-sugar, highly-processed foods.

2. The Cortisol “Safety” Signal

During perimenopause, your progesterone levels also naturally drop. One of the functions of progesterone —your natural Valium—is to help keep cortisol, a hormone that regulates your body’s stress, at a healthy level.

What does this mean for you? Even if your life feels calm, your body might not be feeling so calm because your cortisol levels are basically running rampant and unchecked. Any food noise you’re experiencing is not an emotional coping mechanism as it might’ve been in the past, something you could repair through some lifestyle changes. That food noise is a biological call for help—it’s a biological survival mechanism to try to protect your body from the damage high stress levels can inflict on every system in your body.

3. Rising Insulin Resistance

So far, we’ve learned how estrogen, dopamine, progesterone, and cortisol relate to food noise, and we’re not done yet. Insulin also plays a part in that hormone-driven, perimenopausal-related food noise. When your cortisol levels are high, your brain’s reward center goes into overdrive (that dopamine hit), and all of a sudden, you’re craving those ultra-processed, high-sugar foods. If you try to silence the food noise by eating these types of foods, your insulin levels spike, your blood sugar crashes, and the cycle starts all over again. It’s a literal blood sugar rollercoaster that is happening from the inside out, making that “Emergency! Eat Now!” signal a true daily physical battle. It’s a battle than can be completely and totally exhausting.

And here’s something you probably don’t want to hear: In perimenopause, this vicious, hormone-related cycle of food noise can happen even when you’re eating a diet rich with the healthiest foods.

4. The Sleep Thief

Let’s be honest: It can be extremely difficult to get enough sleep no matter what season of life you’re in, and that recommended goal of 7-9 hours of nightly sleep feels like, well, a dream. Add in the hormone fluctuations that come with perimenopause, and not only does getting enough sleep—especially quality sleep—become even harder, but any age-40-and-beyond food noise can get even louder too.

If you’re struggling when it comes to sleep, you’re not alone. Experts have found that 40-60% of women age 40+ experience hormone-related sleep issues. Why does this happen? As your hormones fluctuate, you can experience nightly sleep disruptions that can be completely unique to this stage of life: Night sweats, hot flashes, extra fatigue, insomnia, fragmented sleep, obstructive sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, and circadian rhythm shifts.

That’s a lot, right?!?! But unfortunately, that’s not all. A lack of sleep can wreak havoc with two other hormones: Leptin and Ghrelin. Leptin signals your body that you are full, putting the brake on eating and hunger. Ghrelin signals your body that it’s time to eat—you’re hungry. When you don’t get enough sleep, your levels of leptin decrease, and your levels of ghrelin increase. When this happens, your brain thinks you’re in a metabolic state of “Emergency! Eat Now!” again, making food noise a physiological certainty when you do wake up in the morning.

How to Repair Food Noise in Perimenopause

If your past lifestyle tricks aren’t working anymore, you’re not doing anything wrong! In your 40s, repairing food noise isn’t about changing your mindset—it’s 100% about focusing on your physiology to achieve “Quiet Luxury” for your nervous system. Here is your new game plan.

While making some lifestyle changes might’ve helped to silence that food noise in the past, the repair process is different in your perimenopause years. If you’ve been doing what you did in the past to silence that never-ending noise and it’s just not working, you’re not doing anything wrong! You just need a different game plan—a plan that is totally doable. Trust me on this one, my friends.

Repairing food noise in your 40s is about achieving that Quiet Luxury for your nervous system and, consequently, silencing food noise. The repair is not about changing your mindset; it’s 100% about focusing on the physiology—what’s going on in your body. How can you accomplish this?

Step 1. Make sure protein is your nutrition anchor.

Protein can help prevent those hormone and blood sugar spikes and crashes that can increase the volume of food noise. Also, protein has the highest satiety of any macronutrient (you’ll feel fuller faster), which can help turn down those cravings for sugary and ultra-processed foods. Aim for 80-100% of your body weight or goal body weight in grams every day. If your body/goal weight is 120lb, then 96-120g/day is your goal. If that’s too big of a stretch, add a few grams a day until you’re reaching your daily goal.

Step 2. Increase your fiber intake to 25+ grams per day.

Why? Complex carbohydrates have more fiber (and nutrients) than their simple carbohydrate counterparts, which means they’ll take longer to digest, so glucose will be released into your blood stream more slowly. This helps to alleviate those blood sugar crashes I’ve talked about before. Fiber-rich carbs will also help you feel fuller longer!

Fiber can also help with estrogen detoxification, which is the body’s natural way of making sure your estrogen levels stay as balanced as possible. When you’re not eating enough fiber, estrogen can actually be reabsorbed back into your system, making perimenopause-related estrogen issues even worse.

Step 3: Build muscle—your metabolic armor.

Besides supporting your bones and making it possible for you to do all the activities you want to do, muscle is literally armor that can protect your metabolism—your metabolic intelligence. We naturally start to lose muscle mass in our 40s at a rate that accelerates as we get older. But, and this is a HUGE but, it is totally possible to build muscle after 40; you just have to change your pre-40 workout plan. What does that mean?

• Shift from long workouts to shorter, more focused ones—20-40 minutes tops. To get the most out of your workouts, do high-intensity supersets.
• Lift heavier—aiming for 1-2 reps before failure to battle those hormonal changes. And remember: Form is everything!
• Consistency over perfection is the goal every. single. time. Perfection is 100% impossible, but consistent workouts, beginning again ASAP when you miss, will help you build that metabolic and physical armor your body needs for decades to come.

I know, I know…all of this can feel totally overwhelming. But… I also know YOU CAN permanently repair your perimenopausal food noise one baby step at a time, one day at a time. It just takes a new way of thinking about perimenopause, giving yourself lots of grace as you learn how to help your “new” body feel safe in this season of life, and taking control of your body and your life—becoming the CEO of your own health.

Xo,

Related reading:

How to Beat Perimenopause Weight Gain: The 40+ Guide to Muscle and Metabolism
Sleep and Hormones: Why It’s Important For Weight Loss + Health
Macro Tracking in Perimenopause: The Ultimate Guide to Weight Loss Over 40
Protein Confusion: Your Questions Answered!