5 Ways to Deal with Food Noise without a Therapist or GLPs

Jul 22

It's summer.

Many are saying au revoir to their therapists as they leave for their August hibernation. And many of you are not on a GLP-1 —so your food noise is exactly the same as it has always been—but right now, you are in the season of living.

You're working less, taking summer Fridays, going on vacation, wearing fewer clothes, and certainly eating with less control and less restriction. Also — maybe partying a little more? Just saying- summer is summer, people.

So….what do I do when my resources are unavailable?

How do I combat food noise and negative body image thoughts when the universe is on vacation?

Because often, particularly on a Monday morning- after "letting ourselves go"- our brains are more locked in than ever.

Yelling at us that we over-indulged.

That we're not working out enough.

That we better make up for it all week before the next beach/pool/party — sub in your weekend version of what I am describing.

So I'm going to step in as your therapist and your GLP1. Five tips to use in a pinch.

NAME YOUR NOISE.
For those of you who know me, this is my mantra. We have to name it to tame it—make it smaller to get control over it. Think about the way the inner critic in your head makes you feel. Who or what does it sound like? Is it a person, a place, a thing? Is it a bully? A storm cloud? A parent? Name it. Lift it up out of your head and have it sit next to you. Your noise is a part of you — it is not all of you.

THINK OF YOUR ANTIDOTE.
What is the thing that can shut the noise down? If it's a storm cloud, maybe the antidote is the sun. If it's a bully, maybe it's your friend or your sibling coming to your rescue. Whatever it is — close your eyes and envision it. Imagine what it says to your noise. Picture it over and over, until the antidote grows bigger and the noise gets smaller.

LOOK AT A PICTURE OF YOURSELF FROM WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG.
Just look at your young, eager, innocent self. The softness of your eyes, the cheeks, the total lack of self-consciousness. Now imagine the cruel voice in your head speaking to that child. How does that feel? Does it fill you with sadness? Does it break your heart? You would never say those words to them. Put the picture next to your bed — first thing you look at in the morning, last thing at night. That little person is you. Be mindful of how you speak to them.

WHAT WE PRACTICE GETS STRONGER.
The more you practice negative self-talk, the stronger and louder it becomes. Every time we criticize ourselves, that groove gets laid down a little deeper. So catch it. When you hear the thought, say to yourself: that's just a thought activating a neural pathway. Then let it go by. Thoughts are only as real as we make them, and the less we think it, the quieter it becomes.

LOOK AT A PICTURE FROM A YEAR AGO.
This one isn't about kindness — it's about evidence. Look at how you look in that picture right now. Do you remember hating how you looked when it was taken? And can you see now that you were wrong? That's the point. You have already been wrong about this, about yourself, in exactly this way. You are being just as wrong today. We are so hard on ourselves in the moment, and with time we almost always become gentler. This moment is no different.

Try these five things. This is your summer too — not just the summer for your noise. Screenshot this post so it's there when you need it.

And if they help — I have a book coming out in January that lays out the whole six-pillar method for quieting your noise. These are just a few tips I cherry-picked from it. You can pre-order now.

We can teach ourselves to think differently — I promise.

Get to Know

Dr. Danielle Shelov

Dr. Shelov's therapeutic approach emphasizes understanding individuals within the context of their families, childhood experiences, relationships, and larger systems as crucial to psychological treatment.