The Fundamentals of Reducing Food And Nutrition Noise

Sort out how food and nutrition noise are related and what you can do to see past the hype. Some yummy sandwich recipes. The release of the No Weight Loss Required roadmap and book!

Welcome May! I am back from a 5-day meditation retreat, which was amazing! (Thanks for asking!) The flowers are blooming, which means I made it through winter! On the family front, my youngest daughter, Jane, is graduating from college. This month, I thought it would be helpful to talk about how food and nutrition noise can get us all tangled up in weight and food stigma. Finally, I am sharing some yummy sandwich recipes and some news about my newest book.

In our modern food environment, you are constantly managing two kinds of noise: food noise and nutrition noise. I wanted to unpack these two concepts to help you find more ease and clarity in your relationship with food.

What Is Food Noise?

Food noise is the mental chatter that fixates on eating; it’s the loop of thoughts like “Should I eat that?” or “I’ll be good tomorrow.” Sometimes, it shows up as cravings that won’t quit. Other times, it’s guilt that follows eating a snack and the self-doubt, “Was I actually hungry?”

This kind of noise can come from chronic dieting, unaddressed hunger, or years of trying to follow food rules that were never meant for your body. It’s personal, emotional, and internal. And for folks trying to prevent or manage diabetes, it is often tangled up with things like carb counting and checking your glucose.

Food noise distracts you from the actual experience of eating. This pervasive inner chatter is annoying, and over time, you want to find a non-existent off button, but the only option is to disconnect you from fullness, hunger, and satisfaction. This is when eating becomes a series of calculations or negotiations and food stops feeling like food - it feels like a moral marker. The physical object that indicates yourself worth.

What Is Nutrition Noise?

If food noise is internal, nutrition noise is external. It’s the opinions, trends, headlines, and “hot takes” about nutrition that show up on your feed, in your inbox, or at your dinner table. Nutrition noise can sound like:

• “I read this fruit is bad for your blood sugar”

• “You should try intermittent fasting; it changed my life”

• “Everyone needs more protein. No wait, fewer carbs. No wait, more fat”

It’s relentless, contradictory, messaging that often comes with a sense of urgency. The tricky part is that some of this noise wears a lab coat. It sounds scientific, factual, important but if you could pause and check in you are left more confused than informed.

Where Does Nutrition Noise Come From?

A lot of nutrition noise isn’t about your health; it’s about profit. Food companies, influencers, bloggers, and even healthcare professionals may be compensated—directly or indirectly—to promote a product, brand, or lifestyle. That’s not always a bad thing; it’s just important to name it because influence is often subtle. Some people genuinely believe in what they’re sharing. Others are passing along information they just learned and sometimes, what sounds like science is actually marketing. There are two good examples in the recipes listed at the end.

Then there’s branding. Foods are labeled “indulgent,” “natural,” “green,” or “clean.” These labels create a vibe. That vibe influences your choice, sometimes more than the actual taste or nutritional value. It takes effort to pause and ask: Does this align with my values? Or am I being swept up in someone else’s story? Does this view increase my connections with the people in my life, community, culture, or body?

Transparency

Being transparent about my lens helps you evaluate whether my approach works for you. When bias is invisible, it has more power to shape your beliefs without consent. If I am the vibe you are looking for, awesome. If I’m not, that is also good to know.

• I don’t receive industry funding as a weight-inclusive approach registered dietitian and diabetes educator.

• I don’t promote branded foods or supplements.

• I don’t talk about extremes, and by default, I don’t chase trends.

• I don’t suggest eating only organic or shopping exclusively at the farmer’s markets. I raised two kids as a single mother, and I know firsthand what it feels like when “healthy” food choices are out of reach.

• I avoid images of meat when I can because I believe eating a more plant-based meal is healthier. FYI: this isn’t asking you to become a vegetarian, and you can read more about that in the linked article.

• I center glucose-friendly strategies and mindful eating in the topics I select and the recipes I share.

• I feature racially and size-diverse people in my materials to support inclusion.

• I include meatless options to show you what a plant-based meal might look like.

• I believe health improves with balance, mindfulness, and sustainability.

What is Happening in May 2025

On May 6th, if you subscribe to No Weight Loss Required, you will also receive my newest ebook, No Weight Loss Required: A Weight-Inclusive Guide for people trying to prevent or manage diabetes. This book will be available for individual purchase in the next few weeks, so stay tuned! Here is what folks are saying.

Finally! A resource that truly centers weight-inclusive diabetes care. Megrette Fletcher has created an accessible, evidence-based guide that challenges the outdated, weight-centric approach to diabetes management. This ebook is a breath of fresh air for people navigating diabetes or prediabetes who have been told that weight loss is the only path to better health. It provides practical strategies rooted in self-compassion, mindful eating, and real, sustainable habits—without the harm of diet culture. For anyone looking to support their blood sugar while fostering a healthier relationship with food and their body, No Weight Loss Required is a must-read. — Jessica Jones, MS, RD, CDCES CEO & Co-founder, Diabetes Digital

This is a valuable resource for people with pre-diabetes or diabetes who want to explore the complex relationship we have with food—especially in a world that often links every action or inaction to body weight and size. Megrette Fletcher offers insightful information and thoughtful prompts to help individuals reconnect with their bodies and cultivate self-love.

As a catalyst for self-advocacy in the diabetes care journey, Megrette challenges the all-too-common instruction to simply “hop on the scale.” Instead, this resource guides readers through mindful eating practices grounded in a weight-inclusive approach that embraces Health at Every Size. It promotes a non-diet, weight-neutral perspective that encourages body positivity and helps people break free from constant labeling and worry about the number on the scale. — Barbara MacDonald, RN CDE and Rebecca Sovdi, RD CDE, IDEA Diabetes Inc, Canada

No Weight Loss Required Roadmap

You’ve ever wondered what non-diet diabetes care looks like, so I created this 4-part journey to help you let go of restriction and shame and build a more sustainable approach to preventing or managing diabetes.

• Step 1: Food Math: It's Time to Stop Subtracting Food from Your Diet

• Step 2: Understanding Diabetes: No Shame, Guilt, or Diets Allowed!

• Step 3: Healing vs. Fixing: You’re Not Broken

• Step 4: Conditions for Sustainable Self-Care: No More Quick Fixes!

Your Roadmap for Weight-Inclusive Care: I am offering 20% off on an annual subscription with code NWLR20. You can also check out the No Weight Loss Required YouTube Channel.

Sandwich Recipes To Up Your Vegetable Game

The following recipes focus will help you increase your veggie intake.

Veggie Biscuits were a surprising delight for me. They are great as a snack or made into a breakfast sandwich and freeze well. Please note that the video starts with “If you are a girlie trying to balance your hormones…” Which is an excellent example of nutrition noise!

The Flatbread Pinwheel Recipe is another way to up the veggies by making a flatbread. I have made something similar to this and love the texture of the baked vegetables.

The Chickpea Tuna recipe is a low-cost, high-fiber alternative to tuna that is awesome on bread or in salads. Note the ad placement in the middle of this video. Enjoy!