Ep 92 - Does Your Conversations With Others Impact What You Eat?

Faye Casement Author

May 19, 2024 |

Hello, hello hello and welcome to episode number 92 of the Wellness 4 Women Show where I look to help you super sleuth your relationship with food, one bite, and belief at a time.

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Today, I am looking to help you answer the question "Does Your Conversations With Others Impact What You Eat?"
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Our lives and especially, social lives are all very personal to us the same as our food choices. How you communicate, how others communicate to you will all be different and unique.
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But have you ever found yourself reaching for a snack after an argument? Maybe you have procrastasnacked and reached for food to avoid a difficult conversation. Maybe you have been enjoying a delightful flowing conversation only to realise you’ve inhaled more food than you needed or gone along with what your conversational partner has been eating to be ‘social’.
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We are going to explore this in our time together.
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I am going to run you through how the conversations we have could be a hidden influence swaying your eating habits.
We’ll look at a few real life scenarios and the impact to food choices.
And, of course, because we're all about actionable insights here, I'll share some techniques to help you have delectable conversations without overeating.
As usual, whether you are catching this live, replay, podcast, YouTube or blog your thoughts on the episode are welcome in the Wellness 4 Women Facebook Group or Membership.
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Let's crack on!
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It’s Science Baby!

Tell me in the comments what have you noticed about how your social interactions impact your eating. Is there any go to patterns that you are aware of?
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It may all seem coincidental but actually, it is psychological.
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Our social interactions can have a potent effect on our eating behaviours. When we communicate with others, we're not just exchanging information; we're also experiencing a myriad of emotions. These emotions trigger responses in our brains, which can lead us to seek comfort, reward, or a sense of control through food.
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Emotional eating is a term many of us are familiar with or you will be as a listener of this show but it's not just our internal dialogues that influence this though they are a huge part. The external conversations, the laughter, the arguments, the shared stories, all play a role.
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They can set off a cascade of neurotransmitters and hormones, like cortisol or dopamine, influencing our cravings and food choices as well as the usual thought process we go through where a conversation is a situation, we have a thought (stemming from our beliefs) leading to our emotions, lead to the actions or inactions and on to our results.
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Maybe you’re at a family gathering, and the conversation turns into a debate. Tensions rise, and before you know it you're in the McDonalds drive-through on the way home and snaffling a meal deal even though you weren’t really hungry. The catalyst the conversation, the situation that started off a series of events internally and externally.
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Conversely, what about the last time you had a stressful day at work. Maybe you were heading into the shop on the way home, thinking chocolate was the only cure but then a friend phones. Rather than heading to the shop you have a supportive discussion with your friend instead, you feel heard and validated and you get the much needed mood boost and so the stress eating didn’t happen.
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These two examples may on the face of it seem like they are reactions, in the moment reactions to the situation you found yourself in but this interplay between communication and eating isn't just about immediate reactions; it's also about patterns. Over time, beliefs have been formed, your brain has associated certain types of interactions with food-related behaviours, creating habits that can feel damn challenging to break.
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But you can remove or change these beliefs, the behaviours and habits and can remove the power food has and ultimately break the connection.
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Stay tuned for some of the hows later but ultimately the Triple-A-Way™️ can help. Help you to see the fascinating intertwining of your social life and your food choices.
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Real-life Scenarios and Their Impact on Eating Habits

I want to take a minute to look a little more at the situations we can find ourselves in on a day to day basis. Reflect on how you approach these situations, what comes up for you or has come up for you in the past.
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Joyful Interactions:
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Take a minute to think about what happens when you are having happy conversations with people. Maybe you’re celebrating something? Maybe you are catching up with someone you’ve not seen for a while? You’re having a laugh and a joke with work colleagues? Or out for a nice meal with your partner?
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Reflect on how your food choices and eating habits are influenced by joyful interactions.
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Do you find yourself indulging more in certain foods during joyous occasions?
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How does the atmosphere of these interactions affect how much you eat? More, Less, Neutral or it depends?
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Are you distracted eating or so distracted with your chopsing or laughing, you don’t eat at all?
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Does it make a difference to who you are with or talking to?
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Stressful Conversations:
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Now, let’s pivot to the other end of the scale. How do you show up when the poop hits the fan in a conversation? Difficult conversations, whether with a colleague, a partner, or even a stranger, can leave us feeling drained or anxious. It would be common I’d say for us to turn to comfort food as a quick fix to soothe any unsettling feelings that come up.
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Take a moment to reflect on a recent argument or a stressful meeting. Did you find yourself reaching for comfort snacks afterwards as a way to cope?
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How do you approach food if there is a conversation or task you don’t want to do?
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Is there a certain food you tend to go to? If so why that food what is the association? What does your brain think it will give you and why?
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The answers are all there in our subconscious.
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The Ripple Effect:
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What I am hoping you are taking away from this is the ripple effect we have in life where one small thing can knock into another and sometimes we don’t even notice it is happening.
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So what seems like JUST a conversation actually can be so much more.
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It’s not just about the food though. How do you feel about the person you are talking to after you have had a happy moment vs a stressful one? How long does those feelings last and ripple out? Do they ripple out further and start to impact other people or other things you do?
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Recognising the ripple is key to understanding our food choices and the emotions driving them but also to how we show up in the rest of life.
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By being mindful of these connections, you can start to identify patterns and, importantly, then make choices that align with your health and well-being goals, even amidst the complexity that is life and your social interactions.
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Understanding these dynamics is not about assigning blame or guilt but about gaining insight into the subtle ways your social environment influences your eating habits. With this awareness, you’ll be better equipped to navigate your food journey with intention and mindfulness.
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Strategies for Mindful Communication

Having explored how our interactions can influence our food choices, let's move on to the hows. How can you have healthy conversations? How can you minimalist the impact certain conversations have on your relationship with food?
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Strategy 1: Pause and Reflect
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Before entering into a conversation or reaching for food create a pause. Ask yourself "How am I feeling?" "How am I feeling about the interaction I am about to have, have just had or even am having?" "How do I feel about this person?" "Decide how you want to show up"
If you are heading for food ask yourself: "Am I eating in response to this interaction? Am I physically hungry, or am I trying to feed an emotion?"
There is a lot of power in the simple pause. It can create the space necessary to choose a response rather than acting on impulse.
Strategy 2: Express, Don't Suppress
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If a conversation is triggering an emotional response that is leading you to do something that may not be in line with who you want to be whether that be, shouting, eating, sulking etc ponder about how you can express your feelings in a way that is more aligned with what you want. Do you perhaps need to speak to a friend, scream into a pillow, journal, or even engage in a fun activity?
If you address your emotions directly, you reduce the likelihood of turning to food for emotional comfort.
Strategy 3: Set Boundaries
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The more you knwo about yourself, the more you notice about others, the more you can assess what topics of conversation or social situations trigger your stress or emotional eating for you.
Look to set boundaries around these to protect your well-being. Do you need to communicate these with others and or yourself? Seek to do this with love, openness and curiosity rather than a good talking too.
It is also perfectly okay to seek to change the subject, step away from a conversation, or decline an invitation if it serves your health and happiness. There are ways and means of doing this without inviting extra drama.
Strategy 4: Seek Understanding
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Often when there is a difficult conversation, we are so focused on our own perspectives that we don't stop to consider the other person. We can stop listening and things can escalate.
In conversations that feel challenging, strive to understand the other person's perspective. This can reduce conflict and the emotional stress that might lead to comfort eating.
Understanding doesn't mean having to agree, but it could lead to a sense of empathy and connection, reduce negative emotional responses and ultimately a de-escalation.
Strategy 5: Mindful Eating Practices
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When eating, especially in social situations, practice your mindfulness. Check in with your body cues. Be present with the food and yourself as well as the person you are speaking to. Just be aware and you will notice differences.
Strategy 6: Seek Out Positive Interactions
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You are, supposedly, the sum of the 5 people closest to you according to Jim Rohn. A phrase that is often used. True or not it is worth a pause for thought. Who are you life influencers? What type of interactions do you tend to be part of? Do you have more joy conversations or ones filled with drama? How do you feel about that?
If you are surrounded more by negative Norma's who bring you stress maybe it is time to go out and seek conversations or even people that uplift you. This is why I talk all the time about finding more joy. More joy means a boost in your mood and reduces the likelihood of emotional eating.
Tell me in the chat or one of the Wellness 4 Women Groups what do you think about these strategies? Do you have them all nailed down? If so great, share a tip with others. If not, what do you want to try? This is all about finding your best way to not only have amazing convos with others and yourself but do do something that uplifts your soul.
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Wrapping Up

Right, that's it folks. Thank you for joining me today for a positive conversation around, talk in dialogue with have with others, and our food choices.
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The internal and external conversations we have are key to our success so let's go over the Key takeaways or gems as I like to call them.
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Key Takeaways:
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The Power of Communication: We've talked about how conversations, whether joyful, stressful, or comforting, can have a tangible impact on our eating.

Awareness is Key: Recognising this on a day to day basis can be the first step toward more mindful eating and communication. By becoming aware of how your conversations influence our food choices, you can make decisions that align with overall well-being, rather than being swayed by the emotions.

Practical Strategies: We've explored actionable strategies, from pausing and reflecting to setting boundaries and practising mindful eating. These tools are designed to help you navigate your social and emotional landscapes without letting them dictate your food journey.

As ever, I encourage you to reflect on the episode. Go back on it, take notes, ask yourself the questions I posed. Look atthe conversations you have this week. Observe how they influence your feelings and, in turn, your food choices. Try applying the strategies outlined for more mindful communication and eating.
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Each step you take towards understanding you and your life, the more you can improve your communications and thus in turn make conscious life and food choices.
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I'd love to hear about your experiences and insights on this topic in the Wellness 4 Women Group.
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Until next time, bye for now!
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