{"id":43682,"date":"2015-10-01T07:15:15","date_gmt":"2015-10-01T11:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=43682"},"modified":"2021-05-15T08:11:37","modified_gmt":"2021-05-15T12:11:37","slug":"relationship-derailing-diet-food-choices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/relationship-derailing-diet-food-choices\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Your Relationship Derailing Your Diet? 5 Tricks to Fight Fair"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Is
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you find yourself ripping through a bag of potato chips (or two) after a fight with your significant other, know that you\u2019re not alone. In fact, butting heads with your partner can encourage you to reach for junk food, according to new research<\/a> from the University of Delaware to be published in Clinical Psychological Science<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Is Stress Hurting Your Relationship? Here\u2019s How to Fix It<\/a><\/p>\n

To determine whether there was a link between marital distress and poor food choices, the study authors had 43 couples interact during two nine-and-a-half-hour research sessions. During that timeframe, couples were asked to try to work through a relationship issue and\/or eat a meal together. Results showed that couples who acted hostilely toward each other throughout these sessions (think: using a rude tone, rolling their eyes, criticizing one another) had more of the hunger-promoting hormone, ghrelin, in their systems, than those who got along pleasantly. Unsurprisingly, the angry group was also more likely to make unhealthy choices, reaching for heavier, junk food<\/a> alternatives instead.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople in distressed marriages are making poor quality diet choices, and a person\u2019s diet clearly has many longer-term health consequences,\u201d says lead study author Lisa Jaremka<\/a>, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Delaware. This also points to Jaremka\u2019s earlier research, which suggests that those facing social isolation (as one would during a fight with a spouse) are more likely to chow down on comfort foods rather than clean eats<\/a>.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>5 Ways to Stop Stress Eating From Taking Over Your Brain<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s particularly notable, though, is that the reported results only held true for participants who were at a healthy weight or overweight. There was no effect or change in the amount of ghrelin for obese couples engaging in less than friendly relations. \u201cIt could be that obese people already have a poor quality diet, so there isn\u2019t much room for the quality of their marriage to push it any further,\u201d says Jaremka. There\u2019s also a chance their hormones were already acting irregular and not responding in the usual ways, she adds.<\/p>\n

So, Why Is Emotional Eating So Tempting?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re feeling sad or hurt, it\u2019s natural to want to ease those feelings as quickly as possible,\u201d says Brigitte Zeitlin, RD, MPH, a dietitian at B Nutritious<\/a>. \u201cOne of the easiest ways to do that is through what you eat,\u201d she adds. Sweet and starchy foods are loaded with sugar<\/a>, which signals your body to release the feel-good hormone serotonin. \u201cYou feel better in the short-term, but that doesn\u2019t last very long because it\u2019s not the cure for your feelings,\u201d says Zeitlin. \u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s called comfort food\u201d \u2014 even though it\u2019s not actually comforting, nor beneficial for your health.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>9 Simple Tricks to Eat More Mindfully \u2014 Starting Now<\/a><\/p>\n

Because the study only shows a mere link, and not causation, Jaremka is working on follow-up research to determine precise causation. Until then, hold off on running into the arms of Ben & Jerry next time you and your S.O. battle it out. Instead, consider these expert-approved strategies on arguing, making up \u2014 and avoiding unhealthy foods in the process.<\/p>\n

5 Tricks to Fight Fair (and How to Make Good Decisions)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

1. Remember the Goal
\n<\/strong>When you\u2019re in the midst of a verbal smackdown, it can be easy to forget that you two are actually on the same team \u2014 and that you\u2019re looking for a common resolution. \u201cA lot of people think a fight is about letting the other person know you\u2019re upset,\u201d says Jane Greer<\/a>, PhD and author of What About Me? Stop Selfishness From Ruining Your Relationship<\/a><\/em>. \u201cIn reality, a fight is actually about compromising, understanding each other and hopefully becoming a stronger couple in the process.\u201d Ditch the \u201cme vs. you\u201d mindset and instead frame your discussion around figuring out what will make both of you satisfied.<\/p>\n

2. Banish Any Triggers
\n<\/strong>Prevention is the key to stopping post-fight emotional eating. \u201cEveryone has an unhealthy food they reach for when they\u2019re upset,\u201d says Zeitlin. To avoid wolfing down your own bag of Doritos, trick yourself and \u201cmake sure you have to leave the house to get [whatever your trigger food is],\u201d she adds. Because when you don\u2019t have easy access, it\u2019s harder to mindlessly indulge<\/a> in whatever junk that\u2019s laying around (especially<\/em> if you\u2019ve got kids at home!). Plus, having to go out to satiate any cravings means you\u2019ll give your emotions a chance to subside before digging in \u2014 and you may realize you don\u2019t need the junk food after all.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>5 Ways to Conquer Binge Eating \u2014 And When to Seek Help<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Take a Break
\n<\/strong>When you\u2019re in the middle of a fight that\u2019s heating up, feel free to call a time-out before things completely boil over. \u201cYou can say you\u2019d like to come back<\/a> to the discussion when you\u2019re both calmer,\u201d says Greer. During your break, try squeezing in a workout<\/a>. \u201cWhen you exercise, not only do you clear your head, but your body also releases those feel-good hormones, called endorphins,\u201d says Zeitlin. Then, take that post-exercise high (and your sweaty self) back to your partner for further, and perhaps more clear-headed, discussion.<\/p>\n

4. Listen Up (and Repeat)
\n<\/strong>Let\u2019s say you\u2019ve taken our experts\u2019 advice, gone for a run, and are now ready to re-start the conversation. When you come back to the fight, first make sure your S.O. feels heard. \u201cStart by explaining what you think your partner was saying before,\u201d says Greer. Ask if you understood correctly, and take it from there. When it\u2019s your<\/em> turn to take the stage, go for \u201cI\u201d statements, like \u201cI felt embarrassed when you forgot to show up to dinner with my boss.\u201d These types of sentiments are way less likely to make your partner feel defensive than something like, \u201cHow could you<\/em> forget dinner?<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Is Marathon Training Hurting Your Relationship?<\/a><\/p>\n

5. Brew a Cup
\n<\/strong>There\u2019s something about a warm drink that\u2019s undeniably soothing. \u201cThe heat and aroma of tea can naturally calm you down,\u201d says Zeitlin, who recommends keeping green tea on hand for its antioxidant powers. And when you feel like you\u2019re doing something healthy for yourself, you\u2019ll be less likely to sabotage that by reaching for something that\u2019s not so good for your body (or your waistline). Bonus: The tea will help fill you up, says Zeitlin, which could result in yes, making better food choices. Consider bringing your partner a mugful as a peace offering \u2014 to start, at least.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Relationships are a beautiful thing, right? Not when they affect your relationship with food. Here\u2019s how to keep your diet in check \u2014 in good times and bad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":43721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7],"tags":[41,51,253,341,381],"class_list":["post-43682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","tag-diets","tag-food-choices","tag-relationships","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2low-carb-diets"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}