Hey, friend! Welcome back to Nourished to Bloom. If you've ever felt anxious, guilty, or out of control around food at social events—especially during those big family gatherings or holiday parties—this episode is for you.
Maybe you've walked into a party determined to "be good," only to find yourself hovering near the dessert table, caught in that tense inner dialogue: Should I eat this? Why can't I control myself? What will people think? You're not alone—and I've been there too.
In this final episode of our Cravings Decoded series, we're talking about how to bring peace, presence, and faith to those tricky social situations, so you can enjoy food and connection without fear or regret.
I'll share a vulnerable story about the night I completely lost control with sweets at a wedding reception—and what God taught me through that moment. Together, we'll explore why social cravings feel so intense and how we can reframe them as opportunities for grace, joy, and deeper connection.
Here's what we'll unpack in this episode: 🌸 Why social gatherings amplify food rules and anxieties—and how to quiet them 💬 How emotional and environmental triggers (like stress, people, or pressure) can fuel cravings that aren't really about food 🙏 Faith-first practices—praying before events, setting gentle intentions, and inviting God to lead your choices 🍽️ The Holiday Eating Game Plan: eat consistently, stay hydrated, and build balanced plates with small portions of what you love 🚫 How to ditch diet talk, protect your peace, and gracefully change the subject 💗 What to do after overeating—how to reflect with compassion instead of spiraling into guilt
Friend, the goal isn't perfection—it's presence. It's shifting the focus from what's on your plate to who's at your table, and allowing Christ to fill you with peace and freedom.
📣 Ready to go deeper? Check out the free workshop: Handling Halloween Treats: How to Enjoy Sweets, Guilt-Free. It's not just about Halloween—it's about learning to approach any social food situation with confidence, clarity, and grace. You'll find the link in the show notes!
You're allowed to enjoy food. You're allowed to say "no, thank you." And most of all—you're allowed to rest in grace.
Join The Nourished to Bloom Community: www.community.karatrochta.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/karatrochta
The Nourished to Bloom Podcast Show Notes: www.podcast.karatrochta.com/shownotes
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Have you ever walked into a party or family gathering
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determined to, quote unquote, be good around
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food, only to find yourself standing by the dessert table
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feeling anxious, tempted, or
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even guilty? I have been there too,
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so many times. It leads to these feelings of shame
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and embarrassment and guilt. And then like you beat
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yourself up because you can't believe you ate that
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much or you gave into that craving and then you
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start to worry about what other people think about based off of what you're
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eating and it just starts this crazy downward spiral.
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But I get it. Social events can be some of the hardest
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places to stay grounded in our relationship with food.
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Whether it's a holiday dinner, a girls night, or Sunday
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brunch, it's easy to feel torn between wanting to participate
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and wanting to stay, quote unquote, in control.
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But I'm going to challenge you. What if we reframed these moments not as tests
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of willpower, but as opportunities for grace,
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connection and joyful freedom around food?
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In the final episode of our Cravings Decoded series,
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we're going to learn how to bring peace, presence and faith into
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these social settings so we can learn to enjoy food
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and the connection without fear or shame.
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We're going to talk about how to recognize emotional and environmental triggers,
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how to respond with compassion when we feel pressured to
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eat or not eat, and then how to invite God into the
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moment before, during and after social events. We're going to
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explore how presence, prayer and of course, practical preparation
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can transform how you show up in these social
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settings not only around food, but around people as well.
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Welcome to the Nourish to Bloom podcast, where your faith meets your
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health. I'm your host, Kara Trochta, a registered dietitian and
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certified Catholic coach, and I'm here to help you cultivate a deeper connection
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with your body, your spirit, and the nourishment that sustains them
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both. In a world filled with noise and
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confusion about food, health and body image, this podcast
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offers truth and healing from a Christ centered perspective.
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Together, we'll untangle the deep roots of diet culture and discover what
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it means to truly care for ourselves through joyful
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nourishment of mind, body and soul. We're here to dive into
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the transformative power of intuitive eating coupled with the rich teachings of our
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Christian faith. With every episode, I'll be cheering you on,
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offering insights, inspiration and practical tools to help
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you heal your relationship with food and embrace the beauty
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of your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit with
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confidence and courage that can only be found in Christ.
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Join me as we journey together towards a more holistic approach to wellness,
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one that honors the wisdom of your body as God's creation,
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the teachings of our faith, and the unique purpose you're called to
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fulfill. You were made to bloom,
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to come into full beauty and health in order to bear good fruit
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for the Lord with your life. So if you're ready to nourish your body,
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feed your soul, and bloom into the best version of yourself, then you're
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in the right place. And I'm so happy you're here. Welcome
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to Nourish to Bloom, where every day is a sacred
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invitation to thrive. Hey there.
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Welcome back to the Nourish to Bloom podcast. So happy to be spending
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some time here with you this week as we wrap up our
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Cravings Decoded series. So we spent the last
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few weeks uncovering what cravings are really trying to tell us,
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learning how to respond to them with grace, and even
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talking about how we can make peace with sweets and sugar
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and other trigger foods. And so today, we're going to bring this
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all together by talking about something that I think many of us struggle
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with, and that's how to handle these cravings in social
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situations. Because, let's be honest, this is
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sometimes where things often get trickiest, right? Like, it's
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kind of easy to feel like you're, quote, unquote, in control around food
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in your own home if you have, you know, fallen into the pattern of, well,
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I'm not going to buy these things because then I won't be tempted to eat
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them. Which I will say is not the healthiest approach.
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But it's. If that is what is working for you, then,
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you know, that is what's working for you. There are other ways, again, that
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making peace with food is super important. But
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bottom line, sometimes it's easier to feel control in our own,
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quote, unquote environments. And then we are invited
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to a party or a family dinner or some other social gathering, and
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we start to have these. These feelings of
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fear and overwhelm and, like, what am I going to do in these
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situations? Like, maybe you've walked into that party or family
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gathering saying, like, hey, I'm gonna be good tonight. I'm gonna be
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good tonight. And then you just find yourself,
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like, constantly snacking or, you
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know, hovering around the dessert table, and you end
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the night feeling completely guilty and frustrated because you've,
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quote, unquote, lost control yet again. Y', all.
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I've been there too many times. Many, many times. There's a couple of
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things that really stand out in my mind. And these are gonna be some
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vulnerable moments for you because there's one that if, like, if it
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still brings embarrassment to this day for me,
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especially because it brought embarrassment to
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Brandon, who is now my husband, but at the time was my boyfriend. But
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we had been in. We were invited to a wedding when we were
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dating, and it was one of his good friends that was
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getting married and he was a groomsman. And I remember the,
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the reception was at a, like a restaurant that had
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like a ballroom upstairs or whatever.
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And so I had been
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dieting hardcore to fit into this
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beautiful blue dress that I was obsessed with and loved
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it. And if I'm being honest, there were some other triggers
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because the bride's sister
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happened to be my husband's ex girlfriend. So there
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was like, there was a lot of emotions, a lot of triggers going on, especially
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at that time in my life when I struggled so much with body image and
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self worth. And so I can remember they
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brought out like desserts and it was served family style.
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And they brought out a bowl of gelato. And like
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everybody served themselves and you know, including myself, I served
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myself a portion. And then like one thing
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led to another and nobody else was having any more. And I ended up eating
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like the rest of the entire bowl of gelato.
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And I look back and it was a hundred percent because
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I did not feel like I could trust myself around
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sweets because I had given them up for, quote, unquote, given them up,
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sworn them off, whatever, for so long, or tried to, right?
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And then I got in this social situation. Social situation,
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I will admit there I had, I had been drinking, there was
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alcohol involved, but it was just this thing of like,
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I completely lost control
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and brought a lot of embarrassment, not only on myself, but
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also on Brennan, which you should never feel embarrassed for what you
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are eating. And nobody else should be judging you for what
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you are eating too. But these are all things that I have learned in a
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long period of time working around Christ centered intuitive eating.
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But I give you this example just to show, like, I get it, I
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know how hard it can be. There are other instances for sure where
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I overindulged at family functions and like
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wound up to the point of like getting sick later that evening
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because I had just completely overdone it. So I
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get how you may be struggling because I've
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definitely been there. But I want to show you and give you
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this hope. And today I'm going to talk about some practical things. It's kind
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of like this social setting, eating, game plan type
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thing that we're going to go through. But just, just know that when you
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practice these things and you implement these things and you really
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work towards this intuitive eating lifestyle, your
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social situations will not be that way. And
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I know that you might not have testimony to that, but
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I can see it in my own life. Even this weekend, we went to a
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couple of Halloween parties, and my eating patterns there were just
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so different than they would have been so many years ago
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when I was in the throes of dieting or in the throes of trying to
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control what it was I ate, or having that mentality
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of good versus bad food. And
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like one of the, at one of the parties, they had these. They had the
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dessert table. And, you know, I was looking at the different things
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and they had these, like, candy coated.
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Candy is not the right word, but, you know, like the. That candy coating,
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dip stuff that you like, dip pretzels and stuff like that in.
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So they had that, but it was like Oreos that was dipped into it. And
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so I grabbed one of those and like halfway
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through this, I said, oh, my goodness, this is way
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too sweet. And I could not finish it. And even just that little
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bit, like, I can't even tell you that it was necessarily
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satisfying. It kind of left me with an upset stomach.
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But I was in that moment going through and experiencing
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and practicing these things that I'm going to share with you today, the things
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that I've shared so many times on the podcast
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just to show you that there is a different way to approach your relationship
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with food and your body. And I pray that
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you are able to find peace around food because it
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really allows so much freedom in your life. It allows you to
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eliminate so much of this noise. And I think is
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a really good way for so
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many of us to be more open to the Lord, because I think our
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relationship around food and our bodies is such an obstacle for so many
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women that it consumes so much of our time and our energy
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that we are not then open to what the Lord is calling
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us to. So let's talk
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about, you know, what if we. We started to look at these social
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settings just differently, right? Not as these, these tests
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of willpower or how strong you can be or how
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weak you may view yourself, right? But just as these invitations
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to really focus on what's. What's important in
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these social situations, that, that connection with other people,
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but also as opportunities to stay grounded and
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grateful and then just being guided by God's grace in.
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In these situations, that can sometimes be very triggering
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and very difficult. For so many of us, because
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social events obviously stir up a mix of emotions
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for everybody, right? There's times where you're in social
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situations where there are people who trigger you
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emotionally. There are times where it's just
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a source of stress or pressure or
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comparison as well as this time that
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it's a lot of joy. And then you kind of add in
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food everywhere and suddenly like we're not just
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managing only our hunger, but it's a lot of managing
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expectations, managing memories and managing emotions.
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But I think we often forget that these cravings
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or these temptations that we find in social settings
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are not usually about food alone. Sometimes it's
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being triggered from an emotion or a memory that you're feeling and that's leading
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to more emotional eating, right? Sometimes in these
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situations we're looking for a way out to
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avoid or distract ourselves from uncomfortable situations.
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So we're craving comfort or we're craving connection or belonging.
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And so that's why one of the most, I think, faith filled things we can
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do in these moments is just take that pause and invite the
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Lord into it. You know, lord, what am I really needing right now?
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And just simply saying like, lord, I need you and letting
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him guide you through that difficult situation.
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So I think one of the best ways to stay grounded at these gatherings is
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to be able to prepare your body and your mind
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and your heart before you go, right? This is where we talk about
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some of these practical things. You know,
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when many of us approach this as like, I'm just not going to eat these
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things or I'm going to be good, right? And it tends to
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backfire on us. So what I'm offering here is this
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ability to prepare with prayer beforehand.
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So we invite the practicality into this, right? So
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here are some of those grace filled practical steps that I have found helpful
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in my own, my own journey
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in navigating social situations. And it's kind of a
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part of this like eating game plan that's like a holiday eating
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game plan from a workshop that I've previously done. So the first step is
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to start the day nourished and hydrated.
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A lot of people approach social situations or parties as I'm going
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to skip meals to quote unquote, save calories.
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And the thing is that's going to backfire 100% because it almost
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always guarantees that you're going to result in
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feeling out of control later because you have kind
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of starved yourself throughout the day. And what we know is that when our body
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gets to that point of being ravenously Hungry, it's going to take
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control. Your biology is going to overrule any sort
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of quote, unquote, willpower you may have. So it's actually better
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to eat balanced meals with some proteins and carbohydrates and
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some healthy fats throughout the day, as well as drinking water
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consistently. And this helps you just
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regulate your hunger and your fullness cues. So you walk
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into that party not feeling ravenously hungry, but
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have been consistently fueled throughout the day. And
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that can set you up to be more conscious about what it is that you're
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choosing, what it is that you're eating, and how much of it.
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Number two, just praying before you walk in,
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understanding where you are emotionally, where you are
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mentally and physically, and then inviting the Lord in,
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asking him, lord, help me to be present, to be grateful, and to be
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grounded in you. And being able to go in with that mindset,
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focus on what is really the heart of why we are gathering.
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And it's that connection. It's really not about the food,
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right? And so when you go in, just really with that
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mindset of this is an opportunity to connect with people.
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This is an opportunity to maybe get to know
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somebody new, right? To see the Lord in somebody else.
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And then, number three, really being able to set some gentle
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intentions for your time, maybe it's, I'm going to enjoy
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food and conversation with peace, or I'm going to
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savor whatever foods they have there, and I'm not going to
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stress over it. This mindset helps you. Helps
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to keep you anchored in purpose and not pressure.
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And then once you're there, you can practice some practical
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grace at the table. So
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when you're there, here's some practical tools that can help you navigate
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all the food with more of a peaceful
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disposition. So the first one is to build a balance plate.
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This is not a perfect plate, but of a balance plate. And this is one
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of my favorite things to help clients walk through,
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especially around the holiday season, because there's so
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many different foods that are available to us that we, quote unquote, for
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per society, are not allowed to have the rest of the year. Just
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stop and think about from October to December, how many foods
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are, quote, unquote, on limits, whereas the rest of the year they're kind of
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off limits. So building this balanced plate, I want you to think about your plate
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as being like an artist's palette. So as
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you are serving yourself, take some smaller portions
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initially, like one to two bites of everything that it is that you're
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most excited to try, and then
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pause and taste. And as you're taking these little one to two
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bite samplers, it allows you to understand, okay, what actually
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tastes good, good to you in that moment and what you could probably
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pass up because it's not going to be as satisfying, right?
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And so then it's allowing you to decide whatever it is that you're serving
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yourself is truly going to be satisfying mentally and physically
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before you're going back for more.
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Second one alternating your beverages. If you are going to
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enjoy a cocktail or a glass of wine, try alternating
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one with a glass of water. This helps you
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slow down on that alcohol consumption. It's simple. It helps keep
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you hydrated and it lets you stay connected to how your body
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feels because you're not having to make decisions from
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kind of a hazy alcohol induced
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position. Okay, next one is to ditch the
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diet talk. Inevitably when we are in these
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situations, somebody is going to bring up the latest diet they are
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on or the latest thing that they are trying to lose weight. Weight.
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If the conversations turn to calories or body comments,
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it is 100% okay for you to change the
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subject. It's okay for you to excuse yourself for
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the situation or you can even be as bold as to say,
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look, I am choosing not to engage in these convers,
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these type of this topic anymore and instead I'm
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choosing to focus on something else this year.
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But can we please not talk about calories or body comments because they are
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triggering for me and they have not been helpful or healthy to
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me in the past. You're not being rude when you do
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this. You're actually protecting your emotions, you're protecting your peace
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and you're protecting your mindset.
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Next, give yourself permission to eat.
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If you find yourself eating more than others, I want you to
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stop and remember that your body's needs
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are unique. You don't need to earn or
00:19:00
burn your food and your worth is not measured by what is
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on your plate. There's
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inevitably people who are going to be eating more than you. There's going to be
00:19:11
people who are eating less than you, who are maybe engaging
00:19:14
in diets or restriction. But
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when you are giving yourself this permission to eat and you are
00:19:23
connected with your body, you can go to any social
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situation, you can go on any vacation even and
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not feel overindulged
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or just out of control in any of those situations,
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but instead being able to enjoy the food that is
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there, enjoy the connection opportunities and, and
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really walk away feeling satisfied and not
00:19:50
deprived, but also just at peace.
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I think these are all really important things to to remember,
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right? And then also really being able to
00:20:03
slow down and savor. That's kind of the next one, right?
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Practice those mindful eating
00:20:10
strategies that we've talked about in previous episodes. You know,
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really being able to engage your 5 sense, taking it
00:20:17
bite per bite, allowing yourself to enjoy the different flavors,
00:20:21
identify the different flavors, and then just being aware of that
00:20:24
last bite threshold, which is really about saying, okay,
00:20:28
you know, this bite does not taste as good as that last bite
00:20:32
or the first bite. And when you're aware of that, it's going to
00:20:35
allow. Allow you to naturally just kind of stop
00:20:39
eating because the food is not as satisfying as it
00:20:43
once was. It's kind of this, your body's natural
00:20:47
habituation to your plate. And it's your body's
00:20:50
natural way of being attuned with these cues and allowing yourself
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to stop at a point where you are comfortably full.
00:21:00
And then again, if you happen to
00:21:03
go to a situation and you find that you have lost control
00:21:07
or your emotions have gotten the best of you, it
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is not about regret. It is about an
00:21:14
opportunity to really reflect
00:21:18
and learn. Right? So after that, instead of replaying what you
00:21:21
ate or what you should have done, guide yourself
00:21:25
through this gentle reflection of, you know, did I experience a
00:21:29
connection with others? Was there a moment? Maybe it was
00:21:33
a really funny story, or maybe it was learning something new
00:21:36
about somebody else where you experienced a sense of joy or
00:21:40
gratitude, reflect on, you know, was I able to pay attention
00:21:44
to my body's cues? And if that girl guilt
00:21:47
creeps in, bring it to prayer. Lord, thank you
00:21:51
for this moment of learning. Help me to see this not as failure,
00:21:55
but as an opportunity to grow in grace.
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Romans 12:2 says, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but
00:22:02
be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And y', all, this
00:22:06
is exactly what this journey is about. It's about learning to
00:22:10
renew our minds so we can experience food,
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community, and celebration through a lens of
00:22:17
joy and grace, not guilt.
00:22:21
So when we can release control in these situations and
00:22:24
invite Jesus to simply be with us in that moment, to guide us in these
00:22:28
situations, the focus shifts from what's on your plate
00:22:32
to really more of who's at your table. Who has
00:22:36
the Lord put in your life to share these moments with?
00:22:40
Because, y', all, you were never meant to white knuckle your way through these social
00:22:44
settings. When we bring this awareness and this
00:22:47
compassion and these. These really practical tools
00:22:51
and tips and of course, Christ into the moment, we
00:22:54
can not only enjoy the food that we are eating but we
00:22:58
can really enjoy connection more freely.
00:23:03
So just to kind of wrap up as you head into this
00:23:06
holiday season with all the parties, all the foods,
00:23:10
all the things, whatever your next gathering is, I want you to remember
00:23:14
that you are allowed to enjoy it.
00:23:18
You are also allowed to say no. No is a complete
00:23:22
sentence, no thank you. And you are allowed to
00:23:26
rest in grace. Your cravings
00:23:29
or your temptations, even in these social settings are simply
00:23:33
invitations to slow down and listen to what your body
00:23:37
is saying, to what your heart or your mind is saying,
00:23:40
and then to the Lord who is the one who satisfies
00:23:44
and fulfills your every need. And so if you really
00:23:48
want to get deeper on this Making Peace with food before you
00:23:52
go into these social settings for the holiday season,
00:23:56
I'd really love to invite you to check out that free workshop that's in our
00:23:59
community. It's community.carattracta.com it's called
00:24:03
handling Halloween Treats. How to Enjoy Sweets Guilt Free.
00:24:07
I know the title is about Halloween treats, but this really is
00:24:10
applicable to kind of all foods, all
00:24:14
trigger foods that you don't feel control around or that you don't
00:24:18
feel peace around. So in this workshop
00:24:21
it's all about talking about real life strategies to be able to make peace with
00:24:25
food this season so you can enter the holiday season
00:24:29
really focused on what is important
00:24:33
and that you can experience joy and confidence.
00:24:38
And you're gonna find that it is going to offer you
00:24:41
so much peace and comfort and clarity
00:24:45
throughout the holiday season that you don't get to January feeling like you have
00:24:49
to undo months work of
00:24:52
noise and chaos. It's going to allow you to enter into
00:24:56
that new year with more peace around food
00:25:00
with clarity around being able to dive deeper into connection
00:25:04
with your mind and your body. So be sure to check out that free
00:25:08
workshop again. It's community.caratroctor.com
00:25:11
and I will drop the direct link into the show
00:25:15
description below. I hope you
00:25:19
have a beautiful and blessed week again. Thanks for being here with me.
00:25:23
Until next week. Beauty held is the seed. Beauty shared is a flower.
00:25:27
It is your time to bloom. Take care and we'll talk
00:25:30
soon. Bye.