The Whole View with Stacy Toth, Season 3, Episode 136: Willpower and the Connection Between Food & Mood w/ Jenn Trepeck

• Food is inextricably linked to culture and connection. It’s not solely nourishment and health.
• Furthermore, perfection does not serve us. Jenn believes nothing is a simple ‘yes/no’ and everything exists on a spectrum. It’s all just about the choices we make. “Optimizing” may not be the first step, so you have to meet yourself where you’re at.
• There are hunger and satiety hormones, ghrelin and leptin, and we can have resistance with those too.
• The absence of some vitamins and nutrients in your diet could lead to some mental health issues. Lack of enough vitamins may also lead to fatigue, loss of appetite, and gastrointestinal disorders. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with active mood disorder and depression. Further investigations point out that vitamin D is important and is used during brain development. Vitamin D can be gotten naturally from the sun, inadequacy of vitamin D has been positively linked to mental problems [source].

Willpower

Fundamentally and according to how the body functions, willpower is decision-making. Willpower is self-control. Willpower is our ability to make decisions about long-term desire, so delayed gratification. We use it any and every time we control a thought, we control an emotion, we control an impulse, our performance. Any time we exert any self-control physical or mental we use our willpower. And every piece of our lives drinks from the one cup of willpower. – Jenn Trepeck

• Stacy and Jenn discuss the “science of willpower”. Stacy notes that the The Minnesota Starvation Experiment studied the physiological effects of severe and prolonged dietary restriction and the effectiveness of dietary rehabilitation strategies.  Among the conclusions from the study was the confirmation that prolonged semi-starvation produces significant increases in depression, hysteria and hypochondriasis; most of the subjects experienced periods of severe emotional distress and depression [source].
• Jen believes the difference in knowing what to do and doing it is understanding why and doesn’t use the word ‘should’ for that reason, as no one needs more ‘shoulds’ in their life. 
• Our body is constantly having a physiological response to stress beyond what it is meant for, as we were not made for modern stressors.

Next Steps

I think the expectation that we will be able to perform, that our body will function, that our brain will function, that we can to do all the things we want to do in the world and show up for all the people that we want to show up for in the world without the proper input is setting us up for frustration. – Jenn Trepeck

• Jenn believes that people who use willpower most effectively use it to create habits, because they become automatic and don’t require willpower so then you’ll have some left for the situations that require it. 
• Generally, the same things needed to balance blood sugar is the same thing that will steady mood, willpower, and stress: Movement, choosing foods that will support nutrient density, and deep breathing and using muscles, even if it feels counterintuitive
• Accountability dramatically increases our willpower. Look for a coach, gym buddy, make a declaration on social media, write it down for yourself, etc. Gamification can also be a useful tool.
• Practice selflessness
• Recognize the thing that helps today may not be the same thing that helps tomorrow
• When it comes down to it, just try something and continue build a toolbelt so you have different tools to pull out in any situation