The causal relationship between willpower and diet is reciprocal: We need self-control to eat healthy, and we need to eat healthy to have good self-control. The first relationship is obvious, but what's the biological mechanism by which an unhealthy diet destroys willpower? Inflammation We typically think of inflammation as our immune system's response to physical injury or infection that causes redness, heat, pain, and swelling. But inflammation has cognitive and motivational effects as well. … [Read more...]
Little Bad Feelings & Personal Growth
Every failure is an opportunity for growth. It is easy to see that. But also: A little bad feeling is a little opportunity for growth. It is easy to overlook that—and to deaden little bad feelings with little bad pleasures (sugar, drugs, porn, entertainment).* Let us take good, mindful little steps on our path to greatness. Let us walk with little bad feelings. * Advanced insight: Sometimes we choose little bad pleasures not to make us feel better, but to avoid feeling out of control. For … [Read more...]
Expectations, Mental Toughness, and My 72-Hour Fasting Challenge
In two hours, I'll have completed a 3-day water fast. This means that I haven't eaten, haven't put anything into my mouth except water and mouthwash, for 70 hours. And, as it turns out, I'm still feeling great. Having never done more than a 36-hour fast before in my life, I got worried, especially after, well, 36 hours: "I guess I shouldn't be training and lifting weights. And what if I break down later from fatigue at my physically demanding job? And if I make it through, won't I then waste … [Read more...]
Ketogenic Freedom or Why I’m on a Keto Diet
The day I decided to go on a ketogenic diet was the day my recreational interest in nutrition became obsessive. I started reading books about it, researching all the latest scientific papers that showed most promising results, especially regarding health optimization and muscle recovery, and fueling my enthusiasm with the experiences I made myself by being on the diet. This was over a year ago. Strength performance was my greatest concern, though. I didn’t need to lose weight, as I was … [Read more...]
Mental Clarity in Ketosis
As a cognitive scientist, I've been fascinated by the concept of mental clarity ever since I started experiencing it as a major benefit of living in a state of ketosis. Since no scientific definition of mental clarity exists and I don't intend to invent one, here's a bad analogy: Ketosis is to consciousness what glasses are to myopia, bringing blurry images into focus. Thus my first hypothesis: Mental clarity augments the vividness by which you see cognitive structures in your mind, enhancing … [Read more...]