In this episode, I chat with Zack Rutledge about how food and exercise can impact your mental health. Zack is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Nutrition Specialist and a Certified Brain Health Trainer through the Functional Aging Institute. We also talk about his personal story dealing with depression, the gut-brain connection, how a synergistic approach can help with mental health issues, and so much more.
“You have to forgive yourself for eating junk food. You’re not going to feel great after you eat a pile of stuff so it’s not like you have to beat yourself up on top of it.” – Zack Rutledge
“There’s not one flavor of depression and there’s not one specific cause but the unifying factor in everyone’s depression is we can all climb out of it.” – Zack Rutledge
“If I can figure out any tool that can help boost my mental health even by just one point, I want to make sure I’m doing that.” – Melanie Lockert
What You Will Learn From This Episode
- The importance of understanding your feeling/emotions and doing the work
- How exercise affects your mental health – the cognitive boost and the formation of cannabinoids
- The impact of nutrition on your mental health – the mind-gut connection
- What to do to optimize nutrition and exercise as a tool for mental health issues
- How a synergistic approach can help in dealing with mental health issues
- How to be more compassionate with yourself in regards to your eating choices
- What a Brain Health Trainer does to help people
About Zack Rutledge:
Zack S. Rutledge is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer, an ACE Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist, and a Certified Brain Health Trainer through the Functional Aging Institute. He has a black belt in karate and has practiced yoga for almost a decade. He holds an MA from American University in Washington, D.C., and starts his Licensed Professional Counseling grad program in January of 2022.
Resources:
Resources include affiliate links which support the website and podcast.
- The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health by Emeran Mayer, M.D.
- Pickleball
- The Official Depression Relief Playbook: Real-Life Strategies From a Guy Who Has Lived It by Zack S. Rutledge
- The Effects of Acute Exercise on Mood, Cognition, Neurophysiology, and Neurochemical Pathways: A Review
Connect with Zack
Connect with Melanie
Want more content and support?
Sign up for the Mental Hump Newsletter and get our free Mental Health and Money inventory worksheet. You can sign up at MentalHealthandWealth.com.
Also, we host a Mental Health and Wealth Hangout every other Thursday over Zoom at 5 pm PT to chat about all things money and mental health. Join here!
If you’d like to support the podcast, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/melanielockert
Follow us on Apple Podcast or Libsyn!
Love the podcast? Leave a review on iTunes!