Why Most Diets Fail

By Joel Jamieson

More evidence is beginning to show the link between chronic inflammation, obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

The more body fat you have, the more inflammation you produce which leads to increased leptin and decreased insulin sensitivity to further increase body fat levels.

This happens because body fat releases inflammatory markers (cytokines), which interfere with insulin/leptin sensitivity to promote additional fat gain in a vicious cycle.

Applying this to why diets fail…
Too much caloric deficit combined with too much stress leads to chronic inflammation, which in turn leads to fat storage instead of fat loss as leptin and insulin sensitivity is disrupted.

So rather than lapses in eating or laziness, diets often fail because of too much stress combined with too much caloric deficit leading to inflammation.

What about building muscle?
Inflammation as a result of high stress also leads to decreases in strength gains and muscle size gains.

How do we use HRV to tell us about our levels of inflammation?
Decreases in HRV indicate an increase in stress and inflammation; increases in HRV indicate a stronger anti-inflammatory response

Coming Up Next: How to use HRV in your training.