Karen is not lazy. Karen is not weak. Karen is not "undisciplined."

Karen may be you… if you've ever alphabetized your supplements and weighed blueberries like they were precious metals.

Karen started her diet on a Monday.

Of course she did. New macros.

New app = New identity.

For the first few weeks?

Flawless.

Scale down. Waist tighter. Training numbers mostly holding.

That smug little glow of moral superiority you get when you turn down cake and say, "I'm good."

Karen was perfect on her diet.

And perfection is where the trouble starts...

... because your body doesn't do perfection long-term.

The Cracks Nobody Warns You About

Around week six, Karen noticed something strange. She wasn't tired tired… but she wasn't sharp either.

Sleep got lighter. Her normal warm-up felt heavier. Coffee stopped hitting the same.

But Karen is disciplined and listens to David Goggins twice day so she upped it to 3 times a day with a dash of Joe Rogan and a hint of Jocko YouTube clips to boot (1).

So she did what disciplined people do and cut out more carbZ cuz da insulin bro and added Zone 2 cardio per Dr Peter Attia's podcast (2).

She told herself, "This is just the grind, suck it up buttercup."

Her physiology heard that and said: "Oh cool, we're doing famine cosplay now."

Here's the part nobody warns Karen about. Her body didn't rebel overnight.

It adapted. Quietly. Efficiently. Ruthlessly.

Her metabolism downshifted like a Prius coasting downhill.

NEAT vanished—less fidgeting, less movement, more feeling like her couch was now a black hole of massive gravity.

Hunger hormones crept up like a bad neighborhood. Satiety hormones took a smoke break.

Karen didn't lose discipline. Her body just stopped giving two hoots about her vision board and body comp goalZ.

The Rebound That "Came Out of Nowhere"

Karen swears it happened in one weekend.

Friday night: "I'll just have a little."

Saturday morning: cereal tasted like a religious experience.

Saturday night: why is there peanut butter on the counter? Sunday: I'll start again Monday.

By Tuesday, the scale was up five pounds.

Karen stood there, staring at the numbers, thinking: "I ruined everything."

No, Karen. Your nervous system finally pulled the emergency brake.

The Hidden Cost of Being "Perfect"

Here's what Karen doesn't realize yet. That rigid diet didn't just cost her fat loss progress.

It cost her trust in her body, confidence in her hunger cues, training quality, sleep depth, and metabolic flexibility.

Worst of all? It taught her the lie that she was the problem.

So she went hunting for a better diet instead of a better system..

...And thus the cycle continued. Different macros. Different rules. Same ending.

The Plot Twist

Eventually, Karen did something radical. She stopped trying to win with perfection.

She anchored protein.

She added carbs with training instead of fearing the ala "matched macros" concept. She slept like it mattered. She stopped treating stress like it was optional.

And something wild happened.

Her appetite calmed down.

Fat loss resumed without white-knuckle suffering. Her weight stopped rebounding like Tesla stock.

Karen didn't get softer and less disciplined. She got more adaptable.

That's the real goal.

Why I'm Telling You This

Because I see Karen everywhere. In my inbox. In consults. In coaches who swear their clients "just aren't compliant."

Rigid diets don't fail because people are weak. They fail because physiology always collects its debt.

There is no physiologic free lunch! Ever!

You can ignore it for a while. But eventually, it comes knocking… with interest.

If You Want the Full Story

Myself and coach Aram unpack this entire mess—mechanisms, coaching fixes, and how to stop repeating Karen's saga—on the full podcast episode below along with a bunch of ranting about the fitness industry too.

If you have sensitive ears, you have been warned. Ear muffs = optional. Full podcast links are below

And if you coach humans (or want to stop accidentally wrecking them)… check out the Real Coaches Summit.

I don't make a dime off this link, but I have presented there and attended in the past so I can say first hand it is an amazing event!

Much love and metabolic forgiveness,

Dr Mike

References

1) I love all those dudes and I am so glad they are in the world, but don't base all your fitness info on the outliers nor assume that "trying harder" is the only key to success. Applied knowledge with violent consistency wins the day.

2) Ditto here, I love Dr Peter Attia's work overall and his approach, although I disagree that everyone needs Zone 2 cardio as the data does not support it unless you are a crazy elite cyclist.

_____________________

Mike T Nelson CISSN, CSCS, MSME, PhD
Associate Professor, Carrick Institute
Owner, Extreme Human Performance, LLC
Editorial Board Member, STRONG Fitness Mag

Mike T Nelson is a PhD and not a physician or registered dietitian. The contents of this email should not be taken as medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem - nor is it intended to replace the advice of a physician. Always consult your physician or qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health.

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