经科学验证，一种简单的减肥方法

经科学验证，一种简单的减肥方法

Losing weight is often at the forefront of many people's minds at the start of the year. But if weight loss was your goal for 2019, chances are that by now, you've probably already experienced some challenges.

在新年伊始，减肥往往是许多人最关心的事情。但如果你的2019年目标是减肥，那么很有可能到目前为止，你已经经历了一些挑战。

That's because sticking to a strict calorie controlled diet is not an easy task in modern environments – where tasty and high energy foods are attractive and easily available.

这是因为在现代环境中，坚持严格的卡路里控制饮食并非易事，因为在现代环境中，美味和高能量的食物很有吸引力，而且很容易获得。

Dieting is also made particularly difficult by our body's rapid response to decreases in food intake but opposing lack of response to overeating.

节食也变得特别困难，因为我们的身体对食物摄入量的减少做出快速反应，而对过度饮食缺乏反应。

This will be a familiar experience for many who have experienced almost immediate increases in hunger when dieting.

对于许多在节食时饥饿感几乎立即增加的人来说，这将是一个熟悉的经历。

Most people will also have experienced how easy it is to overeat during holiday periods or other occasions.

大多数人也经历过在假期或其他场合暴食是多么容易。

A main course meal at a UK full service restaurant, for example, is likely to contain more than half of the calories required for an entire day.

例如，在英国一家提供全套服务的餐厅，一顿主菜可能包含超过一天所需热量的一半。

Overeating not detected

暴饮暴食不检测

Our recent research has shown that overeating is poorly detected in humans, even when energy intake is increased to provide an excess of more than 1,000 calories per day.

我们最近的研究表明，即使增加能量摄入以提供每天超过1000卡路里的热量，人类也很难发现暴饮暴食。

In this study, overeating with 150 percent of the required daily calories did not change the appetite of participants.

在这项研究中，每天摄入150%所需热量的过量饮食，并没有改变参与者的食欲。

We tested for this by looking at appetite ratings and levels of specific hormones known to regulate appetite, as well as checking the food intake of participants during the next day.

我们通过观察食欲等级和调节食欲的特定激素水平，以及在第二天检查参与者的食物摄入量来测试这一点。

Our findings showed how the body fails to adjust to account for these additional calories.

我们的研究结果显示，身体无法适应这些额外的热量。

This makes sense from an evolutionary perspective because in environments with limited access to food, overeating when food was available to our ancestors would increase their chances of survival by keeping them fuelled until food was available again.

从进化的角度来看，这是有道理的，因为在食物获取有限的环境中，当我们的祖先有食物的时候吃得过多会增加他们的生存机会，让他们一直保持能量直到食物再次获得。

This shows that being aware of calorie intakes is important because short periods of accidental overeating can be sufficient to cause weight gain or impair weight loss.

这表明意识到卡路里的摄入是很重要的，因为短暂的意外暴饮暴食足以导致体重增加或损害减肥计划。

Indeed, some evidence suggests that increases in body weight during the festive periodare maintained throughout the rest of the year. And may also be responsible for incremental annual increases in body weight.

事实上，一些证据表明，只在节日期间体重增加，在一年的其余时间里保持不变，也可能是导致体重逐年增加的原因。

Similarly, overeating on a weekend can easily cancel out a strict diet that is maintained on weekdays.

同样，周末暴饮暴食也很容易抵消工作日的严格饮食习惯。

But understanding how easy it is to overeat does not mean that weight loss can't be achieved. In fact, knowing this can help with weight loss – by being more aware of dietary choices.

但是，知道暴饮暴食是多么容易并不意味着减肥是不可能实现的。事实上，了解这一点可以帮助减肥——通过更多地了解饮食选择。

Don't forget exercise

别忘了锻炼

Despite our body's bias for weight gain, correct diet and lifestyle changes will produce and maintain weight loss if this is the desired aim.

尽管我们的身体对体重增加有偏见，如果这是我们想要的目标，正确的饮食和生活方式的改变将产生并保持体重减轻。

Exercise may often be overlooked as people seek "the best diet for weight loss". But getting active still remains important if you want to lose weight – and especially for maintaining weight loss over prolonged periods of time.

当人们寻求“最佳减肥食谱”时，运动常常被忽视。但是，如果你想减肥的话，运动仍然很重要，尤其是对于长时间保持减肥效果。

Exercise can complement dietary changes and help to minimise the increases in hunger experienced from dieting alone.

运动可以补充饮食的变化，并有助于将单纯节食引起的饥饿感增加降到最低。

This is because exercise does not cause an increase in hunger to the same extent as dieting, despite also creating an energy deficit for weight loss.

这是因为运动不会像节食那样导致饥饿的增加，尽管运动也会造成减肥所需的能量不足。

In fact, hunger is reduced when exercising intensely, which may help to stave off hunger pangs while increasing the energy deficit.

事实上，当剧烈运动时，饥饿感会减少，这可能有助于缓解饥饿感，同时增加能量不足。

The importance of exercise for maintaining weight loss was also recently highlighted with participants from the US televised weight loss competition, The Biggest Loser.

最近，美国电视直播的减肥比赛《减肥达人》的参赛者，也强调了锻炼对保持体重的重要性，他们是最大的输家。

The tracking of participants for six years after the show revealed that the people who maintained their weight loss had increased their physical activity by 160 percent.

在节目播出后的六年里，对参与者的跟踪显示，那些坚持减肥的人，他们的体育活动增加了160%。

Whereas those who regained their lost weight had only increased physical activity by 34 percent.

而那些体重反弹的人只增加了34%的身体活动。

Flexibility needed

需要灵活

Regardless of which dieting approach you choose, it is likely you will need a degree of flexibility – as most diets will require some compromise.

无论你选择哪种节食方法，你都可能需要一定程度的灵活性——因为大多数节食都需要一些妥协。

Perhaps, for example, you are invited to attend a meal at a restaurant for a special occasion or there is a holiday celebration involving additional eating.

例如，你可能会被邀请参加一个特殊场合的餐厅用餐，或者有一个节日庆典，包括额外的饮食。

Being aware that your body is not likely to respond to the increased calorie intake means that you can adjust your behaviour to avoid or compensate for any overeating, for example by being more mindful of food choices in the days before or after an occasion, or increasing your exercise levels to counter any excesses.

意识到你的身体不太可能对增加的卡路里摄入量做出反应，这意味着你可以调整你的行为以避免或补偿任何暴饮暴食，例如，在某个场合之前或之后的几天里更加注意食物的选择，或者增加你的运动量以减少摄入过多的卡路里。

What all this shows is that ultimately we should not rely on feedback signals from our body to detect levels of calorie intakes. Instead, conscious monitoring of diet and lifestyle behaviours is more than sufficient to counter our body's natural bias for weight gain.

所有这些都表明，我们最终不应该依靠身体的反馈信号来检测卡路里的摄入量。相反，有意识地监控饮食和生活方式的行为，足以对抗我们身体对体重增加的自然偏见。

And by appreciating this need for conscious monitoring, it may help you to achieve any desired weight loss goals over the year ahead.

通过意识到这种有意识的监控的必要性，它可能会帮助你在未来一年里实现任何想要的减肥目标。