你还在靠节⻝减肥吗？

（全⽂阅读时间约为2分钟。Approximate reading time 2 minutes)

怎么减肥最有效？

What is the best way to lose weight?

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少吃多动，对吧？我以前也这么想。我曾经对此坚信不疑，甚⾄觉着那些减不下来的⼈就是因为毅⼒不够。在对营养和健康有了更深的了解之后，才意识到以前的我曾经这么傲慢。

Eat less and exercise more, right? I used to think so. I believe in it so much that I thought all those people who cannot lose weight just lack discipline to do the right thing. Now having a more sophisticated understanding how our body and nutrition work, I feel embarrassed for my arrogance.

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如果你还在为了减肥细数每⼀个吃下去的卡路⾥，那真的应该停下⾥，重新审视⼀下你视为真理的假设。

If you are still painstakingly watch your calories intake in the hope of losing some weight, you should really stop and reexamine your assumptions.

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不要暴饮暴⻝当然重要，多多运动当然很好。但这些对减肥来说都不是最为重要的因素。

Not overeating is important. Exercising is important. But in terms of maintaining a healthy weight, they are by far not the most important factors at all. 

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我在很多地⽅都读过吃什么⽐吃多少更为重要的理论，但格瑞 • 塔尔伯的书 “我们为什么会胖”给了我很好的科学解释。 

I have read much about how WHAT you eat matters much more than HOW MUCH you eat, Gary Taube’s book “Why We Get Fat” clarifified some scientifific explanations for me. 

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他给出的一个例子叫做“胖路易莎悖论“： 

One of the examples he gave was Fat Louisa Paradox: 

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1846年，波尔⻢部落的⽣活很不错，吃得也很好。但到20世纪初的时候，因为太多的新⼈定居于此，夺取了很多资源，这个部落衰落了。很多时候他们不得不靠政府的补助过活， 吃的东⻄和吃的量都很以前大为不同。可是，他们却开始变得肥胖。

In 1846, Perma Tribe had abundance of food and lived good lives. But by early 1900s, they have fell in poverty as a result of too many settlers in their land, and had to survive on government subsidies. The amount of food and types of food they eat have changed. Yet, they have become obese collectively.

另外⼀个例⼦来⾃约翰 • 霍普⾦斯⼤学教授本杰明 • 卡波来若的观察：

Another example the author gave was the observation made by Benjamin Caballero, a professor at John Hopkins University:  

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“⼏年前，我在巴⻄圣保罗贫⺠区的⼀个保健诊所。候诊区坐满了抱着孩⼦的妈妈们。这些孩⼦都很瘦弱，发育不良，很明显缺乏营养。可悲的是，这在发展中国家贫穷地区很常⻅。但不常⻅的是，很多妈妈们却很肥胖。这种瘦弱和肥胖在⼀起的情况对于公共卫⽣是个挑战，因为那些减少营养不良和预防肥胖的措施⼀般都是有冲突的。”

“A few years ago, I was visiting a primary care clinic in the slums of Sao Paulo [Brazil]. The waiting room was full of mothers with thin, stunted young children, exhibiting the typical signs of chronic undernutrition. Their appearance, sadly, would surprise few who visit poor urban areas in the developing world. What might come as a surprise is that many of the mothers holding those under-nourished infants were themselves overweight… The coexistence of underweight and overweight poses a challenge to public health programs, since the aims of programs to reduce undernutrition are obviously in conflflict with those for obesity prevention.”

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这些表⾯看起来和直觉相违背的现象其实在⽣物学⽅⾯都有它的道理。 

These all seem counter-intuitive until you look at the biological underpinnings of our bodies. 

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让我们⽤最简单的⽅式来描述⼀下脂肪在体内是如何运作的。脂肪以脂肪酸的形式为⼈体提供能量，当它储存起来时，脂肪酸会进⼊脂肪细胞，和⽢油相结合，以⽢油三酸酯的⽅式储藏在脂肪细胞⾥。⽢油三酯酸⽐脂肪酸的体积⼤，⽆法直接穿越细胞膜。如果需要穿过细胞膜到细胞外，需要重新分解成脂肪酸，因为脂肪酸的体积较⼩。脂肪会在脂肪酸和⽢油三酯酸之间进⾏不断的转换。 

Let’s look at how fats work in our body in the most simplifified terms possible. Fat is burned as energy in the form of fatty acids. When fat needs to be stored, fatty acids get into the fat cell, bond with glycerol to form triglycerides. Triglycerides are too big to go through the cell membrane. If they need to get out of cell membrane, they break down into fatty acids again, which are small enough to get through the cell membrane. So there is this continuous cycle between fatty acids and triglycerides.

不难理解，如果很多脂肪酸进⼊脂肪细胞，以⽢油三酯酸的⽅式存储在脂肪细胞⾥，这些脂肪细胞就会变胖，那你就变胖了。如果很多⽢油三酯酸分解成脂肪酸，从脂肪细胞⾥出来，那脂肪细胞就会变瘦，你也就变瘦了。

So it’s not hard to understand that when more fatty acids move into fat cells and are stored as triglycerides, the fat cells are fatter and make you fatter; when more triglycerides get broken down and move out of the fat cells, the fat cells get leaner and make you leaner. 

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那问题是，是什么让脂肪酸进⼊脂肪细胞储藏起来呢？是什么阻⽌⽢油三酯酸从脂肪细胞⾥出来呢？

Then the question is, what moves fatty acids into fat cells? And what stops the triglycerides from breaking down and backing out of fat cells?

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最主要的因素之⼀是叫做胰岛素的荷尔蒙。提到胰岛素，很多⼈就会想到糖尿病，但胰岛素的作⽤远不⽌是将⾎糖转化成能量。胰岛素还调节脂肪的新陈代谢，它帮助脂肪的储藏，并且抑制⽢油三酯酸的分解。 

One of the most important factors is the hormone insulin. Most people only associate insulin with diabetic conditions, but insulin has more functions than burning glucose. Insulin is the principal regulator of fat metabolism. It facilitates the storage of fat and inhibits the break-down of triglycerides.  

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著名的诺⻉尔奖获得者罗莎琳·雅洛（Rosalyn Yalow）和所罗⻔·伯森（Solomon Berson）早在1965年就这样描述脂肪细胞释放脂肪酸：“仅需要胰岛素缺乏的负⾯刺激。” 也就是说，如果胰岛素降低，脂肪酸就可以从脂肪细胞⾥释放出来。

The renowned Nobel Prize winner Rosalyn Yalow and Solomon Berson stated this in 1965 about fatty acids releasing from fat cells: “REQUIRES ONLY THE NEGATIVE STIMULUS OF INSULIN DEFICIENCY".  In other words, if insulin drops, fatty acids can be released from fat cells.

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所以如果你的胰岛素⼀直很⾼，那么脂肪就很容易被储藏起来，你就很容易增肥。如果胰岛素降下来，脂肪就很容易分解，从脂肪细胞⾥出来，脂肪储藏量就会降低，你的体重就会减轻。 

So if you have chronically high level of insulin, fats accumulates and you gain weight. If the insulin drops, fat can get back out of the fat cells and the fat depots shrink, and you lose weight. 

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那么是什么让你的胰岛素⽔平维持⾼位？ 

What makes insulin level high? 

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⼈体内胰岛素的分泌主要是对⻝物中碳⽔化合物的反应。

Secretion of insulin is primarily in response to the carbohydrates in the diet.

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所以说，如果想要减肥，降低饮⻝中碳⽔化合物的含量远⽐少吃有效地多。是的，我说的就是那些⾯包，馒头，⾯条，通⼼粉，⽶饭，⻨⽚，所有的甜⻝，还有⼟⾖等。

Now it is understandable why cutting carbohydrates is a much more effective way to lose weight than simply eating less. Yes, I am talking about bread, noodles, pasta, rice, cereal, all sweets, and even potatoes, etc. 

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我知道这对很多⼈来说都极具挑战，尤其是那些饮⻝从⼩就以碳⽔化合物为主的⼈来说。但我⿎励那些想减肥的⼈尝试两周内⼤幅减少碳⽔化合物，⽽不改变其它任何习惯，看⼀看会有什么效果。

I understand this could be quite a tall order, especially for people who have traditionally grown up on a carb rich diet. But I challenge you to try to dramatically reduce carbohydrates in your diet for two weeks without any other lifestyle changes, and see how this works out for you.

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当然，让你腰身渐圆的东⻄不仅仅是你吃的东⻄。原因是多方面的。另外一个是压力。 

Of course what could make your love handle grow bigger is not just what’s on your plate.  There are multiple factors.  One other factor is stress. 

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我们的身体只有两种能量来源：⾎糖和脂肪。当身体处在压⼒和焦虑状态时，它会⾸先选择利⽤能够快速提供能量的来源：⾎糖。所以，如果你⻓期处于压⼒之下，你的身体总是在燃烧⾎糖，⽽不是脂肪。那脂肪就会慢慢堆积起来。

Our body has only two fuel sources: glucose and fat. When the body is in stress mode, it will turn to the fast burning fuel: glucose. When you are in chronic stress, you are always burning glucose and never fat, which causes more fat to accumulate. 

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睡眠不好也会让你难以减肥，原因之⼀， 睡眠不⾜让两个控制饥饿感的荷尔蒙失衡：⽣⻓素和瘦素。⽣⻓素刺激你的胃⼝，⽽瘦素控制你的胃⼝。缺乏睡眠让你的⽣⻓素增⾼，瘦素降低，你就会总想吃东⻄，迟迟不觉得饱。 

Sleep can cause you gain weight in several ways, one of which is to mess with the hunger hormones: ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin stimulates your appetite and leptin decreases it. Sleep deprivation spikes up ghrelin and surpasses leptin level, which makes you want to eat more and makes it diffiicult to feel full and stop eating.

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就像和健康有关的很多事情⼀样，维持⼀个健康的体重是多⽅位的协调，⽽不是单一的线性。

Like so many things related to our health, maintaining a healthy weight is concerted dance instead of a linear connection.

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参照：

References:

1.  Taubes, Gary. What Makes Us Fat

2. The Connection Between Sleep and Overeating. sleepfoundation.org

3.  Weaver, Libby. The Perception of Stress

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