克服减肥平台期

译者 Pavlov

Just because your weight loss has stalled, don't revert back to your old bad habits. These tips can help you restart your weight-loss plan.

如果你的减肥计划停滞不前，请不要重拾你从前的坏习惯。下面的这些技巧可以帮助你重启减肥计划。

You've diligently worked to improve your diet and exercise habits, and you've been rewarded by seeing the number on the scale continue to drop. But then for no reason you can see, the scale doesn't budge — even though you're still eating a healthy, low-calorie diet and exercising regularly. You've hit a weight-loss plateau.

你努力改善自己的饮食和锻炼习惯，并且取得了体重在量上可以看得见的持续下降来作为回报。但是紧接着你会发现，体重规模不再减小——即使你仍然坚持健康、低热量的饮食习惯和有规律的锻炼。这时，你已经进入一个减肥的平台期。

Before you get too discouraged, you should know that it's normal for weight loss to slow and even stall. By understanding what causes a weight-loss plateau, you can decide how to respond and avoid backsliding on your healthy-eating and exercise habits.

在感到非常沮丧之前，你应该知道减肥过慢甚至停滞是再正常不过的。通过对减肥平台期原因的认识，你可以决定如何应对，以免造成健康饮食和锻炼习惯的倒退。

What is a weight-loss plateau?

何为减肥平台期？

A weight-loss plateau occurs when you no longer lose weight despite continuing with your exercise and healthy-eating habits. Being stuck at a weight-loss plateau eventually happens to everyone who is trying to lose weight. At that point, losing additional weight becomes more difficult. Although hitting a plateau is common, most people are surprised when it happens to them, believing that if they just maintain a reduced-calorie diet, they should continue to lose weight. The frustrating reality is that even well-planned weight-loss efforts can become stalled.

尽管你仍旧坚持自己的锻炼和健康饮食习惯，但体重不再降低，这就是减肥平台期。每个试图减肥的人都会遇到一个减肥平台期，在此时减掉额外的体重会变得更加困难。尽管遇到平台期再正常不过，但大部分人还是非常的吃惊，他们相信只要保持低热量饮食，他们应该会继续减重。令人沮丧的现实是，甚至精心准备的减肥努力也会泡汤。

What causes a weight-loss plateau?

是什么原因导致出现减肥平台期呢？

The progression from initial weight loss to a weight-loss plateau follows a typical pattern. During the first few weeks of losing weight, a rapid drop in pounds is normal. When calories from food are reduced, the body gets needed energy by releasing its stores of glycogen, a type of carbohydrate found in the muscles and liver. Glycogen holds onto water, so when glycogen is burned for energy, it also releases the water — about 4 grams of water for every gram of glycogen — resulting in substantial weight loss that's mostly water.

下面是一个从最初减肥到减肥平台期整个过程的典型模式。在最初减肥的几个星期，迅速减掉几磅是正常的。当减少食物中的卡路里后，人体通过释放所储存的糖原——一种储存在肝脏或者肌肉中的碳水化合物——来得到所需的能量。糖原与水紧密结合，因此当糖原燃烧得到能量时，也会释放出水来——大约每克糖原释放四克水，这就造成减掉的相当一部分体重中大部分是水。

A plateau occurs because your metabolism — the process of burning calories for energy — slows as you lose lean tissue (muscle). When you lose weight, you lose both fat and lean tissue. (The notion that overweight people have a slower metabolism is a myth. In general, the higher a person's weight, the higher the body's metabolic rate.) Your weight-loss efforts result in a new equilibrium with your now slower metabolism. This means that in order to lose more weight, you need to increase activity or decrease the calories you eat. Using the same approach that worked initially will maintain your weight loss, but it won't lead to more weight loss.

随着你减掉瘦肉组织（肌肉），你的新陈代谢——燃烧卡路里得到热量的过程——放缓，平台期就出现了。当你减肥时，同时减掉脂肪和瘦肉组织。（超重的人拥有较慢的新陈代谢的概念是一个神话。总的来说，一个人的体重越高，其身体的代谢率就越高。）随着你代谢率的减慢，你的减肥努力达到了一个新的平衡。这意味着，要想减掉更多的脂肪，你需要增加运动量或者降低摄入热量。继续使用跟最开始起效的办法相同的办法只能让你保持体重，但是不能让你继续减重。