2017考研趣味閱讀：為什么你減肥總是不成功?

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Have you ever found yourself staring down at an empty bowl of ice cream wondering what just happened?

你是不是也遇到過這種情況：自己盯著空空如也的冰激凌杯，在想剛剛到底發生了什么?

Or holding an empty bag of M&Ms?

抑或傻乎乎地拎著被消滅干凈的巧克力袋子?

Let's face it — no one consciously decides to sabotage their diet. So how is it that your best intentions can be so blindsided by...by what?

面對現實吧——大家都不是有意識的要破壞自己的節食計劃。那么，我們立志瘦身的初衷究竟是怎樣被攻破的?又是被什么攻破的?

According to stimulus-response theory, we're often derailed by a kind of knee-jerk way of thinking: You see a TV commercial for a juicy bacon double cheeseburger (stimulus) and next thing you know you're driving to McDonald's (response).

根據刺激反應理論，我們常常會被下意識的思考方式所干擾：上一秒你在電視上看到培根雙層芝士漢堡的廣告(刺激)，下一秒你就發現自己已經在開車去麥當勞的路上了(反應)。

In order to minimize this kind of mindless eating, you need to become aware of the circumstances that leave you most susceptible to falling off the healthy food wagon.

若要盡可能地控制這些無意識的貪吃行為，你需要了解哪些情境因素會使你更容易偏離健康飲食的軌道。

You are particularly susceptible to knee-jerk sabotage when:

在下面這些情況下，你尤其容易受下意識思考方式的影響：

1. You're stressed. Whether it's caused by life challenges, illness, or fatigue, stress depletes you emotionally as well as physically.

當你倍感壓力時。生活中的挑戰、疾病或勞累都會讓你感到壓力，而不管是哪一種都會在精神上和體力上擊垮你。

When you become depleted, food — especially the salty, sweet, fatty, high calorie kind — beckons you with promises of escape, sedation, and comfort. Ah!

當你感到被擊垮時，食物——尤其是高鹽、高糖、高脂、高卡路里的食物——就在向你招手了：來吧!我能讓你逃離壓力，鎮靜放松下來!啊，如此美好!

And these promises aren't exaggerations. Food does offer the relief you seek — well, at least until you swallow!

而且它們沒說謊——食物(是的，吃進肚的食物)，的確能幫我們釋放壓力。

2. You're bored. Boredom is an emotion that leaves you feeling fidgety and somewhat out of control. Your go-to comfort food not only promises the distracting pleasure of something to do, but will flood your brain with feel-good chemicals. Your restlessness is swept away by the blissful tranquility of escape.

當你無聊時。無聊會讓你感覺煩躁不安、難以自控。這時你便向食物索取安慰，因為它不但能讓你忙活起來，分散注意力，還會讓你的大腦血液中流過令人愉快的化學物質。你的焦躁不安一掃而光，心頭洋溢著成功擺脫空虛的喜悅和寧靜。

3. You're watching TV (or otherwise distracted). We are creatures of habit as well as creatures of comfort. And what's more comforting — or mindless — than zoning out binge-watching your favorite TV series while digging into that bag of chips?

你在看電視的時候(或者其它思想不集中的時候)。人類是追求舒適感的生物，更是享受按習慣行事的生物。想象一下，當你可以放空大腦，一邊放肆地追你最愛的電視劇，一邊瘋狂地吃薯片，如此舒適愜意，無憂無慮，夫復何求?

Mindless distraction and snacking become ritualistic habits, just like a tub of popcorn becomes a must at the movie theater.

放空大腦、吃零食好像已成為一種固定的搭配，就像看電影就必須吃一桶爆米花一樣。

4. You're depressed or anxious. Emotional struggle and stress are inseparable, leaving you feeling desperate and out of control. Destructive eating is an anesthetic to your emotional pain and discomfort.

你沮喪或焦慮的時候。情緒上的困擾總是和壓力相伴相生，讓你感覺歇斯底里，不受控制。而大吃大喝就像麻醉劑，讓你暫時忘卻情緒上的痛苦和不適。

The feel-good chemical dopamine is released in the brain and — at least while you're eating — your emotional pain is numbed.

這時，大腦會釋放一種名為多巴胺的化學物質，你的情緒痛苦會被暫時麻醉——至少在你吃東西的時候是這樣的。

5. You're in a restaurant or planning to go out to eat. This is where your mind begins to "graze:" "Hmm, what am I in the mood for tonight?"

你在餐館或者正打算去下館子的時候。這時你的大腦就開始臆想了：“哎呀呀，今晚吃點什么好呢?”

This is "mind-tasting." Once you begin to mind-taste, you're already putting in motion the physiological changes associated with actually eating those delicious foods. Mind-tasting is a surefire way to open the door to destructive eating.

這就是“臆想的美味”。一旦你開始臆想美味，你就會經歷真正品嘗美食時才會有的心理變化。所以臆想美味必然導致大吃大喝。

6. You feel your stomach growl. You haven't eaten in a few hours, it's almost lunch time, and your stomach growls. For many people, this sets off a small panic: "I'm starving! I need to eat something right now."

你覺得肚子在叫的時候。好幾個小時沒吃東西了，又快到午飯飯點了，于是肚子開始叫了。而這會引起許多人的心理小恐慌：“餓死我了!必須馬上吃點東西才行。”

In typical knee-jerk fashion, you're conditioned to jump when your stomach beckons. More often than not, it's your mind, not your body, that needs to be fed.

這是典型的下意識行為：肚子一叫，你就習慣性地坐不住了。但往往真正餓的不是你的肚子，而是你的大腦。

7. You're alone or lonely. Loneliness is a stressful state, which at times is unavoidable. We try to reduce the stress of loneliness by using food to fill the emptiness in our lives.

你獨自一人或倍感孤獨的時候。孤獨能讓人感到壓力，這是不可避免的。于是我們用食物來填充空虛，以此減輕隨孤獨而來的壓力。

Food, quite literally, "fills" us. And when you're feeling empty and alone, being full can be quite comforting.

直白的說，食物就是能使我們充實的“實物”。如果你覺得空虛寂寞，吃飽肚子能讓你舒服許多。

8. You see or smell a nostalgic comfort food. The sight or aroma of a childhood comfort food can release in the brain the same chemicals involved in tasting these foods (mind-tasting again).

當你看到或聞到能讓你懷舊的食物時。當你看到或聞到童年吃過的食物時，大腦會釋放出和真正品嘗這些食物時相同的化學物質(又是臆想美味)。

It's why fast food restaurants have pictures on their menus. You stand there mind-tasting each possibility until you settle on the one choice that seems to offer the most satisfaction.

這也解釋了為什么快餐店會在菜單上附圖片。你只需站在那里就能臆想出每一道菜的美味，然后就拿定主意選擇了看起來最好吃的那一道。

9. You've had an alcoholic beverage — or three. Alcohol distorts both your physical and psychological perceptions of hunger. You probably already know that alcohol adds calories, weakens self-discipline, and stimulates hunger.

你喝了一杯酒精飲料的時候——或者三杯。酒精會使你對饑餓感產生錯覺。你也許已經知道了這些事實：酒精會增加卡路里攝取量，削弱自律能力，并刺激你的饑餓感。

Having a drink before or during your meal will lower your inhibitions and diminish your willpower. Save the wine for dessert.

飯前或飯中喝酒會使你放下防備，削弱你的意志力。所以紅酒還是留作飯后吃甜點的時候喝吧。

10. You're tired, you have access to junk food and it's late at night. Fatigue reduces your capacity for tolerating stress. Nighttime is when things begin to wind down, you've had a hard day, and you're hoping to reward yourself for having survived the day's demands.

你覺得累了，此時正值深夜，手頭又有現成垃圾食品的時候。勞累會削弱你對壓力的抵抗力。夜晚時分，萬籟俱寂，你已經忙碌了一整天，此時不由得希望能犒勞犒勞自己。

Or perhaps it's your knee-jerk, ritualistic need for a "night cap" before retiring. It's easy to fall prey to “tomorrow is another day” thinking and go for the brownies and glass of milk.

又或者，這只是你下意識的想法，你其實只是想在睡前再例行公事來點夜宵而已。你輕而易舉地說服自己，隨便今天怎么樣了，反正“明天又是新的一天”，然后就興致勃勃地跑去拿巧克力糕餅和牛奶了。