Is it possible to lose weight fast? - Hei Man Chan

Translator: Waiin Kuan Reviewer: Aubrey Cheng

In the wealthiest circles of Victorian England,

喺維多利亞時期英國嘅富人圈裏

bizarre fads ran rampant.

怪異時尚風潮四起

But perhaps none was as strange as the tapeworm diet,

但也許冇一種比線蟲減重法更古怪

in which dieters swallowed an unhatched tapeworm

減重人士會吞咗未孵化嘅線蟲

and let it grow inside them by consuming undigested meals.

讓線蟲寄生喺體內，食咗未被消化嘅食物

Obviously, this is an exceptionally dangerous and unhealthy way

當然呢個係一種極危險

而損害身心嘅體重管理方式

to manage your weight.

However, while modern fad diets aren't usually this extreme,

現今流行嘅減重方法雖則唔會咁極端

they do promise similar results; specifically, losing weight fast.

都保證會有類似成效， 特別係極速減重

So, are there any fast diets that do work?

所以，有冇任何速效嘅減重方法呢？

And are any of them actually healthy for you?

而嗰啲方法係咪對你真係健康呢？

To answer these questions, let’s consider a thought experiment.

要解答呢啲疑問，我哋試諗吓一個實驗

Sam and Felix are identical twins both planning to go on a diet.

Sam同Felix係對完全一樣嘅雙胞胎， 正計劃進行節食

They share the same height, weight, fat and muscle mass.

佢哋嘅身高、體重同肌肉量都相同

But Sam is hoping to lose weight slowly, while Felix wants to go fast.

Sam希望慢慢減磅， Felix打算極速完成

Sam's plan is to gradually decrease his calorie intake

Sam計劃逐步減低攝取卡路里

and increase his regular exercise.

同埋增強佢嘅日常規律運動

With less energy coming in and more being expended,

從而降低攝取量，幫助消耗更多能量

he’s creating an energy deficit inside his body.

佢令身體常常處喺消耗能量嘅狀態

To compensate, Sam’s body begins breaking down his emergency glucose supply,

而Sam嘅身體需要補足， 所以開始分解出應急葡萄糖替代

stored in the liver in the form of glycogen.

以糖原嘅形態儲存喺肝臟

Then, after 4 to 6 hours, his body starts burning fat cells

四至六個鐘後， 佢嘅身體開始燃燒脂肪細胞

as a major energy source.

以此作為主要嘅能量來源

This process releases lipid droplets

身體喺呢個過程中會釋放出油滴

which are broken down into compounds that float through the bloodstream

油滴轉化為混合物喺血液中流動

and provide energy to organs and tissues.

再供能量到各個器官同組織

Felix aims to create a similar energy deficit

而Felix目標係透過完全戒除攝入卡路里

by dramatically cutting his calorie intake.

讓身體產生相似嘅能量消耗狀態

Unlike Sam, who’s still eating smaller meals,

相反，Sam仍舊食緊少量嘅餐點

Felix is eating almost nothing.

Felix卻幾乎唔食任何嘢

And his body responds by going into a starvation response.

所以佢嘅身體反應轉為進入飢餓狀態

Felix’s body breaks down his entire store of emergency glucose in just 18 hours.

僅僅十八個鐘， Felix嘅身體分解出所有應急葡萄糖

And while Sam steadily replenishes glycogen with every healthy meal,

Sam喺營養均衡嘅餐點穩定吸收卡路里

Felix’s low-calorie diet does not.

而Felix嘅低卡減重方法卻冇成效

Desperate for energy, his body starts breaking down other materials,

佢嘅身體極度需求能量， 繼而開始分解出其他物質

including his muscles.

包括佢嘅肌肉

Meanwhile, Sam’s regular exercise is maintaining his muscle mass.

同時，Sam嘅規律運動 維持住佢嘅肌肉量

This means he’ll use more energy both during exercise and at rest,

即係話佢喺運動同休息期間， 也會幫助消耗更多能量

making it easier for him to lose weight.

令佢更易減磅

Felix, on the other hand, is losing muscle mass

另一方面，Felix流失緊肌肉量

and burning fewer calories than ever for his body's basic functions,

佢嘅身體基本機能， 從未燃燒過咁少嘅卡路里

making weight loss even more difficult.

令佢更難減磅

Despite all this, there’s one element of Felix’s fast diet

此外，Felix嘅極速減重法 仲有一個因素

that might make him think he's on the right track.

令Felix認為佢嘅減重方法係啱嘅

Every gram of glycogen is bound to several grams of water.

每一克嘅糖原都混合幾克水嘅成份

This can add up to two kilograms of water weight,

合計達兩公斤水嘅重量

all of which is lost when the glycogen is depleted.

當糖原耗盡，其他成份都會流失

For Felix, this might seem like he’s losing weight fast.

對Felix嚟講，佢似乎係極速減磅

But as soon as he stops starving himself,

但當佢一停止節食

his body will replenish its glycogen store and regain that weight.

佢嘅身體就會補返糖原儲存量同增返磅

Clearly, Felix’s plan does more harm than good,

無疑Felix嘅計劃係害多益少

but extreme calorie reduction diets aren’t the only regimens

然而極端削減卡路里減重法 唔係唯一嘅食療法

promising to shed weight fast.

呢個方法有望能極速減磅

Plans called “detoxification diets” either promote or restrict certain foods

叫做「排毒減重法」， 一係推廣或限制某類食品

to provide specific nutrients in high quantities.

去提供大量特定嘅營養品

These can be useful for addressing some nutritional problems,

呢啲營養品或許針對某啲營養問題係有效

but they’re far too specific to be used as general cure-alls.

但太過於特定，唔係個個啱用

For example, for a person with low vitamin A,

舉例，一個人嘅維他命 A 不足

a juice diet might be helpful.

蔬果汁減重法可能有效嘅

But for someone high in vitamin A, juicing could be disastrous.

但如果個人嘅維他命 A 過量， 飲蔬果汁可能會出事

And regardless of personal nutrition,

撇開唔講身體嘅營養

maintaining a juice diet over multiple weeks

若持續多過幾個禮拜用蔬果汁減重法

is likely to compromise the immune system

好可能因少咗重要嘅脂肪同蛋白質

due to a lack of essential fats and proteins.

而損害到免疫系統

Therein lies the problem with all these fast-moving diets—

呢個就係所有極速減磅會引起嘅問題

whether you’re cutting calories or food groups,

無論係戒除卡路里抑或食物種類

extreme diets are a shock to your system.

極端節食對你嘅身體必然係個打擊

There are well-established rates of healthy weight loss

而家有好多完善良好嘅健康減重方法

motivated by both diet and exercise

透過節食同運動

that account for genetic and medical differences.

解釋到遺存學同醫學上嘅區別

And staying on those timelines requires a dietary lifestyle that’s sustainable.

想保持健康，需要一種能維持嘅飲食習慣

In fact, some of the worst side effects of extreme diets

事實上，極端節食會出現 非常嚴重嘅副作用

are rarely discussed since so few people stick with them,

但好少人會持續極端節食，所以較少討論

it also bears mentioning that many societies have unhealthy relationships

值得一提，大部分群眾實際都有不良體重

with weight,

and people are often pressured to diet for reasons other than health or happiness.

人往往喺壓力下用各種理由去減磅， 而唔係是為咗健康同快樂

So rather than trying to lose weight fast,

噉睇嚟與其嘗試去迅速減磅

we should all be taking our time to figure out

我哋都應該花時間去諗清楚

what the healthiest lifestyle is for ourselves.

咩生活方式對我哋先係最健康