天天鍛煉，怎么還這么重呢！

A new gym-goer finds an exercise routine, sticks with it, and the pounds start coming off at a regular clip—until something changes. Not the person; they’re still exercising as hard as ever, sometimes harder, but the weight loss has stopped. What happened?

一個才迷上健身房的人，會先養(yǎng)成自己的鍛煉習慣，并堅持這個習慣，在此過程中他的體重也會慢慢下降，直到某些東西發(fā)生了改變。變的并不是這個人;他們還是像以前一樣刻苦鍛煉，甚至比以前更加刻苦，但他們的體重就是不再下降了。發(fā)生了什么事?

A new study in Current Biology looks at the problem that’s plagued some (though not all) exercisers, and concludes that it probably wasn’t anything they changed that caused the problem. Instead, it was something that they didn’t.

《當代生物學》上發(fā)表的一項新研究，調查了這個困擾著眾多健身者的問題，最后該研究認為并不是某些改變了的東西造成了這個問題。恰恰相反，正是他們沒有改變的一些東西導致這個問題出現。

Essentially, non-exercisers see a big benefit in weight loss right at the start of a new regime. But, once they’ve made the transition over to becoming a regular exerciser, their exercise routines (although they may stay the same or increase) are no longer showing big results. Even if they keep upping their exercise levels, sometimes by quite a lot, the jump in the energy they burn when going from almost no exercise to some exercise is never really replicated. Hence, there is a plateau in weight loss, to the frustration of many exercisers.

本質上來說，不經常鍛煉的人一旦開始鍛煉起來，他們的體重就會下降。但在他們慢慢習慣他們的鍛煉模式之后，他們的鍛煉習慣似乎再也沒有什么效果(即便他們和以前一樣在鍛煉)。甚至就算他們加大訓練量，但他們從不鍛煉到開始鍛煉之后出現的那種減重效果卻無法再次出現。也因此，他們減肥陷入了平臺期，這使得許多健身者們沮喪不已。

It’s no big surprise that a regular runner—as legs and lungs get stronger—starts to find the routine less and less taxing to the body. But what can we draw from all this about how weight loss really works? According to the study authors, while the change from not exercising to exercising is a big one, after that, our bodies tend to adapt to increases in activity to keep our energy levels roughly in-check. Even regularly increasing exercise is unlikely to burn up so many calories to drive weight loss on its own.

一個經常跑步的人會明白的是，隨著他們心肺能力和腿部力量增強，他們跑步的習慣越來越無法令他們的身體感到吃力。從這些事實里我們能得出什么結論呢?該研究的作者Herman Pontzer認為雖然人們從不鍛煉到鍛煉的過程中發(fā)生了很大改變，但我們的身體會慢慢習慣這樣的活動，以保障我們身體的能量消耗受到大致控制。就算我們不斷增加鍛煉也不大可能燃燒太多卡路里，使得我們的體重下降。

So trying to figure out how much weight loss exercise can cause may simply be the wrong question to ask. Perhaps there are better reasons than weight loss for people to exercise. It can help with weight loss, but it has much more measurable gains in improving strength, stopping loss of muscle or bone mass as you age, and even in enhancing mood.

因此試圖找到鍛煉能讓你減掉多少體重這個問題的答案，本身就是一個錯誤的行為。也許人們鍛煉有比減肥更好的理由。鍛煉有助于人們減肥，但它更加能夠提升我們的力量，停止我們老化過程中的肌肉流失和骨量流失，甚至能夠提升我們的情緒。

So, does exercise help people lose weight? The best answer seems to be yes, to a point—but the reasons to keep doing it reach much further than that.

那么，鍛煉能幫人們減肥嗎?最好的答案是在某種程度上它也許能夠幫你，但堅持鍛煉的理由卻比單純的減肥要多得多。