Anyone who has ever tried to lose weight knows how difficult the whole journey can be. It should be as simple as burning more calories than you consume, but it rarely feels that is all there is to the process. Although calorie intake¹ and expenditure² are the basic elements of weight loss, there are other factors that need to be taken into consideration too.

任何一个曾经尝试过减肥的人，都明白这个过程的艰辛。尽管听上去似乎只要“燃烧的热量大于摄入的热量”就行，但事实并没那么简单。热量摄入和消耗的确是减肥的重要环节，但除此之外，仍有很多别的因素需要顾及。

In this article, we will look at some of the less considered factors affecting weight loss or weight gain. These factors greatly contribute to a person's success with losing weight; however, only very few people actually pay attention to them. If you have been dieting and exercising but seem to be stuck with unsatisfying results, taking these factors into consideration may be just what you need.

在这篇文章中，我们将来分析一下那些会导致体重减少/增加的影响因素。减肥的成功与否与它们有着密切的联系。然而它们常被人忽略。假如你明明一边在节食，一边又在锻炼，却总达不到理想体重的话，那下面这些内容对你应该会有帮助。

Water And Weight Loss

水与减肥

Water is a natural appetite suppressant. If you constantly fill your stomach with water, you are less likely to feel hungry all of the time as the human brain is not wired to differentiate³ between hunger and thirst. Aside from suppressing your appetite and stimulating⁴ your satiety⁵, water also helps boost your metabolic⁶ rate.

水是天然的食欲抑制剂。如果你经常喝水，让胃部处于充满水的状态，你便很少会觉得饥饿，因为人体的大脑无法分辨饥饿或渴。除了能抑制食欲、提供饱腹感，水还能提高代谢率。

While each person's hydration needs are different, experts generally suggest 64 ounces or 8 glasses of water a day. Although you are free to space out your intake of water all throughout the day, new studies have found that drinking 2 glasses of water before a meal is best for weight loss. Also as the body struggles to separate hunger from thirst you might just be thirsty and water to the route to feeling sated while not adding to your calorie count.

尽管每个人每天的需水量不同，专家建议每天喝8杯水（约合64盎司）比较合适。喝水的时间由你而定，不过，最近的研究表明，餐前喝两杯水最适合减肥。当你不确定自己是饿了还是渴了的时候，喝水吧，它既能让你有饱腹感，又不会添加热量。

Sleep And Weight Loss

睡眠与减肥

You may think that sleep and weight loss are so far-off, but there is substantial scientific evidence suggesting a strong association between the two. One study reports that people who sleep 5 hours or less per night generally weigh more than those who get a 7-hour sleep. Other research has shown that inadequate⁷ sleep compromises efforts to lose weight through dieting. The link between sleep and weight loss is attributed mainly to hormones⁸.

你可能会想：睡觉跟减肥的关系远了去了！但事实上，科学证据表明这两者间有紧密的联系。一项研究表明每天睡眠小于5小时的人比7小时的人更容易长胖。另一项研究表明睡眠不充足会降低节食减肥的效果。这两者间的关系主要由激素引起。

The production of the hormones leptin and ghrelin which work to control feelings of hunger and fullness is said to be influenced by how much or how little sleep a person has. When you do not get enough sleep, your leptin (satiety hormone) levels tend to be low, and your ghrelin (appetite hormone) levels high. This means that you are likely to overeat as your appetite is stimulated⁹ and satiety is suppressed. So if you want to keep your natural weight loss mechanisms¹⁰ in place, make sure to get around eight hours of sleep every night.

瘦素和胃饥饿素是控制饥饿感和饱腹感的激素，它们的含量受睡眠时间的影响。当你的睡眠不够充足时，你的瘦素（饱腹感激素）含量下降，而胃饥饿素（饥饿感激素）含量上升，这代表你很可能会因为两种激素不平衡而吃得过多。所以，想要保持自然减肥机制的正常运行，请保证你有每天8小时的充足睡眠。

Friends And Weight Loss

朋友与减肥

As they say, everything that is happening in your life is in one way or another influenced by the people around you and this includes weight loss. Your friends have a lot to do with the outcome of your weight loss efforts. If you are surrounded with people who have no desire to lose weight, it is very likely that you will end up veering¹¹ away from your weight loss goals.

有句话说得好“你生命中出现的每件事，都或多或少受了你周围人的影响”，减肥也不例外。你的朋友与你减肥计划的成果息息相关。假如你周围都是些不想减肥的朋友，那你很可能最后会和减肥的目标渐行渐远。

If the people you hang out with eat a lot of unhealthy foods all the time, it would be very hard for you to integrate the lifestyle changes that you need to get to your ideal weight. So, if you are serious about shedding off those excess pounds, find yourself a set of friends that will help you achieve your goals. Find friends who have the same desire for weight loss or a healthy and active lifestyle this way you can still enjoy great company without compromising your want to lose weight.

假如你的朋友总爱吃些不健康的食物，那你为减肥而确立的健康生活方式的改变会困难重重。所以，如果你真的想减掉身上的赘肉，去找一些志同道合的、能帮你实现这个目标的朋友吧。那些同样想减肥、或是想追求健康生活的朋友们，能让你既坚持自己的减肥计划，同时也拥有友情的陪伴。