We all know that ditching carbs and alcohol can help shift the weight around our middle but did you know there's plenty of other reasons you may be struggling to get a flat stomach that don't have anything to do with the food that passes your lips?
我們都知道，減少攝入碳水化合物和酒精可以幫我們甩掉腰部贅肉，但我們不知道的是，為了甩掉小肚腩我們還要和其他很多因素抗爭，而這些與我們的飲食毫無關(guān)系。

Chewing gum
吃口香糖

Munching on a piece of minty fresh gum makes you swallow too much air, which gets trapped in your digestive system causing pressure, bloating and gas. The same thing can happen if you gulp air when snacking on the run, eating too quickly, talking while eating or drinking from a straw.
嚼一片薄荷味口香糖會讓你吞下大量空氣，這些空氣困在你的消化系統(tǒng)里，會產(chǎn)生壓力、腹脹和廢氣。如果你一邊小跑一邊吃零食、吃得太快、邊吃東西邊說話，或者用吸管飲水時吞下空氣，都會產(chǎn)生類似情況。

Rushing your food
邊跑邊吃

It is often easy to eat too quickly or on the run especially breakfast and/or lunch if time is short but it can cause bloating. If you eat on the run your body is feeling stressed because you are rushing.
人們很容易就吃得過快，或者邊跑邊吃，特別是在時間緊張的早午飯時，而這會讓你腹脹。如果你邊跑邊吃，身體會緊張，因為你在奔跑。

The stress response was designed to enable you to either run or fight for your life, during which time digestion of food was unlikely, the natural flow of energy is diverted away from your digestive system to your extremities to give you the energy to run or fight.
壓力反應(yīng)會讓你跑起來，或者為生活奔波，而在此期間身體不可能去消化食物，能量的自然流動會從消化系統(tǒng)轉(zhuǎn)移到四肢，讓你有能量奔跑或奔波勞碌。

Your body literally shuts down your digestive function and food stagnates and ferments, making you feel bloated and often giving you gas.
你的身體會讓消化系統(tǒng)停工，食物在體內(nèi)滯留發(fā)酵，讓你感到腹脹，體內(nèi)也有更多廢氣要排出。

Stress hormone cortisol
壓力荷爾蒙皮質(zhì)醇

The main reason some people gather more fat around their middle than others is specifically because of the action of the stress hormone cortisol.
一些人比其他人腰部贅肉多的主要原因是壓力荷爾蒙皮質(zhì)醇的作用。

And if you eat something sugary or fatty as a consequence of the post-stress appetite surge, any weight you gain as a result, will be around your middle. The reason fat targets the middle is because it is close to the liver where it can most quickly be converted back into energy if needed.
如果你因為有壓力后食欲增加，而吃了含糖或含脂肪食品，你因此增加的贅肉都會集中在腰部。脂肪容易集中在腰部是因為這里離肝臟近，在需要時可以迅速轉(zhuǎn)化回能量。

Lack of sleep
缺乏睡眠

People who are sleep deprived have an increased appetite. Inadequate sleep lowers levels of leptin, a hormone that suppresses appetite, and increases grehlin, a hormone that increases food intake and is thought to play a role in long-term regulation of body weight. All this suggests that sleep deprivation can make weight loss extremely difficult because it causes your body to work against you!
缺乏睡眠的人食欲更大。睡眠不充分會降低人體內(nèi)瘦素的水平，增加胃生長素。瘦素是一種能夠抑制食欲的激素，而胃生長素能增加人體的食物攝入，據(jù)稱在人體體重的長期調(diào)節(jié)中發(fā)揮著重要作用。這些都表明，缺乏睡眠會讓減肥極其困難，因為這會導(dǎo)致你的身體和你對著干！

Keep a regular sleep routine, include 30 minutes of exercise in your day, avoid all stimulants in the evening (including chocolate, coffee, tea), avoid bright light around the house before bed, have a relaxing bath and keep your bedroom quiet, dark and cool.
保持規(guī)律睡眠，白天拿出半小時來鍛煉身體，避免在晚上攝入所有的刺激性食物（包括巧克力、咖啡和茶），睡覺前把室內(nèi)燈光調(diào)暗，洗個讓人放松的澡，保持臥室安靜、光線暗淡、涼爽。

Bad gut bacteria
討厭的腸道細菌

Our stomach is made up of good and bad bacteria, called gut flora, which has a controlling influence over many important body functions, including metabolism and fat reduction. However, our lifestyle habits can often damage our gut bacteria. These factors include taking antibiotics, a diet high in sugar, stress and alcohol. Try to eliminate these to help with fat reduction.
我們腹內(nèi)的細菌有好有壞，稱為腸道菌群，并對我們的很多重要身體機能有支配性影響作用，包括新陳代謝和減肥。而我們的生活習慣經(jīng)常會破壞腸道菌群。影響因素包括吃抗生素、高糖飲食、壓力和飲酒。試著剔除這些因素能有助于減肥。

Water retention from periods
經(jīng)期水潴留

Water retention is a problem for many women and it is often worse just before a period. Don’t be tempted to limit your intake of fluids, which can actually cause bloating. Your body will think it needs to conserve water, which exacerbates the problem. Water is a natural diuretic and it should be drunk as frequently as possible.
水潴留對很多女性來說都是個問題，尤其是在經(jīng)期前。不要有限制水分攝入的念頭，這其實會讓你腹脹。你的身體會認為需要保水，這更會加劇這一問題。水是自然的利尿劑，越經(jīng)常喝水越好。

Too much salt
吃太多鹽

Table salt is sodium chloride and sodium is a mineral that affects your body’s ability to balance water retention. Another mineral, potassium, works with sodium to regulate water balance and normalise heart rhythm. The more sodium you consume, the more potassium you need to counteract this effect.
食用鹽的成分一般是氯化鈉，鈉是一種能影響身體平衡水分能力的礦物質(zhì)。另一種礦物質(zhì)，鉀，與鈉一起作用時可以調(diào)節(jié)體內(nèi)水分平衡，維持正常心律。你攝入的鈉越多，就需要更多的鉀來中和。

If you have a high salt intake, you could be carrying around an extra 1.8kg (4lb) in excess weight due to water retention. Water retention can be caused by not drinking enough water and also too much salt but it can also be caused by the same blood sugar swings that trigger many of the pre-menstrual symptoms.
如果你吃鹽太多，你就會因為水潴留而超重大約1.8公斤。水潴留可能是因為你飲水不足，或者吃鹽太多，但也可能是因為引發(fā)很多經(jīng)前期癥狀的血糖波動而導(dǎo)致的。

英文來源：每日郵報
翻譯&編審：yaning