隨着物质生活的丰富，人们对食物的需求从“吃饱”转变成了“吃好”。越来越多食物的选择和健康意识的提高让人们的饮食习惯发生了很大改变。在大洋彼岸的美国，人们是怎样通过饮食改善自己健康状况的呢？这些听上去有些不可思议的饮食法，真的有效果吗？
　　Americans are obsessed with food and diets. This has long held true， and I have childhood memories of my mother making us eat a healthy， balanced dinner that included steamed broccoli with vinegar and fat-free milk.2 Yuck！ Even to this day I cannot tolerate either of those things.
　　When I grew older， I succumbed3 to different food fads myself， especially in my 20s. I did a diet program where I could eat whatever I wanted， and different foods had different “points”. I had to closely watch my food and count the points. In the end， I didn’t feel like I had all that much freedom. I tried another diet that had me eating very high-fat foods， no carbohydrates like bread and potatoes， and some non-starchy vegetables.4 I lost a few pounds， sure， but it wasn’t something I could maintain for the rest of my life.
　　In the six years that I lived in China， I relied on social media to see what was happening in the lives of my friends back home. More often than not， I saw friends struggle with their “baby weight”5 and publicly announce ways they were trying to lose excess pounds. Once in a while， someone would proclaim6 “success！！” and post photos of a healthy， fit body. But more often than not， one diet would be replaced by another， accompanied by the exclamation that this time， they would make it！
　　One thing I know for sure： the weight-loss industry will always be popular in the United States， because people are constantly looking for ways to lose weight. Here are some examples of the diets that I have seen come and go over the years：
　　Paleo diet7
　　This diet claims to channel the days when human populations relied on a hunter-gatherer lifestyle for sustenance.8 By eating like a caveman， the theory goes， a person can lose weight without having to trim calories.9 As that person becomes leaner， he or she can keep diabetes， heart disease， and cancer at bay.10
　　If you think of it as like a traffic light， “green-light” foods that are OK to eat include lean cuts of meat， fish， vegetables， eggs， nuts and seeds， and some healthier oils. On the red-light side， dairy， refined sugar，11 potatoes， salt， and vegetable oils should not be eaten. All foods eaten should be natural and not processed. The only thing I can think of is that if you are living on a budget， especially in the U.S.， this would be a very hard diet to accomplish.12 　　Ketogenic diet13
　　This meal plan is low in carbohydrates and high in fat， with some protein mixed in， which boils down to14 this formula： 70% fat， 25% protein， and 5% carbohydrates. The theory is that when a person’s body experiences ketosis， fat is converted into a source that produces energy.15
　　Ketosis is a state the body achieves when it metabolizes fat at a high rate and turns fatty acids into ketones.16 This is different from the state of glycolysis， in which blood glucose—sugar in the blood—provides energy.17 The reason why this diet is low in carbohydrates is because carbs18 convert to sugar， but the desired effect of ketosis is to burn fat instead. Confused？ Me too. My philosophy is： if I don’t understand it， it’s not for me.
　　Whole30
　　Conceptualized19 in 2009， the Whole30 diet is a 30-day “nutrition reset”. It’s designed to sort out digestive problems， investigate food sensitivities， and reduce cravings and poor eating habits.20

　　For 30 days， the most “problematic” foods for the metabolism and the digestive and immune systems are eliminated.21 People can eat meat，seafood， vegetables and fruit， some healthy oils and fats， and potatoes. They cannot， however， take alcohol， sugar， grains， dairy and a handful of artificial additives.22 After a month， people can begin reintroducing23 foods back into their diet， one at a time， while paying attention to any changes in the body.
　　Mediterranean diet24
　　This food plan was derived from the eating habits of people in Italy， Greece and Spain. It is a plant-based diet heavy on fruits， vegetables， nuts and healthy fats （olive oil rather than butter）， light on meat and heavy on fish. It is said to reduce the“bad” cholesterol25 in the body that can lead to heart disease.
　　One component to this diet is having meals with friends and family and enjoying a glass of red wine with the meal. Culturally， the Mediterranean region is known for its communal eating traditions， in which food is savored as much as the conversation.26 Doctors say this diet can help reduce risks around heart problems and some cancers.
　　“French Women Don’t Get Fat”
　　In 2004， a different kind of French revolution hit American bookstores， with the publication of Mireille Guiliano’s book French Women Don’t Get Fat.27 Did I read it to try to get some unique insight into how French women maintain their thin figures？ Guilty！ 　　This book touts eating small portions of quality foods， savoring each bite， eating three meals a day， and—this is where it gets very French to me—sitting in a good posture while eating.28 Guiliano offers a simple leek soup that helps French women when they find themselves a kilo or two up on the scale.29 What’s problematic to me is that for the first two days， Guiliano recommends eating the leek soup only， to clear out the system. When I read this， I thought，“Yes， but what would I eat？”
　　When it comes to diets， what it really comes down to is not just the food， but acceptance of one’s body. When she was younger， the famous Italian actress Sophia Loren was known for her beautiful， curvy body.30 Did she go on a diet？ No. She was just Italian. She was quoted once as saying， “Everything you see， I owe to pasta.” To me， those are the words of a woman who does not need a diet.
　　1. fad： 時尚，潮流，faddy food指风靡一时的食物。同时，faddy和单词fatty近似，也是作者玩的一个文字游戏。
　　2. broccoli： 花椰菜；fat-free milk： 脱脂牛奶。
　　3. succumb： 屈服于，这里加入某种风潮。
　　4. 我尝试的另外一种饮食法要求我只吃高脂肪的食物和一些不含淀粉的蔬菜，而绝不摄入一点儿诸如面包或土豆之类的碳水化合物。carbohydrate：碳水化合物；starchy： 淀粉。这里提到的饮食法指“阿特金斯无糖减肥法”（the Atkins diet or the Atkins nutritional approach），俗称“吃肉减肥法”，由罗伯特·阿特金斯博士在1972年提出，和下文的“生酮饮食法”原理类似。
　　5. baby weight： 产后发胖。
　　6. proclaim： 宣告，公布。
　　7. paleo diet： 原始人饮食法。paleo意为“古代的”。
　　8. 这种饮食法倡导回到以前那种人类依靠狩猎和采集为生的饮食方式。channel：将（人或事物）引向（某个特定的地方、某种特定的情况等）；sustenance：生计，食物支持。
　　9. caveman： 穴居人，原始人；trim： 减少，消耗。
　　10. diabetes： 糖尿病；keep sth. at bay： 将……拒之门外。
　　11. dairy： 乳制品；refined sugar： 精制糖。
　　12. 对于这种饮食法，我唯一能想到的是，如果你的手头不宽裕，特别是在美国，这将非常难以实现。
　　13. ketogenic diet： 生酮饮食法，是一种高脂肪、低碳水化合物、适量蛋白质的饮食法。通过模拟饥饿状态，强迫人体燃烧脂肪而非碳水化合物，产生酮体以代替血糖给身体提供能量。在生酮饮食的作用下，人体几乎完全靠燃烧脂肪来维持机能，从而达到快速减肥的目的。该饮食法最初用于治疗癫痫。
　　14. boil down to： 归结为。
　　15. ketosis： 酮症；convert： 转换，转化。
　　16. 酮症是一种身体在快速代谢脂肪并将脂肪酸转化为酮时的状态。metabolize： 代谢；fatty acid： 脂肪酸；ketone： 酮体，脂肪分解的产物。
　　17. glycolysis： // 糖酵解，指细胞内糖无氧氧化供能的过程；blood glucose： 血糖。
　　18. carbs： carbohydrates的缩写。
　　19. conceptualize： 提出概念，概念化。
　　20. digestive： 消化的；food sensitivity： 食物敏感性，食物过敏性；craving： 渴求，渴望，这里指food craving，即饮食冲动。
　　21. 在这30天内，那些对于代谢、消化和免疫系统而言的最“有问题”的食物将被禁止。problematic： 有问题的，有疑问的；metabolism system： 代谢系统；immune system： 免疫系统。
　　22. grain： 谷物；artificial additive： 人工添加剂。
　　23. reintroduce： 恢复。
　　24. Mediterranean diet： 地中海式饮食法，指一种有利于健康的，简单、清淡以及富含营养的饮食，因是居住在地中海地区的居民所特有的而得名。
　　25. cholesterol： // 胆固醇。
　　26. 在文化上，地中海地区以其聚餐的传统而闻名，人们在享用美食的同时也开怀畅聊。communal： 公共的；savor： 尽情享受，细细品尝。
　　27. 2004年，随着米雷耶·朱里安诺所著的《法国女人吃不胖》的出版，一场另类的法国革命席卷了美国书市。
　　28. tout： 吹捧，吹嘘；posture： 姿势，姿态。
　　29. leek： 韭菜；scale： 秤。
　　30. Sophia Loren： 索菲亚·罗兰（1934— ），意大利女演员，奥斯卡和戛纳双料影后；curvy： 曲线优美的。