Nutrition Intelligence - Live Leptogenically, Bob and Alice

To maximise the possibility of living healthily and happily in this obesogenic world, we can make conscious choices to protect ourselves from the relentless push to consume calories. To illustrate the difference that conscious choices can make when buying, preparing, and consuming food, let’s imagine there are two people, named Bob and Alice, throughout this journey. Bob and Alice live in the same city, work similar hours with similar levels of stress, share similar financial situations, and have access to similar supermarkets and restaurants.

Bob and Alice both find that their fridge and shelf are empty and decide to go to the supermarket. Bob decides to go immediately. With his car keys grabbed, off he goes. Bob does not pay attention to his hunger right now. He hasn’t eaten anything in the last four hours, and ghrelin is building up in his bloodstream, sending signals to the hypothalamus to increase the urge to eat. His brain’s reward centre is also activated, partly because of Bob’s habit of eating comfort food too often, resulting in a strong association between his brain’s reward system and hunger signals. Bob is primed to buy on impulse rather than make a conscious choice. Conversely, Alice, who notices herself feeling hungry, grabbed a glass of milk and a piece of carrot (in a small snack bag in the top right corner of the fridge, where Alice stores her healthy snacks, always prepared). It only took Alice 3 minutes to finish the milk and carrot, so she arrived at the supermarket almost at the same time as Bob. However, Alice’s mind is calmer than Bob’s because the milk and carrot are slowly releasing energy, helping her make more conscious choices.
Now both Bob and Alice are in the supermarket. They both need eggs, bread, vegetables, and fruit. After entering the supermarket entrance, Bob stopped at the promotional shelves (buy one get one free!) - KitKat and Doritos are on sale (half price!). With his hunger, Bob grabbed a pack of KitKats and Doritos and put them in the trolley. On the other hand, Alice went straight to the veggie and fruit section after entering the supermarket. She has consciously built up the habit of ignoring the promotion shelf, which she knows hardly contains anything she needs the most, like eggs and vegetables. The first few items in Alice’s shopping trolley were celery, apples, cabbage, onions, and sweet potatoes. Bob is here in the fruit veges section as well.
After both grabbing some fruit and vegetables, Bob and Alice are now ready to move to the next section. While wondering “what to buy next,” Alice took out her “Default shopping list.” This list is what Alice built intentionally to cover the scenario where “fridge is empty so I need to buy everything.” Alice found she needed bread, milk, and meat, so she started walking towards those sections. For Bob, he doesn’t have a list, and he needs everything too. Bob started walking aisle after aisle in the supermarket. Supermarkets always design their layout to spread the basic items (eggs, milk, bread, etc.) across different corners of the supermarket. This layout is meant to ensure that an average person wanting to buy milk, bread, and eggs will walk a longer distance in the supermarket, having the chance to pass all the shelves and buy more. In other words, basic items are used as attraction points that guide people to walk past other non-basic items. Alice knows this layout trick, so she always walks straight to the section she wants to buy the next item from (which is guided by the shopping list). Bob did not consciously decide what to buy, so by the time he arrived at the eggs section, he had passed the water aisle (a pack of soda water in the trolley) and the snacks aisle (rice crackers in).
Both Alice and Bob decide to buy ice cream next. After all, it is a super hot summer, and who doesn’t need ice cream? When they arrive at the ice cream section, Alice picks a few flavours she likes and starts reading the ingredients on the packaging. Alice puts back the ice creams that contain ingredients like Guar and Xanthan, both of which are gums that increase smoothness but can interfere with digestion. Diglycerides are also not suitable, as they are emulsifiers that alter fat-digesting processes. Carrageenan is also avoided because it can induce inflammation. Alice also habitually checks the sugar level and finally decides which ice cream to buy. Reading food ingredients during shopping can be time-consuming, but it is a conscious choice that Alice has made to spend this time. She understands that food buying is a voting process for her and her family’s health. She spends time voting for the right ingredients. On the other hand, Bob felt a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of ice cream options. Bob ended up picking a few ice creams that had the most attractive packaging and a few with promotional labels.
With almost everything in the trolley, it’s time to check out. There is always a queue at the checkout area. Although hungry, Alice forces herself not to pay attention to the snack bars and sweets on the small shelf next to the checkout queue. She knows it’s another trick supermarkets play: exposing people to high-sugar comfort food while they wait in line at checkout (those snack bars have almost the highest profit margin of all products, by the way). At another checkout queue, Bob is even hungrier. He grabs a chocolate bar, which he will consume in the next 5 minutes. The sugar crash resulting from the chocolate bar will make Bob’s blood glucose skyrocket, reduce his cells’ insulin sensitivity, and further associate hunger cues with reward-seeking behaviour.
The food shopping journeys for Bob and Alice are shown above. They actually spent a similar amount of money. Alice’s choice of ice cream and a few other items is more expensive because of her higher standards for ingredients. Bob has less expensive ice cream in his fridge, but he spent extra on snack bars, KitKats, and Doritos.
Now let’s compare their food preparation. Alice usually prepares a few containers of food on the weekends for the following week because she knows that, due to her work arrangement, there could be days when she needs to work extra hours under stress, making it hard to cook. As a person who loves simplicity, Alice prepared five containers of meals with the exact content: 150 grams of cooked quinoa, 75 grams of stir-fried chicken thighs, and 150 grams of vegetables (mainly broccoli, broccolini, zucchini, and celery, all easy to preserve texture after cooking). With five boxes of 375 grams of food in the fridge, Alice knows she is consciously prepared for her stressful time. Bob did not do anything here. After all the chocolate bar consumed at the supermarket checkout gave him some food coma, his energy is too low to prepare food for next week.
Both Bob and Alice cook at home. Alice follows a few cooking principles. First, she consciously ensures each meal contains protein, carbs, and vegetables. The food can be simple or complex, but it always includes these three components. For example, when preparing a large three-course meal, Alice made slow-braised pork (protein), stir-fried rice (primarily carbs), and a lettuce salad (vegetable, tossed with olive oil). When Alice prepares a simple meal, she makes stir-fried eggs (protein), plain rice (carbs), and boiled green beans (vegetables). As a result, Alice and her family enjoy balanced nutrition. Second, Alice is mindful of the ingredients she uses. She doesn’t usually keep mayonnaise at home; if she or her family really want mayonnaise, she makes it from scratch with egg yolk and avocado oil. Alice rarely adds sugar to her dishes; she uses it as a subtle treat rather than a standard seasoning. She also ensures that fat comes from good sources—such as avocado oil for high-temperature cooking, olive oil for dressing, real cheese, and occasionally fatty fish. Third, Alice is patient when cooking, viewing it as an investment of time to protect herself and her family in this obesogenic world. When we cook, we take control of what becomes part of our body. Alice understands that good food takes time to prepare—the simmering, slow fat rendering, layering flavours, and careful calibration of spice ratios—and she prioritises her cooking time despite her busy schedule. On the other hand, Bob, who is also a good cook, doesn’t follow these principles. Sometimes Bob’s dishes lack vegetable ingredients. Sometimes, he pours a thick layer of sauce on a hot dog. Bob also avoids any cooking that takes time, which limits his food choices and often leads him to order food deliveries.
Alice sometimes orders food delivery and eats out. She tries to limit these occasions because she has little control over the food prepared by others. She views food delivery as a last resort (at least she currently has five boxes of meals in the fridge). She does enjoy eating out, especially with friends; however, when she eats out, she knows that besides the tasty food, she is also using meals as social bonding moments. At restaurants, Alice also tries to order thoughtfully (“Can you put the sauce on the side?”, “What are the veggie dishes you have?”) to minimise interruptions to her relationship with food.
Next, let’s compare Alice’s and Bob’s food consumption. Alice’s home is in a Leptogenetic world. She deliberately keeps all snacks ( yet of course she has snacks) on a shelf that isn’t obvious to the eye. She never leaves snacks out, such as on the dining table, on the sofa, or at her workspace. Alice understands that much of her snack eating is triggered by seeing the cues, especially when she’s bored, stressed, or tired. She simply hides the cues. Conversely, Bob doesn’t have a hidden spot for snacks. His Kitkats, potato chips, and popcorn are on the shelf where he stores disposable kitchen supplies, napkins, unused glasses, and other random items. As a result, when Bob opens the shelf to find something, he sometimes ends up eating some snacks soon after.
Alice practices mindfulness during her meals. She considers eating a primary activity that lets her enjoy the flavours without distraction. As a result, she hardly looks at screens while eating and concentrates on the texture, temperature, and taste of her food, along with her own feelings of fullness and satisfaction. Her mindful approach allows her to slow down, enabling hormonal signals (mainly via leptin) to communicate her cues, and she stops eating when full, not when the plate is empty. Conversely, Bob typically eats with his phone in hand. Engaging videos and apps offer entertainment but hinder his awareness of the food. Sometimes Bob stops eating when his plate is empty; other times, he continues because the video he’s watching isn’t finished yet.
There are also many other differences between Bob’s and Alice’s food journeys. Alice mostly drinks water, while Bob favours sweetened drinks. Alice ensures her ingredients vary, covering over 25 types in just a few weeks, whereas Bob doesn’t. Alice focuses on including fermented foods to boost her gut microbiome, and she consumes colourful vegetables and drinks rich in antioxidants. All these small things add up, and Bob and Alice have very different nutrition profiles and relationships with food. Obviousely Alice and Bob are two extreme examples, with Alice demonstrating all positive food behaviour and Bob’s behaviours all having room for improvement. In the real world, we are all likely somewhere in between. The awareness of our relationship with food and conscious choices in food selection, preparation, and consumption would make slow but steady differences. Nobody notices any difference over a week, a month, or even a year. But over the years, Bob feels hunger become less predictable, mood swings happen often, he has gained a few centimetres on his waist, lost his connection with the social tennis club, and had a few warning signs on his blood test results.
Living leptogenically isn’t about eating less. It’s about removing the forces that make overeating automatic, invisible, and frictionless. Bob and Alice aren’t different in biology, discipline, or intent; they share the same physiology, hunger signals, and reward systems. What sets them apart is conscious choice—the decision to shape or surrender one’s food environment. Bob reacts within an obesogenic system that decides for him, while Alice uses conscious choice to build protective leptogenic boundaries. In an obesogenic world, outcomes aren’t reflections of character but predictable results of exposure. Living leptogenically is about reclaiming that exposure.

为了在这个致胖的世界中最大化健康与幸福的可能性，我们可以通过有意识的选择来保护自己，抵御环境中无处不在、持续推动我们摄入热量的力量。为了说明在购买食物、准备食物和进食过程中，有意识的选择能够带来怎样的差异，让我们设想两个人——Bob 和 Alice——并跟随他们完成这一整段饮食旅程。Bob 和 Alice 生活在同一座城市，工作时间相近、压力水平类似，经济状况相当，也都能接触到同样的超市和餐厅。

Bob 和 Alice 发现家里的冰箱和储物架都空了，于是决定去超市采购。Bob 决定立刻出发。他抓起车钥匙就走，并没有留意自己此刻的饥饿状态。他已经四个小时没有进食，血液中的**饥饿素（ghrelin）**正在不断累积，向下丘脑发出信号，增强进食欲望。同时，由于 Bob 长期依赖安慰型食物，他的大脑奖励系统已经与饥饿信号形成了强烈联结。这种状态下，Bob 更容易做出冲动性的购买决定，而不是进行有意识的选择。相反，Alice 注意到了自己正在变饿，于是先从冰箱右上角取出一杯牛奶和一根胡萝卜（这是她提前准备好的健康零食区）。Alice 只用了三分钟就吃完了这份小点心，因此她几乎与 Bob 同时到达超市。然而，由于牛奶和胡萝卜正在缓慢释放能量，Alice 的大脑状态更加平稳，也更容易进行理性判断。

此时，Bob 和 Alice 都已经进入超市，他们都需要购买鸡蛋、面包、蔬菜和水果。刚走进超市入口，Bob 就停在了促销货架前——“买一送一”的 KitKat 以及“半价”的 Doritos 正在打折促销。在饥饿状态的推动下，Bob 顺手把巧克力和薯片放进了购物车。相对地，Alice 进门后直接走向蔬果区。她有意识地培养了忽略促销货架的习惯，因为她知道那里几乎没有她真正需要的基础食材。她购物车里的前几样物品是芹菜、苹果、卷心菜、洋葱和红薯。Bob 此时也来到了蔬果区。

在选完蔬果后，两人准备前往下一个区域。Alice 取出了她的“默认购物清单”。这份清单是她为“冰箱空了、需要一次性补齐”这种情境而刻意设计的。她发现自己还需要购买面包、牛奶和肉类，于是便直接朝这些区域走去。Bob 同样需要这些东西，但他没有清单，于是开始在超市里一排一排地走。超市的布局本身就是精心设计的：鸡蛋、牛奶、面包等基础食材被分散在不同角落，目的是让顾客在寻找必需品的过程中走更长的路径，从而增加接触其他商品的机会。换句话说，基础食材被当作“引导点”，用来引导人们经过更多非必需商品。Alice 了解这种布局策略，因此她始终按清单行动。而 Bob 并未有意识地决定购物路径，在走到鸡蛋区之前，他已经经过了饮料区（购物车里多了一箱苏打水）和零食区（多了一包米饼）。

随后，Bob 和 Alice 都决定买冰淇淋。毕竟是炎热的夏天，谁会拒绝冰淇淋呢？来到冰淇淋柜前，Alice 先挑选了几种自己喜欢的口味，然后开始阅读配料表。她把含有瓜尔胶和黄原胶的冰淇淋放回去，因为这些胶类虽然能增加顺滑口感，却可能干扰消化过程；她也避开含有单、双甘油酯的产品，因为这些乳化剂会改变脂肪的消化路径；含有卡拉胶的冰淇淋同样被排除，因为它可能诱发炎症反应。Alice 还会查看糖含量，最终才做出选择。阅读配料表确实需要时间，但这是她有意识投入的时间。她理解，购买食物本质上是一种为自己和家人健康投票的行为。Bob 则被冰柜中琳琅满目的选择弄得有些疲惫，最终挑选了包装最吸引人、促销标识最多的几款冰淇淋。

当两人的购物车都接近装满时，便前往收银区结账。结账时通常需要排队。尽管仍然感到饥饿，Alice 强迫自己不去注意收银台旁的小货架。她知道这是超市常用的策略：在顾客等待结账时暴露他们于高糖、高利润的零食前。另一边的 Bob 此时已经非常饥饿了，他随手拿了一根巧克力棒，并在五分钟内吃完。糖分迅速推高了他的血糖水平，降低了细胞对胰岛素的敏感性，同时进一步强化了“饥饿—奖励”的神经联结。

从表面看，Bob 和 Alice 的购物金额相差并不大。Alice 的冰淇淋和部分食材价格更高，而 Bob 的冰淇淋相对便宜，但他在巧克力、薯片和零食上的额外支出弥补了这一差距。

接下来是食物准备。Alice 通常会在周末为接下来一周准备几份餐食，因为她清楚，在工作压力较大、需要加班的日子里，临时做饭并不现实。她准备了五个完全相同的餐盒：150 克熟藜麦、75 克炒鸡腿肉，以及 150 克蔬菜（主要是西兰花、嫩茎西兰花、西葫芦和芹菜）。这些准备让 Alice 在繁忙时期仍然处于一种致瘦式的保护状态。Bob 则没有做任何准备。超市里吃下的巧克力让他感到疲惫，进一步削弱了他为下周准备食物的动力。

在日常烹饪中，Alice 遵循几条稳定而简单的原则。她确保每一餐都包含蛋白质、碳水化合物和蔬菜；她非常在意所使用的食材，很少依赖工业化酱料；她把烹饪视为一种投入时间、换取长期健康的行为。慢炖、出油、调味和耐心等待，在 Alice 看来都是对身体的一种保护。Bob 同样会做饭，但他并不遵循这些原则。有时菜里几乎没有蔬菜，有时热狗上覆盖着厚厚的酱料。他避免任何耗时的烹饪方式，这限制了他的选择，也让外卖逐渐成为常态。

Alice 有时也会点外卖、在外就餐，但她清楚这些行为意味着对食物控制权的让渡。她把外食视为偶发事件，而不是日常解决方案。即便在餐厅，她也会主动询问配菜、要求酱料分开，以尽量减少对自身饮食结构的干扰。

在进食方式上，两人的差异进一步放大。Alice 的家本身就是一个致瘦环境。她刻意将零食放在不显眼的位置，从不把它们摆放在餐桌、沙发或工作区域。她明白，许多零食摄入并非源于真正的饥饿，而是由视觉线索、无聊或压力触发。Bob 则没有这样的安排，他的巧克力、薯片和爆米花与日用品混放在同一个橱柜中，打开柜门时，进食往往变成一个顺带行为。

Alice 把吃饭当作一项主要活动，很少在进食时看屏幕。她关注食物的口感、温度以及身体逐渐出现的饱腹感，让**瘦素（leptin）**等信号有足够时间发挥作用。她停止进食的依据，是身体的反馈，而不是盘子的状态。Bob 通常一边刷手机一边吃饭，有时在盘子空了时停下，有时则因为视频尚未结束而继续进食。

这些差异在一周、一个月，甚至一年内都并不明显，但几年之后，变化开始显现。Bob 发现自己的饥饿感变得难以预测，情绪波动更频繁，腰围悄然增加，与社交运动的联系逐渐减少，体检报告中也开始出现警示信号。

致瘦式生活并不是吃得更少，而是移除那些让过量进食变得自动、隐形且毫无阻力的力量。Bob 和 Alice 在生理层面并无不同，他们拥有相同的饥饿信号和奖励系统。真正的区别在于有意识的选择——是主动塑造自己的饮食环境，还是将决定权交给致胖系统。在一个致胖的世界里，结果并非性格的体现，而是暴露的必然结果。致瘦式生活，就是重新夺回这种暴露的控制权。