用咀嚼計數減肥 比計算卡路里簡單有效
Thanksgiving and the rest of the holiday season are famously ruinous to waistlines. But a new study suggests that we might be able to fend off weight gain and even drop a few pounds in the coming weeks by taking note of every time we put teeth to food or drink.
常言道，逢年過節胖三圈。但一項新研究表明，如果我們在吃喝的時候能注意數數吃了多少口，或許在接下來的幾周內體重非但不會增加，甚至還能減輕幾磅。
It’s scientifically established and also logical that to lose weight, we must consume fewer calories than our bodies burn on any given day. By doing so, we create an internal energy deficit. Deprived of sufficient fuel from that day’s meals, our bodies turn to stored energy, primarily in the form of body fat, to fuel themselves, and we lose weight.
不論從科學還是邏輯上講，要減肥，就得確保一天裏的熱量攝入低於消耗，人爲地造成體內能源短缺。由於無法從當天的膳食中獲取充足的燃料，我們的身體就會轉而動用體內的儲備能源（主要是脂肪）來給身體加油，於是我們就瘦了。
But to produce this desirable situation, we must commit to counting calories, and “people hate counting calories,” said Josh West, an associate professor of health sciences at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, who led the new study, recently published in Advances in Obesity, Weight Management & Control.
但是，要製造出這種理想情況，必須得對熱量的卡路里數斤斤計較，而“人人都討厭計算卡路里”，這項新研究的負責人，楊百翰大學（Brigham Young University，B.Y.U，位於美國猶他州普若佛市）的健康科學副教授喬希·韋斯特(Josh West)說道。該研究於近期發表在《肥胖、體重管理與控制進展》雜誌(Advances in Obesity, Weight Management & Control)上。
Counting calories is, after all, complicated and time-consuming, he pointed out, requiring that you know how many calories are contained in the foods you eat, how much of each food you are eating, and how many calories your body uses each day.
韋斯特博士指出，畢竟計算卡路里數既複雜又耗時，你需要知道你吃下的每種食物中包含了多少卡路里，這些食物你各吃了多少，以及你的身體每天又消耗了多少卡路里。
“Most people don’t know those things and don’t really want to learn those things and are daunted by how complex it all seems,” Dr. West said.
“大多數人都不瞭解這些東西，也不會真心想學，”韋斯特博士說，“它們看起來太複雜了，讓人望而卻步。”
So recently he and his colleagues began to consider alternative ways to spur weight loss, he said, a quest that led them to bite counting.
因此，最近他和同事們開始考慮有什麼替代的方法可以刺激減肥，他說，然後他們想到了咀嚼計數。
Bite counting for weight loss is not a new idea. Many weight-loss programs suggest that people chew slowly and thoughtfully, paying close attention to the sensory experience of eating.
利用咀嚼計數減肥並非什麼新鮮主意。許多減肥方案都建議人們細嚼慢嚥，尤其注意進食時的感官體驗。
But Dr. West wanted to do more than have people be mindful of their chewing. He wondered whether, by promoting bite counting, he might help people, almost unknowingly, to reduce their calorie intake.
但韋斯特博士想做的不止是教人專心咀嚼。他想知道，咀嚼計數能否幫助人們在不知不覺中減少熱量攝入。
To find out, he and his colleagues recruited 61 overweight or obese men and women from the campus community. They ranged in age from 18 to 65, and they all told the researchers they wanted to weigh less.
於是，他和同事們共計從校區內招募了61名超重或肥胖的男性和女性。他們的年齡從18到65歲不等，且都告訴研究人員說他們希望能減輕體重。
The researchers weighed and measured the volunteers and then provided them with a 10-minute introduction to bite counting.
研究人員對志願者們進行了稱重和測量，並用了10分鐘的時間爲他們介紹咀嚼計數。
As its name implies, bite counting involves numerically tracking how many times you chew or swallow. Every food or liquid should be counted, except water.
咀嚼計數，顧名思義就是指數數你咀嚼或吞嚥了多少口。除水以外的所有食物或液體都應計算在內。
The researchers asked their volunteers to write down bite counts after each meal or snack and, at the end of the day, send the total to the researchers. They also asked them otherwise not to change their eating habits – at least at first.
研究人員要求入組的志願者們在每次用餐或吃點心之後都記下咀嚼次數，並在一天結束時將總數發送給研究人員；還要求他們不要改變自己的其他飲食習慣——至少一開始不要改變。
After a week, the researchers calculated each volunteer’s average daily bite counts. By this time, 16 volunteers had quit. Several said that bite counting had been too difficult, and others cited medical or other personal issues.
一週後，研究人員計算出了每個志願者的日平均咀嚼次數。此時陸續有16名志願者退出了研究。其中幾人說咀嚼次數太難數了，其他人則稱是因爲醫療或其他個人問題而退出。
The researched then asked half of the remaining group to reduce their daily bite counts by 20 percent, and the others to drop bite counts by 30 percent. The researchers counseled both groups to concentrate on eating foods that would fill them, since they would be eating less, but did not provide other nutritional advice.
研究人員把剩餘的志願者們分成兩半，一組將每天的咀嚼次數減少20%（即達到原來的80%就不再進食了），另一組減少30%。研究人員建議兩組志願者吃東西的時候要專心，因爲他們的食量可能會有所減少，但並沒有提供其他營養建議。
Each day for the next month, the volunteers reported their bite counts, and each week, they reported to the laboratory for a weigh-in.
在接下來的一個月裏，志願者們每天報告自己的咀嚼計數，並每週到實驗室稱量體重。
At the end of the month, the participants in both groups had lost an average of about 3.5 pounds.
當月的月底，兩組參與者都平均減重約3.5磅（約合1.6千克）。
Interestingly, the weight loss was about the same whether someone had cut his or her daily bites by 20 or 30 percent. That result suggests, Dr. West said, that those in the group asked to chew 30 percent less had turned to higher calorie foods to satiate themselves.
有趣的是，無論參與者將每天的咀嚼次數減少了20%還是30%，他們的體重減輕量都差不多。韋斯特博士說，這表明在被要求少吃30%的那組參與者中，有人選擇了熱量更高的食物，以滿足口腹之慾。
He said the volunteers in both groups did report that bite counting had seemed “do-able and tolerable,” although, he added, anyone who had found the process particularly onerous likely quit during week one.
兩組志願者都報告“咀嚼計數”似乎“不難辦到且可以忍受”，不過，他又補充說，嫌麻煩的人很可能早在第一週就退出了。
The study also was small and short-term, and doesn’t show whether people willingly would continue to count bites over a longer period and sustain their weight loss.
而且，該研究規模較小，爲期較短，也並沒顯示出人們是否樂意將咀嚼計數長期繼續下去，維持減肥效果。
But the findings do suggest, Dr. West said, that bite counting is worth trying if someone wishes to lose weight and is intimidated by calorie counting.
但是，韋斯特博士說，研究結果表明，如果有人想要減肥又不願意去糾結卡路里數，咀嚼計數值得一試。
He has practiced bite counting for three years, he said, without regaining the pounds he lost at the start of this routine and without curtailing his enjoyment of food.
他還說自己親身實踐這一做法已有三年，不但一開始時減掉的體重沒有反彈，而且也沒有影響他享受美食。
To deploy bite counting during the holidays, however, you must first determine how many bites you take during a normal day. Ideally, start now. Note every time you chew or swallow. Then during the upcoming feasts, maintain or reduce that number, with a reduction of 20 percent seeming the most efficacious for weight loss, Dr. West said.
然而，要想在假日期間實施咀嚼計數，你必須先確定你平時每天吃多少口。最好現在就開始，每次咀嚼或吞嚥都數一數。在即將到來的節假日裏，維持那個咀嚼次數或者將其減少20%，韋斯特博士說，這似乎是最有效的減肥方法。
Bite counting does not, of course, free you from paying attention to basic nutrition, he added. Concentrate on eating primarily fruits, vegetables and lean meat.
當然，教你計算咀嚼次數並不代表你可以不注重基本的營養，他補充道。要注意多吃水果、蔬菜和瘦肉。
“Fewer bites won’t help you lose weight,” he said, “if every one of those bites is dessert.”
“如果你只吃甜點，少吃多少口都是無法幫你減肥的。”
