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，逢年过节胖三圈。但一项新研究表明，如果我们在吃喝的时候能注意数数吃了多少口，或许在接下来的几周内体重非但不会增加，甚至还能减轻几磅。

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.

不论从科学还是逻辑上讲，要减肥，就得确保一天里的热量摄入低于消耗，人为地造成体内能源短缺。由于无法从当天的膳食中获取充足的燃料，我们的身体就会转而动用体内的储备能源（主要是脂肪）来给身体加油，于是我们就瘦了。

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，要制造出这种理想情况，必须得对热量的卡路里数斤斤计较，而“人人都讨厌计算卡路里”，这项新研究的负责人，杨百翰大学（Brigham Young University，B.Y.U，位于美国犹他州普若佛市）的健康科学副教授乔希·韦斯特(Josh West)说道。该研究于近期发表在《肥胖、体重管理与控制进展》杂志(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.

韦斯特博士指出，毕竟计算卡路里数既复杂又耗时，你需要知道你吃下的每种食物中包含了多少卡路里，这些食物你各吃了多少，以及你的身体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.

“大多数人都不了解这些东西，也不会真心想学，”韦斯特博士说，“它们看起来太复杂了，让人望而却步。”

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，最近他和同事们开始考虑有什么替代的方法可以刺激减肥，他说，然后他们想到了咀嚼计数。

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.

利用咀嚼计数减肥并非什么新鲜主意。许多减肥方案都建议人们细嚼慢咽，尤其注意进食时的感官体验。

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.

但韦斯特博士想做的不止是教人专心咀嚼。他想知道，咀嚼计数能否帮助人们在不知不觉中减少热量摄入。

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.

于是，他和同事们共计从校区内招募了61名超重或肥胖的男性和女性。他们的年龄从18到65岁不等，且都告诉研究人员说他们希望能减轻体重。

The researchers weighed and measured the volunteers and then provided them with a 10-minute introduction to bite counting.

研究人员对志愿者们进行了称重和测量，并用了10分钟的时间为他们介绍咀嚼计数。

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.

咀嚼计数，顾名思义就是指数数你咀嚼或吞咽了多少口。除水以外的所有食物或液体都应计算在内。

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.

研究人员要求入组的志愿者们在每次用餐或吃点心之后都记下咀嚼次数，并在一天结束时将总数发送给研究人员；还要求他们不要改变自己的其他饮食习惯——至少一开始不要改变。

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.

一周后，研究人员计算出了每个志愿者的日平均咀嚼次数。此时陆续有16名志愿者退出了研究。其中几人说咀嚼次数太难数了，其他人则称是因为医疗或其他个人问题而退出。

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.

研究人员把剩余的志愿者们分成两半，一组将每天的咀嚼次数减少20%（即达到原来的80%就不再进食了），另一组减少30%。研究人员建议两组志愿者吃东西的时候要专心，因为他们的食量可能会有所减少，但并没有提供其他营养建议。

Each day for the next month, the volunteers reported their bite counts, and each week, they reported to the laboratory for a weigh-in.

在接下来的一个月里，志愿者们每天报告自己的咀嚼计数，并每周到实验室称量体重。

At the end of the month, the participants in both groups had lost an average of about 3.5 pounds.

当月的月底，两组参与者都平均减重约3.5磅（约合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，无论参与者将每天的咀嚼次数减少了20%还是30%，他们的体重减轻量都差不多。韦斯特博士说，这表明在被要求少吃30%的那组参与者中，有人选择了热量更高的食物，以满足口腹之欲。

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.

两组志愿者都报告“咀嚼计数”似乎“不难办到且可以忍受”，不过，他又补充说，嫌麻烦的人很可能早在第一周就退出了。

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，该研究规模较小，为期较短，也并没显示出人们是否乐意将咀嚼计数长期继续下去，维持减肥效果。

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，韦斯特博士说，研究结果表明，如果有人想要减肥又不愿意去纠结卡路里数，咀嚼计数值得一试。

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.

他还说自己亲身实践这一做法已有三年，不但一开始时减掉的体重没有反弹，而且也没有影响他享受美食。

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，要想在假日期间实施咀嚼计数，你必须先确定你平时每天吃多少口。最好现在就开始，每次咀嚼或吞咽都数一数。在即将到来的节假日里，维持那个咀嚼次数或者将其减少20%，韦斯特博士说，这似乎是最有效的减肥方法。

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.

当然，教你计算咀嚼次数并不代表你可以不注重基本的营养，他补充道。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.”

“如果你只吃甜点，少吃多少口都是无法帮你减肥的。”