你是否也曾“机械进食”

 　　不知道你是不是有过这样的体验？到了吃饭时间，跟着人流走到食堂，随便要两个菜，吃完，然后回到办公室。如果有人问了吃了什么，你有可能隐约记得；问你味道怎么样，可能你压根都没有注意那菜是有味道的。这大概就是很多人都说过的“审美疲劳”，当然，这里应该是“味觉疲劳”。而我们这样的进餐状态大概就只能叫做auto-eating了。

　　Women can munch¹ their way into a bigger dress size in weeks by "auto-eating" the calorie equivalent of a Big Mac a day....

　　如果每天机械地吃进去相当于一个巨无霸汉堡那么多的热量，女人们的身材可以在几周内就加大一号。

　　Nutritionist Mary Strugar coined the term auto-eating, which presumably means eating without the feeling of actual hunger and perhaps even without being fully² aware of consuming the calories.

　　Auto-eating（机械进食）这个词是由营养学家玛丽?斯图佳首先提出来的，指毫无饥饿感时的进食，而且进食的时候根本没有意识到同时有多少热量被摄入。

　　Auto-eating may also refer to the kind of eating you do without thinking because the food you're chewing on is so bland³, so meek⁴, your taste buds become indifferent to what's passing over them.

　　另外，机械进食也可以指麻木的进食状态，可能因为口中的食物太清淡、太无味，致使味觉系统对食物没有任何反应，只是在机械传送。

　　According to recent research, it may be something like upset or boredom⁵ and having nothing better to do that makes many women go into the “auto-eating” mode.

　　据最新的研究显示，心情沮丧或无聊、又找不到别的事情做可能是很多女性“机械进食”的原因。

1 munch   

v.用力嚼，大声咀嚼

参考例句：

• We watched her munch through two packets of peanuts.我们看她津津有味地嚼了两包花生米。
• Getting them to munch on vegetable dishes was more difficult.使他们吃素菜就比较困难了。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 bland   

adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的

参考例句：

• He eats bland food because of his stomach trouble.他因胃病而吃清淡的食物。
• This soup is too bland for me.这汤我喝起来偏淡。

4 meek   

adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的

参考例句：

• He expects his wife to be meek and submissive.他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。
• The little girl is as meek as a lamb.那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。

5 boredom   

n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊

参考例句：

• Unemployment can drive you mad with boredom.失业会让你无聊得发疯。
• A walkman can relieve the boredom of running.跑步时带着随身听就不那么乏味了。