春節期間出遊、聚餐免不了大吃大喝，即使待在家裡玩遊戲、追劇也免不了邊看邊吃零嘴，而過完年開工後不但要收心還得開始鏟肉計畫！尤其現在的人健康意識越來越高，健身也逐漸興盛，減重方法推陳出新，讓我們來加入健身減重潮看看如何用英文聊聊維持身材。
168、間歇性斷食法
最近大家一定在和朋友聊天的時候，聽到許多人在談論168間歇性斷食，英文要怎麼說呢？首先，168不會唸成one-six-eight，其實英文寫法常是16：8或16/8，就是16+8小時的概念，因此英文會唸成sixteen-eight。
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斷食當動詞則是fast。通常英文的初學者只知道fast的形容詞用法「快的」或者副詞「快地」，是形容詞和副詞同型的單字：
● fast walker：走路快的人，fast在此為形容詞
● walk fast：走很快，fast當副詞使用，不能說walk fastly
然而fast這個字的另一個意思就是「斷食」(v)，指的就是比較長的一段時間不進食，名詞是fasting。什麼時候可以用fast、fasting呢？譬如你第二天要做抽血健康檢查時需要斷食，或者有些宗教如回教的齋戒月等也會有fasting。早餐的英文叫做breakfast，就是指打破斷食的那一餐（break the fast）。
Some studies suggested that fasting can actually reduce inflammation and improve overall fitness.
（有些研究顯示斷食有助於降低發炎和改善健康。）
These changes are subtle and intermittent at first and become more permanent and obvious as the disease progresses. (source: Cambridge English Corpus)
（這些改變剛開始很細微也斷斷續續，但後來隨著疾病進展就變得更明顯和持續。）
intermittent、interval
在TOEIC測驗裡有幾個非常類似的詞，容易和intermittent (adj)「間歇性」搞混，如我們常看到音樂會或表演中常有的「中場休息」intermission (n)，其實就是一個pause、或 break「暫停」的意思。
During the intermission, the audience can get drinks and refreshments prepared by the catering company.
（中場休息時間觀眾可以拿取外燴公司準備的飲料和點心。）
另一個類似的詞是interval (n)，當名詞解釋為「間隔；間歇」，常在健身的人一定聽過所謂「高強度間歇訓練」，英文即是high intensity interval training。
These plants should be spaced at roughly 10cm intervals.
（這些植物種植的間距大約是十公分。）
diet 飲食
除了斷食之外還有各式的飲食計畫，譬如最近很夯的低碳（low-carb）飲食、生酮（keto）飲食、地中海（Mediterranean）飲食。這些飲食我們都可用diet這個字。
一般人說「I am on a diet.」很多人就會直覺是「我在減重」，但是diet不一定要是減重，也有可能是在調整飲食或進行某種飲食，雖然很常是以減重為目的，不過diet還是要看情況來翻成「減重」或「飲食」。
It’s important to maintain a balanced diet.
（維持均衡的飲食很重要。）
人魚線、重訓怎麼說？
除了飲食外，近年來也越來越多人去健身房健身，「去健身房」可以用go to the gym或者hit the gym，而「運動」可以說exercise (v)或work out (v)。
Jim usually works out at the gym near his office.
（吉姆通常在他辦公室附近的健身房運動。）
現在很多人做重量訓練（weight training）來增加肌力，有些人達成令人欽羨的six-pack abs (腹部六塊肌)，V-line abs (腹部人魚線)，也可以用washboard abs，這個就非常容易想像，形容肌肉線條很棒的腹部就像洗衣板一般。
相反地，鮪魚肚／啤酒肚這些可用beer belly、spare tire來表現，腰部waistline可捏出來多餘的贅肉則可用love handles，如果穿上褲子還突出在褲外就會稱作或muffin top，大家可以想像一下瑪芬蛋糕上面露出部分的樣子。
To get rid of a beer belly, you need a combination of diet and exercise.
（要消掉啤酒肚，你需要同時節食和運動。）
此外，我們可以用tone當動詞來表示「變結實」，tone (n)還有「音調，聲音」的意思。
There are several exercises we can do to tone our core muscles.
（我們可以做某一些運動來讓核心肌肉變結實。）
【TOEIC模擬試題】
1. To burn excess fat more quickly, you need to ________ on refined carbs, eat a healthy diet and incorporate some strength training.
(A) work out
(B) work off
(C) cut down
(D) turn out
2. The company claimed that their pills can help customers achieve _________ in six weeks without dieting and exercising.
(A) weigh lost
(B) weight lost
(C) lose weight
(D) weight loss
【解析】
1. 正解為(C)。本題是片語語意題，要選出符合句意的片語，題目為「要燃燒多餘的脂肪，我們需要 ____ 精緻碳水化合物，健康的飲食和配合肌力訓練」，選項有(A)運動、(B)消除、(C)減少、(C)最終成為，因此正確答案是(C)cut down on，同義詞有reduce。
2. 正解為(D)。這題是單字文法題，從句意「這個公司宣稱他們的藥可在六週內不需要節食或運動就可幫助人達成 ____」來看，空格部分應該會是「減重」，但是需選擇對的詞性。lose (v)的三態是lose、lost、lost，而weigh (v)「稱重」，名詞形式是weight，空格部分需要名詞的形式，因此(D)N+N（複合名詞）是正確答案。
SOURCE:https://www.englishok.com.tw/toeic/toeic-issue/diet-exercise
文章由TOEIC Program Taiwan · Chun Shin提供：
www.facebook.com/ToeicProgramTaiwan
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