Volumetrics Diet Information

The Volumetrics Diet is based on the books "The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan: Feel Full on Fewer Calories!" by Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., and Robert Barnett, published in 2000, and "The Volumetrics Eating Plan" released by Rolls in 2005. The diet is less about prescribing specific foods and more about changing the way you approach your diet. The Volumetrics Diet is based on the theory that people eat the same amount of food, regardless of the number of calories it contains.

Premise

Rolls uses the concept of energy density as the basis of the Volumetrics Diet. Certain foods supply a higher number of calories per serving than others. Choosing foods that have lower energy density allows you to still feel full, but eat fewer calories overall and subsequently lose weight. The plan does not forbid any specific foods; it simply tries to make you aware that you can eat more food and lose weight if you select watery vegetables, fruits, broths and low-fat milk.

Strategies

The Volumetrics Diet suggests you learn to identify foods low in calorie density and build your meals around them. "The Volumetrics Eating Plan" provides charts of food energy density, meal suggestions and recipes to help with this process. Rolls also recommends recording your food intake to keep you accountable and to help you see where you can make improvements. The Volumetrics Diet encourages physical activity amounting to 30 to 60 minutes on most days.

Types of Foods

The Volumetrics Diet plan encourages you eat plenty of non-starchy, fibrous fruits and vegetables. Lean meats and whole grains such as whole wheat pasta, brown rice and oatmeal are also prominent features in the diet. The Volumetrics Diet provides recipes and techniques for preparing foods like homemade soups, stews made with lean meats or beans, and vegetable-enhanced casseroles with low-fat milk, broth and water to decrease their energy density. Processed and fast foods, sugary sweets and fatty meats should be eaten in moderation as they tend to be higher in calorie density. These foods are not forbidden; they simply should be eaten with awareness of the impact they have on your overall calorie intake.

Benefits

The Volumetrics Diet offers a sensible plan that does not involve lots of "rules" or "tricks" to promote weight loss. No food is off-limits. You might appreciate the emphasis on satiation, not deprivation, as the way to lose weight. The plan is in line with diets recommended by the American Heart Association and the Harvard School of Public Health that encourage fruits and vegetables as their foundation. The Volumetrics Diet also helps you understand portion control, especially when it comes to foods higher in calorie density.

Research

Barbara Rolls is a professor of nutrition and director of the Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behavior at Penn State University. The Volumetrics Diet Plan is based on hundreds of studies she performed in her laboratory dealing with satiation and energy density. For example, in the October 2004 issue of the "Journal of the American Dietetic Association," Rolls documented a study where she and colleagues tested the effect of eating a salad prior to a full meal on total calorie intake. They concluded that eating a low-energy-dense salad as a first course made participants feel fuller and reduced overall calorie intake at the meal.

In a 2007 issue of the journal "Appetite," Rolls documented a study she led that tested soup as an appetizer and its impact on total calorie intake. The findings were that consuming soup prior to a meal resulted in a 20 percent reduction in total calorie intake at the entire meal. Although the study notes any type of soup will yield these results, the Volumetrics Diet recommends broth-based soup as it is the least energy-dense.