Dr. Barbara Rolls developed the volumetrics eating plan to manage weight while controlling hunger. Dr. Rolls promotes her plan as a lifestyle change rather than a diet, because you can incorporate small modifications into your daily eating habits and develop good habits that last for years. The volumetrics eating plan revolves around consuming low-calorie foods with a high volume to help you lose weight.
Benefits
The goal of the volumetrics eating plan is to help you lose weight or maintain your goal weight by controlling your calories. An advantage of this calorie-reducing plan compared to some other calorie-restricting diets is hunger prevention, because the focus of volumetrics is eating low-calorie foods that are high in volume, which will fill you up more quickly. The volumetrics plan does not exclude food groups, and many of the foods on the plan are naturally good sources of important nutrients such as fiber, vitamins and minerals.
Energy Density
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines energy or calorie density as the amount of calories in a certain amount of food. Foods in a volumetrics diet are low in calorie density. These foods are often high in water because water has no calories, but is heavy and filling. Volumetrics diet foods can be high in fiber, which helps keep you full for longer by slowing down digestion. Fat is high in calories; so most foods in a volumetrics diet are low in fat.
Fruits and Vegetables
Most raw fruits and vegetables are high in water and fiber and low in calories, making them a good fit for a volumetrics diet. According to the Mayo Clinic, raw grapefruits and carrots each contain about 90 percent water and have less than 60 calories per serving. It is important to remember that the way you prepare and eat your fruits and vegetables can affect their energy density. Dried fruits are higher in calories than fresh fruits, and cooking vegetables in fat adds calories without much volume. Also, olives and avocados are high in calories because they are almost pure fat.
Other Foods
Vegetable soups and stews are good foods for a volumetrics diet because they are both bulky and low in calories. Choose dairy products that are fat free with no sugar added, such as milk, yogurt or cottage cheese. Lean proteins such as beans, chicken breast and fish are lower calorie choices compared to fatty bacon or brisket. You can also choose foods with a high water content, such as a soft pretzel instead of dried alternatives such as hard pretzels. Limit sweets and high-fat foods because they are high in empty calories and do not have much volume.
Examples
You can apply principles from the volumetrics eating plan to your meals so that they are lower in calories. The CDC suggests having broth-based soup instead of creamy soup or ordering a grilled chicken salad instead of a fried chicken sandwich at a fast food restaurant. Another idea is to replace chips and dip with raw vegetable pieces and low-fat dip. You can use volumetrics principles while cooking recipes such as macaroni and cheese by adding vegetables and replacing butter and full fat milk with low fat milk.
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