Instead of feeling hungry and deprived while dieting, imagine eating large meals of healthy and appetite-satisfying foods and still losing weight. That's the premise of the volumetric diet developed by nutritionist Barbara Rolls and journalist Robert Barnett. The diet was popularized by their book, "Volumetrics: Feel Full on Fewer Calories," published in 2000.
Basis of the Diet
Rolls, who holds a Ph.D. in nutrition and has conducted obesity and hunger research for over two decades, based her volumetrics diet on the premise that the energy density of food -- or the amount of calories in a given volume of food -- is the most significant factor in how many calories a person eats. Foods with a high energy density are higher in calories and are easier to overeat. Foods with a lower energy density have less calories for the same volume. Rolls found that people eat a consistent volume of food whether the energy density is high or low, and that eating low energy-density foods satisfies the appetite with fewer calories.
Examples of Low-Energy-Density Foods
Foods with a low energy density are high-volume, low-calorie foods that are high in fiber and water. One-quarter cup of raisins and 1 3/4 cups of grapes both contain 110 calories, but the juicy, high-fiber grapes will fill you up faster and satisfy your appetite better. Instead of a glazed doughnut, a volumetrics dieter could eat a bowl of bran cereal topped with skim milk and blueberries, and a slice of whole wheat toast with peanut butter, for the same 300 calories. Fiber is only found in plant foods, including fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.
Sample Menu
For breakfast, a volumetrics dieter might eat oatmeal made with water and topped with cinnamon and brown sugar, 1 cup of 1-percent fat milk, 1/2 of a medium apple, 1/2 of a grapefruit and coffee. Lunch could include chicken salad made with grilled chicken breast, romaine lettuce, chopped walnuts, crumbled blue cheese, sliced bell pepper and light dressing. Dinner might consist of corn, cantaloupe and steak fajitas made with grilled sirloin steak, green pepper, onion, salsa, lettuce, tomato and sour cream, served on a flour tortilla. This sample menu adds up to approximately 1,750 calories total for the day.
Restricted Foods
The volumetric diet restricts very-calorie-dense foods, such as sweets, fried foods and fats added after cooking. Dry foods, such as dried fruit, pretzels, popcorn and crackers, are limited due to their lack of water content, which makes them high in calories yet low in hunger-satisfying ability.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Slide Show: Low-Calorie Foods for Weight Control; May 2010
- "The New York Times"; With Fruits and Vegetables, More Can Be Less; Jane E. Brody; October 2004
- Colorado State University Extension; Dietary Fiber; J. Anderson, et al.; December 2010
- Northwestern University: Nutrition Fact Sheet: Volumetric Diet
Member Comments