- To follow the volumetric diet successfully, you must educate yourself on the "energy density" of various foods. Most of the time, you will want to eat foods with low energy density. Foods that are low in energy density take up a lot of room in your stomach and make you feel full without adding a lot of calories to your daily diet. The diet's creator, nutritionist Barbara Rolls, Ph.D, has written books ("The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan" and "The Volumetrics Eating Plan") that contain charts of foods and their energy densities. If you don't have the charts handy, a good rule of thumb is that watery foods and high fiber foods are lower in energy density. For instance, cantaloupe, cucumbers and broth-based vegetable soups are low in energy because of their water content. Most fruits and vegetables are low in energy density both because of their high water and high fiber content. Fatty foods are limited because they are high energy density--just a small dab of oil or butter contains more calories than two cups of salad greens, for instance. No foods are forbidden on the volumetric eating plan, but dieters are encouraged to limit high energy density foods to small amounts and to focus on getting most of their daily calories from low energy density foods.
- Because the volumetric diet encourages you to eat low energy density foods, the result is that you end up feeling more full while eating fewer calories. Eating plans in Rolls' books provide between 1,600 and 2,000 calories per day. Depending on size, age and activity level, the average woman can lose a pound or two a week on 1,600 calories and the average man can lose or maintain weight on 2,000 calories a day.
- Increasing physical activity is also part of the volumetric diet plan. Rolls suggests starting slow if you're sedentary and working yourself up to 30 minutes to an hour of exercise most days of the week. Rolls suggests walking as an easy way to get started, but any calorie-burning activity is fine.
- Rolls and others who promote the volumetric diet suggest that keeping a food and activity log or journal is an important component for making the diet work long term. She suggests merely logging what you normally do for a week or two to get an idea of where your food choices and exercise regimen can use improvement. Then, each week, dieters can make small changes to their eating and exercise plans.
