How to Follow the Volumetrics Eating Plan

The Volumetrics Eating Plan, designed by Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., is based on the concept of "energy density," which is Rolls' phrase for the concentration of calories in each portion of food. Rather than requiring or prohibiting specific foods, Volumetrics teaches its users to evaluate and plan their food based on this general concept. Volumetrics was selected the top-rated diet by Consumer Reports in June 2007 over better-known programs.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• "The Volumetrics Eating Plan," by Barbara Rolls, Ph.D

Set Goals and Monitor Your Progress

1. Set your own goals for weight loss, calories consumed and calories burned through exercise after you establish an initial baseline. The Volumetric Eating Plan does not set goals for you, but provides an approach for losing 1 to 2 pounds a week by reducing your net calorie consumption by 500 to 1000 calories a day.

2. Make copies of the daily progress charts in "The Volumetrics Eating Plan" and collect them in a daily journal for self-monitoring of your experiences and progress in areas such as daily exercise or steps taken, daily food consumption, frequency of low "energy-density" foods, degree of hunger and weight loss success.

3. Highlight, star or otherwise note your favorite Volumetrics-friendly foods and exercise workouts as they occur so that you can easily go back to them and work them into your lifetime eating routines.

Select Foods

4. Print or copy the 4 food lists on pp. 22 to 23 of "The Volumetrics Eating Plan" and carry them with you at all times to assist you in grocery shopping, restaurant ordering and recipe planning with foods lower in energy density.

5. Learn how to quickly calculate a food's energy density from the food's Nutrition Facts label, by dividing the number of calories in a serving by the number of g in the serving.

6. Satisfy your hunger and meet your nutritional requirements whenever possible with foods that have an energy density of 1.5 or less, while watching portion sizes of foods with energy density from 1.5 to 4 and avoiding, substituting or carefully managing intake of foods with energy density over 4.

Follow the Basic Principles

7. Count calories and reduce your calorie intake by 500 to 1000 calories a day to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week. Volumetrics emphasizes that the only proven way to lose weight is to consume fewer calories than you burn.

8. Use a pedometer to count your steps and aim for 30 to 60 minutes of moderate physical activity most days. 6,500 steps a day is a good initial goal, with an ultimate goal of 10,000 steps a day.

9. Balance your foods, especially when trying to manage your overall caloric intake, so that your diet will include all the essential nutrients required for healthy nutrition.

Tips & Warnings

• Since Volumetrics is more of a comprehensive lifetime eating strategy than a specific diet, some people have combined its principles and food measurements successfully with other diets.

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