by Caroline Honn

Created on: February 16, 2009

How much space is devoted to dieting publications in any given bookstore? Our desire for easy weight loss is as insatiable as it is transient. From cabbage to protein to liquid diets, if any one magical plan worked so easily, everyone would be using it forever. Yet, no matter how many fad diets are published each year, there are fundamental basics that cannot be avoided. The statistics are staggering, and constantly telling us what we already know: most diets fail. Only a lifestyle change that is adaptable and sound can address a lifelong need for weight management. Volumetrics does not promise an easy way into a smaller pair of jeans, and yet, its premise is not easily dismissed.

In her books, The Volumetrics Eating Plan, and The Volumetrics Weight Control Plan, Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., promotes a weight management program based on low-calorie, high fiber and high water content food choices. What is defined as 'energy density' or calories in a portion is not so much a new idea, as a straightforward truth with a thorough explanation. Dr. Rolls encourages close attention to the energy density or 'calories per gram' of daily food and beverages choices to maintain or lose weight on a long-term basis. The plan is self-directed and based on individual needs and appetites.

Briefly, each food is assigned one of four categories ranging from very low-energy dense, such as most fruits and vegetables (category 1) to very high-energy dense foods, including most desserts and full-fat snack foods (category 4). The idea is to compare choices and determine which foods provide the most satiety, according to individual caloric goals and appetites, without completely forbidding any one particular food or food group.

To substantiate the premise, the book contains illustrations demonstrating what food amounts look like for certain calorie counts, depending on the choice for high fat or high water and fiber. Essentially, meals heavy in fat content appear as far less food on a plate compared to meals high in water and fiber for identical calorie counts. These visible examples reinforce the idea that eating more food with fewer calories satisfies better for weight loss or maintenance goals than eating less food with higher calories.

The Volumetrics eating plan requires some planning. High fiber, high water-content, foods translate to fresh fruit and produce, which have a shorter life in the crisper than the processed, high-density foods in the pantry. More trips to the grocery store, careful consideration to seasonal food availability, and preparation time are potential new habits to incorporate if this program is to be successful.

Volumetrics is a personalized lifestyle, as opposed to a temporary diet. Therefore, it does not absolutely require certain food choices over others. Rather, this plan teaches to optimize the feeling of fullness, allowing weight loss or maintenance without hunger or the sense of deprivation. More strategy than diet, this plan appears to be finding its way into the core of more commercial diet programs such as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and others. Regardless to whether the term "Volumetrics" is used, the concept is the same make the best food choices to optimize personalized weight goals and overall good health.

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