Diets Decoded: Here’s What You Need to Know About The Volumetrics Diet

We’re going to let you in on a little secret. Most popular healthy diets that are touted for weight loss—from Paleo to Mediterranean and vegetarian—share many of the same basic principles. All involve eating whole foods (as opposed to packaged and processed) and filling your plate with quality sources of protein, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, and vitamin-, mineral-, and fiber-rich vegetables. However, each proposes a slightly different path that leads to fulfilling those principles. In this column, we’ll be breaking them down for you, one by one, so you can figure out which (if any) is right for you. We’ll explain the facts and then provide quick, actionable tips on how to follow the diet as part of a Nutritious Life. If cutting calories isn’t helping you hit your weight loss goals, we’re not surprised. An alternative strategy that might work for some people is eating for volume, which involves including healthy and filling foods with each meal–that just happen to be low in calories. This is called the Volumetrics Diet. Read on to find out how it works, and then decide if it’s right for you or not. What is the Volumetrics Diet? As with any diet, the Volumetrics Diet simply offers one approach to attaining your weight loss and health goals. Not a new diet by any means, this tried-and-true diet, which was created by a nutrition and obesity researcher at Penn State, follows a rather simple principle. By including high-volume (think filling and nutrient-dense), low-calorie foods at each meal, you can keep your calorie intake in check without feeling unsatisfied or deprived. On this diet, you can plan to eat three full meals and two snacks daily, with the option for adding desserts some days–as long as you’re staying within your caloric recommendations. Nothing is off-limits on this eating plan, but there are some foods that you’ll want to limit or avoid. The Volumetrics Four Food Categories Successfully following this plan requires an understanding of its four main categories of foods, with most of your food volume coming from foods in category one, and the least of your foods (if any) coming from category four. The goal is to stay within your unique daily caloric intake recommendations. These categories include: Category 1: Very Low-Density Foods Think non-starchy fruits and vegetables such as berries, melons, cucumbers, asparagus and broth-based soups. These foods can be eaten in higher quantities throughout the day when following this diet because they are high in nutrients and water and low in calories. Pile these on your plate! Category 2: Low-Density Foods These foods include whole grains (brown rice and whole wheat pasta, for example), starchy fruits and vegetables (such as bananas, corn and potatoes), legumes, lean proteins and low-fat dairy products. These foods can be eaten in reasonable quantities, paying careful attention to how they affect your daily caloric intake. Category 3: Medium-Density Foods These foods include full-fat dairy products, meats with higher fat content and breads. These foods can be eaten on the diet, but not as often as foods from categories one and two due to their lower nutrient density and higher caloric density. Category 4: High-Density Foods While there aren’t any foods you can’t eat on the Volumetrics Diet, high-density foods should be limited. These foods contain the fewest nutrients and the highest levels of calories, so you want to avoid them when possible. Some examples of high-density foods include crackers, chips, candy, cookies, (all the highly-processed foods we always think are best avoided!) nuts, butter, and oil. (Technically, alcohol falls into this category, except it really doesn’t offer any nutrients and is full of calories. It’s best to keep this out if you’re really trying to lose weight.) What You Eat on the Volumetric Diet High-volume, low-calorie foods tend to contain higher amounts of water and fiber, so these are the foods you’ll focus on eating the most while on the Volumetrics Diet. Why? Because when you eat foods high in water and fiber, you feel fuller faster, meaning you don’t have to eat as many calories to feel satiated. RELATED: Only 5% of Americans Eat Enough Fiber—Here’s Why You Should Eat More Foods with lower amounts of fiber and water, on the other hand, require you to eat more of them to feel full, regardless of how many calories they contain. Here’s a potential list of foods to include plenty of in your daily meals on this diet: Fresh fruits and fresh or frozen vegetables (especially those high in water and fiber) Beans and legumes (in moderation) Whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, oatmeal, whole grain bread) Low-fat dairy products (low-fat Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, kefir) Lean meats and proteins (chicken without the skin, lean beef, low-fat fish, egg whites) Water (vs. soda or other sugary drinks) Notice that the medium- and high-density foods aren’t listed here? They aren’t 100% “not allowed,” but the more you eat lower-density foods, the better. What You Don’t Eat on the Volumetrics Diet We’ll repeat it–there are no strict rules around what you “can’t eat” on the Volumetrics Diet, but there are foods you’ll want to avoid or limit if you want to see the weight drop faster. As you can imagine, higher-calorie foods that are low in nutrients shouldn’t take up a lot of room on your plate, but if you must include them, you’ll want to limit them and make sure they fit into your daily calorie goals. Here are some examples of high-calorie and low-volume foods to avoid on the Volumetrics Diet: Full-fat dairy products (full-fat yogurt, sour cream, and cheeses) Fatty meat (regular ground beef, bacon, sausages, chicken with skin) Processed and sweetened foods (cookies, candy, soda, sweetened coffee drinks) Refined foods (white bread, cake, and other baked goods) Sometimes we all need something sweet or that we know isn’t the healthiest option. One thing that works for many people on this diet is that the rules aren’t super strict. So if you really want to have a