In a recently published book, Barbara Rolls, PhD, a nutrition researcher at Penn State University, and Robert Barnett, a nutrition writer, discuss the specifics of what we now call The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan. Although not as widely known as most major diet plans out today, the Volumetrics Diet is beginning to gain popularity over time.

What is the Volumetrics Diet - A Brief Overview

The Volumetrics Diet is based on the premise that a person's feeling of satiety or fullness greatly depends on the volume of food he consumes rather than the number of calories he takes in. In other words, no matter how a person attempts to cut down on calories throughout the day, he will still have difficulty fighting the urge to eat more and more food since the satiety centers in his brain keep on telling him that the body still needs more.

The diet claims that by eating foods that will fill a person up on a fewer calories, he will be able to go on that weight loss plan without even feeling like he's on a diet. He can eat as much low-calorie food as he wants and not feel guilty about it. The diet also promises that upon following the said advice, dieters can avoid episodes of starvation, hypoglycemia, or a feeling of deprivation from food and energy.

This diet plan includes something called "calorie density" wherein foods are analyzed and arranged based on the number of calories they have. Foods recommended in this diet have a low energy density. This means that they can easily provide a feeling of fullness without the person having to binge on calories. Foods to be avoided, on the other hand, are energy dense, which means that they either have high caloric content or that one has to consume large portions before he begins to get that feeling of fullness.

Scientific Evidence

The authors of this diet claim that people tend to eat roughly the same amount of food each day, regardless of the number of calories they contain. For people who do not follow a weight loss plan and who are not counting calories, food consumption is fairly equal and eating patterns are usually the same day after day. Therefore, if a person consumes the same amount of food, only this time with lesser calories than the items that he usually eats, then he will be able to shed off those extra pounds without getting hungry and without depriving himself of what he normally consumes. Despite the relatively stable scientific evidence supporting this diet plan, researchers still claim, however, that the premise on calorie density is still ongoing.

Additional Lifestyle Modifications

Like most diet plans, the Volumetrics Diet works better if it is done in conjunction with a variety of other lifestyle changes. It is still recommended that people avoid situations that lead to binge eating such as emotional distress, parties, food trips, and many more. Also, exercise is never taken out of the picture. Thirty minutes of exercise throughout most of the week will keep the body in shape longer and will help in maintaining that healthy weight.

Some recommended methods to accompany the diet would be keeping food logs and food diaries. Exercise logs are also a good way to keep track of the daily regimen and to stay on it. Awareness of what increases food cravings and food intake is the first step to adjusting eating patterns, so it is truly vital for one to conduct a thorough assessment of himself and see what has contributed to weight gain before he begins to change anything in the way he handles daily meals.