An antidote to crash diets is not a pipe dream but a plan known as volume eating or the Volumetrics diet, created by Dr Barbara Rolls. It’s a simple concept where it doesn’t matter how much you eat as long as you choose from a pool of nutritious, high-fibre, low-calorie foods.
What is volume eating?
Volume eating works on the principle that calories aren’t created equal and that certain high-volume foods are lower in calories. What you need to know is that:
- The size of a food doesn’t determine its calorie content. For example, a single Ferrero Rocher chocolate has 72-75 calories, while a baked medium-sized sweet potato has 86 calories.
- Our bodies need three macronutrients to function: carbohydrates, protein and fat, but they vary in calorie content. A gram of protein has 4 calories, a gram of carbohydrate has 4 calories and a gram of fat has 9 calories.
- Put fat and sugar (carbs) together as is the case in many ultra-processed foods and snacks and the calories soon mount up.
Volumetrics is an easy plan to follow as it divides foods into four main groups, relating to their volume and calories. You can eat abundantly from group 1, moderately from group 2 and 3 and mindfully from group 4. In this way, volumetrics frees you from calorie counting.
Group 1: eat freely from the following high-fibre, high-water content, low-calorie foods.
- Greens such as cabbage, kale, spinach, broccoli and cauliflower
- Salad vegetables such as lettuce, celery, lettuce and cucumbers
- Fruits such as berries and citrus including oranges, grapefruit, lemon
- Vegetable soups and stews
Group 2: eat moderately from this list of medium- to high-fibre, high-water content and medium to higher sugar foods.
- Root vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, beetroot and carrot
- Yogurt and milk
- Lean protein such as skinless chicken
- Wholegrains such as brown rice
- Lentils
Group 3: eat these foods in smaller amounts as they’re higher in fat and calories.
- Cheese
- Oily fish such as salmon
- White bread and pasta
Group 4: limit these foods because they’re high in fat, sugar and calories.
- Butter and oils
- Ultra-processed foods such as ready meals
- High-fat snacks such as crisps and carbs such as chips
- Sweets and desserts
- Fatty cuts of meats
- Honey, maple syrup, sugar
- Nuts and seeds that are high in oil and salt
Is volume eating a calorie-controlled diet?
Volumetrics is easy to follow as you base meals around plant-based foods so can eat more without having to worry about measuring portion sizes and counting calories. If this freer style of diet wouldn’t work for you, it’s best to use a comprehensive online calorie tracker instead such as Nutracheck.
What are the benefits of volume eating?
Volume eating works because of the very bulky nature of vegetables and fruits, which helps us feel fuller for longer, research has shown. Naturally, when you feel full, you’re less likely to give into cravings.
High-fibre eating is currently trending as ‘fibremaxxing’ on TikTok as a healthy diet, especially among young people, an age bracket experiencing a rise in colon cancer. Consultant endocrinologist Professor Thomas Barber has researched dietary fibre and is happy to see it hitting the headlines for all the positive reasons.
“Benefits include a healthy digestive system, which lowers the risk of cancers such as bowel cancer and heart disease. As well as helping with weight loss, high-fibre foods contain essential vitamins and minerals that improve general health and immunity,” he says.
If, like, me you’re prone to grabbing a meal deal – sandwich, crisps and a soft drink – on a busy day, it helps to have a plan B that is a healthy, filling recipe you can batch cook. I’ve been making the high-volume, high-fibre Jennifer Aniston salad that went viral on TikTok.
Deliciously Ella makes a similar version, but includes a higher-calorie dressing. I base mine on Aniston’s original: roasted veg, fresh salad ingredients, chickpeas and higher-protein grains such as bulgur wheat and quinoa. Like her, I sprinkle over a few nuts, fresh herbs and add a drizzle of olive oil and fresh lemon juice.
Dietitian Jennifer Low, who runs JL Nutrition Clinic, says this dish works because as well as being high in fibre, it’s a balanced meal and has all the major food groups.
“Dietary fibre comes from plants and it’s great at keeping you feeling full as it’s digested slowly. It helps keep our gut and bowel healthy by feeding the good bacteria, and contributes to heart health,’ she says. ‘It also affects the hormones that control our hunger and fullness signals and helps us lose weight as trials have shown,” says Low.
Yet 90% of adults in the UK currently don’t meet the recommended 30g fibre a day. “Making simple swaps and additions can boost your fibre intake,” says Low. ‘You can do this by adding more vegetables to your meals – fresh, frozen and tinned all count – and switching to wholegrain bread and grains and eating nuts.’ Read more about fibre here.
Aiming to eat the recommended 30 types of plant foods a week is a great way to challenge yourself to increase the variety of fruit and veg in your diet. Plus, it’s important to factor in some protein, whether that’s lean chicken, fish, tofu or slice of feta, plus a serving of wholegrain carbs. “Having a balanced meal means you’re more likely to feel satisfied,” says Low.
What are the downsides to volume eating?
High-volume eating puts some healthy ingredients into group 4. “Nuts are a great source of fibre, protein and micronutrients, and are certainly not something that we need to cut out of our diets,” says Low. “Of course, watch the portion sizes, and choose unsalted versions most of the time,” she says.
Over focusing on plant-based foods means we could miss out on essential nutrients. “Fish and meat provide iron, healthy omega-3 fats, zinc and B12. Removing these completely from your diet means you need to get these vital micronutrients from other sources,” says Low.
“As with any diet, it is really small sustainable changes that make a difference over time. Keeping your diet balanced is the most important part. By all means add more nutrient-dense foods, but don’t do it at the expense of the other food groups,” she says.
Your volume eating takeaway
Apart from the positive weight loss associated with eating healthy high-volume foods, following this way of eating helps us hit the daily 5-a-day fruit and vegetable 30g fibre targets. This helps our digestive and heart health, boosts immunity and lowers the risk of certain cancers. However, it’s essential to include healthy protein, some carbs and fat to meet our daily nutrient and energy needs. Over-focusing on certain foods can also lead to disordered eating, so it’s important to maintain a balanced diet with an adequate calorie intake.
Now try…
How to meet your five-a-day
Check out the healthiest vegetables you need in your diet
Your top 21 healthiest wholegrains, from amaranth to wild rice
Salad recipes to help you get started
Recipes to expand your vegetarian repertoire
All health content on goodfood.com is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. If you have any concerns about your general health, you should contact your local health care provider. See our website terms and conditions for more information.
