Calories density - eat to lose weight

When you go on a diet, how do you feel? Are you happy and alert, or angry and feeling that you are basically starving? Many diets, especially "fad diets", require a dramatic reduction in how much you eat, and this is one of the biggest reasons why people cheat. And as we all know, cheating leads to failure. Even if we advocate periodic fasting, we must eat in our dining window, and during those hours it is still important to eat as well as we can. If you find it interesting to learn more about calorie density, think it may be helpful. A diet that makes us feel full while reducing fat and calories may seem like a dream, but according to nutritionist Barbara Rolls it is not. By eating low calorie foods, we can feel full without adding pounds. This is the idea behind Volumetric's meal plan. Rolls literally wrote the book about Volumetrics. As director of the Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behavior at Penn State, she has conducted extensive research on eating habits. Her first book, The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan, was published in 2002. She followed it up in 2007 with The Volumetrics Eating Plan.

What is calorie density? Volumetric's strategy for weight loss is based on the concept of calorie density. Just as it sounds, the calorie density represents the number of calories in a given volume of food. Think, for example, of a cake and an apple slice, both of which weigh equally. The cake has more calories than the apple slice, therefore it has a higher calorie density. The least calorie-rich foods have a high water content. Since water does not contain any calories, the caloric content of such foods is less than the same amount of a food that consists mainly of oil. Still, both foods are equally filling. Fruits and vegetables are among the least calorie-rich foods because they are usually 80 to 95 percent water. Other low calorie foods include broth, skim milk and vegetable soup. High-calorie foods include nuts, chocolate, chips and butter. The concept of calorie density is also applied to cooking. Egg whites replace whole eggs, apple puree is used instead of oil and skimmed milk is used instead of whole milk. Such supplements make it possible to enjoy many of our old favorites without eating as many calories.

The Volumetrics Eating Plan contains lists of the energy density of many popular foods, as well as a formula for calculating the calorie density of all foods. It also provides guidance on increasing physical activity. Rolls also suggests that dieters keep records of the food they eat and the physical activities they participate in so that they can identify problem areas. For anyone who is failing with their weight loss and who is constantly walking and hungry, it can be very helpful to look at the calorie density of what you put in yourself. If you choose products with a low calorie density, you can eat more and thus feel more full.

The Bodyweight Team