Volume eating is the secret to eating more while still losing weight. It’s designed to keep you full by eating large quantities of food, but not just any food – low calorie density foods. So keep on reading to find out the pros and cons of the volumetrics diet and a volume eating food list to get you started.
By adapting the way of volume eating you can eat more food without increasing your calorie intake. Volumetrics diet focuses on eating more foods that are low in calories and minimizing or cutting out high calorie foods. It can be a great tool to lose weight without counting calories and feeling full and satisfied while being in a caloric deficit.
Volume eating meaning
The concept behind volume eating is to include foods that have a low caloric density by volume so that you can eat a larger quantity and consume for longer periods of time for the same (or less!) calories as more calorie-dense options.
It’s perfect for people who like to eat the whole thing, instead of only a small piece of something (such as a cake, casserole, or any other dish you cook)
It can have a positive impact on how you view food. Instead of feeling deprived and hungry, you can still enjoy the foods you love by making them healthier or less calorie dense by swapping out some ingredients.
Is volume eating beneficial for weight loss?
Volume eating can be a key to losing weight without feeling hungry. Here is how:
Losing weight comes down to being in a calorie deficit. To achieve this, you can either burn more calories by increasing your levels of activity or consume fewer calories than you burn.
Being in a calorie deficit often comes with a neverending feeling of hunger which is a surefire way to derail a diet. Volumetrics diet helps with that by keeping you full and satisfied with fewer calories and preventing you from wanting to binge on foods that will kick you out of a calorie deficit.
Pros of volume eating diet:
You will feel less hungry
Most people struggle with hunger when trying to stick to a calorie deficit and can therefore be more likely to cheat on their diet.
Volume eating solves this problem by introducing large quantities of food into your diet and making it harder to actually feel hungry and unsatisfied.
Increased vegetable intake
High volume low calorie diet is also great for people who don’t get a lot of micronutrients and vitamins by avoiding veggies. One of my favorite aspects of most high volume recipes is that they incorporate a large number of vegetables into the recipe and therefore bulking up the quantity of the meal and hiding in veggies for extra nutrients and fiber.
You get to eat more
If you’re the kind of person who loves to eat the whole thing (full plates and bowl and full-size desserts instead of just a small slice) volume eating may be perfect for you. SInce you’re increasing the amount of volume without increasing calories, you can eat more for the same (or less) amount of calories.
You may not have to count calories
Since being in a caloric deficit is so important to achieving weight loss, you may think that you need to count every calorie you consume.
While this may be the case when just starting to eat high volume low calorie foods, you may quickly notice that you feel less likely to go over the number of calories (since you’re feeling full and satisfied by the amount of volume you’re consuming) you need to stick to a deficit and may find that you no longer need to count calories.
Cons of volumetrics diet:
Since it’s still a new concept, volume eating doesn’t have the popularity of other more well-known diets behind it. It can be hard to find volume eating recipes and plan your meals.
That is why I am going to commit to sharing as many incredible volume eating meals that I can find to familiarise as many people as I can with this amazing way of life.
Another cons of volume eating is that you will have to make most of the meals and snacks from scratch which can place a time constraint on our already busy lives.
Is volume eating bad and will it stretch out your stomach?
Some people may think that volume eating will stretch out their stomachs. Because most people who adopt the way of volume eating are already used to eating larger quantities of food, this should not be the case.
You should discuss any medical concerns you have with your doctor but in general, if you’re already eating high-calorie dense foods in volume, simply swapping them for low-calorie-dense foods shouldn’t have a negative impact on the capacity of your stomach.
Volume eating food list: Best low calorie density foods to eat
You may notice most of these volume eating foods have one thing in common – they are high in water and fiber.
Water contains no calories and makes you feel full, so it is essential to consume a lot of while trying to lose weight.
Fiber is also important as it is going to make you feel full, help you keep regular, and contains fewer calories than fat, carbs, and protein.
Easy volume eating hacks and tips:
Hide shredded veggies to your meals
I almost always try to add some form of shredded or minced vegetables to every meal I make. Shredded carrot, zucchini, mushrooms and cauliflower and great low calorie options that don’t have an overly strong taste and can be added to most sweet and savory meals to pump up the volume.
Related: 21 High Volume Protein Breakfast Recipes
Substitute oil in baked goods
A tablespoon of oil contains 120 calories which is insane! Did you know you could substitute some or all of the oil or fats in baked recipes such as cakes, pies, and muffins for low-calorie options?
Some of my favorite oil substitutes are apple sauce, pureed pumpkin, bananas, and greek yogurt.
Start by substituting just half of the amount of oil or butter in a recipe for healthier alternatives such as apple sauce or greek yogurt. So if a recipe calls for 1 cup of oil, use 1/2 cup of oil and 1/2 cup of oil substitute and experiment with it until you find the desired outcome.
You may find that you can hardly tell the difference by swapping out the oil, but can dramatically decrease the number of calories in that recipe!
Make some salads
Leafy greens are an amazing volume eating food and generally contain less than 20 calories for 100grams.
Start with a big bag of leafy greens, add in other veggies such as carrots, bell peppers, cucumber, tomato, or onions. Add a source of lean protein such as fish, chicken breast, 99% fat-free minced turkey or if vegetarian, some chickpeas, lentils, or boiled eggs. Top with a small amount of fats in a form of a dressing.
This salad will keep you full for hours and generally comes in at under 300 calories per large serving.
Be mindful of the dressing as this can add a huge amount of calories without even noticing, most commercial salad dressings found in a supermarket can contain up to a 100 calories for only 1 tbsp of dressing.
Have soup for lunches and dinners
Since soups are high in water they are a great option for a high volume low calorie meal. They are also soup-er (ha!) easy to make.
Simply add some chicken, beef, or vegetable stock into a pot of a slow cooker and then throw in whichever vegetables and leafy greens you like. Optionally add in some lean protein like chicken breast to make it high in protein and low in calories.
Swap rice for cauliflower rice
Cauliflower rice is so easy and cheap to make at home and contains just 25 calories per 1 cup of cooked cauliflower rice as opposed to 206 calories per cup for regular white rice.
Check out how to make low-calorie cauliflower rice here:
Swap chips for popcorn
While popcorn and chips have a similar calorie value per 100 grams, you can consume about 10x as much popcorn for the same amount of calories!
How? Well air-popped popcorn is an extremely voluminous food
Make sure you pop your popcorn without using oil!
I make my air-popped popcorn using a microwave and a large bowl.
All I do is add 25g of popping corn into a large bowl, top with a large microwave-safe plate (large enough to cover the whole bowl), and microwave it for 2 to 2:30 minutes.
Once most of the kernels have popped, I spray it with about 1-second spray of canned spray oil and top with any seasoning I like (try garlic salt, cayenne pepper, cocoa powder, salt, parsley, curry powder, cinnamon, or whatever your heart desires!)
Choose sugar-free drinks
While ideally, you would only be consuming water while on a diet, but that can be unrealistic for most people (including me!)
I love to incorporate Diet Coke and Pepsi Max into my diet to make me feel full and satisfied and because they simply taste good to me.
A can of regular coke contains 150 calories, while a can of Diet coke contains just 0.452 calories. Source
Top high volume low calorie foods:
Leafy greens (Cabbage, lettuce, spinach, kale, swiss chard, bok choy)
Vegetables (Celery, broccoli, zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, bell peppers, cucumber, tomato, pumpkin)
Fruits (Strawberries, watermelon, grapefruit, oranges, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, melon, apples)
Grains (Potato, oatmeal, popcorn)
Protein (nonfat Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, egg whites, ground chicken, ground turkey)
Conclusion
Volume eating diet emphasizes adding foods with low calories and high volume and cutting out high-calorie density foods. It can be a great way of eating to feel full whilst still losing weight and improving your overall health by increasing the intake of vitamin- and nutrient-dense foods such as vegetables, grains, and fruit.
Best Volume Eating Recipes:
High Volume Breakfast Potatoes With Eggs
17 High Volume Low-Calorie Desserts
High Volume Low-Calorie Donuts
What Are Oat Groats and Best Oats Groats Recipes
