Customer Reviews

The Volumetrics Eating Plan: Techniques and Recipes for Feeling Full on Fewer Calories

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I began following Volumetrics in April, 2001. Four years later, I have lost 220 pounds! The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan gave me everything I needed to overcome obesity: a comprehensive guide to good nutrition; a clear explanation of the science of satiety; and a host of delicious recipes to try. I have been able to stick with Volumetrics all this time because I don't feel hungry or deprived. In fact, I would say that by managing my hunger and helping me achieve a normal weight, Volumetrics has given me my life back.

This new Volumetrics book is a wonderful complement to the first one. It includes more detail on how to implement Volumetrics successfully, along with menu planners and beautiful color photographs of 125 new recipes. I've actually given The Volumetrics Eating Plan to several friends who don't need to lose weight but do like to cook. I only wish it had been available when I started my own Volumetrics eating plan four years ago (and I'm not just saying that because my testimonial appears on page 5!)

The reviewers who gave the book one and two stars, respectively, don't seem to understand the program. One reviewer complains that the book is "bad science based on a fear of dietary fat calories." In fact, Volumetrics recommends that 20-30% of daily calories come from fat. That's well within accepted guidelines, and ensures both good nutrition and good taste. I eat butter, eggs and cheese (in moderation), and I've lost weight steadily while feeling satisfied on Volumetrics.

A second reviewer complains that Volumetrics is the same as 99.99% of the diet books out there. I strongly disagree. I tried numerous diets over several decades and never understood the connection between energy density and satiety until Volumetrics explained it to me. Finding out that I could lose weight without being chronically hungry was a revelation!

I recommend Volumetrics to anyone struggling with obesity. (...)

Dr. Barbara Rolls is one of the leading researchers on weight management. Through her studies she has been able to demonstrate that people can eat hundreds of calories less per day, lose weight and not feel deprived. Dr. Rolls shares her work in her new 316 page hardcover book, "The Volumetrics Eating Plan".

The secret is what Dr. Rolls calls, "volumetrics". With volumetrics you are not micromanaging your nutrients ie eating no fat or eating a high protein diet, nor are you giving up favorite foods like chocolate, bread or cheese. With volumetrics you learn to choose foods that will help you control hunger, lose weight yet not be "on a diet".

In studies Dr. Rolls conducted she discovered the foods that provide the most "bang" for your calorie buck. In her first book "The Volumetrics Weight - Control Plan" she described the science behind her research. In this book she goes further and describes how to implement these techniques in your daily life.
Dr. Rolls found in test studies that subjects could eat up to 800 calories LESS per day and not even notice the difference if they made the right choices.

You will learn how to choose the right foods that will help you lose weight without dieting and feelings of depriviation. Volumetrics involves energy density. Dr. Rolls categorizes foods according to their density. Density is based on amount of calories per gram of food. These categories range from Catergory 1 the least energy dense (green beans, celery, lettuce etc.) to Catergory 2 (olives, ketchup, rice etc.) to category 3 (raisins, hard pretzels, oil packed tuna etc.) to catergory 4 - high energy dense foods (bacon, butter, pecans etc.) If you select the lower energy dense foods most of the time and add in select portions of the high energy dense foods you will lose weight. Though it sounds complicated, Dr. Rolls explains it so thoroughly its very easy to understand and once you get the hang of it, you will know exactly what foods to choose more of and whant to choose less of.

Dr. Rolls includes a number of delicious recipes also. Her Thai Chicken Salad is perfection! Other yummy recipes include oven roasted potatoes, shrimp creole, stir fried turkey with crunchy veggies, pork chops with orange soy sauce and charlie's greek salad.

She also includes a simple walking plan that will enhance your weight loss even further. Simple ways to increase your steps. Dr.Rolls teaches you how to determine your baseline walking and work up from there. A nice bonus to the book!

The beauty of "The Volumetrics Eating Plan" is you learn how to incorporate all the foods you love like chocolate, cheese, pizza etc volumetrically so you can eat them and lose weight!
She also includes several weeks of menu plans. These are simple to understand with easy to find ingredients. One drawback is that a whole weeks worth of menus are on one page so its a bit hard to read. Other than the weekly menu plans which are squished on a page, the rest of the book is generously laid out with easy to read text and lots of full color photographs.

The one weak area in the book is the lack of success stories. Though Dr. Rolls shares a few letters she has received from clients, I would like to have seen more letters and some before and after photographs.

Overall, the book is excellent and clearly explains how you can have your cake and lose weight too!

This plan is obviously learned and elegant. I wish it were more practical. Perhaps Dr. Rolls could come up with a distilled menu plan in the future with an eye toward saving time. I was trying to construct a shopping list based on her 3 weekly menu's (which her book could have provided from her database) and for instance the amount of ingredients for the Monday lunch menu with the portobello sandwich was staggering. The lunch menu had a secondary menu for the sandwich...16 items, and in that secondary menu was a tertiary menu for guacomole...8 items; 24 items for a sandwich!! Thats not all!! the tabbouleh menu has 11 items plus a pear for a total of 36 items spread over 4 distant and separate pages in order to make lunch! There are many other such examples. I GAVE UP! WHO HAS THE TIME? Everyone recognizes the problem families have in eating meals together with today's hectic and divisive shedules, this plan is certainly not the answer it only exacerbates the situation.
This is what happens when experts are consumed by a particular discipline acquired over decades, they go into overkill mode and think we can spend as much of our life on it as they. Diets are part of our life, not all of it. It is sad because this diet concept could be so beneficial to so many if only it was less time consuming. I'm sure that Dr. Rolls with her expertise, can devise a simple menu plan without skipping all over the book, with less exotic food items, and yet accomplish her's and our goal.

Recently on the cover of US News and World Report, the Volumetrics Eating Plan reaches out as the latest pathfinder in the new frontier of common sense dieting for life as "pioneered" by Dr. Will Clower in his eye-opener to faux foods and their negative impact on the American diet, "The Fat Fallacy". Unlike Mireille Guiliano of "French Women Don't Get Fat" fame, author Barbara Rolls has all the right nutrition-savvy credentials, which will definitely appeal to those lifetime strategists needing a nod from the medical community. As different as Guiliano and Rolls are in terms of in-the-trenches experience, both books have the same message, albeit Guliano's formats hers as a memoir with recipes and Rolls provides a more theoretical approach again with the requisite recipes.

During numerous trials, Rolls noticed that despite the macronutrients involved, (the current trend in dieting divides everything into three groups: carbohydrates, protein and fat) people still ate the same amount of food each day. What was different and what caused people to gain weight was that they ate different caloric amounts. Rolls realized that since people eat a specific volume of food daily, if they chose foods that would provide that same comfortable volume with less calories and more nutriments, weight loss would be achieved and easy to maintain without calorie counting.

Rolls suggests making up a large portion of one's diet with category 1 foods: foods that have fewer calories in a serving than their weight in grams -- most water and fiber rich foods like fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy product fall into this category. Rolls defines 4 categories, touting also a more expansive enjoyment of category 2 which includes foods with calories equal to or slightly greater than their weight --- ie., fish, chicken without fat or skin, potatoes, pasta, rice, beans, and low-fat salad dressings. The usual suspects like beef, cheese, pretzels, full-fat salad dressings, chips, cookies,ice cream, bacon, oils, and french fries that have two or more times as many calories as their weight can still be eaten, but need to be controlled.

Think of it this way: if you started off your meal with a fruit salad of sliced apples, strawberries and pineapple slices, you immediately have moved the gauge in your brain's satiety monitor towards the 'full' position. You have also provided your body with water, fiber and vitamins. If you followed this starter with a small bowl of soup containing all sorts of vegetables, chicken pieces and stock, you are providing your body a variety of nutrition form different sources. Finishing with a smaller cut of fish or chicken or whatever, only stands to reason - you are already "full" and your need to eat more dissovles as your brain registers the fact that you have provided your body enough nutriments.

Bottom line: Common sense epiphany whose positive functionality is demonstrated by years of observation and test studies. High calorie no-no foods that are usually forbidden on many diets are allowed here in moderation -- carb rich foods that are verboten on high-protein diets like Atkens and South Beach are okay here as the message is similar to the premise in "Fremch Women Don't Get Fat" and "The Fat Fallacy" -- eating real food, rich in nutriements and variety provide your body what it needs and fulfils the body's need for satiety. The result? no brainer -- better health and maintainable weight.

This book is MUCH more readable than the first book--I've read both, and to be honest, you can skip (or borrow from the library) the first book and just buy this one to get down to the nitty gritty. This one also has some color pictures to liven things up.

The recipes are pretty decent, although they seem to be heavy on the bell peppers (as are a lot of diet books). The menu plans she offers are pretty good, as well as the charts. My other small complaint is that she seems to favor traditional "diet" foods instead of showing how you can cut the fat and sugar content without resorting to chemically laden substitutes. You can do this yourself, when you decide how much fat/sugar/bread you do want to allow in your meal plans, but hints could have been included in this book. For example, instead of a fat-free blue cheese dressing, loaded with corn syrup, put some crumbled blue cheese into a vinaigrette.

I read about this diet in a Newsweek article and I'm glad I investigated further. This Volumetrics plan is the most sensible and useful one I've found. This newer book contains recipes that don't require a lot of exotic ingredients and are easily used if you are on Weight Watchers or South Beach too, but the Volumetrics plan is easier to shop for and more satisfying. The book also contains useful guides for how many calories you should cut in order to lose weight, how to measure portions etc. and other similar info found in many other diet books, but the title really says it all - you really do feel full on fewer calories, but you do it by eating a wide variety of good, easily available foods. I've lost an average of 2 pounds a week on this plan and it has been the easiest to stay with I've tried (and I've tried them all).

I have been following the Volumetrics plan ever since I got the book two months ago. What a pleasant surprise - an eating plan that actually works and is very easy to enjoy. I've lost 14lbs so far! I don't have to deprive myself of the foods I love - and I feel full for longer on less calories. The recipes in the book are fabulous - especially the Buffalo Chicken Wrap which is out of this world! It's amazing that making a few simple changes to our regular eating habits can have such a significant effect.

Like many of you, I found myself wondering what the differences were between the various diet programs. What I discovered is that all of the major diet books are well written and share many similarities. None of them offered an "silver bullet" to weight loss - it primarily comes down to keeping your calories burned greater than your calories eaten. There are theories presented about glycemic index, good vs. bad carbs, etc., but at the end of the day it's about calories and exercise.

In this review, I've summarized Consumer Reports evaluations to offer brief summaries of each diet book/program in hopes that it might help you pick out the one that would work best for you. Don't pay too much attention to the number of stars, as it's my own subjective rating based on effectiveness, ease of use, and ability to stick with the diet. Instead, try to discern which diet might fit your lifestyle better.


The Abs Diet, ****
This book is written by David Zinczenko, the editor of Men's Health Magazine. The diet likes the number 6 - promising "6 pack abs in 6 weeks," by eating 6 meals a day. Each meal is built around the "power 12" foods. There is a strong emphasis on whey supplements. The fitness program was easy to follow but perhaps too strenuous for beginners and seemed better suited to men. Strong points are excellent nutritional content and strong exercise. Weak points are questionable claims about rapid weight loss and "6 pack" abs, and mediocre meal plans. Average recommended daily calories are 1,890, with 7 fruits and vegetable servings.

The South Beach Diet ****
The SB Diet is a slightly more permissive version of the Atkins low-carb diet. It is based on the premise that eating low-glycemic foods (foods that don't raise blood sugar) decreases cravings for sugar and refined carbs. Like many of the diets, there are two phases. In the first phase, fruits, sugar, and grains are banned outright. Phase 2 allows some fruit, high-fiber grains, and dark chocolate. The simplicity of the diet might appeal to many busy dieters. However the emphasis on the glycemic index and insufficient exercise sections are a drawback. Recipes are easy to prepare, but some called for unusual ingredients (a clever cook could make substitutions). Average recommended daily calories are a mere 1,340, with 13 fruits and vegetable servings (mostly veggies).

The Sonoma Diet ****
The Sonoma Diet is an updated low-carb diet with a Mediterranean theme. Again, it is broken into two phases, called "waves." In "Wave 1," the dieter is banned from eating most sweet or refined foods. The much longer "Wave 2" permits fruits and wine. It has a unique method of calculating portions by filling sectors of small plates with specified food categories. The diet is healthy but complex. It is also very restrictive, which makes it more difficult to stay on. Also, the book doesn't offer enough on exercise. The recipes were tasty but elaborate to prepare. Average recommended daily calories are a mere 1,390, with 10 fruits and vegetable servings.

Ultra-Metabolism ***
The Ultra-Metabolism Diet is designed around the assertion that people get fat because their body's systems become toxic, inflamed, and imbalanced. Again, this is a two phase diet. Phase 1 is an initial "detox" period. The longer Phase 2 is a "rebalancing" period. Overall, the dieter must eliminate white rice, refined grains, most red meats, and caffeinated beverages. The theory of your body requiring detoxification goes beyond any scientific evidence and rings a bit of late night television "miracle detox bowel-cleansing pills." The diet is fairly restrictive and complicated. The exercise section was brief but practical. Average recommended daily calories are 1,660, with 12 fruits and vegetable servings.

Volumetrics, ****
The Volumetrics Diet is based on Penn State research. It aims to maximize the amount of food you can eat for a given caloric intake. This is done primarily by eating reduced-fat products, adding in lots of vegetables, and using low-fat cooking techniques. It encourages eating a first course of broth-based soup or low-calorie salad (not heavily laden with dressing, cheese or bacon) to take the edge off your appetite. Recent clinical studies have shown this diet to be very effective. The recipes are appetizing but time consuming. Average recommended daily calories are 1,500, with 14 fruits and vegetable servings.

The Zone Diet, ****
The Zone Diet was designed to keep your blood sugar and hormones at optimal levels so that you can better fight obesity and diseases. It requires that each meal consist of 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbs (based on calories). The diet allows many fruits, but almost no grains except oatmeal. The meals are simple to prepare and nutritionally balanced. But having to keep to the 30/30/40 balance is very tedious and requires lots of preplanning. Recent studies showed that the overall weight loss was below average. Average recommended daily calories are 1,660, with 17 fruits and vegetable servings.

Eat More, Weigh Less, ***
The Eat More, Weigh Less (Ornish) Diet is a low-fat vegetarian diet that bans all meat, fish, oils, alcohol, sugar, and white flour. Their clinical studies suggest that strictly following the diet can prevent or reverse some diseases. Ornish argues that it is easier to make drastic changes to diet rather than small ones. The diet offers the most food per calorie of any of the diets. It is actually lower in fat than current USDA guidelines recommend. Studies have shown good long term weight loss, but a relatively high drop-out rate. Average recommended daily calories are 1,520, with 17 fruits and vegetable servings.

Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, ***
The Atkins Diet is the grand daddy of them all. As with many of the other diets, it is divided into two phases. The first phase is a two week induction period that bans nearly all carbs. The second phase is only slightly less restrictive, but does slowly add more vegetables, fruit, and wine. Research has suggested that Atkins' dieters are less hungry than on many other diets. But the diet is difficult to adhere to and has a high drop-out rate. Long term weight loss has been shown to be average. The single most glaring concern with the Atkins diet is that the nutritional profile is far outside conventional dietary guidelines. (We've all known people eating handfuls of bacon, eggs, and cheese for breakfast, claiming they were on a diet). Average recommended daily calories are 1,520, with 6 fruits and vegetable servings.

Again, please don't worry too much about my ranking of the diet books - it's completely subjective. My suggestion is to simply find a program that seems to fit your lifestyle best.

Please be kind enough to indicate if reviews are helpful.

Written by Arthur Bradley, author of "Process of Elimination" - an intense thriller in which a martial artist, a greedy corporate attorney, and a sexy conspiracy theorist team up to stop a world-class sniper from killing presidential candidates.

Hats off to Dr Rolls for appetizingly communicating the idea of eating more whole foods. I'm a nutritionally-based wellness counselor and my weight loss clients have had great success with this type of eating plan.
This book stands out for its simplicity of use, practicality (a must for me) and mouth watering comparison pictures - in a word - speaks volumes! I was tempted to lick the pictures.
My only regret is that I didn't coin the idea and word "Volumetrics" ;)
I highly recommend this version of the book.

Salud,
Denise Williams
www.muchkneadedmassage.com

I have been using Volumetrics for more than 2 years and was thrilled to see that it was the top diet plan supported by scientific evidence in this month's Consumer Reports. I've had great success with the plan and have lost (and more importantly - kept off!!!) 30 pounds. This plan isn't a quick-fix gimmick; it's based on sound, nutritional research and teaches you how to make life-style changes that can easily be maintained for life.