Volumetrics is designed to help you lose weight safely, effectively, and permanently without feeling hungry or deprived. Dr. Barbara Rolls, who holds the endowed Guthrie Chair in Nutrition at Pennsylvania State University, has spent more than twenty years researching hunger and obesity and the factors that determine how we eat.
This is the first book aimed at the general public to use the scientific principles of satiety--the body's signal that it's full--to help you eat satisfying portions of foods while consuming fewer calories? How can you boost satiety with fewer calories? Rolls and her colleagues have discovered that what matters most is the concentration of calories in each portion of food, referred to as its "energy density." In Volumetrics she and coauthor Robert A. Barnett explain how such different nutritional factors as fat, fiber, protein, and water affect energy density and satiety. They clarify not just which foods are loaded with calories, but what kinds of foods, eaten under which circumstances, allow you to consume fewer calories and still be satisfied. And they'll point out hidden calorie traps, the seemingly innocuous foods that can sneak in unwanted calories without your body recognizing them.
By following the guidelines and practical advice found throughout Volumetrics, you won't have to change your entire diet. Volumetrics points the way to a sensible strategy to control calories: Eat filling, low-energy-dense Volumetric foods at most meals so you can still enjoy small portions of foods higher in energy density. Studies have shown that most people eat the same weight of food at meals; if that amount is lower in energy density, you'll still feel full. You won't feel as if you are on a "diet." Instead, you'll learn to lower the overall energy density of the foods you eat. Combine that with an integrated program of exercise and behavioral management, and you can experience significant weight loss that is sustained over time.
In addition to techniques to help modify your diet, Rolls and Barnett offer dozens of recipes and menu suggestions that help put the plan into action. Far from dull-tasting diet standbys, the recipes in Volumetrics include such favorites as lasagna, chicken pot pie, fajitas, pasta Primavera, and the Great American Volumetric Burger. You'll also find salad dressings, soups, smoothies, breakfast treats, and even desserts. All are modified to make each serving more filling without adding unnecessary calories.
In short, Volumetrics will teach you how to consume fewer calories while enjoying a satisfying portion of food. We all want to look and feel our very best, yet most of us struggle to find the right way to achieve our fitness goals. With Volumetrics you can put an end to years of yo-yo dieting and frustrating weight gain and learn to look at food in a whole new way.