The Volume Eating Plan 

Listening to Jonesy and Amanda on the radio last night, it was a replay of their morning show, and they were discussing weird diets. They asked their audience to ring in with any stories about some of the crazy ones they have tried themselves or knew about.

• One woman said her husband has always chewed his food 26 times and never gained weight?
• Another said she eats her food with a teaspoon. Wonder how she goes with a steak…
• A co-worker blends everything! For example, she took her leftover lasagna to work and blended it

On my blog I offer you many different diets just to give you the information.  I like to share this as everyone’s body is different and so I don’t necessarily support each one.

At Femme Fitale, we agree that one size does not fit all and it’s important to find an eating plan that fits in with your lifestyle and goals and is sustainable and does not harm your body in other ways.

Jillian Michaels, for example, is not a big fan of the Keto plan.

Lets take a closer look at Volume Eating

Volume Eating is an eating plan designed to promote weight loss by having you fill up on low calorie, nutrient-dense foods. It is said that low calorie foods can reduce hunger pains which of course means you may eat less which could assist with weight loss.

It is meant to be something you adopt over a lifetime not just a quick fix plan you do for a few weeks or months. Some nutritionists regard this plan as more of a lifestyle change, than a diet.

Volume eating simply means filling your plate up with lower calorie foods, instead of putting less food on the plate. It’s not hard, and you’ve probably already been doing it without realising.

You can throw away your small eating plates for this one!

To put it simply:

High Volume + Low Calorie food= Volume Eating

What is energy density?

Energy simply means calories.  High energy density means that there are a lot of calories in a little food. Low energy density means there are few calories in a lot of food. If you look at the difference between raisins and grapes. A cup of raisins has about 434 calories (high density). Whereas a cup of grapes has about 82 calories (low density)

This could be ideal for those who:

• Struggle to stop eating once full
• Like to eat everything on their plate.
• Like easy- if doing it correctly, you don’t need to weight or measure your food or count calories.
• Does not have a busy lifestyle.
• Prefers loads of choice when it comes to food as there are no restrictions on this plan (though high processed foods would be high density and recommended to avoid)
• Enjoys flexibility.
• Typically eats a few meals per day.

When including volume eating in your daily food plan, it is important to focus on natural, wholefoods like fruit and vegetables. These foods are low in calories, high in volume, and provide your body with everything you need.

As with any diet, it is always easier to make your meals at home, simply because restaurants and cafes don’t usually offer or cater to these types of meal plans. With that in mind, if you are out and about a lot, you may be able to find suitable substitutions.

Here’s what you might eat in a typical day of volume eating

• Breakfast: Vegetable omelet with side of whole-wheat toast or sandwich things
• Morning snack: Low-fat Low-fat Greek yogurt with fruit, or try out our Frozen Fruity Bites 
• Lunch: Nourish Bowl. Choose your favourite protein, and favourite veggies, and pop it all in. Check out our recipe here.
• Afternoon snack: Air popped popcorn with a coffee or favourite low-cal drink.
• Dinner: A piece of fish, steamed veggies, quinoa

Does it work?

From a nutrition-based perspective- yes. It works as it promotes healthy eating, minimising processed foods, alcohol and recommends exercise.

From a weight loss perspective, if you believe most people don’t stick to diet because they get hungry and reach for the quickest thing in the cupboard which is usually something unhealthy then yes it still works. The idea of Volume Eating is to fill up on nutrient dense foods, which keep you fuller for longer, have you consuming less calories, and ultimately doesn’t leave you feeling hungry.  

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