Facts, Advantages and Disadvantages of Volumetrics Diet

Facts, Advantages and Disadvantages of Volumetrics Diet


Are you worried about the calories you are consuming? Do you want to stop this hassle of counting calories at each meal? If your answer is yes, you should take a closer look at Volumetrics diet.

Most of us run after diets that help us to lose weight and the fact is that we put very less effort to achieve our weight loss goals. We are often confused when it comes to choosing the right diet because there are so many of them available. The best way to choose a diet is to research a few thoroughly and find one that is practical and doable. Many people are now adopting the Volumetrics diet plan for various reasons. You too can benefit from this diet, if you understand the pros and cons of this diet.


What is Volumetrics Diet?


Volumetrics diets were created by a doctor named Dr. Barbara Rolls and she says that the main idea of this diet is to stop getting people to worry about their calorie intake. The Volumetrics diet proposes including certain types of food in the diet and increasing their quantity of intake. These foods will satiate your hunger and give you a feeling of fullness. This diet also claims people can eat more quantity of food and still lose weight.


Some Of The Key Characteristics Of This Diet Are:

  • No Restriction: This diet does not stop you from eating various types of food
  • Focus on Low Energy Foods: This diet encourages you to have low energy foods
  • Unlimited Quantities: Volumetric diet asks you to eat more quantity than cut down your intake of foods

The idea behind this is high energy foods like fried foods, cookies, cakes, red meat are high in energy density. Even a small quantity of such food types gives you a lot of energy. On the contrary, low-energy foods, like soups, vegetables and salads, are low on calories. So, by increasing the quantity of low-energy foods, you can have your stomach’s fill and lose weight at the same time.


Benefits of Volumetrics Diet


The best benefit of volumetrics diet is that you can consume a lot of food and still lose weight. The foods that are included in this diet type mostly consist of empty calories. The diet is pretty flexible and does not restrict you to stick to certain food types, as long as they are low density.

  • No Limits: You can eat as much as food you want until you stop feeling hungry. Eating plenty of food also helps to eliminate hunger pangs, depression and fatigue that are caused due to diet changes.
  • Extremely Effective: Volumetrics diet is more consistent because it prevents people from controlling their appetite. Most people do not stick to other diets because of the restrictions laid on eating patterns. Whereas volumetric diets pose no such challenges.
  • Backed by Scientific Research: Volumetrics diet is based on research and has won a lot of recognition from health experts, making it a reliable diet. This is not one of those fad diets that is available twenty to a dozen.

Drawbacks of Volumetrics Diet

The biggest disadvantage of this diet is that it helps you lose a lot of weight in a short time but you will have to change your eating habits. If you exercise too much, you may experience less or unsatisfactory results.

  • Expectations: The expectations of this diet should be realistic to avoid disappointments. It does not promise a specific amount of weight loss.
  • Not for Everyone: This diet may not suit everyone, because people who tend to eat a lot of food because of boredom or depression cannot put a tab on how much they eat. They will not stop eating because they are full and will continue to binge on foods.
  • Hunger Pangs: It is tough to stay full for long periods of time on a low energy density food type. People feel hungry frequently.
  • Lack of Variety: Some people do not like eating fruits and vegetables every day. Moreover, you need to completely avoid foods that are heavy on proteins.

Conclusion

This diet will work for people who are committed to it. Like every other diet, it does have its advantages and disadvantages. Volumetrics diet best suits those people who do not want to cut back on the quantity of their food intake.

Reviewed By:

Dr. Kaushal M. Bhavsar (MBBS, MD)

Assistant Professor in Pulmonary Medicine, GMERS Medical College, Ahmedabad