Volumetrics Diet

Related Link: All the diets tried so far.

The Diet:

From Wellness.com

The Volumetrics diet is a low calorie, high bulk, and low fat diet. People who follow the Volumetrics diet generally eat large portions of foods that are low in calories. The diet is based on the idea that people feel full after eating about the same amount of food every day, regardless of the fat, carbohydrate, or calorie content of that food. Regular exercise is also incorporated into the lifestyle modifications advocated by Volumetrics.

The food you are replacing should be high in water. You might say it should contain a large volume of water. You make the connection.

The top recommended foods are fruits, vegetables, soups (brothy, not creamy), and whole wheat pastas. Despite being high in carbohydrates pastas are good because they are also high in water (when cooked). This diet does not require the monitoring of portions or calories. It does encourage you to drink all the broth from your soups though.

The Experience:

I bought quite a few cans of the Light Progresso soups that were on sale at the grocery store. These have the advantage of having a lot of water and being only 120 calories each. I also got some carrots, celery, and cucumber to snack on between meals. This is what I had for all of Monday.

Tuesday I picked up some whole wheat spagetti and some whole wheat whole grain penne. To go with this I got some no sugar added tomato paste with basil. The penne pasta tasted basically like eating whole wheat flour. The taste was hardly diminished by the tomato sauce. I would have put some parmesan on it, but I had run out and forgot to get more.

Wednesday I continued to have lots of Progresso soup and vegetables. In the evening I had a scoop of ice cream and a slice of sugar-free apple pie from Village Inn.

Thursday I went to a Zupas with a friend. I ordered a salad and a small soup. Between these two things, the two small pieces of white bread, and the two chocolate covered strawberries, I suspect my meal was around 1500 calories. After that I stopped to visit some family and finished off their bag of milk chocolate chips. Incidentally, milk chocolate chips are nothing more than minature Hersey's candies.

Friday I stuck fairly well with the food items. On Saturday I ate a few things off menu, such as peanut butter sandwiches with white bread, and milk chocolate chips. I also cooked the whole wheat spagetti, which tasted a lot better than the penne.

At the beginning of the week I purchased 4 pints of strawberry Arctic Zero "ice cream." I had previously stated that this was the best flavor offered by the company (from the ones I had sampled). I must have said that under duress, because upon trying it again it is substantially less than satisfactory. I ate those throughout the week in the evenings when I needed something to hold me over. They are still good enough that I would recommend them to people who need something low calorie (and high in protein) in place of actual ice cream. I just wish they were less expensive.

I also tried to get back into the exercise groove this week. Monday and Wednesday I lifted weights and jogged. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday I participated in Aikido classes.

The Result:

I ended up losing 2.8 pounds this week due a combination of exercise and diet. I wasn't necessarily feeling hungry all week long, but I was definitely experiencing a lot of cravings for things off the list (like pizza, candy, cookies, and other bready things). I suspect I got addicted to them during the month of December.

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