Volume Eating 101: A Beginner's Guide (2024)

If you are someone who wants to consume a full plate or bowl without negatively impacting your health or weight loss goals, volume eating might be a good strategy for you. Here is a complete beginner’s guide to volume eating; what it is, how it works, the difference between high-volume and low-volume foods, and some examples of volume eating.

What is Volume Eating?

Volume eating is a concept, strategy, or method of eating that allows for large consumption of food while minimizing calorie intake. Given that, gram per gram, different macronutrients provide a different number of calories, volume eating allows you to prioritize high-volume foods to help increase satiety and fullness without increasing calorie intake. Volume eating is based on the fact that:

• A food’s physical weight and calorie content are not directly correlated,
• The calorie content of food is determined by its macronutrient content,
• Different macronutrients provide different amounts of calories per gram (protein = 4 calories per gram, carbohydrates = 4 calories per gram, fat = 9 calories per gram).

In short, volume eating is a way of eating more food without overly increasing calorie intake.

High-Volume vs. Low-Volume Foods

The energy density, or calorie density, of a food is based on its macronutrient content and balance. Foods high in fat and/or more concentrated in sugar are considered “low-volume foods”, given that fat contains more than double the number of calories per gram compared to protein and carbohydrates, while foods high in fiber and/or water content are considered “high-volume foods”, given that both fiber and water provide little to no calories per gram.

Based on raw spinach, raw apple with skin, cooked medium-grain white rice, avocado, and olive oil (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).

What are high-volume low-calorie foods?

High-volume foods have a high water, high fiber, and low sugar content and are, therefore, low in calories per serving, and can be consumed with be consumed with little attention to portion size. High-volume food includes:

• Leafy green vegetables (lettuce, spinach, kale, etc.)
• Cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli, etc.)
• Stem and other vegetables (peppers, onions, zucchini, celery, etc.)
• Fruit (especially citrus fruits and berries)

What are moderate-volume moderate-calorie foods?

Moderate-volume foods have a high water, moderate to high fiber, and moderate to high sugar content and are, therefore, higher in calories per serving. It is important to be mindful of portion size when consuming these foods. Moderate-volume food includes:

• Root vegetables (beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc..)
• Whole grains
• Lean cuts of meat

What are low-volume high-calorie foods?

Low-volume foods have a low water, low fiber, and high sugar content and are, therefore, the highest in calories per serving. It is important to be very mindful of portion size when consuming these calorie-dense foods. Low-volume food includes:

• Fatty cuts of meat
• Cheese
• Butter
• Oils
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Fruit, dried or juiced
• Honey
• Maple syrup
• Sugar

Benefits of Volume Eating

Whether your goal is to lose weight, gain weight, build muscle, improve athletic performance, or support your general health, there are many health benefits to volume eating.

1. Support Weight Loss Goals

Volume eating is a great way to consume nutrient-dense foods and support weight loss. Since high-volume foods have a high water and high fiber content, they are lower in calories and are more satiating than low-volume foods. Consuming high-volume low-calorie foods helps you eat fewer calories and create a calorie deficit while remaining satisfied.

2. Increase Satiety and Fullness

Focusing on nutrient-dense high-volume whole foods helps to keep you full and satisfied. Since most high-volume foods, such as fruits and vegetables, are rich sources of fiber and water, they help to keep you full since they, quite literally, help to keep your stomach fuller. In fact, high-volume low-calorie foods, such as oranges, apples, and popcorn, have been shown to be some of the most filling foods.

3. Allow for Higher Food Consumption

If you are someone who “eats with your eyes” and wants your bowl or plate to look full, volume eating is a great tool for you. Not only does it allow for larger portions (i.e. full bowls and plates), but it also helps to increase your intake of fiber, vitamins, and minerals at the same time.

4. Manage Calories without Counting Calories

Volume eating is a great way to support and manage calorie intake without tracking calories. Although having a full bowl or plate is often construed as a bad thing – more volume must mean more calories – that’s not the case. By focusing on leafy greens, vegetables, fresh fruits, and whole grains you can eat in a high volume (i.e. massive portion size) with little impact on the total number of calories you are consuming.

6. Increase Nutrient and Fiber Intake

Since high-volume foods are primarily fruits and vegetables, volume eating is a simple yet highly effective way to increase your intake of high-fiber foods without much effort.

Examples of Volume Eating

If you’re a volume eater and you want your plate or bowl to look full when you make a meal, here are some hacks or tips that you might find useful.

1. Cook a sliced apple intooatmeal.
2. Add cooked veggies to a bowl ofpasta.
3. Snack onpopcorninstead of nuts.
4. Add chopped veggies toscrambled eggs.
5. Servecasserolesor meat dishes on a bed of lettuce.
6. Use salsa as acondimentor adip.
7. Cook lentils and mushrooms intoground beef.
8. Cook chopped cauliflower withrice.
9. Eatfresh fruitinstead of dried fruit.
10. Add aside saladto every meal.

To be clear, these examples do not imply that the original version or option is unhealthy. It’s simply a way to increase the overall volume of food you are eating without compromising your health goals.

Volume Eating Meals:

• Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
• Chicken and Vegetable Pasta
• Chickpea Shakshuka
• Spaghetti Squash Casserole
• Chicken Pesto Pasta
• Roasted Cauliflower Tacos
• Wild Rice and Vegetable Soup

The Bottom Line

Volume eating is an eating strategy that focuses on increasing the consumption level of lower-calorie foods. Although all whole foods have a place in a healthy diet, if you have a goal of weight loss or consider yourself a “volume eater” it is important to be mindful of portion sizes of low-volume foods, while you can enjoy high-volume foods without as much concern. Higher volume does not always mean higher calories; it all depends on what you are creating that volume with.