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If someone wrote a book promising to reveal the secrets of permanent weight loss, would you buy it?
Those of you for whom body weight has never been an issue probably aren't that concerned. But if, like a reported six out of 10 Americans, you are lugging around extra pounds, you probably are going to want to read on.
There's good news and bad news in the weight-loss-book department. First, the bad news: No book contains any "secrets" on weight- control success because there aren't any secrets.
The central, undeniable, inescapable fact about weight control is this: Calories count.
Liquid protein diets, high-protein/low-carbohydrate diets, the Sugar Busters Diet, Protein Power Diet, the Zone Diet, the all- cabbage-soup all-the-time diet, they all rely on the same thing - people on them eat fewer calories than they did on their regular diets.
As long as they stick to them, the dieters lose weight. And therein lies the rub. Sticking to these so-called "fad diets" is virtually impossible over the long haul.
Limiting carbohydrates over the long term is tough, especially if bread and pasta make your heart sing.
Eating a diet that contains a monotonous selection of the same foods over and over again is tough.
Eliminating your favorite foods from your diet, essentially forever, in the service of weight loss and weight control is near impossible.
Now at last for the good news: There is a book that actually contains a diet plan - the book's author, a nutrition scientist, prefers the term "eating plan" - that combines good nutrition with a very wide selection of foods from which to choose.
It is based on an old concept that is coming back into vogue with nutrition experts (that probably does not include crackpots writing diet books with minimal knowledge of nutrition).
It's called calorie control.
The book is called "The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan," written by Barbara Rolls of College Station, Pa., in collaboration with science writer Robert Barnett.
Two basic concepts are at work. One is the idea that calories count. In fact, when it comes to weight control, they are the only things that count.
The other important concept is one Rolls labels "energy density." Put simply, energy density refers to the number of calories per a certain amount of food, usually and maddeningly measured in grams. More on energy density later.
Note to diet gurus: No one eats grams of anything. We eat ounces or fractions of pounds. Would you order a 113-gramer at McDonalds or a Quarter-Pounder?
Everything old is new again
Rolls says the public, egged on by misconceptions among the diet experts themselves, went seriously off the tracks in the 1990s worrying so much about cutting fat in the diet. Because fat packs nine calories to the gram or 255 calories per ounce, experts assumed that cutting out a lot of fat would lead almost automatically to weight loss.
Wrong, says Rolls.
A calorie is a calorie is a calorie. It doesn't matter what the source of the calories is. Pack too many into your daily intake and you put on weight.
Cut fat calories, but replace them with calories from other sources and the end effect is the same and can be viewed hanging over your belt or on your hips.
Now back to energy density. Again, this refers to the number of calories per amount of food.
To aid people in making wise (that is, low-calorie) food choices, Rolls divides foods into four groups based on their calorie content:
1. VERY-LOW-ENERGY-DENSITY FOODS. This group delivers only up to 0.6 calories per gram of food. Examples include most fruits and fresh vegetables, skim milk and broth-based soups, Rolls writes.
2. LOW-ENERGY-DENSITY FOODS. Foods from this group are slightly higher in calorie content, ranging from 0.6 calories per gram up to 1.5 calories per gram. Examples include cooked grains, breakfast cereals (provided they are served with skim milk) low-fat meats dried beans, peas and lentils.
3. MEDIUM-ENERGY-DENSITY FOODS. This group includes foods that deliver 1.5 calories per gram to 4.0 calories per gram, and include meats, cheeses, salad dressings, some snack foods and a few desserts.
4. HIGH-ENERGY-DENSITY FOODS. These are foods that pack the biggest caloric wallop, yielding 4.0 calories per gram up to 9.0 calories per gram. Most desserts and high-fat foods fall into this category.
If you are trying to hold your weight steady or lose weight, you've probably already tuned in to Rolls' plan. Essentially, she says, you make most of your choices from among the lower-energy- density foods and eat only sparingly from the high-energy end of the spectrum.
For example, a whole cup of green beans, with an energy density of 0.2 (calories per gram) yields only 28 calories. Add a tablespoon of butter, (energy density is 7.2 calories per gram) and the calorie count balloons upward by 108 calories for a total of 136 calories.
Similarly, a salad containing 1 cup of cucumber slices (14 calories); 1 cup of romaine lettuce (8 calories), 1 cup of celery (19 calories) and 1 medium tomato (about the size of a tennis ball, yielding 26 calories) gives a total of 67 calories. Add a mere two tablespoons of full-fat ranch dressing and you boost the calorie count by 170, more than twice the calories from all of the veggies in the salad.
The advantages of filling your plate with vegetables and fruit and choosing sparingly of fats and oils quickly become obvious, Rolls says.
Fresh fruits and vegetables have another advantage in the diet: They contain large quantities of fiber and water, two of the best calorie killers.
Fiber adds very few calories and water none, Rolls says, so the higher the foods you choose are in these substances, the lower their energy density will be and the fewer calories you will consume, she adds.
That's why she encourages people to include lots of soups and stews in their diets and to pack these with lots of vegetables and smaller amounts of lean meat.
Grazing among the very-low and low-energy-density foods does more than just cut down on calories, Rolls says. It also helps with something that almost all dieters say drives them crazy - being hungry all the time.
Rolls knows it's important to eat enough bulk of food to produce what they call "satiety," or a sense of fullness. People struggling to stay on 1,500 calorie or 1,700 calorie diets most often complain that they feel hungry all of the time, making it very difficult for them to get their minds off food.
Eating the "Volumetrics" way helps provide satiety, Rolls says. Foods in the very-low-energy-density group and the low-energy- density one can be eaten in large quantities compared to other foods because for every ounce of bulk they provide relatively few calories. In essence, you can fill up on them.
Indeed, in one study, volunteers placed on a 1,700-calorie weight reduction diet were told that they could eat as much as they wanted of fruits and vegetables, but were served only small amounts of meat, fats and oils.
Nearly all of the volunteers lost weight on this eating plan, and many found that they had to eat almost continuously to take in enough bulk of food to achieve the 1,700-calorie total, Rolls says.
In a weight-loss program run by the University of Alabama at Birmingham, people are taught the principles of eating based on the energy density of foods, then followed closely to see if they lose weight, how much and how long they keep it off.
In 1983, researchers there showed that people who stuck to a lower- energy-density diet maintained their weight loss. Eighty percent were at their lower body weight two years later, according to Rolls.
One bit of bad news for those who like a drink or two with dinner: Alcohol is the second-highest calorie source, adding 7calories for every ounce consumed. For that reason, Rolls counsels laying off the sauce or at least sticking to wine with meals to keep down calorie counts.
Rolls, however, isn't the food police. She doesn't warn sternly that some foods should be banished forever from your diet. People can't stick to that, she says, nor should they try to.
There is no such thing as a bad food, Rolls says, only bad portions.
So load up on the veggies and fruit, eat sparingly of fats and oils and save up some calories for that one ounce of chocolate that makes your palate weep for joy.
Those of you for whom body weight has never been an issue probably aren't that concerned. But if, like a reported six out of 10 Americans, you are lugging around extra pounds, you probably are going to want to read on.
There's good news and bad news in the weight-loss-book department. First, the bad news: No book contains any "secrets" on weight- control success because there aren't any secrets.
The central, undeniable, inescapable fact about weight control is this: Calories count.
Liquid protein diets, high-protein/low-carbohydrate diets, the Sugar Busters Diet, Protein Power Diet, the Zone Diet, the all- cabbage-soup all-the-time diet, they all rely on the same thing - people on them eat fewer calories than they did on their regular diets.
As long as they stick to them, the dieters lose weight. And therein lies the rub. Sticking to these so-called "fad diets" is virtually impossible over the long haul.
Limiting carbohydrates over the long term is tough, especially if bread and pasta make your heart sing.
Eating a diet that contains a monotonous selection of the same foods over and over again is tough.
Eliminating your favorite foods from your diet, essentially forever, in the service of weight loss and weight control is near impossible.
Now at last for the good news: There is a book that actually contains a diet plan - the book's author, a nutrition scientist, prefers the term "eating plan" - that combines good nutrition with a very wide selection of foods from which to choose.
It is based on an old concept that is coming back into vogue with nutrition experts (that probably does not include crackpots writing diet books with minimal knowledge of nutrition).
It's called calorie control.
The book is called "The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan," written by Barbara Rolls of College Station, Pa., in collaboration with science writer Robert Barnett.
Two basic concepts are at work. One is the idea that calories count. In fact, when it comes to weight control, they are the only things that count.
The other important concept is one Rolls labels "energy density." Put simply, energy density refers to the number of calories per a certain amount of food, usually and maddeningly measured in grams. More on energy density later.
Note to diet gurus: No one eats grams of anything. We eat ounces or fractions of pounds. Would you order a 113-gramer at McDonalds or a Quarter-Pounder?
Everything old is new again
Rolls says the public, egged on by misconceptions among the diet experts themselves, went seriously off the tracks in the 1990s worrying so much about cutting fat in the diet. Because fat packs nine calories to the gram or 255 calories per ounce, experts assumed that cutting out a lot of fat would lead almost automatically to weight loss.
Wrong, says Rolls.
A calorie is a calorie is a calorie. It doesn't matter what the source of the calories is. Pack too many into your daily intake and you put on weight.
Cut fat calories, but replace them with calories from other sources and the end effect is the same and can be viewed hanging over your belt or on your hips.
Now back to energy density. Again, this refers to the number of calories per amount of food.
To aid people in making wise (that is, low-calorie) food choices, Rolls divides foods into four groups based on their calorie content:
1. VERY-LOW-ENERGY-DENSITY FOODS. This group delivers only up to 0.6 calories per gram of food. Examples include most fruits and fresh vegetables, skim milk and broth-based soups, Rolls writes.
2. LOW-ENERGY-DENSITY FOODS. Foods from this group are slightly higher in calorie content, ranging from 0.6 calories per gram up to 1.5 calories per gram. Examples include cooked grains, breakfast cereals (provided they are served with skim milk) low-fat meats dried beans, peas and lentils.
3. MEDIUM-ENERGY-DENSITY FOODS. This group includes foods that deliver 1.5 calories per gram to 4.0 calories per gram, and include meats, cheeses, salad dressings, some snack foods and a few desserts.
4. HIGH-ENERGY-DENSITY FOODS. These are foods that pack the biggest caloric wallop, yielding 4.0 calories per gram up to 9.0 calories per gram. Most desserts and high-fat foods fall into this category.
If you are trying to hold your weight steady or lose weight, you've probably already tuned in to Rolls' plan. Essentially, she says, you make most of your choices from among the lower-energy- density foods and eat only sparingly from the high-energy end of the spectrum.
For example, a whole cup of green beans, with an energy density of 0.2 (calories per gram) yields only 28 calories. Add a tablespoon of butter, (energy density is 7.2 calories per gram) and the calorie count balloons upward by 108 calories for a total of 136 calories.
Similarly, a salad containing 1 cup of cucumber slices (14 calories); 1 cup of romaine lettuce (8 calories), 1 cup of celery (19 calories) and 1 medium tomato (about the size of a tennis ball, yielding 26 calories) gives a total of 67 calories. Add a mere two tablespoons of full-fat ranch dressing and you boost the calorie count by 170, more than twice the calories from all of the veggies in the salad.
The advantages of filling your plate with vegetables and fruit and choosing sparingly of fats and oils quickly become obvious, Rolls says.
Fresh fruits and vegetables have another advantage in the diet: They contain large quantities of fiber and water, two of the best calorie killers.
Fiber adds very few calories and water none, Rolls says, so the higher the foods you choose are in these substances, the lower their energy density will be and the fewer calories you will consume, she adds.
That's why she encourages people to include lots of soups and stews in their diets and to pack these with lots of vegetables and smaller amounts of lean meat.
Grazing among the very-low and low-energy-density foods does more than just cut down on calories, Rolls says. It also helps with something that almost all dieters say drives them crazy - being hungry all the time.
Rolls knows it's important to eat enough bulk of food to produce what they call "satiety," or a sense of fullness. People struggling to stay on 1,500 calorie or 1,700 calorie diets most often complain that they feel hungry all of the time, making it very difficult for them to get their minds off food.
Eating the "Volumetrics" way helps provide satiety, Rolls says. Foods in the very-low-energy-density group and the low-energy- density one can be eaten in large quantities compared to other foods because for every ounce of bulk they provide relatively few calories. In essence, you can fill up on them.
Indeed, in one study, volunteers placed on a 1,700-calorie weight reduction diet were told that they could eat as much as they wanted of fruits and vegetables, but were served only small amounts of meat, fats and oils.
Nearly all of the volunteers lost weight on this eating plan, and many found that they had to eat almost continuously to take in enough bulk of food to achieve the 1,700-calorie total, Rolls says.
In a weight-loss program run by the University of Alabama at Birmingham, people are taught the principles of eating based on the energy density of foods, then followed closely to see if they lose weight, how much and how long they keep it off.
In 1983, researchers there showed that people who stuck to a lower- energy-density diet maintained their weight loss. Eighty percent were at their lower body weight two years later, according to Rolls.
One bit of bad news for those who like a drink or two with dinner: Alcohol is the second-highest calorie source, adding 7calories for every ounce consumed. For that reason, Rolls counsels laying off the sauce or at least sticking to wine with meals to keep down calorie counts.
Rolls, however, isn't the food police. She doesn't warn sternly that some foods should be banished forever from your diet. People can't stick to that, she says, nor should they try to.
There is no such thing as a bad food, Rolls says, only bad portions.
So load up on the veggies and fruit, eat sparingly of fats and oils and save up some calories for that one ounce of chocolate that makes your palate weep for joy.
