Most people who want to lose weight immediately think of eating less, reducing their portion sizes, or cutting out their favorite foods. But the truth is, you don’t have to be starving to lose weight. There’s a way to eat more, feel better, and still lose weight naturally: volumetric eating.
This method is based on a very reasonable principle: your stomach has a limit, but how you “fill” that limit is the deciding factor.
Why eating more can help you lose weight?
Think of your stomach as a limited capacity vessel. Every time you eat, your stomach expands and sends a signal to your brain that “enough, I’m full”.
The interesting thing is that this signal depends on how full you are, not on the amounts of calories in the food. That is, as long as your stomach is full, you will feel full even if the total calories are very low.
High-volume but low-calorie foods like vegetables, fruits, soups, salads, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, etc. take up a lot of space in your stomach, making you feel full faster and longer, but with very few calories.
On the contrary, high-calorie but small-volume foods like cookies, chocolate, cheese, fried foods, etc. take up very little space, making you eat a lot but still… not feel full.
This is why you can eat a plate of salad as big as a tray but still have fewer calories than a bag of snacks.
A small but extremely effective tip
Water contains no calories, but it creates an instant feeling of fullness, helping you naturally eat less without having to try to control yourself.
Drink a glass of water before eating. It’s that simple but extremely effective. Water increases the volume in your stomach without adding any calories. This helps:
- Slow down your eating speed
- Increase your feeling of fullness quickly
- Reduce your portion sizes naturally without forcing it
In many studies, people who drink water before meals tend to lose more weight than those who don’t, even though they eat the same food.
Benefits of eating large amounts of food
Eating in large amounts of food not only makes weight loss easier, but also has many other advantages:
- High in nutrients: Most large foods (like vegetables, fruits, soups, salads) are packed with vitamins and minerals. This supports exercise performance, improves sleep, increases energy, boosts brain function, and improves overall health.
- High in fiber: A high amount of fiber helps the digestive system run smoothly, while also creating a more sustainable feeling of fullness.
- High in water: Most of these foods contain high amounts of water, which helps you maintain your body’s natural hydration.
- Mental Satisfaction: No one likes to diet in a state of deprivation. The feeling of seeing a large, colorful plate of food with very few calories will help you feel more satisfied, reducing the feeling of being “restricted”.
What foods should you eat?
Here are the top 6 foods:
1. Leafy greens
Vegetables like spinach, bok choy, romaine lettuce, and kale are all near-superstars in volumetrics. They contain very few calories but take up a lot of space in the stomach thanks to their high water and fiber content. A large bowl of greens can be as little as half a cookie in calories. You can eat as much as you want without worrying about excess energy, while also getting vitamins A, K, folate, and antioxidants for your body.
2. Watery fruits
Juicy fruits like watermelon, grapefruit, oranges, apples, strawberries, and cantaloupe are all great for increasing your food intake while still losing weight. They are naturally sweet, helping you feel full without consuming a lot of calories. Fruits also help reduce cravings for sweets, stabilize blood sugar, and naturally hydrate the body.
3. Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are a food that is both filling and rich in soluble fiber, which helps stabilize blood sugar and limit the feeling of “craving” between meals. When eating sweet potatoes, the stomach is filled with a good starch, contributing to reducing calories throughout the day. Boiled or baked sweet potatoes are a great choice to replace refined starch, helping you eat more without worrying about gaining weight.
4. Mushrooms
Mushrooms can naturally increase the volume of a meal thanks to their porous structure, high water content and extremely low calories. You can add mushrooms to soups, salads, stir-fries or use them to replace part of the meat in a meal to reduce energy density. Mushrooms also contain many minerals such as selenium and B vitamins, which are very good for overall health.
5. Vegetable Soup
A bowl of low-fat vegetable soup is the most effective way to start a meal according to volumetrics. Soups contain a lot of water, a lot of vegetables, and are easy to digest, so they create a feeling of fullness quickly but still light on the stomach. Many studies show that eating soup before the main meal can help reduce 20-30% of calories consumed during the meal, simply because you feel full before touching the main dish.
6. Beans and lentils
Peanuts are high in calories, but beans such as lentils, white beans, black beans, peas… are extremely suitable for volumetrics. They are rich in fiber, protein and water when cooked, making you feel full for a long time without having to eat much. The plant protein in beans also helps stabilize energy, supporting sustainable weight loss.
Ultimately, the volumetric method proves a simple truth: you don’t need to eat less to lose weight, you just need to eat smarter. When you fill your plate with foods that provide volume, fiber, and water, you naturally feel full, satisfied, and in control of your weight without having to count calories or fight cravings.
