The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan: Feel Full on Fewer Calories (Volumetrics series)

"Volumetrics" is the best weight management book available today. This is the book anybody interested in weight management should read. It is a refreshingly honest approach that refutes a lot of the diet hype books on the market today. The book offers practical advice on how to control your hunger, as well as recipes. It doesn't offer the phony promises of "burn away fat while eating lard" that so many of the blockbuster diets on the market offer. Instead, it delivers a pound-shedding plan to lose excess weight without feeling hungry that is based on years of science research. The general premise is built around research that indicates that people eat the same WEIGHT of food everyday, regardless of the number of calories that it contains. Lower the calorie content, but not the food's weight and you will lose excess pounds without going hungry. It is a very easy book to read and includes recipes for meals, and is easier to follow than other energy density-base books such as the Pritikin Principle. It also appears more thorough and honest than Dr. Shapiro's Picture Perfect Weight Loss. The book's only weakness is its lack of color photographs and illustrations, which is unfortunate because that will probably hurt sales.

This book gave a lot of valuable information in a relatively succinct manner. Understanding this simple theory, and with plenty of examples, food choices, and menu items, following the book made it easy to adjust my food choices to feel full on less calories, and provides an easy approach to managing weight.The authors also debunk the 40-30-30 method of eating which is very popular right now, and without mentioning him by name, Barry Sears "Zone" approach.The only real criticism, which does not detract from the subject matter, is the layout of the book. Too many "sidebar" type inserts are included which made it impossible to read the book in a flowing manner. Additionally, much of that information would have been better included in an appendix. You also have to look for the information in more than one place, when a more thoughtful approach would have included that information in one table. For example, dietary fiber content, which is important, is contained in one table, while the number of calories and energy density (the main focus of the book) are in another. This information could have and should have been combined in one table, which would have made the book a much better resource.If you have food allergies, or sensitivites, or are required to make restrictions for other reasons, you are on your own as to what foods to eliminate from the authors' recommendations. That is something outside the scope of this book.

I applaud the authors for presenting truthful information about dieting that seeks to be helpful even at the potential cost of missing simple-minded readers seeking an easy out offered by the latest fad diet. The book is well organized, easy to read, convincing, and helpful to those who want to learn and are serious about dealing with weight problems for the long term.

I found this book to be a sensible way to approach eating- for life, not just dieting. It contains a wealth of practical advice that is supported by solid research evidence. The meal plans and recipes are varied, not overly burdensome, and the ones I tried were delicious.