I am so glad I got this book. The recipes are excellent. What a great, healthy way to eat. I would recommend this book to everyone.

This is an excellent book. Everyone should have this book!
Since I was never taught how to eat healthy and properly as a child, this has given me the tools so I can now eat healthy, feel full and not deprive myself of foods that I like that aren't the greatest for me.

I made my kids read the book too, since I never taught them how to eat properly either.

I like the pictures that compare the volume of foods and ask you.............which one would you rather eat..........the full plate with the proper seasonings or the small plate prepared the way that we are all used to!

I am finding this book difficult to read. I am sure the information is useful, but I find myself struggling to get through it. Having read several healh-fitness-diet related books, this one was disappointing.

The Volumetrics Eating Plan is not a short-term diet book, but provides recipes and ideas on how to eat for the long term. It shows you how to eat fewer calories by making what you eat less calorie dense. It does this by focusing on foods with high water and fiber content. The Volumetrics approach emphasizes foods with a low "energy density," (calories) that are high in water content such as fruits, vegetables, and soups. The idea is that low-calorie, high-water, high-fiber foods generally make you feel full faster so you consume fewer calories overall. The author's research shows that by emphasizing these high-water content, low-calorie-dense foods, a person feels satisfied on many fewer calories per day.

The diet is balanced in terms of carbohydrates, protein, and fat, and does not eliminate food groups. The author divides foods into 4 categories based on whether a food has less, equal, or more calories per serving than its weight in grams. Category 1 foods should be emphasized and Category 4 foods should be eaten in small quantities. Category 1 foods include such foods as non-starchy fruits and veggies, nonfat milk, and broth-based soups; Category 2 foods include starchy fruits and veggies, grains, cereals, beans, legumes, and low-fat meats; Category 3 foods include meats, cheeses, pizzas, French fries, breads, cakes, and ice cream; and Category 4 foods include crackers, chips, candies, cookies, butter, nuts, and oils. The Volumetrics eating plan allows you to eat your favorite foods occasionally so that you don't feel too deprived and go off the program.

Included in the book are menu planners and 125 recipes with color photographs. The book also provides worksheets for tracking your food intake and weight. Examples of recipes include: Baked Berry French Toast, Vegetable Party Platter, Sesame Mushroom Kebobs, Corn and Tomato Chowder, Minestrone Soup, Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich, Buffalo Chicken Wraps, Charlie's Greek Salad, Tangy Cole Slaw, Tabbouleh, Balsamic Dressing, Minted Broccoli, Ratatouille, Tofu Pad Thai, Nouveau Lamb Stew, Shrimp Creole, Chicken Parmesan, Risotto Primavera, The Aristotle Pizza, and Maple Crème Caramel.

The content of the book includes:
1. Welcome to Volumetrics
2. Your Personal Weight Management Plan
3. Breakfast
4. Appetizers, Starters, and Snacks
5. Soups
6. Sandwiches and Wraps
7. Salads and Salad Dressings
8. Vegetables and Vegetarian Dishes
9. Meats
10. Fish and Shellfish
11. Poultry
12. Beans, Rice, and Grains
13. Pasta and Pizza
14. Desserts and Fruit
15. Your Personal Eating Plan

Barbara Rolls is a professor and nutritionist who worked with the National Institutes of Health, and is well qualified to write this book. The menu is structured and could be time-consuming, yet this should be a good plan for slow and steady weight reduction if you are motivated to put the time into it. It is based on emphasizing low-calorie, high-fiber, high-water-content foods in order to slowly reduce your caloric intake and allow you to lose weight and keep it off. I also recommend a companion book, THE 3:00 PM SECRET: Live Slim and Strong, Live Your Dreams

I ordered this book from Amazon, and since I start read it I just loved it. I have tried some other diet plan, mainly are South Beach and Artkins. They worked on me, I lost 15 pounds, but I do not think I can continue to do that. I can not eat fruit and my body felt very very tired, and I was in bad mood. I use this volumetrics Eating Plan, I lost weight, the most important is I feel very good and very comfortable. I can eat a lot fruit and every day I feel very satisfied, and I still lose weight. I am doing very good and I feel I can follow this plan for life. The book says this is not a quick fix but a life style change. I really agree. I feel so good so I invite you to try.

This is a good book but obviously you need to be serious about a diet plan or no book will help.

I don't know about anyone else but I am sick and tired of restrictive diets. In my 40 years I have heard all about the dangers of sugar and white flour, the dangers of fats, and the dangers of carbohydrates. I have read books that limited my food intake to grapefruit, to cabbage soup, and even worse to the infamous lemonade with cayenne pepper. I have been educated about the dangers of eating foods bad for my blood type (does Rh value come into play?) and the dangers of mixing foods (the evil sandwich!). And in the end I ate whatever I wanted.

Dr. Barbara Rolls teaches and does nutrition research at Penn State University, where she holds the endowed Guthrie Chair of Nutritional Sciences. Her first book, The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan, was published in 2000 in the middle of the great no carb boom and just didn't compete with Atkins and South Beach. We should all be grateful that she stuck it out and gave us The Volumetrics Eating Plan.

You may wonder what kind of groundbreaking new food Rolls is bringing to the forefront, or what kinds of restrictions she presents. Guess what? The answer is NONE! Rolls' research shows that people generally eat the same volume of food each day. We seem to have an innate sense of what quantity we need to feel full and we automatically eat that much. If we eat significantly less than that amount we feel extremely deprived and hungry, significantly more and we feel like piggies.

Since weight loss only happens when you take in fewer calories than you expend, the book tells us that to lose weight we must exercise daily and reduce caloric intake. This should not be news to anyone. No magic bullets, no special foods, no restrictions--cut calories going in and increase calories going out. What is different is Rolls' approach. Since we need to eat the same volume of food to feel satisfied, we must choose our foods so that we can eat the most amount for the least calories. We need to get the most bang for our caloric buck in order to successfully lose weight and keep it off.

Volumetrics categorizes foods by Energy Density (calories divided by grams). The foods with the highest ED are full of fats, alcohol, and carbs; the lowest ED foods are full of water, fiber, and protein. For example, 1/4 cup raisins has the same ED as 2 full cups of grapes. Our diet should be based on mostly low ED foods such soups, fruits and vegetables, oatmeals, and lowfat dairy, with enough of the high ED food to meet our basic nutritional needs.

To assist the dieter Rolls provides all the formulas to calculate daily caloric needs and the menus and recipes necessary to decide what to eat to lose weight. I tried several of the recipes, each of which was also tried by my husband the Chef (really, he is a Cordon Bleu trained Executive Chef with 25 years experience and tends to hate food that does not involve butter). We both were impressed. The House Dressing is a lovely creamy rich lightly spiced buttermilk yogurt dressing that is as good as a dip as it is on a salad, and the Veggie Stuffed Macaroni and Cheese was a warm, rich, and creamy blend of whole wheat pasta, low fat cheddar, Parmesan, and veggies AND I was able to eat almost 2 cups of it for same caloric bang as only 3/4 cup of standard recipe macaroni and cheese. Add a salad and light dessert and I was stuffed and satisfied.

Consumer Reports rated Volumetrics as the number one diet in terms of sustainable weight loss and now I understand why. There's nothing crazy or intensely scientific or new. Just exercise more and eat lots of filling low Energy Density foods so that you can cut calories while still eating a lot and you will lose weight. Now what am I going to do with all those Atkins bars?

After downloading and reading the Kindle book sample, I was eager to buy the book and read more. Before the positives, let me say that I was very disappointed to find that the graphics of the Eating Plan and Modular Lists are unreadable and therefore worthless. The ample recipes are quite readable, but I'm not a "recipe" kind of gal. I need to get a sense of the gestalt and trust the reference material in order to dive in and actually do it. That said, the Table of Contents, at least, is great, with all the recipes listed with links to the text so I don't have to go through highlighting everything. If the book had included links to those critical Eating Plan and Modular Lists online so at least I could read them on my computer, this would have been a five-star review.

I'm tempted to return the book, but this is really a Kindle publishing problem. I hope all Kindle publishers will start providing links to online versions of charts and tables that do not lend themselves well to Kindle presentation; that, or figure out another way to present the information that does.

Some reviewers have criticized the fact that the author repeats herself too much and that the whole thing could be summed up in a few sentences, but I disagree. First of all, I am in my fifties, in poor health, and (like so many of us) obese--largely from following all those lose-weight-quick diets that kept telling me I didn't have to exercise to stay healthy. I'm also more forgetful now than I used to be, so I like the way the author reasons with me. Sure, it could have been edited down a little more tightly, but at least the repetitive info is of substance. This is not a book filled up with a lot of boosterism and chatty non-information, for which I am grateful. And I learned something I did not know: research has shown that people habitually dish out, and are satisfied with, portions of a certain size no matter what the nutrient or caloric density of those portions. I can see that, by following Volumetrics principles along with those of the Reality Diet, I'm going to be able to get my health back.

I went through the book and it does ask for things not usually in the home. I would like it better if it would list things-common-to make meals.

Item was shipped immediately and came in great condition. I have not read it all yet, but seems to be a very informative book. Cost was not bad either

This book is very helpful. I mean it just makes sense. I'd much rather be able to eat more food to feel that fulness than to fill up on junk that will just keep the added weight there. I've lost about 10 lbs so far in the 3 weeks that I've had this book and the recipes are great.

To be honest the recipes take getting used to, but it WORKS!! I lost 7 pounds. this is not a fad but a guide to improve your eating habits. Also try Finger Licking Different.

The Volumetrics Eating Plan is not a short-term diet book, but provides recipes and ideas on how to eat for the long term. It gives readers a method to eat fewer calories by making what you eat less calorie dense. It does this by focusing on foods with high water and fiber content. Basically, the Volumetrics approach emphasizes foods with a low "energy density," (calories) that are high in water content such as fruits, vegetables, and soups. The idea is that low-calorie, high-water, high-fiber foods generally make you feel full faster so you consume fewer calories overall. The author's research shows that by emphasizing these high-water content, low-calorie dense foods, a person feels satisfied on many fewer calories per day.

Professor Rolls divides foods into 4 categories based on whether a food has less, equal, or more calories per serving than its weight in grams. Category 1 foods should be emphasized and eaten first. Category 4 foods should be eaten in small quantities. Examples of the foods in each category are as follows: Category 1 - non-starchy fruits and veggies, nonfat milk, broth-based soups; Category 2 - starchy fruits and veggies, grains, cereal with low-fat milk, beans and legumes, low-fat meats, and mixed dishes such as chili; Category 3 - meats, cheeses, pizza, French fries, bread, cake, and ice cream; and finally Category 4- crackers, chips, chocolate candies, cookies, butter, nuts, and oils.

The diet is balanced in terms of carbs, protein, and fat, and does not eliminate food groups. The Volumetrics eating plan also allows you to eat your favorite foods occasionally so that you don't feel too deprived and go off the program. Included in the book are menu planners and 125 recipes with color photographs. The book also provides worksheets for tracking your food intake and weight. Examples of recipes include: Baked Berry French Toast, Vegetable Party Platter, Sesame Mushroom Kebobs, Corn and Tomato Chowder, Minestrone Soup, Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich, Buffalo Chicken Wraps, Charlie's Greek Salad, Tangy Cole Slaw, Tabbouleh, Balsamic Dressing, Minted Broccoli, Ratatouille, Tofu Pad Thai, Nouveau Lamb Stew, Shrimp Creole, Chicken Parmesan, Risotto Primavera, The Aristotle Pizza, and Maple Crème Caramel.

The content of the book includes:
1. Welcome to Volumetrics
2. Your Personal Weight Management Plan
3. Breakfast
4. Appetizers, Starters, and Snacks
5. Soups
6. Sandwiches and Wraps
7. Salads and Salad Dressings
8. Vegetables and Vegetarian Dishes
9. Meats
10. Fish and Shellfish
11. Poultry
12. Beans, Rice, and Grains
13. Pasta and Pizza
14. Desserts and Fruit
15. Your Personal Eating Plan
Resources, References, Index, Conversion Chart

Barbara Rolls is a professor and nutritionist who worked with the National Institutes of Health, and is well qualified to write this book. The menu is elaborate and time-consuming, yet this should be a good plan for slow and steady weight reduction if you have the time to put into planning, buying, and preparing the complex recipes and are able to follow the plan for life. It is based on the common sense that emphasizing low calorie dense, high-fiber, high-water content foods will slowly reduce your caloric intake and allow you to lose weight and keep it off. Please also check out THE 3:00 PM SECRET: Live Slim and Strong, Live Your Dreams

Once you learn the principles of this type of cooking, you can adapt almost any recipe. It is such a healthy way of eating while still leaving you with a feeling of fullness and satisfaction.

Any recipe that I've tried from this book tastes great and gives that "I have had enough to eat" feeling. This feeling lasts longer than it does with other recipes that I have used. I make the blueberry muffins at least twice a week. Instead of the "too fussy for me" muffins, I make a flat cake. Raisins replace the blueberries. This stuff is as heavy as lead but it tastes great and a small piece fills me up, and that's a miracle indeed.

This is a very helpful book for people trying to lose weight. The recipes do take some getting used to, but I was able to drop 5-6 pounds in a month and a half, about a pound per week, using these recipes and principles.

As a life-long dieter I'm always looking for recipes that are flavorful, easy and look as good as they taste. Volumetrics recipes score on all three criteria. I'm tired of being hungry or eating bland, tasteless food. Yuck! With these recipes those days are over. I consider this book a good investment that I will use for a long, long time.

It appears that there is a common link in many of the diet books out there.

Each claims it has the "formula" for success. The Volumetrics approach appears to follow this same line of thought.

While the author claims you can "eat any food you like" and that there are "no restricted foods", you find that there are still recommended ratios of carbs to proteins to fats.

There is no doubt that this program works for many. The concepts are well sounded. Eat fewer calories that you burn, and you will lose weight. Fill up on fluid filled fruits and vegetables, get plenty of fiber and get good nutrients in your foods.

The problem with many diets is that the consumer ends up starving their body of essential phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals. The volumetrics approach considers this and effectively deals with it.

Current research suggests that one size does not fit all, that we have biochemical diversities determined by our genotypes. Until our publications catch up to this fact, many will find themselves bouncing from one program to another in hopes that their problems will finally be solved.

I am a runner and a physician and was looking for a diet to lose about 15 pounds without feeling hungry. I like eating until I am stuffed, and since I can usually exercise it off, used to have no problem with that. However, an injury slowed me down this year. I decided to lose about 15 pounds to have less impact on my legs and get faster. This diet, which focuses on "caloric density" allows me to eat a lot by making better food choices. I have lost about 10 pounds in a month with no real effort. I am recommending this to my overweight patients. Lots of vegetables and fruit and not much junk in this diet, but I feel FULL. If you have to have your daily muffins, bagels, and cheesecake though, this is not the diet for you.

This book had some ideas on diet that I used, but in the end I was still hungry. It just made the portions LOOK bigger with the same calories or less. Nice attempt, but I did not find this book useful.

I have enjoyed using this book to prepare meals for the last 4 weeks, however, I am vastly disappointed with the poor quality of the binding. The book is literally in pieces with the middle section completely loose from the binding. Obviously this is a problem with the publisher, and is a common problem with paperbacks that are simply glued together. If buying this, invest in a sewen verison of the hardcover if at all possible.

Joanne

This book is a masterpiece of conveying the obvious and saying it over and over again. I'll save anyone interested in it time and money:
add veggies to everything and you'll have more to eat with little added calories. That's it...the whole book in 14 words (articles and contractions included).

Fresh from the garden and orchard, crunchy and juicy, brilliantly-colored, full of vitamins, and fiber - this most appealing, sane, and sensible diet avoids the highly-processed, high-fat, high-sugar, high-salt pseudo-foods created by the girth merchants who care nothing about your bulk, your blood pressure, your diverticulitis, or your cholesterol levels. Hundreds of easy recipes to help you maintain optimal weight and health.

I listened to the CD while driving out to dinner every night and somehow I started losing weight.

This book was the best weightloss/recipe book I have ever purchased. It is a sensible concept. You don't walk away from the table hungy. The recipes are wholesome ingredients that taste good and are good for you. The soups are delicious, as are all the other recipes. My whole family is benefiting from this book.

Barbara Rollins puts forth a not altogether original concept to the tune of eating more for less calories. A sort of "Cooking Light" meets "South Beach". There are some good recipes and I especially like that she compares the recipes with pictures and nutritional information side by side.

I bought this book a month before my doctor prescribed a diet for me. I found it unhelpful and hard to devise an eating plan. I couldn't figure out what to eat. My doctor then diagnosed me with hypertension and highly recommended the South Beach diet. It's been very easy to stick to and understand, unlike Volumetrics.

I have tried several diets and eating plans over the years and have lost some weight with most of them, but I felt hungry most of the time with those diets or plans. However, this Volumetrics plan is helping me lose weight and I actually am NOT hungry. In fact, I think I am actually eating more food now than I was when I was gaining weight. I know it sounds improbable, but I am now convinced that this plan is effective. Not only am I losing weight, but I have energy and I really do not feel hungry. The only thing I have to guard against is a few urges to eat some items which are high energy density. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who needs to lose a large amount of weight, or even a few pounds. This is a plan that I can actually stay on for 6 months at a time and not suffer.

I bought this book a few weeks ago after first using one from the library for a couple of weeks to see if I liked it. I've been following the ideas, though not always specific menus (mainly because I'm cooking only for myself and I end up with way too many leftovers), and losing about a pound a week. I do pick out a menu plan a couple of times a week and follow it, then mix and match on other days.

I find I'm less hungry on this plan than on others I've tried like Weight Watchers.

This plan makes sense. It doesn't seem new - after all, many plans count calories, etc., and the idea of eating more filling foods is mentioned in most plans - but this program gives it the importance it deserves and provides meal plans and recipes to back it up.

Many of the recipes are really good, I'd even serve them to guests, and I will continue to use them even after I've lost all the weight I want. Yes, some of them do have a lot of ingredients - I don't care since I want to lose weight, not make excuses.

I also like that there aren't any gimmicks. Calories are calories whether you call them that, or call them exchanges, or points, or buy some programs' food. And more than any other program, Volumetrics allows me to sometimes indulge and still stick to it.

I first read about the Volumetrics eating plan when Comsumer Reports did a survey on different diet plans and which worked best. Must admit that after purchasing Volumetrics, I skimmed the text and went right to the recipes which so far have proved to be fabulous and just liked promised ... very tasty and filling. Two thumbs up on this book. It delivers.

This book came in faster than my ebay order! The book was definitly in great condition too. I love the book.

Very good, down to earth plan. My wife has been following it for a few weeks and feels that the guidelines are helpful. It is too early to judge results.

After a lifelong battle with my weight, I think I have found the solution in this book...I have lost 22 pounds in 3 weeks and it was almost effortless...better than South Beach...better than Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers...believe me, I've tried 'em ALL!!!

The theory is more practical than most. Best of all, the recipes and cooking advice are usable and pretty good.

Good reading - how the hard part - to follow it...

So far so good. Some of the math for determining how many calories to
consume each day doesn't work well for someone 67 yrs old. If you are
35 yrs old the math works good. The book is well written with few errors.

This is a very easy to follow diet book that has a lot of flexibility and has great ideas for low calorie, low fat, filling meals. The reciepes are also very good.

I have read alot of diet books and been on alot of diets. I found this to be an eating plan that works for me. I am eating fruit. Something I never ate before. This plan works in my life with less effort than I ever imagined. I have lost weight without really trying. I would recommend this book and eating plan (not a diet) for anyone who wants to lose weight, feel better and change their eating habits to keep it off.

After many years of maintaining a "good" weight, knowing and eating all the proper foods, this book gives you that last piece of the puzzle. Very,very easy diet to follow, IF you love fruits and vegetables you will NEVER be hungry. With 20 lbs to lose I lost 6.5 lbs in 3 weeks.

I've been on this diet now for two weeks. I have also been very good about exercising daily so I'm not sure how much of my weight loss (6 lbs) is from the diet or from the exercise. What I can say for sure about the diet is that I'm never hungry! Having a bowl of low calorie soup at the beginning of many of my meals (including breakfast) seems to be doing what the author says--it makes me fill full, and I'm not eating nearly as many calories as I usually do. If I do feel like eating between meals (not from hunger, but more from habit or as a diversion), I snack on low calorie vegetables like carrots and celery. I hope this continues to work. I have another ten pounds to lose! By the way, Cup-of-Soup makes several varieties of soup that are all under 100 calories, and I have found it is an easy, and fast way to make soup if I don't want to use one of the recipes one from the book.

Like many of you, I found myself wondering what the differences were between the various diet programs. What I discovered is that all of the major diet books are well written and share many similarities. None of them offered an "silver bullet" to weight loss - it primarily comes down to keeping your calories burned greater than your calories eaten. There are theories presented about glycemic index, good vs. bad carbs, etc., but at the end of the day it's about calories and exercise.

In this review, I've tried to offer brief summaries of each diet book/program in hopes that it might help you pick out the one that would work best for you. Don't pay too much attention to the number of stars, as it's my own subjective rating based on effectiveness, ease of use, and ability to stick with the diet. Instead, try to discern which diet might fit your lifestyle better.

The Abs Diet, ****
This book is written by David Zinczenko, the editor of Men's Health Magazine. The diet likes the number 6 - promising "6 pack abs in 6 weeks," by eating 6 meals a day. Each meal is built around the "power 12" foods. There is a strong emphasis on whey supplements. The fitness program was easy to follow but perhaps too strenuous for beginners and seemed better suited to men. Strong points are excellent nutritional content and strong exercise. Weak points are questionable claims about rapid weight loss and "6 pack" abs, and mediocre meal plans. Average recommended daily calories are 1,890, with 7 fruits and vegetable servings.

The South Beach Diet ****
The SB Diet is a slightly more permissive version of the Atkins low-carb diet. It is based on the premise that eating low-glycemic foods (foods that don't raise blood sugar) decreases cravings for sugar and refined carbs. Like many of the diets, there are two phases. In the first phase, fruits, sugar, and grains are banned outright. Phase 2 allows some fruit, high-fiber grains, and dark chocolate. The simplicity of the diet might appeal to many busy dieters. However the emphasis on the glycemic index and insufficient exercise sections are a drawback. Recipes are easy to prepare, but some called for unusual ingredients (a clever cook could make substitutions). Average recommended daily calories are a mere 1,340, with 13 fruits and vegetable servings (mostly veggies).

The Sonoma Diet ****
The Sonoma Diet is an updated low-carb diet with a Mediterranean theme. Again, it is broken into two phases, called "waves." In "Wave 1," the dieter is banned from eating most sweet or refined foods. The much longer "Wave 2" permits fruits and wine. It has a unique method of calculating portions by filling sectors of small plates with specified food categories. The diet is healthy but complex. It is also very restrictive, which makes it more difficult to stay on. Also, the book doesn't offer enough on exercise. The recipes were tasty but elaborate to prepare. Average recommended daily calories are a mere 1,390, with 10 fruits and vegetable servings.

Ultra-Metabolism ***
The Ultra-Metabolism Diet is designed around the assertion that people get fat because their body's systems become toxic, inflamed, and imbalanced. Again, this is a two phase diet. Phase 1 is an initial "detox" period. The longer Phase 2 is a "rebalancing" period. Overall, the dieter must eliminate white rice, refined grains, most red meats, and caffeinated beverages. The theory of your body requiring detoxification goes beyond any scientific evidence and rings a bit of late night television "miracle detox bowel-cleansing pills." The diet is fairly restrictive and complicated. The exercise section was brief but practical. Average recommended daily calories are 1,660, with 12 fruits and vegetable servings.

Volumetrics, ****
The Volumetrics Diet is based on Penn State research. It aims to maximize the amount of food you can eat for a given caloric intake. This is done primarily by eating reduced-fat products, adding in lots of vegetables, and using low-fat cooking techniques. It encourages eating a first course of broth-based soup or low-calorie salad (not heavily laden with dressing, cheese or bacon) to take the edge off your appetite. Recent clinical studies have shown this diet to be very effective. The recipes are appetizing but time consuming. Average recommended daily calories are 1,500, with 14 fruits and vegetable servings.

The Zone Diet, ****
The Zone Diet was designed to keep your blood sugar and hormones at optimal levels so that you can better fight obesity and diseases. It requires that each meal consist of 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbs (based on calories). The diet allows many fruits, but almost no grains except oatmeal. The meals are simple to prepare and nutritionally balanced. But having to keep to the 30/30/40 balance is very tedious and requires lots of preplanning. Recent studies showed that the overall weight loss was below average. Average recommended daily calories are 1,660, with 17 fruits and vegetable servings.

Eat More, Weigh Less, ***
The Eat More, Weigh Less (Ornish) Diet is a low-fat vegetarian diet that bans all meat, fish, oils, alcohol, sugar, and white flour. Their clinical studies suggest that strictly following the diet can prevent or reverse some diseases. Ornish argues that it is easier to make drastic changes to diet rather than small ones. The diet offers the most food per calorie of any of the diets. It is actually lower in fat than current USDA guidelines recommend. Studies have shown good long term weight loss, but a relatively high drop-out rate. Average recommended daily calories are 1,520, with 17 fruits and vegetable servings.

Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, ***
The Atkins Diet is the grand daddy of them all. As with many of the other diets, it is divided into two phases. The first phase is a two week induction period that bans nearly all carbs. The second phase is only slightly less restrictive, but does slowly add more vegetables, fruit, and wine. Research has suggested that Atkins' dieters are less hungry than on many other diets. But the diet is difficult to adhere to and has a high drop-out rate. Long term weight loss has been shown to be average. The single most glaring concern with the Atkins diet is that the nutritional profile is far outside conventional dietary guidelines. (We've all known people eating handfuls of bacon, eggs, and cheese for breakfast, claiming they were on a diet). Average recommended daily calories are 1,520, with 6 fruits and vegetable servings.

Again, please don't worry too much about my ranking of the diet books - it's completely subjective. My suggestion is to simply find a program that seems to fit your lifestyle best.

Please be kind enough to indicate if reviews are helpful.

Written by Arthur Bradley, author of "Process of Elimination" - an intense thriller in which a martial artist, a greedy corporate attorney, and a sexy conspiracy theorist team up to stop a world-class sniper from killing presidential candidates.

The Abs Diet, ****
This book is written by David Zinczenko, the editor of Men's Health Magazine. The diet likes the number 6 - promising "6 pack abs in 6 weeks," by eating 6 meals a day. Each meal is built around the "power 12" foods. There is a strong emphasis on whey supplements. The fitness program was easy to follow but perhaps too strenuous for beginners and seemed better suited to men. Strong points are excellent nutritional content and strong exercise. Weak points are questionable claims about rapid weight loss and "6 pack" abs, and mediocre meal plans. Average recommended daily calories are 1,890, with 7 fruits and vegetable servings.

The South Beach Diet ****
The SB Diet is a slightly more permissive version of the Atkins low-carb diet. It is based on the premise that eating low-glycemic foods (foods that raise blood sugar) decreases cravings for sugar and refined carbs. Like many of the diets, there are two phases. In the first phase, fruits, sugar, and grains are banned outright. Phase 2 allows some fruit, high-fiber grains, and dark chocolate. The simplicity of the diet might appeal to many busy dieters. However the emphasis on the glycemic index and insufficient exercise sections are a drawback. Recipes are easy to prepare, but some called for unusual ingredients (a clever cook could make substitutions). Average recommended daily calories are a mere 1,340, with 13 fruits and vegetable servings (mostly veggies).

The Sonoma Diet ****
The Sonoma Diet is an updated low-carb diet with a Mediterranean theme. Again, it is broken into two phases, called "waves." In "Wave 1," the dieter is banned from eating most sweet or refined foods. The much longer "Wave 2" permits fruits and wine. It has a unique method of calculating portions by filling sectors of small plates with specified food categories. The diet is healthy but complex. It is also very restrictive, which makes it more difficult to stay on. Also, the book doesn't offer enough on exercise. The recipes were tasty but elaborate to prepare. Average recommended daily calories are a mere 1,390, with 10 fruits and vegetable servings.

Ultra-Metabolism ***
The Ultra-Metabolism Diet is designed around the assertion that people get fat because their body's systems become toxic, inflamed, and imbalanced. Again, this is a two phase diet. Phase 1 is an initial "detox" period. The longer Phase 2 is a "rebalancing" period. Overall, the dieter must eliminate white rice, refined grains, most red meats, and caffeinated beverages. The theory of your body requiring detoxification goes beyond any scientific evidence and rings a bit of late night television "miracle detox bowel-cleansing pills." The diet is fairly restrictive and complicated. The exercise section was brief but practical. Average recommended daily calories are 1,660, with 12 fruits and vegetable servings.

Volumetrics, ****
The Volumetrics Diet is based on Penn State research. It aims to maximize the amount of food you can eat for a given caloric intake. This is done primarily by eating reduced-fat products, adding in lots of vegetables, and using low-fat cooking techniques. It encourages eating a first course of broth-based soup or low-calorie salad (not heavily laden with dressing, cheese or bacon) to take the edge off your appetite. Recent clinical studies have shown this diet to be very effective. The recipes are appetizing but time consuming. Average recommended daily calories are 1,500, with 14 fruits and vegetable servings.

The Zone Diet, ****
The Zone Diet was designed to keep your blood sugar and hormones at optimal levels so that you can better fight obesity and diseases. It requires that each meal consist of 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbs (based on calories). The diet allows many fruits, but almost no grains except oatmeal. The meals are simple to prepare and nutritionally balanced. But having to keep to the 30/30/40 balance is very tedious and requires lots of preplanning. Recent studies showed that the overall weight loss was below average. Average recommended daily calories are 1,660, with 17 fruits and vegetable servings.

Eat More, Weigh Less, ***
The Eat More, Weigh Less (Ornish) Diet is a low-fat vegetarian diet that bans all meat, fish, oils, alcohol, sugar, and white flour. Their clinical studies suggest that strictly following the diet can prevent or reverse some diseases. Ornish argues that it is easier to make drastic changes to diet rather than small ones. The diet offers the most food per calorie of any of the diets. It is actually lower in fat than current USDA guidelines recommend. Studies have shown good long term weight loss, but a relatively high drop-out rate. Average recommended daily calories are 1,520, with 17 fruits and vegetable servings.

Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, ***
The Atkins Diet is the grand daddy of them all. As with many of the other diets, it is divided into two phases. The first phase is a two week induction period that bans nearly all carbs. The second phase is only slightly less restrictive, but does slowly add more vegetables, fruit, and wine. Research has suggested that Atkins' dieters are less hungry than on many other diets. But the diet is difficult to adhere to and has a high drop-out rate. Long term weight loss has been shown to be average. The single most glaring concern with the Atkins diet is that the nutritional profile is far outside conventional dietary guidelines. (We've all known people eating handfuls of bacon, eggs, and cheese for breakfast, claiming they were on a diet). Average recommended daily calories are 1,520, with 6 fruits and vegetable servings.

Please be kind enough to indicate if reviews are helpful.

Written by Arthur Bradley, author of "Process of Elimination" - an intense thriller in which a martial artist, a greedy corporate attorney, and a sexy conspiracy theorist team up to stop a world-class sniper from killing presidential candidates.

There is a lot of scientific stuff in this book that was a bit over my head, intellectually-wise. Then I realized that it probably wasn't my fault. It had to be the fault of the people who came up with the eating plan. So to confirm my suspicions, I looked in all my music books at home, checked my Motown CD collection then spent hours on the internet searching, and sure enough, I could not find any reference to The Volumetrics anywhere. Probably some one-hit 70s Albanian boy band. If the publisher had been a bit more market savvy and asked a well known group like the Pussycat Dolls to come up with an eating plan, then more people would be able to follow it. Let's face it. The Dolls aren't exactly Roads Scholars, right?

This is the second volumetrics book I've read and I love them both. The recipes are easy enough for my teenagers to make and everyone loves them.

Was excited to try Volumetrics because it was so highly rated in Consumer Reports. I found the diet to be tedious, confusing, and a bit inane.

Volumetrics is essentially based on extensive calorie counting which is tedious. It offers an overly complicated formula just to figure out how many calories you should eat to maintain your current weight. On top of calorie counting you need to consider the "energy-density" of your food...the lower energy-density the better. From the limited food lists, you learn that fruits and veggies are low energy-density food and you can eat as much of them as you want. Seemed to be a lot of math to determine that eating carrot sticks as a snack will make you lose weight faster than tortilla chips!

I found the energy-density concept confusing because it's based on the metric system i.e., the energy-density of a food is calculated by dividing calories by grams listed on the food label. Call me old fashion but I have no interest in learning the metric system in order to diet, especially since the energy-density number doesn't tell you much more than the calorie count. In fact, I thought the energy-density rating of some foods seemed outright wacky e.g., the energy-density of non instant oatmeal is equivalent to the energy-density of a jelly filled doughnut. Therefore, they are both to be eaten in limited quantities.

Finally, I thought the diet tips were really lame e.g., drink diet soda vs. regular, eat an apple instead of chocolate cream-filled sandwich cookies for a snack, if you make a telephone call, walk while you talk etc.

Would recommend anyone considering buying this book to save their $10 and just go on a well-balanced 1200-1400 calorie diet.

This is a practical method of a good, sound eating plan for good health and weight loss. I like the recipes and the photos are common sense ways of keeping our weight in line.

I have been using Volumetrics for more than 2 years and was thrilled to see that it was the top diet plan supported by scientific evidence in this month's Consumer Reports. I've had great success with the plan and have lost (and more importantly - kept off!!!) 30 pounds. This plan isn't a quick-fix gimmick; it's based on sound, nutritional research and teaches you how to make life-style changes that can easily be maintained for life.

As a 15-year veteran of reading diet books I consider myself something of an expert on the subject. I've read Great diet books, mediocre diet books and diet books so lousy they should be banned. "The Volumetrics Eating Plan" is one of the better books of its ilk.

The basic concept is incredibly simple. You eat foods that are filling, yet relatively low in calories. This upholds the age-old theory that the best ideas are the simplest. Many of these diet books get it all wrong. They're way too COMPLICATED. Dieting is not rocket science. To lose weight you basically want to burn more calories than you consume. This book takes that a step further by mandating you eat mostly foods that fill you up without fattening you up.

I'm not surprised this book is successful. People today tend to have zero willpower when it comes to abstaining from foods we enjoy. I was in Las Vegas last month at one of those "all-you-can-eat-for-6.99" buffets and people were scarfing down food so fast there was a collective grunting noise radiating from the tables. Because we're a world of people with no willpower we have to resort to little tricks by consuming filling, low calorie foods.

The recipes in this book tended to be simple and tasty. I wish there were more of them.

And for a HILARIOUS send up of diet books try "Maybe Life's Just Not That Into You" by Martha Bolton. This funny parody of self help books contains some outrageouly funny moments that literally had me holding my now-relatively-svelte sides. Maybe Life's Just Not That Into You: When You feel Like the World's Voted You Off

"Consumer Reports Ranked this book #1" the back cover claims, and it's no wonder- this is a very easy-to-follow, simple concept and it works! Dr. Rolls hits on a well-established principle of eating things that make you feel fuller, while also costing less in the calorie department. This is not a unique principle- it was seen in New Pritikin Program and my favorite The Evolution Diet, but Rolls does a great job focusing on it and providing helpful tools along the way.

The two above books talk about getting more fiber in one's diet to reduce the calorie ratio and other techniques, but VOlumetrics talks about comparable foods like one small buttermilk pancake with butter and syrup = two large whole-wheat pancakes with fruit spread, and a few M&Ms are = to a few cups of fresh strawberries. Okay, strawberries aren't chocolate, but they taste really good and are a lot more FILLING than M&Ms- that's the point to fill you.

The book kinda looks like a menu with all the appetizing pictures, but there are also some helpful tools and calorie charts that make this a manual, not just a book.

I like the book and the recipes in it are good, but I wish there were more recipes, particularly lunch and dinner recipes.