Being a trainer for over 10+ years I’ve worked with a lot of people and many of them have horrible relationships with food.  A lot of it happens from childhood seeing a parent overeat or under eat in response to emotional stress. As we grow up we tend to follow in the same destructive food patterns.

I grew up in a family who are not particularly slim, with full plates at breakfast, lunch and dinner…. I’m from the Midwest so it was Milk with everything and sometimes seconds. As I got older and get into the fitness industry I suddenly became very body conscious. Because I played sports in college I was used to being able to eat whatever I wanted. When I came into the real world, eating whatever I wanted added about 20 extra pounds I couldn’t seem to shake.  I couldn’t adjust to the healthy eating habits that my fitness colleagues obeyed because I thought it was too strict. Or I thought my body type and lifestyle choices were my reasons (excuses) for not finding the discipline to change.  It just wasn’t ENOUGH FOOD for me and eventually I would lose it and get a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, setting up a horrible cycle of starvation type eating, and then over eating weekly.

What helped me change?

For the past 3 years I’ve been eating in the style nicknamed VOLUMETRICS, and it has truly helped me change my understanding of eating.  I like to eat a lot of food, I don’t want to feel stuffed after a meal but I do need to feel satisfied and full.  I do chose foods partly based on the VOLUME they have on the plate and therefore in my body.

For example…. if I’m craving something sweet I now know that for the same amount of calories that are in your average candy bar (that is eaten and gone in a flash) I can eat a HUGE bowl of berries, or diced up apples and pears with low fat yogurt (dairy or soy).  The enjoyment lasts a lot longer, it takes up way more space in my stomach so I don’t crave more food immediately and there is protein in the yogurt, which helps me to feel satiated. It is also highly nutritious.  There’s no energy crash, there’s not the awful sense of guilt that I get if I eat candy and my sweet tooth is satisfied.

Soups are a big part of my healthy eating.  Not really ever as a meal but definitely as a side.  I don’t go near the creamy ones, I chose miso soup, the Thai-style Tom Yum soup, or just a great tomato based or broth based soups.  They’re all delicious but more than that they give my body that warm and cozy feeling that I want when I’m tired and hungry.  It means that when I move on to the next part of my meal I’m a lot less likely to go crazy and overeat. Tinned also works, especially if I’ve been traveling a lot and there’s nothing in the fridge, but I try and get the low-sodium kinds, (less salt = less bloating, and is more heart healthy in general).

I really try and incorporate as many veggies into each meal as possible.  They’re super high in nutrients, super low in calories and have been shown to have just about every antioxidant, cancer fighting compound there is.  They’re also very high in fiber which most of us apparently don’t get nearly enough of.  Fiber fills us up, and also helps the body cleanse itself…. meaning less bloating (which means I feel a whole lot better!). So if I’m making rice, I mix in chopped peppers, zucchini, carrots, squash, peas, onions, asparagus, broccoli…. whatever I like!  The dish is colorful and has great crunchy textures, a double whammy of the good stuff and all the vegetables I mentioned are almost calorie free.  You don’t even notice that you’re eating less rice because you get full from all the extra volume the vegetables you’ve added in there.  I use this trick with almost all of my carbs, and even when I’m making omelets or a sauce for my protein.

If I’m ordering take-out or eating at a restaurant I get my entrée with either a large mixed salad or steamed vegetables and I take out half of the carbs from my entrée and literally mix in the veggies

VOLUMETRICS has really changed my way of thinking about eating healthily from deprivation to a nutrient rich meal.  The beauty of it is that it doesn’t require much of a special diet-plan or food substitutes I’ve never heard of.  It really is just a few tricks that go such a long way, but it’s actually tricking my body into eating more of what it needs and less of the things I know I have a tendency to overeat on.  It’s helped me keep my body healthier and happier than ever before, with enough energy to workout, to work, and it has improved my quality of life from stressing about food to enjoying it.

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