Last Updated on November 7, 2022 by
The fact is that so many people become frustrated when they make the decision to begin a low carb diet. They know that it’s going to work, and they see others who are successful with it. But still the person who wishes to lose the weight or gain some weight becomes discouraged. This usually ends with them blaming the diet without realizing how much of the problem is their own doing.
Low carb diet is a great way to lose weight while also increasing your health. If you are looking to lose weight because you’re overweight or obese and then learn how a low carb diet can help before you embark on this type of diet, Weight Loss Made Simple has the most comprehensive list of these foods with the highest fat and lowest starch content available. It is an excellent weight loss tool for the beginner or expert. If you want to know more about Low Volume Foods For Weight Gain, make sure you read this article.
Low Volume Foods For Weight Gain

The beginner’s guide to volume eating: what is it and how does it work?
If you are someone who wants to consume a full plate or bowl without negatively impacting your health or weight loss goals, volume eating might be a good strategy for you. Here is a complete guide to volume eating; what it is, how it works, the difference between high volume and low volume foods, and some examples of volume eating.

What is Volume Eating?
Volume eating is a concept, strategy, or method of eating that allows for large consumption of food while minimizing calorie intake. Give that, gram per gram, different macronutrients provide a different number of calories, volume eating allows you to prioritize high-volume foods to help increase satiety and fullness without increasing calorie intake. Volume eating is based on the fact that:
- A food’s physical weight and calorie content are not directly correlated,
- The calorie content of food is determined by its macronutrients content,
- Different macronutrients provide different amounts of calories per gram (protein = 4 calories per gram, carbohydrates = 4 calories per gram, fat = 9 calories per gram).
In short, volume eating is a way of eating more food without overly increasing calorie intake.
High Volume vs. Low Volume Foods
The energy density (or calorie density) of a food is based on its macronutrient content and balance. Foods high in fat and/or more concentrated in sugar are considered “low-volume foods”, given that fat contains more than double the number of calories per gram compared to protein and carbohydrates, while foods high in fiber and/or water content are considered “high-volume foods”, given that both fibre and water provide little to no calories per gram.
Per 1 cup | SPINACH | APPLE | WHITE RICE | AVOCADO | OLIVE OIL |
Weight | 30 grams | 125 grams | 158 grams | 230 grams | 216 grams |
Calories | 7 calories | 65 calories | 205 calories | 384 calories | 1,910 calories |
Based on raw spinach, raw apple with skin, cooked long-grain white rice, raw avocado, and olive oil. (1)
Benefits of Volume Eating

Helps with Satiety and Fullness
Focusing on nutrient-dense high-volume whole foods helps to keep you full and satisfied. Since most high-volume foods, such as fruits and vegetables, are rich sources of fibre and water, they help to keep you full since they, quite literally, help to keep your stomach fuller.
When subjects eating foods low in caloric density, such as fruits and vegetables, are compared with those consuming foods richer in calories, those on meal plans with higher calorie concentrations were found to consume twice as many calories per day in order to satisfy their hunger.
Allows for Higher Food Consumption
If you are someone who “eats with your eyes” and wants your bowl or plate to look full, volume eating is a great tool for you. Not only does it allow for larger portions (i.e. full bowls and plates) but it also helps to increase your intake of fibre, vitamins, and minerals at the same time.
Manages Calories without Counting Calories
If you have a goal of weight loss or are concerned with the number of calories you are consuming, volume eating can be a game-changing tool in your nutrition toolkit. Although having a full bowl or plate is often construed as a bad thing – more volume must mean more calories – that’s not the case. By focusing on leafy greens, vegetables, fresh fruits, and whole grains you can eat in a high volume (i.e. massive portion size) with little impact on the total number of calories you are consuming.
Increases Fibre and Nutrient-Density
Since high-volume foods are primarily fruits and vegetables, volume eating a simple yet highly effective way to increase your intake of nutrient-dense, high-fibre whole foods without much effort.
High-Volume Low-Calorie Foods
These foods can be consumed with little attention to portion size. They have a high water, high fibre, and low sugar content and are, therefore, low in calories per serving. High-volume foods include:
- Leafy green vegetables (lettuce, spinach, kale, etc.)
- Cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli, etc.)
- Stem and other vegetables (peppers, onions, zucchini, celery, etc.)
- Fruit, especially berries
Moderate-Volume Moderate-Calorie Foods

Be slightly more mindful of portion size when consuming these foods. They have a high water, moderate to high fibre, and moderate to high sugar content and are, therefore, higher in calories per serving. Moderate-volume foods include:
- Root vegetables (beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc..)
- Whole grains
- Lean cuts of meat
Low-Volume High-Calorie Foods
Be very mindful of portion size when consuming these foods. They have a low water, low fibre, and high sugar content and are, therefore, the highest in calories per serving. Low-volume foods include:
- Fatty cuts of meat
- Cheese
- Butter
- Oils
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Fruit, dried or juiced
- Honey
- Maple syrup
- Sugar
Examples of Volume Eating
If you’re a volume eater and you want your plate or bowl to look full when you make a meal, here are some hacks or tips that you might find useful.
- Cook a sliced apple or pear into oatmeal.
- Add cooked veggies to a bowl of pasta.
- Snack on popcorn instead of nuts.
- Add chopped veggies to scrambled eggs.
- Serve casseroles or meat dishes on a bed of lettuce.
- Use salsa as a condiment or a dip.
- Cook chopped mushrooms into ground beef.
- Cook chopped cauliflower with rice.
- Eat fresh fruit instead of dried fruit.
- Add a side salad to every meal.
To be clear, these examples do not imply that the original version or option is unhealthy. It’s simply a way to increase the overall volume of food you are eating without compromising your health goals.
Volume eating is an eating strategy that focuses on increasing the consumption level of lower-calorie foods. Although all whole foods have a place in a healthy diet, if you have a goal of weight loss or consider yourself a “volume eater” it is important to be mindful of portion sizes of low-volume foods, while you can enjoy high-volume foods without as much concern. Higher volume does not always mean higher calorie; it all depends on what you are creating that volume with.
Healthy Ways to Gain Weight

Your friends envy you when you tell them your doctor wants you to add pounds, but you may have already learned the hard truth: It’s trickier than it sounds. Especially if you want to do it the healthy way.
“You can’t just throw high-calorie junk foods into your diet,” says Kim Larson, a dietitian in Seattle. You want to eat stuff with lots of calories, of course, but they’ve got to have nutrients, too.
With a little patience, though, you can cross the finish line. Just don’t expect to reach your daily goal of calories right away. You’ll most likely have to build up to that slowly.
Michael Basham, a retired professor and psychologist from Boulder, CO, discovered that firsthand. He’s trying to gain the 30 pounds he lost while he recovered from complications of back surgery.
So far, he’s 10 pounds away from his goal of 175. “I try to eat as much as I can tolerate every day,” he says. “It was difficult for me to eat so much at first.”
Larson says there’s nothing wrong with the go-slow approach. “Gradually, over a few weeks, we have to increase the amount of food that the gut is able to handle,” she says.
Say Good-bye to Low-Cal
Your first step to put on the pounds: Swap out the foods you already eat for higher-calorie versions.
Get rid of anything that’s “fat free,” Larson says. Make your own salad dressing with healthy oils, rather than buying them ready-made.
Bid farewell to products that have “light,” “diet” and “low-cal” on the label. Eat higher-calorie breads, and choose bagels over toast or English muffins.
“Make sure that your cereal has at least 200 calories per cup,” Farrell says. “Go for granola or muesli.”
Also put fatty fish, like salmon, on your dinner menu. It’s higher in calories and has healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
Eat desserts that have a lot of nutrients, like frozen yogurt, oatmeal cookies, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.
Review your fridge and cabinet, and track your eating for a few days to see what else can be replaced with high-calorie options.
“Being from Boulder, Colorado, one of the healthiest cities in America, it was hard to switch from sugar-free and fat-free products to sugar in my sweet tea and whole milk on my cereal,” Basham says.
Get on a Regular Eating Schedule
Though you may not take in the target number of daily calories at first, you should eat three meals a day and snack in between and after dinner, no matter what.
“I recommend eating six times per day and eating about every three hours,” says Nancy Farrell, a dietitian in Fredericksburg, VA. “A snack is 100 to 200 calories, and a meal starts at 500 calories.”
Make sure that your snacks are small enough that you’ll be able to eat again at your next mealtime.
“Stay away from snacks that are going to fill you up too much,” Larson says. “If you’re having a smoothie, for example, make it small, like 8 ounces. Not 12 to 16 ounces like we see at smoothie shops.”
Choose Low-Volume, High-Calorie Foods
Eat foods that pack a lot of calories — and nutrients of course — into a small space. Dietitians call these “calorie-dense.” That way you can get the calories you need without filling up too fast.
Some choices that can get the job done:
Nuts. They’re high in fiber and protein and have about 150 to 200 calories per ounce. Seeds, such as sunflower and pumpkin, also cram a lot of calories into a few bites. They make a great snack. Sprinkle them on salads, oatmeal, soup, and anywhere else you can.
Nut butters. A tablespoon of peanut butter has about 100 calories. You can also try a spread that’s made from almonds.
Dried fruit. You can get 147 calories from an ounce of banana chips. Don’t forget raisins, prunes, craisins, dates, and figs, too. Snack on them and toss them into salads and cereal.
Fresh, dense fruits. Some good choices are mangos and avocados.
A medium-sized mango has 130 calories. Avocados can have more than 300 calories, depending on size and type.
“I incorporated a lot of avocados and other healthy fats into my diet when I was trying to gain weight,” says Amber Dumler, a museum specialist in Washington, D.C. Already petite, she lost about 12 pounds when she was breastfeeding her first child. She struggled to put the weight back on and keep it on.
Starchy vegetables. They’ve got more calories than other veggies. A cup of corn has 156 and a cup of peas has 117. A medium baked potato has 159. A large artichoke has 80.
“Some people are afraid of the starchy vegetables, but they are a great filler and source of fiber and other nutrients,” Farrell says. “That doesn’t mean you should avoid the other vegetables. Eat both. Try a baked potato with broccoli and cheese on top.”
Healthy oils and fats. You can get 120 calories from a tablespoon of olive oil.
“Swirl it into oatmeal, mashed potatoes, smoothies, anything with a smooth consistency,” Larson says. “It’s a great way to add calories without really noticing them.”
“Adding healthy fats was a really easy way to add calories,” Dumler says.
Wheat germ and flax meal. You can also mix these into other foods to give them added calories. Flax meal has 30 calories per tablespoon along with fiber and healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Wheat germ has 26 calories in a tablespoon and gives you important nutrients like fiber and folate.
Trail mix. It’s a higher-calorie snack that brings together dried fruits, nuts, seeds, and any other goodies you want to add. Chocolate chips, anyone?
Drink Your Snacks
If you don’t have much of an appetite for 100- to 200-calorie snacks between meals, try drinking your calories at snack time instead. Liquid can make you feel full, even if it’s a zero-calorie glass of water, so make every sip count. Replace water with fruit juice or something thicker if you can. “Go for rich, cream-based liquids as much as you can,” Farrell says.
Smoothies are a chance to toss in all those calorie-dense fruits, nuts, and liquids. “Add whole milk or vanilla yogurt, if you can tolerate it. If you like it, use nut butters, avocado, or olive oil in your smoothie,” Farrell says.
“I began drinking a homemade smoothie consisting of protein powder, milk, yogurt, a banana and a high-calorie supplement that my dietitian suggested,” Basham says.
At meal times, on the other hand, try to limit how much liquid you take in so that you can save room for solid food. If soup’s on the menu, go for thick, creamy ones rather than clear broths.
When it comes to adding pounds, you’ve got to be patient. You won’t see results overnight.
Be flexible, too. “You can adjust and update the meal plan as you go,” Farrell says. “It doesn’t have to look perfect from the beginning.”
Once you hit your stride, it won’t be too long before you hit the magic number on your scale.