What is the best kept secret in weight management? When I became a type 2 diabetic and had to lose a significant amount of weight, I wanted a program that was guaranteed to succeed. I tried low carbohydrate dieting, but found it too difficult.

I improved the quality of the foods I was eating by switching to whole grains, fresh fruits, and vegetables. I implemented an exercise program. But the single most effective thing that I did was to fill half of my plate with low carbohydrate vegetables for lunch and dinner. This resulted in a weight loss of nearly eighty pounds and allowed me to manage my blood sugar without insulin or medication.

I discovered this secret in a number of weight management books. The first was a book called The GI Diet, written by Rick Gallup and printed by Workman Publishing. Mr. Gallup suggested that we fill fifty percent of our plate with low carbohydrate vegetables, 25 percent with grains or starchy vegetables, and 25 percent with a protein selection. I implemented this plan by using 1-1/2 cups of low carbohydrate vegetables, 3/4 cup of grains or starchy vegetables and three ounces of meat or meat substitutes. To this, I added between-meal snacks of fresh fruit and a moderate evening dessert.

I have since found this formula in three other publications: The Holford Low GI Diet by Patrick Holford, published by Atria Books; The New Glucose Revolution - Low GI Eating Made Easy by Jennie Brand-Miller and Kaye Foster-Powell, published by Marlow & Company; and The Simple 0-to-10 GI Diet by Azmina Govindji and Nina Puddefoot, published by Ulysses Press.

Eating Foods with a Lower Energy Density

Even though these books were written about the glycemic index, the suggestions incorporate the principle of eating foods with a lower energy density; that is, fewer calories per serving. For example, all of the following servings have equivalent calorie counts:

2 Fig Newtons
1/2 cup of pork and beans
1 cup of Cheerios
1-3⁄4 cups of chopped apples
2-1⁄4 cups of strawberries
3-2/3 cups of popcorn
5-1⁄2 cups of chopped celery
9 cups of spinach
11 cups of shredded lettuce

We could easily eat a half dozen Fig Newtons without thinking, but can anybody sit down and eat eleven cups of shredded lettuce? The more foods that we can eat with a lower energy density, the easier it will be for us to manage our weight.

The Mayo Clinic Energy Density Food Pyramid

The Mayo Clinic has developed a food pyramid that ranks foods according to energy density:

The foods at the bottom of the pyramid have the lowest energy density, and the foods at the top of the pyramid have the highest energy density. We need to eat servings from each of the food groups in order to get all of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that our bodies require. The Mayo Clinic suggests that we eat at least four daily servings of low carbohydrate vegetables, three daily servings of fruits, four servings of grains or starchy vegetables, three servings of protein and three servings of healthy fats (45 calories each). If we are still hungry, we should select foods toward the bottom of the pyramid.

Covert Bailey’s Smart Eating Food Target

Possibly the earliest eating plan that incorporated this principle was developed by Covert Bailey in his book The Fit or Fat Target Diet, published by Houghton Mifflin Company. This analysis was continued in Smart Eating, co-authored with Ronda Gates. In his books, Mr. Bailey took the pie chart containing the four food groups, which later developed into the food pyramid, and expanded it into a target. In the bull’s eye are those foods in each group that are lowest in calories and, in the case of carbohydrates, high in fiber. Each subsequent ring contains foods in each group that are higher in calories and/or lower in fiber.

By selecting foods from the center of the target, we lower both the energy density and the glycemic impact of the foods we choose to eat.

Measuring Energy Density

Much of the credit for furthering the research on energy density goes to Barbara Rolls of Pennsylvania State University. She is the author of The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan and The Volumetrics Eating Plan, both published by HarperCollins. Through research, it was discovered that most people tend to eat the same weight of food each day. By lowering the energy density of our diet, it is possible to be satisfied with fewer calories. This helps us both to lose weight and, once we have reached our weight goal, to keep our weight at a healthy level.

It was discovered that an actual number could be used to classify the energy density of foods. The formula is to divide the calories of the serving size by its weight in grams. The result is a number from zero to nine. An energy density of zero means that the food contains no calories. An energy density of nine means that the food is pure fat. The less fat that a food has, the lower its energy density. Also, the more fiber and the more water in the food, the lower the energy density. Dr. Rolls divides foods into four energy density categories:

Category 1: Very Low Energy Dense Foods: Energy density of less than .6. Eat satisfying portions of these foods. This category includes most fruits and vegetables, skim milk, and broth-based soups.

Category 2: Low Energy Dense Foods: Energy density of .6 to 1.5. Start to be cautious as the energy density increases. This includes many cooked grains, breakfast cereals with low-fat milk, low-fat meats, beans and legumes, and salads.

Category 3: Medium Energy Dense Foods: Energy density of 1.5 to 4.0. Watch portions sizes for these foods. This includes most meats, cheeses, high-fat mixed dishes, salad dressings, and some snack foods.

Category 4: High Energy Dense Foods: Energy density of 4.0 to 9.0 Limit portions of these foods. This includes crackers, chips, candies, cookies, nuts, butter. and full-fat condiments.

For my own use, I added a category of Super Low Energy Dense Foods. These are foods that have an energy density of less than .3. The only foods in this category are low carbohydrate vegetables, and they can be eaten virtually without limit. Some even speculate that they may be negative calorie foods. (A negative calorie food is one that takes more calorie energy to digest than is actually contained in the food.)

Losing Weight By Eating More

By using the concept of energy density as a guide to managing our weight, we are able to reverse the usual starvation method of dieting. We can actually lose weight by eating more of the right kinds of food. By eating low energy density foods, we become satisfied with fewer calories. Of course we could carry this to an extreme. We might reason that we could lose weight even more rapidly by eating nothing but low carbohydrate vegetables. But if we did so, our health would definitely suffer. We might have plenty of vitamins and minerals, but we would lack sufficient carbohydrates to power our brains. We would also lack sufficient protein to replace lost muscle mass, including the muscle mass in our heart and other vital organs. We could probably give our brains adequate nourishment by eating fruits as well as low carbohydrate vegetables, but we would still suffer from lack of protein. Only by combining good nutrition with calorie and carbohydrate management can we be successful.