Q: Does Calorie Density mean I have to eat under a certain amount of calories per meal?
A: NO! Absolutely not. Once you have an understanding of calorie density, you should NEVER have to measure, weigh or portion control your meals. EVER. This is one of the biggest benefits of eating according to calorie density… the peace of mind of not having to worry about counting calories or eat under your hunger drive.
Q: Then, what do I need to know?
A: You need to know the calories per pound of the foods you eat – and eat as much of the foods that are under 700 cals per pound until you’re comfortably full. Let me explain it this way – Imagine I had 5 big bowls, and I fill bowl #1 with a pound of chocolate, bowl #2 with a pound of boiled potatoes, bowl #3 with a pound of raw spinach, bowl #4 with a pound of steamed rice and bowl #5 with a pound of sugar. Although the weight of the contents of each of the bowls are all the same one pound – the calorie content of that pound is VERY different. The each contain a completely different amount of calories. So depending on which pound of food you eat, you’re consuming a high amount of calories or a lower amount of calories.
Q: So, what does that mean for me? How do I know what to eat?
A: Every single thing you eat should be under 700 calories per pound – eat as much of it as you need to in order to feel comfortably full. Do not limit yourself to tiny portions – because you are eating lower calorie dense foods, you will likely need to eat larger portions of food than you’re used to.
Q: What foods are under 700 calories per pound?
A:
- Fruit (in it’s whole form – not fruit juice)
- Vegetables (not cooked in oil)
- Potatoes
- Sweet Potatoes
- Rice
- Beans
- Legumes
- Oatmeal
- Millet, barley
Q: Does this mean I can’t eat ANY foods that are above 700 calories per pound if I want to lose weight?
A: Depends – how quickly do you want to lose weight and how much extra weight do you mind carrying on your body? If you only slightly reduce your consumption of highly calorie dense foods like oil (4000 cals per pound) and peanut butter (2665 cals per pound) then you may lose some weight but it may not be enough to reach your ideal weight range for your height.
Q: What about drinks? Do those count?
A: Yes, stick with water and opt for smoothies (which retain the fiber of the fruit) vs. juices which are more calorically dense.
Q: Isn’t it going to be really boring eating this way?
A: It doesn’t have to be. For delicious low fat recipes, I recommend visiting youtube channels like:
If you are just learning about this way of eating now – be easy on yourself. It’s going to be a process of learning and trying new meals and allowing your palette to adjust. When you first stop eating packaged and processed foods, you may crave them and it may take a while for these whole food plant based meals to taste good… but they will in time. If you need to season your rice and veggie dishes with a bit of soy sauce or sriracha, that’s not the end of the world – but do not consume any dressings or sauces with oil. This will defeat the purpose and work against your weight loss goals. Remember, olive oil is almost 4000 calories per pound… the highest item on the scale of calorie density. I know you may have a lot of questions, like : isn’t oil healthy, don’t we need to add it to our food? — click here to learn more: and Don’t we need to eat nuts for health? Click here to learn more.
