15 Tips for Losing Weight on a Low Energy Density Diet

There are lots of simple ways you can follow a low-energy-density diet to help you reach your weight loss and health goals. For example, you can reduce the energy density of a dish quite dramatically just by changing a few ingredients.

Top 15 tips for creating a lower energy density diet and helping you to
lose weight without going hungry or counting calories:

1. Choose foods with a high-water content, which includes dishes where water is added during cooking (e.g. soups, casseroles and stews), as these tend to have a very low energy density.
2. Add extra vegetables to starters or main dishes to bulk them up without adding extra calories e.g. add extra vegetables to stir fries, stews, chilli, pasta dishes and salads.
3. Bulk up meals by adding extra pulses, such as beans, peas and lentils. Pulses are high in fibre and protein and filling, but low in calories e.g. add extra beans to a chilli, soup or salad. You could also add some extra (brown) rice or pasta to soups or salads to make them more filling.
4. Avoid meat, animal products, junk foods (such as ice-cream, sweets and pizza) and fried foods.
5. Use brown or wholegrain varieties of foods such as bread, breakfast cereals, rice and pasta. These contain more fibre which will help to fill you up for longer.
6. Choose non-animal protein alternatives, such as lentils, tofu and soy mince.
7. Add more liquids to dishes to help bulk them up without adding extra calories e.g. add extra tinned tomatoes to a chilli or pasta sauce.
8. Avoid use of refined fats such as margarine, butter, and vegetable oils.
9. Salads can be a great low energy density food, but not when they are smothered with high fat dressings! Try using low fat salad dressings, for example, those based on lemon juice or vinegar.
10. Use up leftover vegetables to make soups and stews. Again, add extra pulses such as beans or lentils, to bulk up the dishes. Serve with some wholegrain rice or bread and you have a complete meal!
11. Have fresh fruit for desserts and snacks.
12. Consume an appetizer low in energy density. A practical approach to help moderate calorie intake is to consume a low-energy-dense food, such as a vegetable soup or a green salad, at the start of a meal.
13. Have plenty of foods low in energy density readily available. Having plenty of low-energy-dense food at home and at the office makes it easier to choose these foods over higher-energy-dense options. Frozen and canned fruits and vegetables are good options when fresh produce is not available or affordable. However, choose items without added sugar, syrup, or fat.
14. Choose water and other low-calorie beverages to quench thirst. While increased consumption of water-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, and broth-based soups can help control hunger while moderating calorie intake, increased beverage consumption is not likely to promote satiety.
15. Cutting calories too much slows your metabolism, reducing your calorie burning speed, and decreases leptin, a hormone that keeps your metabolism up and controls your appetite. Don’t diet!

Whole Vegan Plant Foods – high in nutrients, low in energy density

If you eat whole, natural plant foods, you don’t have to count calories, or worry about getting too much fat or carbs, or not enough protein, for example.

The beauty of healthy, whole plant foods is that they are not just low in energy density, but also naturally high in all the very best nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and phyto-chemicals, not to mention fibre. They are mostly naturally low in fat (the exceptions, such as raw nuts, seeds, avocado and whole olives – not oil - are healthy sources of plant fats and protein), low in salt and sugar. Even the natural sugar in fruit is of the low GI variety, as the fibre in the whole fruit ensures a slow release of the energy within.

It turns out that the best diet to lose weight - and keep it off - is also the most protective against the main killer diseases that afflict so many people in our society; including cancer, heart disease, stroke, dementia, type 2 diabetes and obesity.

The answer to the question, ‘what is the best diet to enable you to have and maintain a healthy weight and body?’ I believe is simple: whole-foods, plant-based vegan.

Tom Perry