High volume, low calorie foods that keep you full

Key takeaways

• High volume, low calorie foods have few calories per gram, usually because they hold a lot of water, fiber or air. Cucumber, tomato, spinach and cauliflower are all 25 calories or fewer per 100 grams in USDA's data.⁷⁸⁹¹⁰¹
• People tend to eat a fairly steady weight of food, so the calories per gram of what's on the plate shape how many calories that weight holds.¹
• In the 1995 satiety index, equal 240 calorie servings of 38 foods varied about sevenfold in fullness, and fullness tracked serving weight, water, fiber and protein.²
• In a year-long trial with no calorie goals, the group coached to add fruit and vegetables ate a greater weight of food and reported less hunger.³

What are high volume, low calorie foods?

High volume, low calorie foods are foods with few calories per gram, so a big portion holds a modest number of calories. Most are high in water, fiber or air, like cucumbers, leafy greens, berries, melon, broccoli, cooked oatmeal and air-popped popcorn.^{7912111316221}

Researchers call this energy density, measured in calories per gram. A 2009 review by Rolls notes that people tend to eat a fairly steady weight of food, so the energy density of what's on the plate shapes how many calories that weight holds.¹

High volume, low calorie foods list

Here are common foods from USDA FoodData Central, sorted by calories per 100 grams. The first eight rows are more than 85 percent water by weight.^{7891011121314}

What foods keep you full?

A 1995 study built a satiety index of common foods. People ate 240 calorie servings of 38 foods and rated their fullness every 15 minutes for 2 hours. Boiled potatoes scored highest, at 323 percent of white bread, about seven times the croissant's 47 percent.²

Fullness scores rose with the weight of the serving, and with its water, fiber and protein. Fat content went the other way. Since every serving had the same calories, the heavier, wetter servings were the lower energy density ones.²

Protein adds fullness at the same calories. In a 2005 study of 19 people, raising protein from 15 to 30 percent of calories, with calories held the same, made people feel markedly fuller.⁴

Fiber is the part most people are short on. Only about 5 percent of people in national surveys meet the recommended fiber intake.⁶

Does high volume eating work?

A year-long trial gave 97 women with obesity one of two sets of advice. One group was coached to reduce fat. The other was coached to reduce fat and eat more water-rich foods, mainly fruit and vegetables. Neither group got a calorie goal, and both were told to eat as much as they wanted while following their advice.³

Both groups lost weight over the year. The fruit and vegetable group ate a greater weight of food, had a lower energy density diet and reported less hunger.³

The research has limits. Rolls notes that controlled studies lasting more than several days are limited, so much of what's known comes from short lab studies plus a few longer trials.¹

Is energy density the whole story?

Not quite. In a 2019 inpatient study, 20 people ate freely from two menus for 2 weeks each, one ultra-processed and one unprocessed, matched for calories offered, sugar, fat, fiber and other nutrients. They ate 508 more calories a day on the ultra-processed menu.⁵

The two menus matched on energy density only because drinks were counted. The solid foods on the ultra-processed menu had 1.957 calories per gram, against 1.057 on the unprocessed menu, and people ate meals on that menu faster, by 17 calories a minute.⁵

So energy density was still part of the picture. That doesn't put any food off limits. It shows why two meals of the same size can hold very different numbers.⁵¹

Why is popcorn high volume but not low in calories per gram?

Volume and weight aren't the same thing. Air-popped popcorn has 387 calories per 100 grams, but USDA lists a cup at 8 grams, about 31 calories. It's high in calories per gram and low in calories per cup.²²

Oatmeal shows the opposite. Dry oats have 379 calories per 100 grams, and oats cooked with water have 71, because cooking adds water. Dry oats are 10.8 grams water per 100 grams, and cooked oatmeal is 83.6.²¹¹⁶

How to log high volume foods

• Log the portion you actually ate, by weight or by cups.
• Match the entry to the state you measured, raw or cooked, dry or cooked.
• Log fruit and vegetables along with everything else, so the day is complete.
• Log dressings, oils and toppings as their own lines.
• In TrueCal with Pro, type the meal the way you'd say it, such as a big salad with two tablespoons of dressing, and it's added to your log.

Common myths

• Myth, a big portion always means few calories. Air-popped popcorn is about 31 calories a cup, but 387 per 100 grams, so weight tells you more than size.²²
• Myth, fullness depends only on calories. In the satiety index, servings with the same 240 calories ranged from 47 to 323 percent of white bread's fullness score.²
• Myth, high volume foods are only vegetables. Plain nonfat Greek yogurt, cooked oatmeal and baked potatoes are all under 100 calories per 100 grams in USDA's data.¹⁵¹⁶¹⁷

A note on medical advice

This article is for general information and isn't medical advice. If food or eating feels hard to think about, talk with your clinician.

Worked example

A cup of diced watermelon weighs 152 grams and has about 46 calories. A cup of cooked white rice weighs 158 grams and has about 205. The two cups look and weigh about the same, but energy density puts very different numbers in them, which is why the food and the amount matter more than the size of the bowl.¹¹¹⁹

A closer look

In the 1995 satiety index, people ate 240 calorie servings of 38 common foods and rated their fullness for 2 hours. Boiled potatoes scored 323 percent of white bread, about seven times the croissant's 47 percent, and fullness tracked serving weight, water, fiber and protein, while fat went the other way.²

Questions and answers

Related guides

• How to track calories
• High protein, low calorie foods
• How to read a nutrition label
• Calories in watermelon
• Calories in broccoli
• Calories in popcorn
• Dry oats vs cooked oatmeal

Sources

1. Physiology and Behavior. Rolls. 2009.
2. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Holt. 1995.
3. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Ello-Martin. 2007.
4. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Weigle. 2005.
5. Cell Metabolism. Hall. 2019.
6. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. Quagliani, Felt-Gunderson. 2017.
7. Cucumber, with peel, raw. USDA FoodData Central. 2019.
8. Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average. USDA FoodData Central. 2019.
9. Spinach, raw. USDA FoodData Central. 2019.
10. Cauliflower, raw. USDA FoodData Central. 2019.
11. Watermelon, raw. USDA FoodData Central. 2019.
12. Strawberries, raw. USDA FoodData Central. 2019.
13. Broccoli, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt. USDA FoodData Central. 2019.
14. Oranges, raw, all commercial varieties. USDA FoodData Central. 2019.
15. Yogurt, Greek, plain, nonfat. USDA FoodData Central. 2019.
16. Cereals, oats, regular and quick, unenriched, cooked with water, without salt. USDA FoodData Central. 2019.
17. Potatoes, Russet, flesh and skin, baked. USDA FoodData Central. 2019.
18. Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt. USDA FoodData Central. 2019.
19. Rice, white, long-grain, regular, enriched, cooked. USDA FoodData Central. 2019.
20. Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, roasted. USDA FoodData Central. 2019.
21. Cereals, oats, regular and quick, not fortified, dry. USDA FoodData Central. 2019.
22. Snacks, popcorn, air-popped. USDA FoodData Central. 2019.
23. Nuts, almonds. USDA FoodData Central. 2019.
24. Oil, olive, salad or cooking. USDA FoodData Central. 2019.