The following is a transcript of a report by Call 4 Action reporter Aaron Saykin that first aired July 23, 2007, on WTAE Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m.

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Most people like the idea of going on a diet. Actually doing it -- especially eating less -- is the hard part.

What if a diet allowed you to eat and eat and eat until you were full?

As it turns out, there is such a diet. It was developed locally and it's winning rave reviews.

College is a place most associate with gaining weight, but at Penn State University, one professor appears to have unlocked the secret to losing it.

"There are a couple of women who sent me their before or after pictures," said Volumetrics diet creator Dr. Barbara Rolls. "They've lost 200 pounds. Amazing. It's changed their lives."

What may amaze you most is how the diet works.

Instead of starving yourself, Volumetrics allows you to eat more.

"Bigger is better," said Rolls. "Big volume. Fewer calories."

Two of Rolls' diet books recently shot to the top of the New York Times best-seller list.

Last month, Volumetrics was named the top-rated diet by Consumer Reports, which called it a diet with no gimmicks.

"What you want to do is make sure that you have the fewest calories for each bite you take," Rolls said.

With Volumetrics, you can still eat what you like. You'll just end up wanting less of it.

For example, Volumetrics recommends light soup and a salad with your meal. That way, you'll eat less of the meal, having already filled up on foods with a lot of water in them and fewer calories.

"This is your typical day of eating," Rolls said.

To demonstrate, Rolls set up two 1,600-calorie diets -- one with the foods most of us eat, and the other with the Volumetrics twist.

For breakfast, you could have three-quarters of a cinnamon bun -- or with Volumetrics, for the same calories, you could have yogurt, cereal, orange juice, milk and half of a cantaloupe.

For lunch, you could have half of a cheeseburger, small fries and a soda. With Volumetrics, you could have a light chicken salad sandwich on wheat, soup, coleslaw and a diet soda.

For a snack, you could have a serving of chips and dip, or a mammoth veggie platter with Volumetrics.

And for dinner with Volumetrics, you could have a huge plate of pasta primavera, a salad, raspberries and pudding -- or without it, garlic bread and a serving of fettuccine alfredo.

What do people say when they see the difference between the two types of meals and their similar calories?

"I think people are blown away," said Rolls.

Leading nutritionists also seem impressed.

The director of the Weight Management Center at UPMC recommends Volumetrics to many of her patients.

"You can have one to two pounds a week with this on a permanent basis," said director Dr. Madeline Fernstrom. "It's slow and steady, and that wins the weight loss race."

The downside, according to Consumer Reports, is that Volumetrics, like most other diets, is hard to stick with.

Also, all of those fresh fruits and vegetables can be expensive.

"We're going to keep doing our studies, keep producing data to show that it works," Rolls said. "Everybody has to find what they can tweak in their own eating that makes it healthier, makes it lower in calories, density and makes it something they enjoy. If you don't do that, nobody is going to sustain."

For more information about the diet, Click Here.

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