While most diets you hear about involve a reduction in calories, some individuals require a high-calorie diet. Common causes include cancer, Huntington's disease, severe burns, malnutrition, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and other illnesses. A high-calorie diet may be required as you recuperate from surgery. Some athletes need extra calories while they are training for an event. Increasing your caloric intake can be tricky; adding a variety of foods with nutritional value is important.
Drink Your Calories
Beverage calories can add up quickly. Consider drinks made from whole milk or other dairy products, such as milkshakes and drinkable yogurt smoothies. Add wheat germ, whole fruit, fruit nectar or peanut butter for extra calories. Drink these between meals rather than as a meal replacement.
Increase Cereal Intake
Granola cereals often contain large amounts of calories. They can be eaten with whole milk, honey and nuts. Oatmeal, grits, cream of wheat and cream of rice can be eaten with butter, sugar and cream. These items can be consumed at breakfast or as a bedtime snack.
Add Lots of Toppings
Consider ways to add toppings to each food you eat. Add butter or margarine to potatoes and other vegetables, cheese to a hamburger, cream and sugar to hot tea, extra meat to pizza, oyster crackers to soup and mayonnaise to a sandwich. Nuts, molasses, coconut, raisins and seeds also add calories to food.
Space Your Meals and Drinks
Eat six small meals each day, suggests the Columbia University Medical Center. This can give you a higher caloric intake than three medium-sized meals, particularly if your appetite isn't good. Avoid drinking during your meal, opting to drink after each meal and between meals instead. Drink water but avoid other calorie-free beverages, such as diet soda.
Choose Hearty Soups and Stews
Many milk-based soups, such as cream of potato, cream of celery and cream of mushroom soups, are high in calories. Soups containing cheese, dumplings or chunks of meat are also good choices. Hearty stews with beef or fish, potatoes and other vegetables can be eaten with saltine crackers. Chili made with ground beef and beans also adds extra calories to the diet.
Add Extra Eggs
Add extra eggs to foods, suggests the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. Scrambled, raw eggs can be added to casseroles, baked macaroni and cheese, meatloaf, meatballs, pancakes and waffles prior to cooking. Boiled eggs can be added to chef's salad, chicken salad, tuna salad and sandwiches.
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