Underweight individuals sometimes adopt a high-calorie diet to achieve a healthy weight. When you eat more calories per day than you burn, your body stores the excess energy, increasing your weight. Certain foods are not appropriate for a high-calorie diet because they do not contain many calories or contribute to ill health. Before adopting a high-calorie diet, talk to your physician to make sure it is safe and healthy for you.
Nonfat Foods
Many people purchase nonfat or low-fat foods to reduce their overall fat intake and lose weight. On a high-calorie diet, eating non-fat foods in lieu of full-fat products lowers your overall calorie consumption. For example, one cup of skim milk contains 83 calories while an equivalent amount of whole milk has 149 calories. Substituting full-fat products for non-fat alternatives helps you add calories to your meals.
Low Energy Density Foods
A food's energy density refers to its number of calories per gram. Foods with a high energy density have more calories per gram than low density foods. Individuals on a high-calorie diet should avoid eating large quantities of low energy density foods. These foods fill your stomach without adding many calories to your diet. Eating large portions of watermelon, apples, carrots, grapefruit and other low density foods may decrease your hunger, but not boost your calorie consumption. It is important to eat moderate amounts of fruit and vegetables, which tend to have a low energy density, but eating too many of these foods could prevent you from achieving your weight goal.
Processed Foods
When beginning a high-calorie diet, your impulse may be to eat fast food, pizzas, frozen dinners and other processed foods that contain a lot of calories. While these foods add calories to your diet, they also contain unhealthy fats, cholesterol and sodium that may negatively affect your health. To get the same number of calories without as many unhealthy nutrients, add healthier high-calorie foods to your diet. Drink protein shakes, cook with oils and eat nuts, dried fruits, full-fat dairy products, eggs, peanut butter, avocados, lean beef and fish to boost your calorie consumption.
Soda
Drinking several servings of soda every day increases your calorie consumption, but may not be healthy. Soda contains relatively high levels of sugar, which increases your risk of type 2 diabetes and other chronic illnesses. Replace soda with protein shakes, low-fat or whole milk, fruit juice or another beverage that contains extra calories without a lot of added sugar.
Considerations
Eating three large meals per day may not be the best strategy for someone following a high-calorie diet. Instead, eat six smaller meals throughout the day. Maximize your calorie consumption by ensuring each meal has protein, such as eggs, meat, fish, dairy products or soy. Eat high-calorie snacks frequently throughout the day to increase your energy levels and calorie intake. Nuts, seeds, peanut butter and other protein-rich foods make good snacks.
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