If you have trouble bringing your weight to a healthy level, try consuming a high-calorie, whole food diet. Follow the sensible and realistic dietary guidelines designed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which recommends a diet composed of a variety of vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, whole grains, legumes, eggs, low-fat dairy foods and non-saturated fats. To maintain good health, eat a nutrient-dense diet instead of empty calories found in high-calorie fast food hamburgers and pizzas.
Fruits, Vegetables and Grains
Whole food are foods that are not processed into white sugars or white flours or bleached to remove vitamins. For example, brown rice retains the whole germ that covers the grain and has B complex vitamins, while white, polished rice is stripped of these vitamins. The USDA recommends eating whole grains, including quinoa, oats, millet, brown basmati rice and whole groats.
This is also true of vegetables and fruits. Consume corn on the cob or steamed asparagus or broccoli instead of corn chips and eat apples and oranges instead of fruit juices. Eat baked new, sweet or russet potatoes instead of french fries to get the benefit of higher calories, no saturated fat, fiber and complex carbohydrates.
Eat Unsalted Nuts, Seeds and Oils
Include high-calorie, whole foods, such as nuts and seeds and oils extracted from them. For example, 1/4 cup of almonds has 160 calories and provides about 6g of protein. The same quantity of walnuts provides 220 calories. Consume nuts that are not salted (which would increase the risk for developing high blood pressure and heart disease) or fried (trans fat is formed in all fried foods and contributes to heart disease).
Non-Saturated Oils
Heart-healthy, non-saturated fats are high in calories but will not raise cholesterol levels and the risk for heart disease. Non-saturated fats include olive oil, canola oil, flax seed, hemp seed and fish oils. For example, a tablespoon of flax seed oil has about 120 calories and is non-saturated. Drizzle flax seed oil on salads, cooked vegetables, potatoes or toast. Do not heat and cook with flax seed oil, however; it will become rancid.
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