High-calorie nutrition – who is it recommended for? Overview of calorie-dense foods and meals

A high-calorie diet should not be a random approach but rather based on the principles of healthy eating, while also ensuring an appropriate caloric surplus relative to individual needs. The goal of this diet is to provide at least 500 kcal/day more than the daily energy requirement, which will allow for a systematic, steady weight gain of approximately 0.5 kg per week.

Here are some practical tips for individuals aiming for healthy weight gain:

• Ensure Meal Variety: Consume 5–6 small meals regularly at fixed times.
• Include All Food Groups: Plan your menu to include food products from all groups in appropriate proportions.
• Foundation of the Daily Diet: Whole-grain products should form the basis of your daily menu, such as wholemeal bread (rye, graham, pumpernickel), natural flakes (oats, spelt, millet, barley, rye), coarse groats (buckwheat, pearl barley), and brown rice.
• Diversify Your Plate: For instance, serve one slice of wholemeal bread and one of wheat bread for breakfast, or for lunch, white rice with red or wild rice, enhanced with aromatic herbs.
• Protein-Rich Foods: Do not forget products rich in complete protein. Good sources include animal products (eggs, milk and dairy products, poultry, veal, beef, fish) as well as plant-based products (legumes), from which you can prepare tasty sandwich spreads or soups.
• High-Energy Density Products: Include high-energy density products in your planned menu (olive oil and vegetable oils, nuts, dried fruits, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds). Nuts, dried fruits, or natural flakes make an excellent snack and a valuable addition to prepared dishes.
• Quality of Fats: Pay attention to the quality of fats consumed, reducing the proportion of saturated forms. Instead, choose those rich in unsaturated fatty acids, especially polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids. You will find them in vegetable oils (olive oil, rapeseed oil), walnuts, pumpkin seeds, avocados, and fatty sea fish (salmon, Atlantic mackerel, herring). These products will also contribute to increasing the energy density of your diet in a healthy way.
• Minimize Processed Foods: Limit the consumption of highly processed foods (bars, filled wafers, instant products, and fast food) due to their high content of simple sugars and trans fatty acids.
• Healthier Sweet Alternatives: To increase the energy value of your diet, opt for healthier alternatives by preparing sweets based on valuable, natural ingredients (milk-fruit smoothies; natural yogurt with fresh or dried fruits, cereal flakes, nuts, or pumpkin seeds; fruit salad; cereal cookies with dried fruits and honey).
• Enhance Flavor and Stimulate Appetite: You can enrich prepared dishes with spices, dried or fresh herbs (Cilantro / Coriander, ginger, cumin, dill, basil, marjoram, rosemary), which will further enhance the taste of the dishes and stimulate your appetite.

A high-calorie diet is dedicated to individuals with underweight who wish to gain weight in a healthy manner. In practice, it should be introduced gradually to accustom the body to an increased portion of calories. An adequate caloric surplus will also be necessary in the diet of people with various diseases who often experience malnutrition problems, such as hyperthyroidism, cystic fibrosis, chronic pancreatitis, or eating disorders (anorexia nervosa).

In these cases, as well as in any other, a high-calorie diet is recommended, tailored individually for each patient, taking into account physical activity, coexisting diseases, and potential nutrient deficiencies. Professional dietary consultation is crucial to ensure that weight gain is healthy and sustainable, without adverse health effects.

To increase the energy density of the diet, it is recommended to include high-calorie products in meals. It is known that the caloric value of food is greatly influenced by the cooking method: frying in fat; adding butter, olive oil, vegetable oils (sunflower, rapeseed, grapeseed) to prepared dishes, as well as seasoning them with cream, if tolerated by the patient.

However, it is worth noting that we have a large group of healthy products that provide not only a significant amount of calories but also vitamins, mineral ingredients, and many other compounds with health-promoting properties (dried fruits, banana, avocado, nuts, sunflower seeds). Dried fruits, nuts, muesli, or even dark chocolate are excellent as components of various desserts and as a tasty snack.

Interesting Fact!

The energy value of food products primarily depends on their water and lipid content – the main energy carriers. (Table 1)

Table 1. Fat and Energy Content in Selected Food Products [2]

• Edible Fats: 80 – 100% Fat (very high), 750 – 900 kcal/100 g
• Nuts, Halva, Chocolate, Crackers, Bacon, Smoked Eel: 20 – 40% Fat (high), 450 – 600 kcal/100 g
• Oatmeal, Pasta, Groats, Fatty Meats and Cold Cuts, Yellow Cheeses, Cream: 10 – 20% Fat (medium), 250 – 400 kcal/100 g
• Bread, Lean Meat, Poultry Cold Cuts, Eggs, Cottage Cheese, Fruit Preserves, Ice Cream: 2 – 15% Fat (low), 150 – 250 kcal/100 g
• Lean Fish, Vegetables and Fruits, Mushrooms, Milk: 0 – 2% Fat (very low), 30 – 100 kcal/100 g.

Planning nutrition for individuals aiming to gain weight, in light of contemporary weight-loss trends, poses a significant challenge. Reluctance to consume regular meals, not only among underweight individuals, is usually caused by a lack of ideas, motivation, and time to prepare tasty, wholesome dishes. Therefore, it is very important to consider the patient's/client's personal preferences regarding the selection of products and dishes, as well as to provide guidance on time management and culinary variations using various cooking techniques.

Attention!

This menu is dedicated to healthy individuals without digestive tract ailments or other coexisting conditions who wish to gain weight in a healthy way.

Breakfast:

• Omelet with smoked salmon, spinach, and cherry tomatoes
• Weak infusion of black tea with rose jam

Second Breakfast:

• Wholemeal bread with dried plum (1 slice)
• Hummus
• Greek yogurt with buckwheat honey, kiwi, and walnuts

Lunch:

• Cream of broccoli soup with croutons
• Boiled potatoes with dill
• Cod baked in foil with dill and garlic
• Carrot salad with horseradish and walnuts
• Freshly squeezed orange juice

Afternoon Snack:

• Strawberry-blueberry smoothie with kefir (fat content: 2%) and dried dates

Dinner:

• Wholemeal bread (2 slices)
• Butter with Greek-style yogurt
• Greek salad
• Forest fruit tea

A high-calorie diet undoubtedly requires self-discipline and a kilogram of patience, because the art is not to provide the body with a caloric surplus through visits to local fast-food restaurants, but rather in the right motivation to act, valuable dietary tips from a dietitian, and the patient's adherence to these recommendations.