High Calorie Diet Example

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Premise

The following indications are for informational purposes EXCLUSIVELY and are not intended to replace the opinion of professionals such as a doctor, nutritionist or dietician, whose intervention is necessary for the prescription and composition of PERSONALIZED food therapies.

Hypercaloric diet

The high-calorie diet is a diet useful for providing more energy, nutrients and water than the diet for maintaining weight; it is used to restore the weight (weight INCREASE) of subjects assessed as underweight (ie with a body mass index <18,5 points), and / or malnourished.
In some cases, the high-calorie diet can represent a valid support for heavy gymnastics training focused on the development of muscle mass (increase in the transverse section of the bundles), as long as they respect the fundamental principles of dietetics.

Principles of the high calorie diet

The high-calorie diet provides more nutrients than those necessary to maintain a constant body weight and, like other food therapies, must be composed on the basis of some fundamental principles:

1. Nutritional balance of energetic macronutrients: 25% lipids, 0,75-1,5g / kg of desirable physiological weight of proteins, the rest of the energy in the form of carbohydrates
2. Guarantee of essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals (it is sufficient to follow the guidelines of a good and healthy diet)
3. MAXIMUM energy surplus of 10% compared to the normo-caloric
4. Containment of potentially harmful nutrients if in excess: cholesterol, added sucrose, sodium chloride (Na), saturated fats, in some cases even fiber, etc.
5. Energy breakdown of meals into at least 5 or 6 meals per day.

Practical directions

On a practical level, the high-calorie diet is not difficult to draft; it is sufficient to set a normo-caloric + 10% of the energy, adapt the protein intake according to needs (between 0,75 and 1,5g / kg) and choose the foods correctly to achieve all the recommended needs (iron, calcium, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, etc.).
NOTES: The high-calorie diet must be followed exclusively for the period useful to restore the condition of EUnutrition, of normal weight, or (reasonably) to achieve the sporting goal.

Example setting and translation of a high calorie diet

SUITABLE FOR:

• "University student passionate about videogames"

INITIAL SETTING

Translation of day 1

Comment

The most important nutrients for the high-calorie diet have been translated in the table above; observing the portions of consumption and the values ​​obtained in the total, it seems obvious that always and in any case falling within the recommended rations summarized in the LARN (Recommended Nutrient Intake Levels for the population of your country) is not an easy task.
The protein share is acceptable, even if slightly higher than the estimate of the initial setting; fatty acids of animal origin (probably predominantly saturated) are higher than 10% of the total energy but, on the other hand, are quantitatively lower than the national average (36g / day - 12% of the total energy). The amount of cholesterol is well below the recommended limit (300mg / day), as is the sodium contained in food (included in the safety range proposed by the Commission of the European Communities, 1993: 575 mg / day - 3500 mg / die) even if it does not take into account the one added by the subject.

High calorie diet menu example - Day 2

High calorie diet menu example - Day 3

High calorie diet menu example - Day 4

High calorie diet menu example - Day 5

High calorie diet menu example - Day 6

High calorie diet menu example - Day 7

Supplements for the high calorie diet

In the event that the subject has particular difficulties in following the high-calorie diet, there remains the possibility of resorting to some food supplements; personally I would avoid the pure ones, that is mainly protein or maltodextrins for endurance sports. On the contrary, it is advisable to resort to gainer-type products, which in their composition (in addition to vitamins and mineral salts) are able to sufficiently satisfy both the energy needs of carbohydrates and the plastic needs of proteins and amino acids.