The hypercaloric diet is an ideal diet to gain weight healthily.
This diet is necessary when the person has a very active metabolism, suffers from malnutrition or their pace of life is very fast, and they do not ingest the essential nutrients to maintain a healthy weight.
Read on to find out how to go on a hypercaloric diet and its benefits.
Hypercaloric Diet: What is it?
The hypercaloric diet, also known as high in calories, is a feeding method where the calorie balance is positive; that is, the calories consumed are greater than those expended.
One of the benefits of a high-calorie diet is achieving healthy weight gain. The hypercaloric diet is ideal for an ectomorph to gain muscle mass.
When doing a hypercaloric diet, it is advisable to increase your calorie intake by 10-20%. In addition, the balance of macronutrients: carbohydrates, proteins and fats should be 55:20:25. As well as always ensuring a correct supply of vitamins and microminerals.
Hypercaloric diet – How to do it?
The critical point when doing the hypercaloric diet is that the calories exceed no more than 20%. Otherwise, you are likely to gain weight as fat.
As for carbohydrates, they must have a moderate glycemic index and provide an amount close to 55% of total calories.
Protein consumption should be between 1.5 – 2.0 g per body weight; this should depend on the level of physical activity. (2)
Healthy fats should never be lacking, and they should cover the rest of the missing calories: about 25%.
Anyone eating a hypercaloric diet cannot ignore the following:
- Do not skip main meals, and you should add a snack or two between each dinner.
- Always include foods with vitamins, especially the B complex.
- Fiber foods should be eaten in small amounts.
- It would help if you did not eat salads or soups before each meal because they reduce the desire to eat the main dishes.
- A tablespoon of oil can be added to cooked dishes before eating.
- Supplements such as high-calorie drinks can be included to enrich meals depending on the nutritionist’s instructions.
- The words with eggs included are beneficial for gaining weight, such as omelets with vegetables and cheeses.
- Whole grain pasta, cereals, and rice should be eaten daily.
- Carbonated drinks should be avoided.
- Fruits should be consumed daily.
Common mistakes when going on a high calorie diet
In a high calorie diet, protein should not be the primary macronutrient. While it can give good results in the short term, a high protein intake is not only more expensive but can lead to nutritional imbalances. This is one of the most common mistakes when on a high calorie diet.
The latest research suggests about 1.5 – 2.0 g of protein for every kilogram of body weight is sufficient. For example, if a man weighs 75 kg, he needs to consume 100 – 150 g of protein per day. In muscle hypertrophy processes, work is done on the upper limit.
When doing a high-calorie diet to increase muscle mass, you should not forget to select high nutritional value carbohydrate sources, such as oats, amaranth, or buckwheat. This is essential to regenerate muscle glycogen, the primary energy source for muscle movement.
Benefits of a hypercaloric diet
The benefits of a hypercaloric diet are:
- The rapid increase in volume and muscle mass
With extra energy, muscles can proliferate. In particular, muscle volume is what is enhanced in this eating method. This is one of the most important benefits of a high calorie diet.
- Reduce cortisol and more testosterone
According to a study published by The International Journal on the Biology of Stress (1), eating a high-calorie diet can reduce cortisol, the stress hormone.
Cortisol, the stress-related hormone, acts in the opposite way to testosterone. Therefore one of the benefits of a hypercaloric diet could increase in testosterone in men.
- Healthy weight gain
The relationship is simple: more calories, more weight. In a balanced hypercaloric diet, weight gain occurs healthily. Getting this benefit is not gorging on junk foods and high-sugar products. Including healthy oils and fats is essential.
- More muscle mass in ectomorphs
The ectomorphic body somatotype has a tendency to be thin. The most significant difficulty for this type of physique is increasing lean muscle mass. A hypercaloric diet or an adequately balanced volume diet is the most indicated in these cases.
Foods allowed on a hypercaloric diet – What should you eat?
Here is a list of excellent foods to eat on a high calorie diet. They are considered energy-laden foods but with high nutritional value.
- Coconut oil
Coconut oil has a unique quality: a supply of fatty acids with short carbon chains. A type of fat is ideal for healthily gaining weight. Its consumption is related to the stimulation of the production of essential hormones for the increase of the muscles.
- Olive oil
To gain weight, Get in the habit of adding about 10-20 g of raw olive oil to each meal. This translates to about 180 kilocalories of high quality and a good supply of vitamin E.
- Amaranth
The amaranth is considered a superfood. Besides having a medium glycemic index, this food is rich in magnesium and iron—two essential minerals for the proper functioning of the muscular system.
BuckwheatThe buckwheat is a pseudocereal whose proteins provide all the essential amino acids. In addition to being an inexpensive food, it is of high nutritional value and high in complex carbohydrates—something necessary in a hypercaloric diet.
- Avena
The oats are rich in magnesium and iron. Oatmeal should be one of the primary sources of carbohydrates in a hypercaloric diet; including it at breakfast or in the form of oatmeal pancakes is an excellent idea to increase calories.
- Tuna
A tuna steak contains proteins of high biological value. So making an association between tuna and fitness is correct. In addition, it has a high content of Omega-3, a type of essential fat to optimize the hormonal system; eating 200 g of tuna can supply the recommended dose of Omega-3 fatty acids per day.
- Meats
Although meats are foods allowed in a hypercaloric diet. It is essential to emphasize their quality, not its quantity when talking about meats. Processed industrial meat products should be avoided. They have been declared a level 1 carcinogen by the WHO. (4)
- Honey
The moderate consumption of honey, especially before and after physical exercise, is ideal for boosting your muscles’ energy. 100 g of honey provides 300-320 Kcal, most of which are simple carbohydrates. This type of carbohydrate is associated with increased hunger – the key: is moderation.
ABSTRACT
The hypercaloric diet is one where the calorie balance is positive. It is recommended that the energy increase does not exceed more than 10-20% of normal.
One of the benefits of a high calorie diet is to achieve muscle growth quickly.
Protein should not be the main component in a hypercaloric diet – its excess can cause a drop in testosterone levels.
Examples of foods allowed on a hypercaloric diet are coconut oil, olive oil, oats, amaranth, salmon, legumes, meats, and honey.
One of the benefits of a hypercaloric diet is reducing cortisol, the stress hormone.