How do I eat a high-calorie diet without sugar?

An article by Mindlift.ch, written by Coach Lo for cf-coach.ch

Here is the short version with the most important information:

Here the short version with the most important information: In order to nourish itself at the same time calorie-rich and healthy, one should renounce first not on any of the macronutrients (proteins, fats, coal hydrates). Fats have an energy density twice as high as proteins and carbohydrates (9kcal/gram) and also supply essential fatty acids, i.e. those which the body cannot produce itself and urgently needs. Carbohydrates are not essential for survival, but they are extremely useful. They are the fastest source of energy available to us and carbohydrate saturation lasts less than protein and fat saturation. Therefore, if we want to get at least about 3000 healthy calories per day, we should consider all nutrients.

Click here to go directly to the food recommendations

If you have to consume more calories due to a disease such as CF, for example, in which not all nutrients are consumed, you will only notice how difficult this can be, especially if you also want to eat healthily. It would be easy to press down a McDonalds or KFC menu twice a day, plus sugary frosties for breakfast and chocolate as a snack. In addition, there are sweet drinks several times a day and you have easily eaten 4000 to 5000 calories. Since junk food should be consumed only seldom, because of its high sugar content, the trans fats used and the addition of many chemicals, the daily diet has to be structured differently.

If the main concern is to avoid sugar as much as possible (the recommended maximum dose of 50g per day, which is often taken twice at breakfast, could be taken as a guideline), we have to resort to fats and healthy carbohydrate suppliers.

Fats have long been demonized as fat makers, which also has to do, for example, with the fact that in the 1960s scientists were bribed by the sugar industry to publish studies that portray fats as unhealthy and promote sugar as a valuable and healthy source of energy. It was the birth of breakfast cereals, margarine and light products (which now contained no fat, but much more sugar). But fats are healthy, the body needs fat, for example, to absorb vitamins, since some of them are only fat-soluble. Cholesterol, for example, is used to support the body's cells, and so on. In addition, fat has the highest energy density at 9 kcal per gram, carbohydrates and proteins are in the race at 4.4 kcal per gram.

Before we now throw ourselves on the bacon for our next shopping spree and pass by the vegetable area, it should be said that, first of all, you can overdo it with fats, and there are different fats, which are not all equally healthy or unhealthy. The same applies to carbohydrates. Fruits also consist of sugar, rice provides a lot of carbohydrates and pasta with 70g carbohydrates per 100g pasta is very popular. And then there are the proteins. So what should I eat?

The most important macronutrient is protein. We need protein to prevent (or slow down) muscular atrophy, to build up more musculature, and to heaps of biochemical processes in the body depend on proteins or their smaller components, the amino acids. Of these, about 2.2g / kg body weight / day should be consumed. In the optimal case from as different sources as possible: Eggs are great, also dairy products like cheese or cream are suitable, especially because of the high fat content, but you have to pay attention to the compatibility, and of course fish and meat. As far as possible from a financial point of view, the origin of animal proteins should be taken into account: Organic meat, animals that have only been fed with grass and local meat from animals from farms with healthy outdoor husbandry are certainly better (also for the environment) than foreign, grain-fed and antibiotically stuffed meat. It is also important to pay attention to diversity, it is essential to diversify the diet, i.e. different fishes, red meat, white meat, sometimes meat-free days, etc.

It is also possible to eat more proteins than the recommended amount, which certainly does not have any disadvantages, but probably also no additional advantages.

Fats: Due to their high energy density, fats are well suited for replenishing energy reserves or increasing the amount of energy eaten. However, it is very important to pay attention to good sources. Trans fats, which can be found in margarine, fast food or ready meals, for example, do us more harm than good. They are usually used because they are much cheaper than good fats. Fortunately, good fats are also abundant in healthy foods, and you don't have to feel compelled to spoon out an avocado every day. Even the best food becomes boring at some point. So here are a few good sources of fat:

Coconut fat can be used well for frying, it has healthy fatty acids and a high smoke point, it also gives the dish a delicious taste and enriches it with calories, which is very desirable in this case. Meat is also suitable again for absorbing fat. Occasionally it may be fried bacon for breakfast, when choosing meat you can use fatty beef steaks instead of fillets and also many kinds of fish like salmon have very good omega-3 fatty acids and accordingly a few extra calories. Sausages should not be eaten every day because they are processed, but can provide many animal fats in between, which can also be healthy and useful. As with proteins, dairy products are also used here. If we tolerate these, cheese and similar products are suitable for eating fats that also taste good (if you like cheese). Butter is also an excellent source of fat and can be used for cooking or as a spread on bread if you want to eat bread. In addition, various vegetable fats in the form of oil are suitable to enrich the diet with healthy fats. Olive oil in the salad dressing, for example, does not have to be saved, pumpkin seed oil tastes very good and can also be used to cook or arrange the salad.

Now we come to the controversial carbs. In their simplest form, we also call them sugars and try to avoid them. But sugar is not only useless: it is the fastest energy supply available to us, which means that carbohydrates are the best option if we need a relatively large amount of energy in a relatively short period of time, for example during training. In addition, there are many different ways to consume carbohydrates, including bad, good and everything in between. Since we pay special attention to our health, fruits and vegetables should be mentioned first. They provide many important vitamins, minerals and trace elements and are indispensable for a healthy diet. In the case of fruit, they also provide a certain amount of carbohydrates in the form of fructose. Sweeter fruits include grapes and bananas. Vegetables also supply carbohydrates, albeit in small quantities, on average between 5 and 10 grams per 100 grams of vegetables. But they also supply the above-mentioned important micronutrients. Spring cabbage, for example, boasts 120mg of vitamin C. For comparison: a lemon has 51mg and an orange about 20mg vitamin C. Other particularly good sources of carbohydrates include rice, couscous, polenta, potatoes and the like. They are certainly not unhealthy and quickly put a few carbohydrates on the plate, which are digested more quickly than fats and proteins and thus make room for more more more quickly.

Recommendations

Proteins: Basically all types of meat, so poultry, game and other red meat, if you tolerate it also pork and as many different fish species as possible. I would do without sausages, however, if possible, because additives are used in their production which could also cause damage.  Contrary to popular opinion, however, meat is clearly a healthy and important food that provides many useful nutrients! Eggs are also very healthy and recommendable. Not everyone can tolerate it, but if you are lucky, you should also use dairy products such as cheese as a source of protein.

Fats: Some of the above mentioned foods provide a lot of fat and calories at the same time. When it comes to meat, you can choose more fatty steaks instead of lean fillets, the fat not only improves the taste, animal fat is not necessarily unhealthy either (it depends on the amount). The same applies to fish, eggs and cheese, as well as a few good fats, milk, full cream and yoghurt (Attention: sugar!). Avocados are also known for their high fat content, and the same applies to various types of nuts, which are also highly recommended. In order to enrich your meals with additional calories, you should cook with sufficient oil. For short frying or salad dressings olive oil (pay attention to "extra vergine"!) is suitable, for the frying pan otherwise also coconut fat or butter is recommended.

Carbohydrates: Are they really as bad as is often claimed recently? Of course not. It depends on the way. Carbohydrates are chips and gummy bears as well as rice and vegetables. We should avoid simple sugars whenever possible. That means chocolate, cake and other snacks should be saved for special events. Pasta and bread should also be consumed with caution, many do not tolerate gluten without knowing it, and these are processed products. All types of rice, fruit and vegetables are harmless (vegetables do not provide much energy, but many important micronutrients, i.e. vitamins, minerals and trace elements).

General recommendations: Regardless of the calorie target, we should drink regularly and a lot. When creating the menus, make sure to bring in a lot of variety, i.e. different types of meat and fish, different vegetables and fruits, and so on.

And a last tipp: Search the Internet for ketogenic recipes (ketogenic diet or ketogenic diet). These consist to 75% of fat and become a real calorie bomb with a carbohydrate-rich supplement.