21 Nigerian Foods With The Most Calories

Hi guys, so with questions I get on how to lose weight, and how to gain weight, I believe this article will help you in knowing what foods to eat more of, or eat less of - depending on what your body goals are.

Please note that I'm not asking you to totally avoid these foods. You can eat them - in moderation - depending on what your goals are. The idea is to let you know how fattening they can be if you consume them in large quantities, and live a sedentary lifestyle while at it.


First, it’s important to know your BMI (Body Mass Index) first so you know if you’re underweight, overweight, or perfectly healthy. A BMI of 25.0 or more is overweight, while the healthy range is 18.5 to 24.9.

To gain weight, you need to eat more calories than you burn, and to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you eat; but typically, the recommended calorie intake for a woman is 2,000, and for man, it's 2,500 according to National Health Services. 


You can calculate the calories you burn daily using this calorie calculator


Without much ado, below is a list of Nigerian foods with the most calories. You also need to know that some of these foods can be found in other countries; not just in Nigeria.


1. White rice — 206 calories per cup

2. Fufu — 330 calories per wrap

3. Pounded yam - 126 calories 

4. Eba — 363 calories per 100g

5. Fried plantain — 68 calories per slice

6. Beans — a cup of cooked beans with palm oil contains 520 calories

7. Nuts - even though they're packed with healthy calories; but eat in moderation

8. Banana — a finger contains 'about' 100 calories - and this is dependent on the size.

9. Margarine — 717 calories per 100 grams

10. White bread - 265 calories per 100 grams

Ps, one of the easiest ways for me to get fat is by eating bread on a daily. Please note that it isn’t very healthy too.

11. Semovita — 600 calories per cup, and I bet you didn’t know.

12. White all-purpose flour — 455 calories per cup

13. Soybeans — 310 calories per cup (cooked)

14. Amala — 352 calories per cup

15. Moi-moi — 306 calories per wrap (depending on the content)

16. Okpa — 250 calories per wrap (depending on the content)

By the way, I love okpa so much!

17. Indomie noodles — 370 calories per 70g pack

18. Egusi soup - 593 calories! 

19. Corn — 90 calories 

You'll gain weight if you eat corn in excess, and did you also know that corn can spike your blood sugar?

20. Pap — 319 calories per 100g!

Yes, pap is fattening - especially when you mix it with milk. This is one food I'll never like for any amount of money. I've always hated it from infanthood, and I remember my mum always forced me to take it, lol; and weird thing about it, is that it was never plain pap - she mixed it with milk, chocolate powder, or crayfish. Ikr!. 

Maybe that's one of the reasons my skin is effortlessly healthy and flawless so I'm still grateful to her.

21. Pastry foods a.k.a small chops!

Bonus tips on how to gain weight


* Eat more often


* Eat more calories than you burn


* Eat healthy, but high calorie meals


* Drink milk


* Snack on nuts. They have high and healthy calories


* Lift weights to build your muscles


* Don’t drink water before eating. Your stomach will get filled up thereby making you eat less.


* Use bigger plates to eat


* Eat before and after your workout

To lose weight,

* Eat with smaller plates

* Drink water few minutes before you eat

* Do more of aerobic exercises

* Drink a lot of water

* Get enough sleep at night

* Be active

* Be patient with yourself. You didn't gain weight in a day; so you can't lose everything in a day!


So that’s it, guys. I hope you find this helpful? I'm sure there are more foods high in calories; but I feel like these are the ones we eat everyday.. xx


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