Looking to gain about 10 lbs by September. Any suggestions?

I am eating about 2000 cals a day.

Here is most of the stuff that I eat:

Bananas, Grapes, Apples, Pears

Raisins

Potatoes

Carrots

Quinoa

Rice Cakes

Legumes (pinto, black beans, peanut butter)

Almonds

Any suggestions? Should I increase my fat intake past 10%? Or jsut eat a ton more carbs?

I haven't had a period in about 2 years, and my hair is falling out :(

I have been eating a plant based diet for the past two years.

I am going to a dermetologist this week, should I ask him about B12? I take a b12 multivitamin with a DV of 133% of b12.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I have graduated from college and going for a personal trainer's certificate. I don't want to be too underweight to train others. :P

Tags: b12, butter, hair, loss, peanut, underweight

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer P on June 24, 2012 at 10:31am

I am using the Cronometer. I haven't found the book yet, the only place that I found that I could get it was at Barnes and Nobles, but they would have to order it for me and it would be about 30 dollars. My ratios are about 85/7.5/7.5 on the average. My eating habits two years ago were terrible... brownies, shakes, meat, you name it. I started looking into losing body fat, but it spiralled into not eating enough, over exercising (into an eating disorder due to an abusive household.) But, I just recently left that, and I am working on gaining strength back. :)

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Permalink Reply by Jenee the Fruity Gypsy on June 24, 2012 at 5:13am

If you wanna gain weight you need to eat way more calories from fruit than you are eating and start lifting weights. You dont wanna gain fat, but rather lean muscle tissue. Get those calories in :-)

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer P on June 24, 2012 at 10:32am

My arms are so skinny... I'm worried that if I lift with them they will get skinnier. :(

And I am working on the cals! :)

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Permalink Reply by Richie Fruitbat on June 24, 2012 at 5:31am

Hey I went from alarmingly underweight to a perfect BMI of 21.5 and it took me literally 1 month to do it. I did it by getting 3000 calories a day BARE MINIMUM, and often hit nearly 4000. I got the bulk of my calories from bananas, so meals were often as simple as a 10 banana smoothie. I'd say yeah work on eating more fruit, track your calories in Cronometer/Fitday as Meg says, and keep the fat and protein relatively low. Skip the nuts and legumes, just focus on the fruit and other clean carbs. Look up the members: Esperanza Vite and 40andFitOnFruit - Jessica. They both had the same experience as me, so I'm not a one off. This works!

As for B12, I believe shots are the best source with a sublingual being second best (the tablet you dissolve under your tongue. It's possible to take a Non sublingual B12 pill and still be low due to absorption issues.

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer P on June 24, 2012 at 10:34am

Wow, incredible. I actually saw your video before. I will definitely look into your friends' stories! I really appreciate the support. I am so confused about the b12, I am on a budget and I was just wondering what would be the most inexpensive treatment of b12. Would you not recommend a multivitamin?

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Permalink Reply by Richie Fruitbat on June 24, 2012 at 6:35pm

The Multivitamin MIGHT be working for you, but shots will DEFINITELY work. As far as I'm aware, a sublingual is not as good a bet as shots, but is far better than just a regular tablet. Personally I'm using a sublingual as I can't get hold of shots here in Bulgaria.

These are the B12 sublinguals I use. I'm sure you could find something similar online that will ship to your location. If you can find B12 shots online though, go for it! I don't believe they are that expensive. Good luck, and happy weight gaining ;-D

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Permalink Reply by 40andFitOnFruit - Jessica on June 24, 2012 at 8:12pm

Hi Richie and Jennifer! =)

Yes I also gained on this lifestyle. But I didn't start gaining until I passed 2700 cals. Just like Richie said, you need to up your calories! I had a hard time to get in 2000 in the beginning but I slowly upped it toward 2500, then 2700 and finally 3000.

Good Luck and we are here for you!

Love

Jessica

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Permalink Reply by Kimberry on June 24, 2012 at 5:49am

I would focus on fruit and eat more of it, more like 2500-3000.
If your hair if falling out, maybe you're not getting all the nutrients you need? I too recommend Cronometer.com to track your calories and everything. Put in everything for your typical day and see what comes up.
Also, check out this chart, it contains an awesome description of nutrients, what they're for, and what to eat to get them. Look at the ones for hair. :) How is your vitamin A, for example? I recommend greens for that.
http://www.healthalternatives2000.com/vitamins-nutrition-chart.html

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer P on June 24, 2012 at 10:34am

I have been using Cronometer. Thank you for the chart!!!

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Permalink Reply by Jared Six on June 24, 2012 at 6:14am

Regardless of diet, trying to gain 10 pounds by September while only eating 2,000 calories is going to be quite a challenge, and if you exercise (much less are trying to become a personal trainer) it will be even more difficult.

Can you tell me why you are currently eating 2,000 calories a day? Is it because you physically can't eat much more than 2,000 calories a day or is it because you mentally are fearful about eating as much as most of use here do?

Have you had any blood tests done recently? Getting one would end the guessing games about B12 and could also possibly shed some light on your current health challenges.

I noticed that I you didn't list any greens in your list of foods that you currently eat. If you aren't eating any greens right now please start, and if you don't like eating greens yet I would encourage you to make green smoothies or even some celery juice if that's what it takes to get some greens in your diet.

Welcome to 30BAD by the way! I wish you luck on your goal to be a certified personal trainer :)

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer P on June 24, 2012 at 10:36am

I am not worried about eating them :) I love fruit and veggies! I just don't have that big of an appitite at times. I have had bloodtests done about a year ago. Thanks for your encouragement! :)