Thinning Hair

lmm2323

I have been on this weight loss adventure for nearly a year and about 5 months ago I noticed my hair was falling out/thinning. I have had had blood tests and my thyroid is okay and I am not low on iron which seems to be the most common causes for thinning hair. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I am thinking dietary causes. I am trying to eat balanced meals but I do have periods of time where they aren't so balanced.

QueenBishOTUniverse

Thoughts off the top of my head since you haven't given people much to go on.... most common reasons I've seen here for hair thinning; not eating enough period; not eating enough fats; extended periods of dieting at lower (but reasonable) calories with no maintenance breaks, underweight.

My basic advice would be up to maintenance calories and make sure you're hitting your fat macros. Give it a month and reevaluate with your doctor.

Kalikel

It is so hard to be a woman and have your hair fall out. It just sucks so badly.

Ask your doctor about it and absolutely get yourself referred to an endocrinologist.

I tried everything (except eating high amounts of fat or taking drugs) to get my hair back. Nothing worked. It's just gone. I had to choose between a wig and wispy hair. I chose wispy because it's just too damn hot in the summer for a wig.

But it sucks.

brntwaffles27

Usually it has to do with not getting enough protein, also just aging will thin hair. Sometimes using a biotin supplement can help with the aging hair loss effects, but I would just try eating more protein first.

Charlottesometimes23

lmm2323 wrote: »

I have been on this weight loss adventure for nearly a year and about 5 months ago I noticed my hair was falling out/thinning. I have had had blood tests and my thyroid is okay and I am not low on iron which seems to be the most common causes for thinning hair. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I am thinking dietary causes. I am trying to eat balanced meals but I do have periods of time where they aren't so balanced.

Unfortunately it can be an age/hormonal (post menopause) thing, and for some people it's genetic. It happened to my sister and mother, although my mother had a skin condition which has since cleared up and her hair has returned.

It would be good to get checked out by the doc who may suggest iron studies and other tests, to see if it could be a deficiency/imbalance.

Best of luck.

mathandcats

What is your average caloric intake, and how much protein are you getting?

Juvenica

hair and menstrual cycle are actually related , your gynechologist should ask you about hair problems or vice versa , your dermatologist about your period. but I can tell u this much, there is no medicine, other than eating healthy greens ,drink water, massaging your scalp every week or so , some oils seem to help ( castor oil I think its for roots ) . beware of other problems in your daily life , hair falls a lot more and scalp hurts when you might be more stressed and in result ur period might be irregular as well . good luck

Juvenica

I don't know your age, but yes that has a lot to do with it , and genetics

BlueHarebell

I had very thick hair and it suddenly started coming out almost in handfuls. I got pretty worried. However, I am now on maintenance, back to slathering butter on my bread etc. and guess what it's stopped falling out and is actually starting to thicken again. So my guess, for me anyway, I wasn't eating enough fat whilst dieting. Hope this helps.

Tortitudekitty

You say your thyroid blood panel was OK?

Have you actually seen the results or did the GP say they were "OK" or "In range".

I would get the blood test results in your hand and post the results on a thyroid patient forum (just Google thyroid forums, it doesn't matter if they are in the US or UK, thyroid misdiagnosis is a worldwide problem). If you read up you will find that how our bodies work on a hormonal level is so intrinsically related to diet, minerals, vitamins, and that's just for starters! What looks normal on paper is just how it was at the time your bloods were taken!

You need the result and the range which will be in brackets after the figure. Too many docs are saying things are OK because bloods are in range yet people are still suffering symptoms. Too much reliance on blood results and not enough observing and listening to the patient and how they feel!

Just saying because I'm going through the same problem. Not losing hair on my head but I have no body hair and have lost half my eyebrows! Worst thing is that I am totally unable to lose inches off my abdomen which is serious adipose fat and I'm still 2 stone overweight despite weight training, cardio activity and a clean diet in recommended deficit parameters for over 10 months now. I have lost absolutely nothing, zilch.

I have therefore squared up to my GP and say I've done my side of the bargain, now do yours.....find out what is wrong, despite thyroxine meds and get it sorted! He now suspects that I have an issue with T3 uptake receptors or a problem with T2 which is reckoned to be responsible for catabolism.
Sadly a lot of endocrine specialists are also stick-in-the-muds over thyroid issues as well.

There are some enlightened doctors and consultants out there who have taken a deep interest in what is a very difficult part of medicine but there are also a lot of patients who can give you advice on how to approach after having been through the "getting fobbed off" roundabout.

Wishing you the best because it's horrid that a woman loses her crowning glory.

QueenBishOTUniverse

Before we get ahead of ourselves with what it could be, lets eliminate the simplest and most common causes first. OP, from your profile, you've been dieting for a year and have lost 120lbs. meaning you've been averaging a loss rate of about 10lbs/month. Now, when you still had 200lbs to lose, that was probably a reasonable rate of loss. BUT, it probably is not now. I would recommend slowing down to 1.5 to 2 pounds a week at this point.

Second, you have been living under a fairly decent calorie restriction to have lost at that rate. Again, probably fine at the time, but you've been at that calorie restriction for a while. You're system likely needs a break.

Finally, if you've done like many dieters, you've likely reduced your fat intake the most since many dieters commonly think they need to buy "low fat" food items if they are on a diet. This may have caused you to under eat fats over the last year. ALL of those factors are commonly known to contribute to hair loss, and they're all VERY simple to fix.

Calculate your maintenance calories. Eat at maintenance for a month. Make sure you are hitting your fat macro.

IF that does not alleviate the problem, THEN start looking for other explanations.

abatonfan

Please, GET YOUR BLOOD SUGAR CHECKED!

I was in a similar experience a year ago. I ended up experiencing extreme unexplained weight loss (about 60 pounds in three months), other symptoms (extreme thirst, excess urination, fatigue), and started losing a ton of hair. After my hair stylist noticed how bad my hair was thinning, she recommended that I go to the urgent care to get my thyroid checked. Turns out, I was in diabetic ketoacidosis, was a type 1 diabetic, and could have gone into a diabetic coma within 24 hours.

Liftng4Lis

How restrictive is your diet?

lmm2323

from your profile, you've been dieting for a year and have lost 120lbs. meaning you've been averaging a loss rate of about 10lbs/month. Now, when you still had 200lbs to lose, that was probably a reasonable rate of loss. BUT, it probably is not now. I would recommend slowing down to 1.5 to 2 pounds a week at this point.

For the past two months my rate of loss has slowed down. I am averaging about 2 pounds a week. Some weeks more, some less.

Second, you have been living under a fairly decent calorie restriction to have lost at that rate. Again, probably fine at the time, but you've been at that calorie restriction for a while. You're system likely needs a break.

I am at about 1200-1400 calories/day. Protein is 100-122g/day. Most days it is closer to 100 than 122.

Finally, if you've done like many dieters, you've likely reduced your fat intake the most since many dieters commonly think they need to buy "low fat" food items if they are on a diet. This may have caused you to under eat fats over the last year. ALL of those factors are commonly known to contribute to hair loss, and they're all VERY simple to fix.

I really haven't paid attention to other dietary factors other than less carbs, more vegetables and fruits, less red meat, more fish more often. Yes, you are correct though, I would guess that the amount of fats in my diet is much less than it was.

Calculate your maintenance calories. Eat at maintenance for a month. Make sure you are hitting your fat macro.

IF that does not alleviate the problem, THEN start looking for other explanations.[/quote]

Thank you for your input. I really do feel this is dietary more than anything else.

psuLemon

As you approach your goal weight your deficit should decrease. So looking to add in some more calories could help this. Also, how are your fats.

missiontofitness

lmm2323 wrote: »

I have been on this weight loss adventure for nearly a year and about 5 months ago I noticed my hair was falling out/thinning. I have had had blood tests and my thyroid is okay and I am not low on iron which seems to be the most common causes for thinning hair. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I am thinking dietary causes. I am trying to eat balanced meals but I do have periods of time where they aren't so balanced.

Are you eating enough calories? Protein? Fat?

m3hodge

Start taking Biotin with keratin. I am a stylist and I recommend this to all my clients, including myself with thinning hair:)

ljashley1952

A good friend of mine went on a strict vegan diet for a year and a half, but she experienced a lot of hair loss, too. She didn't totally go off of the basic principles of the Eat to Live diet, but she did add in some fish and a bit of cheese or chicken now and then and that did the trick. No more hair loss. I think some people lose hair when they are not getting enough protein.

Psychgrrl

Biotin supplements, along with making sure you have enough protein, zinc, selenium and iron. Most multi-vitamins do not contain the RDA of biotin, magnesium, selenium and zinc. Brazil nuts are a tasty source of several of these nutrients.

My doctor has told me that the hair is the first thing your body shorts of nutrients if you're not getting enough. Which can happen on a restricted calorie diet.