No libido & thinning hair

Stats: Male, 20, 6'0, 134 lbs.

First off, yes I'm aware I'm at an underweight BMI.

Lost around 50-60 lbs in 3 months by eating below 1,000 calories per day and intense cardio 7 days a week.

During this time, I've noticed that my hair has been thinning and my sex drive has completely gone away. I figured it was because my body was malnourished and that it would return once I started eating healthy amounts again. However, over the last month or so I've been eating around 2200-2400 calories a day and it still has not returned. I'm thinking maybe it's because I'm underweight? If this is the case, do I need to put on more fat or should I try to gain more weight in muscle mass with strength training? Also is there a chance I've done any permanent damage to my body?
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Replies

  • Karb_Kween
    Karb_Kween Posts: 2,681 Member
    I think it might be permanent but I'm not an MD
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    Check in with your doctor. How much fat are you getting in your daily diet? Fats are important for hormonal functioning. Sounds like you messed that up. It could certainly be related to being underweight, and most likely related to malnourishment. It can take months to correct those imbalances.
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
    Fast weight loss and malnutrition is gonna do that to you. It will take more than a month to recover.

    I suggest you keep an eye on getting in adequate fat and protein, as well as appropriate calories for your body.

    If it doesn't come back within a few more months of eating appropriately, see a doctor.
  • drivennightrunner87
    drivennightrunner87 Posts: 302 Member
    edited November 2016
    Congrats on the loss/tenacity...there r plenty of underweight men with full heads of hair. i highly doubt you've done permanent damage to your body. U were just FED up...which is perfectly understandable. I was too! FAT has its ways, mostly negative...Continue eating at a reasonable amount (make sure you're getting enough iron and protein), incorporate a high quality multi-vitamin + (at least) 3000-5000 mcg of biotin everyday and try minoxidil foam (rub it into your scalp every night)...hopefully if your issue isn't genetic, your hair will thicken up again...

    Also, not sure about the lack of sex drive. I'm especially sexual when I restrict cals/liquid fast/over-exercise...maybe because i feel a lot cleaner/less polluted
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    It might not be permanent, but it may take quite a while for you to fully recover. In the grand scheme of things, a month is a very short space of time. I would also recommend talking to your doc.
  • Sued0nim wrote: »
    Congrats on the loss/tenacity...there r plenty of underweight men with full heads of hair. i highly doubt you've done permanent damage to your body. U were just FED up...which is perfectly understandable. I was too! FAT has its ways, mostly negative...Continue eating at a reasonable amount (make sure you're getting enough iron and protein), incorporate a high quality multi-vitamin + (at least) 3000-5000 mcg of biotin everyday and try minoxidil foam (rub it into your scalp every night)...hopefully if your issue isn't genetic, your hair will thicken up again...

    Also, not sure about the lack of sex drive. I'm especially sexual when I restrict cals/liquid fast/over-exercise...maybe because i feel a lot cleaner/less polluted

    You don't congratulate someone for dropping from a healthy weight to an unhealthy weight by consuming a dangerously low level of calories for an extended period, you commiserate

    The man needs a work up and a decent nutritional plan

    St his starting weight his BMR was 2000 calories, his TDEE even at moderately active probably closer to 3000

    He consumed well below nutritional minimums for 12 weeks losing approximately 5 lbs week demonstrating a daily defecit of 2500 calories

    That is potentially damaging ...that has been specifically damaging

    He needs to replenish his body, gain some weight and see a doctor
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    Congrats on the loss/tenacity...there r plenty of underweight men with full heads of hair. i highly doubt you've done permanent damage to your body. U were just FED up...which is perfectly understandable. I was too! FAT has its ways, mostly negative...Continue eating at a reasonable amount (make sure you're getting enough iron and protein), incorporate a high quality multi-vitamin + (at least) 3000-5000 mcg of biotin everyday and try minoxidil foam (rub it into your scalp every night)...hopefully if your issue isn't genetic, your hair will thicken up again...

    Also, not sure about the lack of sex drive. I'm especially sexual when I restrict cals/liquid fast/over-exercise...maybe because i feel a lot cleaner/less polluted

    You don't congratulate someone for dropping from a healthy weight to an unhealthy weight by consuming a dangerously low level of calories for an extended period, you commiserate

    The man needs a work up and a decent nutritional plan

    St his starting weight his BMR was 2000 calories, his TDEE even at moderately active probably closer to 3000

    He consumed well below nutritional minimums for 12 weeks losing approximately 5 lbs week demonstrating a daily defecit of 2500 calories

    That is potentially damaging ...that has been specifically damaging

    He needs to replenish his body, gain some weight and see a doctor

    Well...i don't see a BMI in the low 18's that underweight tho (18.5 is still considered normal actually)...now if he was really, really underweight/continued to lose weight, it would be a cause for concern as people can experience heavy symptoms like heart problems and getting hospitalized...i honestly don't see anything wrong with maintaining an 18ish BMI by eating an appropriate amount--if that's something u want....
  • Sued0nim wrote: »
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    Congrats on the loss/tenacity...there r plenty of underweight men with full heads of hair. i highly doubt you've done permanent damage to your body. U were just FED up...which is perfectly understandable. I was too! FAT has its ways, mostly negative...Continue eating at a reasonable amount (make sure you're getting enough iron and protein), incorporate a high quality multi-vitamin + (at least) 3000-5000 mcg of biotin everyday and try minoxidil foam (rub it into your scalp every night)...hopefully if your issue isn't genetic, your hair will thicken up again...

    Also, not sure about the lack of sex drive. I'm especially sexual when I restrict cals/liquid fast/over-exercise...maybe because i feel a lot cleaner/less polluted

    You don't congratulate someone for dropping from a healthy weight to an unhealthy weight by consuming a dangerously low level of calories for an extended period, you commiserate

    The man needs a work up and a decent nutritional plan

    St his starting weight his BMR was 2000 calories, his TDEE even at moderately active probably closer to 3000

    He consumed well below nutritional minimums for 12 weeks losing approximately 5 lbs week demonstrating a daily defecit of 2500 calories

    That is potentially damaging ...that has been specifically damaging

    He needs to replenish his body, gain some weight and see a doctor
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    Congrats on the loss/tenacity...there r plenty of underweight men with full heads of hair. i highly doubt you've done permanent damage to your body. U were just FED up...which is perfectly understandable. I was too! FAT has its ways, mostly negative...Continue eating at a reasonable amount (make sure you're getting enough iron and protein), incorporate a high quality multi-vitamin + (at least) 3000-5000 mcg of biotin everyday and try minoxidil foam (rub it into your scalp every night)...hopefully if your issue isn't genetic, your hair will thicken up again...

    Also, not sure about the lack of sex drive. I'm especially sexual when I restrict cals/liquid fast/over-exercise...maybe because i feel a lot cleaner/less polluted

    You don't congratulate someone for dropping from a healthy weight to an unhealthy weight by consuming a dangerously low level of calories for an extended period, you commiserate

    The man needs a work up and a decent nutritional plan

    St his starting weight his BMR was 2000 calories, his TDEE even at moderately active probably closer to 3000

    He consumed well below nutritional minimums for 12 weeks losing approximately 5 lbs week demonstrating a daily defecit of 2500 calories

    That is potentially damaging ...that has been specifically damaging

    He needs to replenish his body, gain some weight and see a doctor

    Well...i don't see a BMI in the low 18's that underweight tho (18.5 is still considered normal actually)...now if he was really, really underweight/continued to lose weight, it would be a cause for concern as people can experience heavy symptoms like heart problems and getting hospitalized...i honestly don't see anything wrong with maintaining an 18ish BMI by eating an appropriate amount--if that's something u want....

    Yeah, no

    It is underweight ...there are more statistically significant risks to health being slightly under minimum BMI than over it on a macro population level

    but more importantly the rate of loss is damaging ...these are just his external and obvious symptoms ..he does not know how his internal organs have been affected, loss of muscle (heart is muscle yaknow), kidneys, gallstones etc

    Hence the see a doctor advice

    Dude, u need to srsly chillax and not throw things on the table that are non-issues...to be fair, he started at an overweight bmi and upped his calories to 2000+ after just 3 months... i personally have lost weight a little faster than usual and know a few that have too and we are fine.... if he's experiencing serious internal problems (which i highly doubt), i would NEVER have congratulated him... he lost about 15-20lbs a month temporarily, and then stopped and upped his cals to a reasonable amount which i encouraged
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    Yikes you have lost way too much. You need to go to the doctor. Are you sure you haven't developed an eating disorder?
  • drivennightrunner87
    drivennightrunner87 Posts: 302 Member
    edited November 2016
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    Congrats on the loss/tenacity...there r plenty of underweight men with full heads of hair. i highly doubt you've done permanent damage to your body. U were just FED up...which is perfectly understandable. I was too! FAT has its ways, mostly negative...Continue eating at a reasonable amount (make sure you're getting enough iron and protein), incorporate a high quality multi-vitamin + (at least) 3000-5000 mcg of biotin everyday and try minoxidil foam (rub it into your scalp every night)...hopefully if your issue isn't genetic, your hair will thicken up again...

    Also, not sure about the lack of sex drive. I'm especially sexual when I restrict cals/liquid fast/over-exercise...maybe because i feel a lot cleaner/less polluted

    You don't congratulate someone for dropping from a healthy weight to an unhealthy weight by consuming a dangerously low level of calories for an extended period, you commiserate

    The man needs a work up and a decent nutritional plan

    St his starting weight his BMR was 2000 calories, his TDEE even at moderately active probably closer to 3000

    He consumed well below nutritional minimums for 12 weeks losing approximately 5 lbs week demonstrating a daily defecit of 2500 calories

    That is potentially damaging ...that has been specifically damaging

    He needs to replenish his body, gain some weight and see a doctor
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    Congrats on the loss/tenacity...there r plenty of underweight men with full heads of hair. i highly doubt you've done permanent damage to your body. U were just FED up...which is perfectly understandable. I was too! FAT has its ways, mostly negative...Continue eating at a reasonable amount (make sure you're getting enough iron and protein), incorporate a high quality multi-vitamin + (at least) 3000-5000 mcg of biotin everyday and try minoxidil foam (rub it into your scalp every night)...hopefully if your issue isn't genetic, your hair will thicken up again...

    Also, not sure about the lack of sex drive. I'm especially sexual when I restrict cals/liquid fast/over-exercise...maybe because i feel a lot cleaner/less polluted

    You don't congratulate someone for dropping from a healthy weight to an unhealthy weight by consuming a dangerously low level of calories for an extended period, you commiserate

    The man needs a work up and a decent nutritional plan

    St his starting weight his BMR was 2000 calories, his TDEE even at moderately active probably closer to 3000

    He consumed well below nutritional minimums for 12 weeks losing approximately 5 lbs week demonstrating a daily defecit of 2500 calories

    That is potentially damaging ...that has been specifically damaging

    He needs to replenish his body, gain some weight and see a doctor

    Well...i don't see a BMI in the low 18's that underweight tho (18.5 is still considered normal actually)...now if he was really, really underweight/continued to lose weight, it would be a cause for concern as people can experience heavy symptoms like heart problems and getting hospitalized...i honestly don't see anything wrong with maintaining an 18ish BMI by eating an appropriate amount--if that's something u want....

    Yeah, no

    It is underweight ...there are more statistically significant risks to health being slightly under minimum BMI than over it on a macro population level

    but more importantly the rate of loss is damaging ...these are just his external and obvious symptoms ..he does not know how his internal organs have been affected, loss of muscle (heart is muscle yaknow), kidneys, gallstones etc

    Hence the see a doctor advice

    Dude, u need to srsly chillax and not throw things on the table that are non-issues...to be fair, he started at an overweight bmi and upped his calories to 2000+ after just 3 months... i personally have lost weight a little faster than usual and know a few that have too and we are fine.... if he's experiencing serious internal problems (which i highly doubt), i would NEVER have congratulated him... he lost about 15-20lbs a month temporarily, and then stopped and upped his cals to a reasonable amount which i encouraged

    Please don't tell me to "chillax" when you are posting from a position of lack of knowledge and congratulating someone on a damaging weight loss programme.

    Please just do some reading about nutritional minimums and studies on the side effects of rapid weight loss ..try starting with the initial post in this thread. The OP is experiencing some fairly significant externally obvious symptoms of an ill advised rapid weight loss

    You can doubt what you want, but you don't know, and neither do I, if he is experiencing any other issues that are currently asymptomatic which is why the advice to see a medic who can run tests and speak to him face to face

    You came onto this thread and congratulated him for weight loss rather than responding to his concerns. Weight loss is not the be all and end all, a scale drop is not a great thing in and of itself. Getting healthier is!


    ^ Well said.

    OP is suffering significant symptoms from an extremely unsafe (and medically unsupervised) VLCD. There may or may not be further damage, that would be an issue for a medical professional to address. Saying "attaboy" and telling him to shampoo and take a multivitamin and some biotin is bad advice bordering on reckless.

    Of course taking vitamins, using a thickening shampoo, etc. is pointless when you're undereating...but he said he wasn't.. but maybe what i did write was reckless and i should read/learn more... i did lose weight fast and do eat well now and was in the clear regarding blood work/check ups the whole time....but maybe that's not the case for others and shouldn't of assumed that because things worked out for me, they'll work out for anyone else with a similar height/ also in their 20's
  • JustinAnimal
    JustinAnimal Posts: 1,335 Member
    I'm no expert, but I used to read various articles on artofmanliness.com about how to raise testosterone. In my experiences reading (and being a very randy male), eating more eggs, asserting dominance, lifting weights, eating more meat in general... these things have helped with the testosterone for muscle building and for libido. Honestly, I've never had a problem with a libido. I do notice that the more healthy foods I eat and the more frequently I exercise, the better my libido.

    Eat some eggs, lift weights, and get that noodle rockin'!
  • JustinAnimal
    JustinAnimal Posts: 1,335 Member
    I just read the rest of this thread, and I stick by my "eat more eggs" sentiment. Good for all kinds of things, like thinning hair, low BMI, severe egg-related deficiencies, and general egginess (coincidentally, also my WoW handle).
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    I just read the rest of this thread, and I stick by my "eat more eggs" sentiment. Good for all kinds of things, like thinning hair, low BMI, severe egg-related deficiencies, and general egginess (coincidentally, also my WoW handle).

    How are eggs going to help when the user refuses to eat more calories? They would
    Just be replacing other calories with eggs. How does that help?
  • This content has been removed.
  • Deoxzi
    Deoxzi Posts: 26 Member
    edited November 2016
    How does someone consuming 2400 have issues with food? Was there a point in the past where I wasn't consuming enough calories? Yes. But now I'm eating healthy amounts. You're making it seem like I have an eating disorder or something. So why on earth would I need therapy? This is why I got annoyed with you replying to my posts, because you over exaggerate everything.
  • elphie754 wrote: »
    I just read the rest of this thread, and I stick by my "eat more eggs" sentiment. Good for all kinds of things, like thinning hair, low BMI, severe egg-related deficiencies, and general egginess (coincidentally, also my WoW handle).

    How are eggs going to help when the user refuses to eat more calories? They would
    Just be replacing other calories with eggs. How does that help?

    how is eating 2000+ calories a day "refusing to eat more calories"
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
    edited November 2016
    But the ppl who are constantly over-eating every single day and staying at high bmi's aren't, right?! No one really says anything to them....God forbid, u eat a little less for some time--medical intervention is always necessary or maybe even a locked mental ward[/quote]People did say something to me when I was overweight. The reason I buckled down and lost the majority of my weight is because my family wanted to have an "intervention" and send me to a weight loss camp.

    The idea of quick weight loss also led me to lose my cycle for a year and caused my hair to thin drastically. I've eaten a lot more for two or three years. My hair is a lot better, but it's still thin compared to before my VLCD.

    I wasn't healthy on my diet of Pop Tarts, fast food, and Coke.
    I also wasn't healthy eating 800 calories for a year. There's a reason a slow weight loss is recommended.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    Deoxzi wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    elphie754 wrote: »
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    Congrats on the loss/tenacity...there r plenty of underweight men with full heads of hair. i highly doubt you've done permanent damage to your body. U were just FED up...which is perfectly understandable. I was too! FAT has its ways, mostly negative...Continue eating at a reasonable amount (make sure you're getting enough iron and protein), incorporate a high quality multi-vitamin + (at least) 3000-5000 mcg of biotin everyday and try minoxidil foam (rub it into your scalp every night)...hopefully if your issue isn't genetic, your hair will thicken up again...

    Also, not sure about the lack of sex drive. I'm especially sexual when I restrict cals/liquid fast/over-exercise...maybe because i feel a lot cleaner/less polluted

    You don't congratulate someone for dropping from a healthy weight to an unhealthy weight by consuming a dangerously low level of calories for an extended period, you commiserate

    The man needs a work up and a decent nutritional plan

    St his starting weight his BMR was 2000 calories, his TDEE even at moderately active probably closer to 3000

    He consumed well below nutritional minimums for 12 weeks losing approximately 5 lbs week demonstrating a daily defecit of 2500 calories

    That is potentially damaging ...that has been specifically damaging

    He needs to replenish his body, gain some weight and see a doctor
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    Congrats on the loss/tenacity...there r plenty of underweight men with full heads of hair. i highly doubt you've done permanent damage to your body. U were just FED up...which is perfectly understandable. I was too! FAT has its ways, mostly negative...Continue eating at a reasonable amount (make sure you're getting enough iron and protein), incorporate a high quality multi-vitamin + (at least) 3000-5000 mcg of biotin everyday and try minoxidil foam (rub it into your scalp every night)...hopefully if your issue isn't genetic, your hair will thicken up again...

    Also, not sure about the lack of sex drive. I'm especially sexual when I restrict cals/liquid fast/over-exercise...maybe because i feel a lot cleaner/less polluted

    You don't congratulate someone for dropping from a healthy weight to an unhealthy weight by consuming a dangerously low level of calories for an extended period, you commiserate

    The man needs a work up and a decent nutritional plan

    St his starting weight his BMR was 2000 calories, his TDEE even at moderately active probably closer to 3000

    He consumed well below nutritional minimums for 12 weeks losing approximately 5 lbs week demonstrating a daily defecit of 2500 calories

    That is potentially damaging ...that has been specifically damaging

    He needs to replenish his body, gain some weight and see a doctor

    Well...i don't see a BMI in the low 18's that underweight tho (18.5 is still considered normal actually)...now if he was really, really underweight/continued to lose weight, it would be a cause for concern as people can experience heavy symptoms like heart problems and getting hospitalized...i honestly don't see anything wrong with maintaining an 18ish BMI by eating an appropriate amount--if that's something u want....

    Yeah, no

    It is underweight ...there are more statistically significant risks to health being slightly under minimum BMI than over it on a macro population level

    but more importantly the rate of loss is damaging ...these are just his external and obvious symptoms ..he does not know how his internal organs have been affected, loss of muscle (heart is muscle yaknow), kidneys, gallstones etc

    Hence the see a doctor advice

    Dude, u need to srsly chillax and not throw things on the table that are non-issues...to be fair, he started at an overweight bmi and upped his calories to 2000+ after just 3 months... i personally have lost weight a little faster than usual and know a few that have too and we are fine.... if he's experiencing serious internal problems (which i highly doubt), i would NEVER have congratulated him... he lost about 15-20lbs a month temporarily, and then stopped and upped his cals to a reasonable amount which i encouraged

    Yeah no. Based on this posters posting history, he has serious issues with food and really needs medical intervention, as well as possibly therapy.

    I usually look, but hadn't this time. Wow. OP, can you now see that you need help?

    Not surprising that this is the outcome. We tried to warn him but were called bad names, etc.

    I saw that. It's too bad. Maybe this will serve as a cautionary tale for others, but some are so certain that they are invincible. Too bad.

    What are you even talking about? The only advice I was given in that post was to up my calorie intake and I've increased it by roughly 600 cals but yea I definitely think I'm "Invincible".

    You said you've been eating at this higher level (2200-2400) for a month, but for a young male, even one who only weighs 134 lbs, that could easily still be below maintenance. Have you regained any weight in the past month? If not, you are still damaging your body. It's not reasonable to expect your symptoms to reverse until you gain some weight.
  • 777Gemma888
    777Gemma888 Posts: 9,578 Member
    Would recommend you see an Inhibited Sexual Desire Specialist @no libido OP, just in case it is psychosexual in nature.

    Best of luck!
  • hydrostation
    hydrostation Posts: 37 Member
    Strange, not one person has mentioned body fat percentage.

    Do you know what your current body fat percentage is? Calipers or a good scale can give you a good estimate.

    The reason I mention it, is because it's pretty well known that very low body fat percentages is a primary cause of low libido/sex drive. Many super low body fat body builders struggle with the same issue.

    Just speaking from experience, 7 days of cardio running on less than 1000cal a day isn't ideal. Your avg maintenance WITHOUT exercise is give or take 2000cal/day. Add in 30min to 1hr of cardio and that maintenance level just went to 2500-3000 a day. That's just to keep the same weight you have. You really want to make your deficit about 300-400 calories a day. This will effectively drop about .5-1lb of body fat per week.

    What is your current body fat %?
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    Strange, not one person has mentioned body fat percentage.

    Do you know what your current body fat percentage is? Calipers or a good scale can give you a good estimate.

    The reason I mention it, is because it's pretty well known that very low body fat percentages is a primary cause of low libido/sex drive. Many super low body fat body builders struggle with the same issue.

    Just speaking from experience, 7 days of cardio running on less than 1000cal a day isn't ideal. Your avg maintenance WITHOUT exercise is give or take 2000cal/day. Add in 30min to 1hr of cardio and that maintenance level just went to 2500-3000 a day. That's just to keep the same weight you have. You really want to make your deficit about 300-400 calories a day. This will effectively drop about .5-1lb of body fat per week.

    What is your current body fat %?
    Well... at that low of a weight it's pretty safe to say his BF % is too low