Hair Shedding IN MAINTENANCE

csplatt

I lost 15-20 lb eating 1300-1450 calories per day and felt fine. Current weight 132-136, 5’5’’ tall. Now that I am maintaining, my hair is shedding like crazy. I am either counting to around 1600 per day OR (most often) just eating more intuitively because I am eating out more now for celebrations, Mother’s Day tonight, etc. So far so good as far as reasonable fluctuations without putting fat back on. However, the last few weeks I am shedding a lot of hair—in shower, blow drying, in my brush. Thoughts?

cmriverside

Well you underate for a period of time and now the chickens have come back to roost. Or it could be thyroid or something else, but my money is on the undereating. It took about 3-4 months of me undereating before it showed up.

eb8566

Sorry that is happening. Mine is doing the same suddenly. It could be normal shedding but either way, it will pass. Consider taking a biotin supplement.

AnnPT77

I'd suggest visiting your doctor for relevant blood tests just in case (nutrients, thyroid).

But I agree about the possibility of a delayed effect from calorie restriction: What can happen is that a period of under-nutrition (low calories, low protein, or the like) creates weak points in the hair shaft during the time when it wasn't nourished to grow as vigorously. Those points are subject to breakage, possibly at a later time after enough mechanical stress on the weak points.

psychod787

Much like an anorexic. I know some of those issues. Hormone shifts... protein loss... really imho is you have to LET yourself recover.

psychod787

cmriverside wrote: »

Well you underate for a period of time and now the chickens have come back to roost. Or it could be thyroid or something else, but my money is on the undereating. It took about 3-4 months of me undereating before it showed up.

Please go easy.... we all KITTEN up. All we can do is LEARN and move forwards... 😊

PAV8888

Just a quick comment that if you lost an extensive amount of weight actually eating 1300 to 1450 and you're NOT simultaneously discussing how long it took, it is pretty unlikely that your actual maintenance is only 1600.... So you may be able to push it a little bit higher than that!

lorrpb

cmriverside wrote: »

Well you underate for a period of time and now the chickens have come back to roost. Or it could be thyroid or something else, but my money is on the undereating. It took about 3-4 months of me undereating before it showed up.

Yes. The thing is that some people here don't realize is that if they "feel fine" today, it doesn't always mean they're doing everything right. LOTS of problems don't show up for weeks, months, or years. Example: Smokers don't get lung cancer the day, month, or year they start smoking. That doesn't mean it's not causing problems, it just takes longer for them to show up.

MadisonMolly2017

I had thought the hair shedding was from an immunosuppressant that I take. Now I’m wondering if it’s that & my gradual weight loss over 3.3 years. I thought since I never lost more than 4-5 lbs in a month, this wouldn’t happen...

It makes me hopeful that my hair will get stronger now that I’m eating more. Thank you❣️

cheryldumais

Sounds like you lost weight really slowly so it's odd that you would have a hair loss issue from that. Might want to check with your doc. I will comment however that I had an issue with high hair loss 6 months after each of my kids were born so maybe any big change in your system can cause it?

cmriverside

cheryldumais wrote: »

Sounds like you lost weight really slowly so it's odd that you would have a hair loss issue from that. Might want to check with your doc. I will comment however that I had an issue with high hair loss 6 months after each of my kids were born so maybe any big change in your system can cause it?

Where did she say how long it took?

1300 for any younger woman of 5'5" is low. She doesn't mention using (eating) exercise calories. Hormone disruption/stress/malnutrition are all real things with under-eating.

Roza42

cmriverside wrote: »

cheryldumais wrote: »

Sounds like you lost weight really slowly so it's odd that you would have a hair loss issue from that. Might want to check with your doc. I will comment however that I had an issue with high hair loss 6 months after each of my kids were born so maybe any big change in your system can cause it?

Where did she say how long it took?

1300 for any younger woman of 5'5" is low. She doesn't mention using (eating) exercise calories. Hormone disruption/stress/malnutrition are all real things with under-eating.

Cheryl was responding to Madison not the OP

cheryldumais

Roza42 wrote: »

cmriverside wrote: »

cheryldumais wrote: »

Sounds like you lost weight really slowly so it's odd that you would have a hair loss issue from that. Might want to check with your doc. I will comment however that I had an issue with high hair loss 6 months after each of my kids were born so maybe any big change in your system can cause it?

Where did she say how long it took?

1300 for any younger woman of 5'5" is low. She doesn't mention using (eating) exercise calories. Hormone disruption/stress/malnutrition are all real things with under-eating.

Cheryl was responding to Madison not the OP

Thanks @Roza42 That's correct. I should have been more clear. When I saw the imunosuppresant comment I assumed some health issue had come up a few months ago.

csplatt

Ok more details - from mid-December to end of April, I lost an average of 1.2 lb per week for 18 weeks. Some days I am eating 1600 now, but many days I am just not tracking, and my weight is staying the same for the last month. Also, I haven't been exercising at all. I have a desk job and come home after work to hang out with my kids, cook, help with homework.

If my maintenance average calories per day/week were too low, wouldn't I still be losing weight?

PAV8888

csplatt wrote: »

Ok more details - from mid-December to end of April, I lost an average of 1.2 lb per week for 18 weeks. Some days I am eating 1600 now, but many days I am just not tracking, and my weight is staying the same for the last month. Also, I haven't been exercising at all. I have a desk job and come home after work to hang out with my kids, cook, help with homework.

If my maintenance average calories per day/week were too low, wouldn't I still be losing weight?

You actually, by the sounds of it, don't really know how much you've been eating lately. Why don't you take your average number of calories eaten per day during 28 days in April and add 500 to that and make sure that you're properly logging at least that. Then push for another 100 or 200 Cal per day on top while keeping an eye out on your weight trend.

Sorry; but I can't offer you much insight on the actual hair loss, though it might be worthwhile to check thyroids and such with your doctor.

paperpudding

I'm not sure why OP needs to know exactly how much she is eating lately or to log 'properly' - she is in maitenance and is maintaining at a healthy weight level so what she is doing now is working well, no need to know the exact number.

This hair loss could be a delayed reaction to under eating - but if she was losing an average of just over a lb per week, that doesnt sound like under eating to me.
It might be on paper but not in real life ( ie she probably did eat more than 1300 but that doesn't matter, real life results were on track)

Just because people lose or have lost weight doesn't mean every issue is related to that - I think you should see a doctor and have simple tests to rule out thyroid issues, vitamin deficiencies etc.

slimgirljo15

Could the hair loss be stress induced.. much stress lately?

csplatt

slimgirljo15 wrote: »

Could the hair loss be stress induced.. much stress lately?

Could be work stress. Also, for the girls, as I get older, my PMS is becoming more problematic so I am wondering if it may be related to whatever hormonal shifts are in the future.

nxd10

I lose hair when I'm stressed at work. By the handful. I had to teach myself destressing rituals.

I also lost hair because it was long and I wore it in braids a lot. I started going bald at the hairline and where I braided it. I finally cut it and it came back healthy.