Hello this is my first time asking anything on here.

daniellelvspaul

I used to be over 19 stone and now I maintain within the range that the BMI indicates to be healthy for me at 5 ft 3 and around 8 stone 12 - 9 stone 1 and following a range of up 5 down 5 pounds. I also have a cheat day, usually once every 2 weeks where I eat whatever I want, get a takeaway, or eat out somewhere and have my favourite treats. I focused on protein and calories to lose weight in the beginning. Slowly I found myself only focusing on low calories and not nutrition. I have maintained this weight for years and years now with the help of my fitness pal. I slept a lot and was constantly tired and in between all of this, I was pregnant.

My hair was growing fast and it looked great and then after the miscarriage, my hair was falling out and my hair getting weaker too. I have been through significant traumas including losing the baby and breaking away from abusive family members who covered up childhood abuse inflicted on me by my brother. When I was pregnant I had already lost a significant amount of weight and my GP scolded me for not being within the right BMI. This made me laser in on progress and exercise and calorie counting was pretty much how I stayed sane. I gained extreme weight in the past due to depression caused by traumas and being an undiagnosed autistic for 26 years. When I found out that helped me to put things into perspective and I had a lot of support from an OT and CBT therapist etc Things started to improve for me a bit in terms of making sense of things and that's when I began being able to take control of my weight.

As a child, my mother told me I would never be able to tone or lose weight because I am disabled and that I would be in a wheelchair by the time I am her age. It took me longer than most to walk or talk and I was in a buggy to support my bones. Back then my parents suspected I had autism but were only told I had 8 or 9 different disabilities and they would likely never have a diagnosis for them all. The family members made me feel awful and like I couldn't achieve anything. Back then my mother interfered in every connection I made with people and was overprotective to the point I had nobody at all for a very long time (early 20s when I escaped). I even was told I would never be able to work and now with support from a group that helps disabled people into work, I am doing as many hours as I can manage.

Pretty much the same with my weight doing what they said I would never be able to. However, I notice the negative effects of weight loss with too few calories and not enough nutrition. I want to maintain my weight not least because I have always had leg and foot pains and when I lost weight they became more manageable but are still present. I still have bad flare-ups of the pain and unfortunately, just recently it has been intense but I am determined to not let it knock me off track.

I was told the pain is due to my autism and falls under the umbrella of 8 0r 9 different things. In the last few days I have added in lots more protein and started on a multivitamin and I am already feeling a positive change. I upped my calories from 1300 -1500 to 1660. I do workouts over an hour 4-5 days a week and walk to and from work (over an hour each day). I am so afraid to go backwards because I had even worse pains than now and was out of breath all of the time on top of that. Sometimes when I was very overweight I stopped breathing altogether and it took ages for my breathing to return to normal again. Calorie counting is the only thing that works for me but I was just wondering if I could get advice on nutrition to help support my hair growth and strength and being strong for my body in general.

On my second day of taking vitamins I had an upset stomach but today I am ok and I wonder if it could be because I drank orange juice (200ml) on top of taking the recommended 2 chewables that already have vitamin C in them. I skipped the orange juice today just in case. Thank you

sollyn23l2

Just speculating... the hair loss could be due to the sudden drop in hormones post pregnancy, in which case it's hopefully temporary. Once again, just speculation. For your body in general, my usual suggestion is eat food, mostly plants, not too much. Basically stick to whole foods. Outside of that, I think people way over complicate it and try to make claims that this way of eating or that way of eating will do this or that. I'd, frankly, ignore most of it. But that's me and my suggestion.

daniellelvspaul

Hi thanks for the reply the pregnancy was now over 4 years ago. Sorry if the way I wrote it was confusing. Thanks for your suggestions. I appreciate your time.

AnnPT77

Is there any possibility that one of your doctors could refer you to a registered dietitian for help with nutritional advice? Since you have complex health conditions, that would be the best route to get personalized, expert advice. Your doctor may also be able to order some blood tests that would look for any nutrient deficiencies you may have. (Note that some of those tests won't be as useful if you're already taking a supplement for the particular nutrient.)

Loosely, getting adequate protein, healthy fats and fiber are the basics. There's some generic advice in this thread:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1

. . . but that would not be tailored to your health conditions, nor are the comments that follow.

In addition to macros/fiber, eating plenty of varied, colorful veggies and fruits tends to be a good plan. That can go a long way toward getting you the micronutrients and useful phytonutrients that you need for best thriving.

Eating some probiotic foods regularly may also be a plus. That would be things like live-culture yogurt or kefir, raw (unpasteurized) sauerkraut or kim chi, unpasteurized/raw vinegar in dressings or on your veggies, and that sort of thing.

Again, that's just generic nutritional stuff the average person might want to consider if tuning up their nutrition, not specific to your particular health history. There might be things you should either eat or avoid in particular in your situation. A registered dietitian could help with that sort of thing.

Best wishes!

kshama2001

Iron and iodine deficiencies can cause thinning/brittle hair. Do get bloodwork done as too much iron can cause problems, so you shouldn't supplement without knowing your baseline. Have you ever been told you were anemic?

Regarding the upset stomach - try taking your vitamins after eating.

I just left a toxic family situation three months ago.

daniellelvspaul

Thanks to Anne for the very detailed insightful answer. It has given me a lot to consider and yes I was previously told my iron levels were low and my doctor got me to take a drink. I haven’t been to my doctors very much at all due to a bad experience. I don’t ever remember being told the problem was resolved I guess I just stopped them after a while. Sorry you have went through that too kshama it’s hard.