I'm losing hair and I think I'd really rather be fat.

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2

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  • roxanethree
    roxanethree Posts: 78 Member
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    You aren't alone. Mine is definitely thinner and I lose way more in the shower than before I started losing weight. Once I started noticing it, I started a multivitamin and that might have helped slow it down. Hopefully you can find a solution. Keep at the weight-loss, but maybe slow it down a little to give your body extra time to adjust.
  • silenceinspace
    silenceinspace Posts: 142 Member
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    I had this happen to me, I found out using a Bodymedia Armband or a fitbit that I was under eating by a lot, even at 1500 calories a day. I increased my calories, started losing weight again and my hair started to grow back.

    Go by the TDEE -20% (if you are not doing so already) if you do not have a way to calculate your calories burned.

    I'll recalculate and pay closer attention to that. Thank you!
    You aren't alone. Mine is definitely thinner and I lose way more in the shower than before I started losing weight. Once I started noticing it, I started a multivitamin and that might have helped slow it down. Hopefully you can find a solution. Keep at the weight-loss, but maybe slow it down a little to give your body extra time to adjust.

    Agreed, that's probably for the best.

    Would you consider yourself done with losing weight/maintaining? If so, does your hair seem to be returning?
  • Armagan123
    Armagan123 Posts: 72 Member
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    I had the same problem, my hair everywhere and I got pregnant, my doctor put me on iron around 4th month, and within a month the hair loss stopped completely!
  • LTKeegan
    LTKeegan Posts: 354 Member
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    This is a long shot, but sometimes going to see a hairdresser could help? I know some are really well trained and they Mauser this problem more often than your doctor. I'm suggesting this on top of everyone else's suggestion. Maybe they know of a shampoo or something that can help? Or maybe they've had other clients with this issue and they've had success fixing it?

    Good luck!!!
  • Armagan123
    Armagan123 Posts: 72 Member
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    I just saw your answer, if your protein source is mainly dairy, there is no way you are getting enough iron, MFP gives you the option to add iron to your food diary, just try it and see how your iron level is doing.
  • Amandawith3kids
    Amandawith3kids Posts: 367 Member
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    while you work on the cause and solution to the hair loss, a nice new style may help with the feeling not so pretty. something that takes advantage of your new texture. i would suggest a style that doesnt take a lot of straightening and blowdrying, as thats just another stress your hair doesnt need.

    hairloss sucks. when i left my first husband, i lost about 30 pounds and about half my hair. it was worse than after my pregnancies.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
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    I'm sorry this is happening to you. I wish I knew the answer to your problems, but I don't :-( but I do know that you will be able to sort this all out, and still be healthy. personally, I would slow down on the weight loss a little and maybe give your body time to catch up. But again, I just wanted to chime in and say I'm sorry :-( I really do feel for you and you can message me if you need to vent. I know you don't know me, but I'm willing to listen :-)
  • shaynepoole
    shaynepoole Posts: 493 Member
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    I've lost a lot of weight pretty quickly and I had similar concerns about the hair loss. I started using the Nioxin brand of hair products and it's worked wonders

    http://nioxin.com/en-US/home-page.aspx

    you may want to try looking into that first

    hope it helps
  • enidite
    enidite Posts: 92 Member
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    I am so sorry that you are going through this and hope it will get better soon. Have you had your thyroid checked? As another poster said hair loss can be a symptom of many things. You might want to consider talking to your doctor if it would be ok to switch to a prenatal vitamin. This might help some too.
    Good luck, and don't give up. You have come so far.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    My first thought was to get your hormone levels checked. My hair fell out like crazy after giving birth from the hormone shift, and I know weight loss can also screw around with the hormone levels. You said you're not on birth control, but if it is hormones the solution might be as simple as going on the pill for a few months to regulate your levels.
  • Mistyfied_MD
    Mistyfied_MD Posts: 62 Member
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    *sigh* I know exactly how you feel, though I don't think my hair loss was related to losing weight, as it was actually the first thing that made me realize my weight was high and my health was crap and that I needed to do something. My hair loss has slowed now that I've lost 40 pounds this past year, but it's still happening, and like your topic says...I'd almost rather be fat than lose my hair.
  • Noc6285
    Noc6285 Posts: 20 Member
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    "Whatever form of hair loss TE takes, it is fully reversible. The hair follicles are not permanently or irreversibly affected; there are just more hair follicles in a resting state than there should normally be."

    http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/hair-loss/effluviums

    Shave and get a wig and keep going to your goal weight. It will come back.
  • Emi1974
    Emi1974 Posts: 522 Member
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    I need to wear my hair short. For years now I have noticed that my hair starts falling out once at a certain length. Not a 100% sure, as each time I also have massive amounts of stress in my life :(

    But cutting it shorter helps every time :)
  • emilyisbonkers
    emilyisbonkers Posts: 373 Member
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    I really don't have anything useful to say other than that the exact same thing is happening to me
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    Have you seen a dermatologist to determine it's not something else?
  • BeckyMBisMe
    BeckyMBisMe Posts: 215 Member
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    Your menu isn't open. And I don't have time to scan through all the postings on the thread to see all the comments.
    What kind of eating plan are you using? If you have gone extremely low fat that could explain hair loss as well as "feeling ugly". The proper fat nutrients (or lack of) can affect mental capacity and thought processes. It affects your skin, your hair, etc.
  • sunnyside1213
    sunnyside1213 Posts: 1,205 Member
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    I would also like to know what your protein intake is like.

    This.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    I don't really have anything to offer in terms of solutions but I do want to commiserate a bit. I had active lupus for several years and the hair loss was very difficult. I had short hair all the time because it would come out in handfuls and it was just easier. It can be truly disheartening. I'm not sure why it's so emotionally devastating, but that's how it always was for me. I can understand why you're upset.

    I really hope you get to the bottom of this. If I were you I'd continue to pursue a medical solution. I wonder, since you say you've been in maintenance and it continued, whether there might be a medical condition or hormonal issue and it just happened to correspond to your weight loss.

    tumblr_mo6ur7fym91r70duco1_400.gif

    Hang in there. :flowerforyou:
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    This is a long shot, but sometimes going to see a hairdresser could help? I know some are really well trained and they Mauser this problem more often than your doctor. I'm suggesting this on top of everyone else's suggestion. Maybe they know of a shampoo or something that can help? Or maybe they've had other clients with this issue and they've had success fixing it?

    Good luck!!!


    Seems legit. Sorry to be sarcastic, but hairdresser? Honestly, go to the doctor. When I was losing a lot of hair, it turned out to be a hormonal problem. My doctor was able to figure it out and help me fix it. Hairdressers cut hair, they don't study hairgrowth or the root of the hair at the cellular level, or hormones or A&P. Go to the experts.
  • CTcutie
    CTcutie Posts: 649 Member
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    Do you eat meat and consume enough fat??

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