Losing hair by the handfuls!

Mollie007

I am losing hair like it's my job. What the hell?? I feel like I am eating plenty. I typically always net at least 1200. I feel like I eat decent. If anything, I feel like changing my diet and adding in exercise would HELP my hair! I have even been drinking a Shakeology shake every day or so and they are suppose to be chock full of vitamins. Has this happened to anyone else? Can you please look at my diary and give me any thoughts you may have? It's seriously like post partum hair loss.

alaskaang

You might want to get your thyroid checked. Hair loss is a common symptom of hypo thyroid.

MinMin97

I am losing hair like it's my job. What the hell?? I feel like I am eating plenty. I typically always net at least 1200. I feel like I eat decent. If anything, I feel like changing my diet and adding in exercise would HELP my hair! I have even been drinking a Shakeology shake every day or so and they are suppose to be chock full of vitamins. Has this happened to anyone else? Can you please look at my diary and give me any thoughts you may have? It's seriously like post partum hair loss.

Besides post-partum hair loss, the only other time I've had that happen is when I used cheap shampoo.
My hair fell out like crazy!
Could that be the problem?
As soon as I switched to something gentle...like, no SLS, the problem ceased.

restoreleanne

Your burning a lot of cals for what your taking in. I have to up my cal to net 1400 a day, and had no issues for 6m. You still should go to the Dr.

livehappy2

It could be a result of changing hormones - the pill can cause this especially if you just went off of it.

meshashesha2012

get yourself checked out by your doctor to rule out any hormonal or thyroid issues.
hows your stress? that can also affect hair loss

also what type of hair loss is it? is it breakage or is it falling out from the follicle? you can tell by if there's a little bulb at the end.

it's possible that 1200 calories is too low for you. not everyone fits on the formulas so if your eating way less than what you need then your body will stop feeding your hair because why would it waste energy to keep your hair in place when it could be using those calories for keeping your vital organs operating.

i know for me, MFP was WAY off my maintenance calories. in fact when i first started it was like 1000 calories off. add to that the 1000 calorie difference i was taking off and i was eating far far far below my TDEE. that last about 2 weeks because i was always cold, in a bad mood, my skin looked like crap and my hair started falling off

nxd10

I got that with stress.

mrsgoodwine

It could be a result of changing hormones - the pill can cause this especially if you just went off of it.

My hair started falling out about 3 months after stopping the pill. It seems to have stopped for the most part - no bald patches thank goodness, but t's definitely thinner. I use to have so much hair!!

AussieMisfit

Low iron's a common cause. Aside from a blood test to check your stores you can check your intake by pulling up a 90 day iron intake report on MFP. I was pretty shocked how little I've been getting.

Ibelievenme2

Like the other post replied- get checked by a doctor first. If all is good the top 10 foods good for hair are salmon, walnuts, oysters, sweet potatoes, eggs, spinach, lentils, Greek yogurt, blueberries, and poultry. If you would like to read more

http://www.webmd.com/healthy-beauty/features/top-10-foods-for-healthy-hair

nickyfm

I tend to lose my hair when I'm anemic or B12 deficient.

Maybe get a blood test to check? Otherwise up your intake of Red meat, other meats, spinach, dried apricots

jlohcook

Watch your sodium intake esp those fast foods. I would add more varied vegetables into diet.

Mollie007

Thanks so much for the replies. I think I will go to the doctor just to see if she has anything else to say. I have low iron and have a script for iron pills. I am on the Mirena (year 3) so going off the pill isn't a factor. It sounds like maybe I do need to up my calories. How do I know for sure? I am eating back most of my exercise calories. How do I know how much to eat? Gah! I hate this! It's taking me forever to lose weight and I'm scared to eat more. How would I get my TDEE checked? Is that something I would go to my PCP for? Or would I need to go to a nutritionist??

Mollie007

Re - sodium -OMG YES! I almost died when I saw how much sodium was in my subway yesterday. What the heck!!! It was a freaking sandwich!!

AmberJo1984

You may want to have thyroid tested. I have always lost handfulls of hair... for as long as I can remember. Even before I started eating healthy and exercising. They still can't figure out what the problem is... but, one thing could be thyroid issues.

Lesa_Sass

Eat more calories and protein. Eat real food.

SageGoddess320

I got that with stress.

Same here. Every time I'm super stressed out, my hair starts falling out like crazy.

Erienneb

I generally lose a good amount of hair daily because I have such thick hair. But it's worse when I'm stressed, low on protein, or use shampoo too often.
When I first started working out since I sweat and would shower every day I washed it every single day. It got really brittle even though I use good shampoo and I lost a ton. When I switched to shampoo every other day but conditioner every day, the problems seemed to stop. Make sure you're getting good amounts of protein, too, as that is the major factor in hair and nail growth.

WinnerVictorious

I am losing hair like it's my job. What the hell?? I feel like I am eating plenty. I typically always net at least 1200. I feel like I eat decent. If anything, I feel like changing my diet and adding in exercise would HELP my hair! I have even been drinking a Shakeology shake every day or so and they are suppose to be chock full of vitamins. Has this happened to anyone else? Can you please look at my diary and give me any thoughts you may have? It's seriously like post partum hair loss.

hair loss is not uncommon when you start losing weight by eating at a large calorie deficit. it's one of the least important parts of your body and your body considers it expendable when you make a big change to your diet by cutting back your calories. over time, it'll slow down. make sure you're eating the proper mix of macros and taking a multivitamin, and you should be ok. when you get near your goal weight and reduce your calorie deficit, your body will start to grow back the hair. it's not permanent.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/40697-hair-lost-losing-weight/

staceyseeger

I lost a lot of hair during my Lifestyle Change. I was really worried about it, but since I have have been maintaining for 1-1/2 years now, the loss has stopped.

rmsrws

I have had 4 bouts of hair loss! I was told it was due to lack of protein. So I upped my protein and with in a week or so, it eased up!!!

Ge0rgiana

See your doctor. I lose hair like this, too. Of course, it's because I have hypothyroidism.

scapez

No matter what else you do, absolutely get your thyroid checked.

Angie_Fritts

You might want to get your thyroid checked. Hair loss is a common symptom of hypo thyroid.

THIS^^

MommaKit79

Thanks so much for the replies. I think I will go to the doctor just to see if she has anything else to say. I have low iron and have a script for iron pills. I am on the Mirena (year 3) so going off the pill isn't a factor. It sounds like maybe I do need to up my calories. How do I know for sure? I am eating back most of my exercise calories. How do I know how much to eat? Gah! I hate this! It's taking me forever to lose weight and I'm scared to eat more. How would I get my TDEE checked? Is that something I would go to my PCP for? Or would I need to go to a nutritionist??

Go to your doctor first. I had issue with mine falling out as well and even had bald spots, one the size of a golf ball. My thyroid is enlarged and, eating what I was eating with it, no matter under calories or not, was not helping it. NOT saying it is your thryoid but, you stating it is taking a while for you to lose, I would definitely get it checked out.

It wouldnt hurt, once you find out whether it is a medical issue or not, to see a nutritionist is there is one available. I was also told fats & oils are essential in healthy hair so, not to cut them out completely.

gentlebreeze2

When your body is under stress, you can lose hair. I am recovering from that (lost approximately 1/3 of my hair. But it's been growing back for the last six months. Many of those above have made good suggestions, but I also recommend biotin (it's a B vitamin). It's made a big difference for me.

LoraF83

My hair started falling out when I was eating below my BMR.

BMR (basal metabolic rate) is the number of calories your body needs to function. When you don't get that many, your body may decide to let go of some functions in order to keep the necessary things going (like organ function!). For me, that was my hair. Some people get weak nails. A lot of people have a lack of energy. All symptoms of a low calorie intake.

As soon as I started eating above my BMR, my hair stopped falling out. Within several weeks, it was even growing back in. I eat a 20% cut from my TDEE now and I'm losing weight and my hair looks great.

funkyspunky872

Watch your sodium intake esp those fast foods. I would add more varied vegetables into diet.

Oh yeah, because salt is going to make you lose hair by the handfuls. :huh:

*Just wanted to add that a lack of sodium can cause some hair loss, but that wasn't what I saw implied by 'watch your sodium' *

Mollie007

I had my thyroid checked about 2 years ago (along with a ton of other blood work like cholesterol, pre-diabetes, etc) and everything came back perfect. Should I go have it checked again, or since it was fine 2 years ago, that's probably not the issue?

Myan1959

I was loosing hair too and it's a scarey thing. Once I got my thyroid level checked and on the right dose my hair loss has diminished a lot.

exacerbe

See a doctor. Easy as 3.14