1200 Calories and Hair Shedding/Loss!!

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PhattiPhat
PhattiPhat Posts: 349 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Sorry it's a bit lengthy and TL;DR but if you have the patience, please advise.

Starting weight: 200
Current weight: 176
Goal weight: 130
Height: 5'1

I work out about 60-80 minutes a day. I run on a treadmill and do lifting on weight machines machines 4-5 days a week. When I started MFP I did the 1200 calories a day, not knowing any better. I lost around 20 lbs but was having headaches and was adjusting my macros thinking it was some nutrient (I didn't think it was my calorie amount cause I kept reading here that 1200 was reasonable for my shortness). This was around the time my hair started shedding more than usual. I started taking in more protein and upped my cals to 1400 and still lost 8 more lbs, which was a nice surprise. While I felt better, the hair loss had not slowed down. The last couple of weeks I had house guests so I took advantage of the fact that we would be cooking a lot and eating out, to just relax and eat within reason (not calorie counting) to see if anything helped with my hair. Still shedding but not as much as it was before. So the guests left and I went back to recording calories the last 3 days....Been eating fattier foods and gained about 2 lbs for the whole duration of me not using mfp. Again, I feel fabulous and still kept up with my work outs the whole time but my hair, people!!! WTF. I opened my diary in the hopes that ya'll can suggest what I could be eating (or not eating) to help my poor hair, and hopefully still lose weight. Not worried about time frame, I would rather take longer to lose weight than see my hair suffer!

Replies

  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    are you absolutely sure you're OK? seen a doc?
    you should rule that out first

    also is your hair breaking or is it actually falling out (ie the white bulb is attached at the root)
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,406 Member
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    You could be vitamin deficient. Vitamin D/Zinc could contribute....but so can a lot of other vitamins, hormonal changes, thyroid issues. Best to go see a Dr.
  • janimei
    janimei Posts: 105 Member
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    See a doctor. Have a blood draw. Doctor should check thyroid function, specifically, and whatever else he/she thinks might be an issue. If you haven't been going to a doctor during these changes in diet and exercise, you should. My doctor found B12 and D3 deficiencies--probably not your problem, just an example of something being discovered that needed fixing.
  • babydiego87
    babydiego87 Posts: 905 Member
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    Anaemia can cause hair loss. Get some bloods done and ask specifically for your thyroid and iron levels.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
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    What everyone else said -- see a doctor.
  • BeccaAnderton
    BeccaAnderton Posts: 80
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    Ask to get your thyroid checked, amongst other things it can cause serious hair loss. That's my personal favourite hypothyroidism symptom, and I was amazed how quickly my hair stopped falling out once I was on stabilised meds. Always worth getting stuff like this checked out by your doc :) Hopefully it'll be nothing untoward though :)
  • PhattiPhat
    PhattiPhat Posts: 349 Member
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    Sorry, I didn't realize I got all these replies. Thank you for taking the time to advise. I'm overdue for a check-up and made an appt. for next week. I do have a history (while preggo 5 yrs ago) of being borderline anemic and had to take iron pills and B-12 shots. Maybe eating low cals triggered something. I will update this thread with results, in case anyone else might be having the same issue.

    On the plus side, eating up to and slightly over my fat grams seems to have helped. Yesterday and today the hair shedding is at normal levels. This after about a month and a half of shedding furballs and clogging the drains.
  • caffeinekandie
    caffeinekandie Posts: 40
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    Along with see a doctor I may add that stress can affect hair as well. Also shedding often occurs a month to three months or sometimes longer after a stressful time. It could also be a seasonal shed.
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
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    A normal human loses 50 strands of hair a day but it grows back. Are you sure that's not what you are really noticing? When your hair doesn't grow back, that's a problem. What you should be worried about is hair thinning and not a few strains of hair here and there.

    Are you taking any multivitamins? Stop if you do, reason in link below.
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/opinion/sunday/dont-take-your-vitamins.html?pagewanted=all
  • iquiltoo
    iquiltoo Posts: 246 Member
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    I had a problem with losing way more hair than usual last year. I had had surgery, and from that was anemic for a while. I eventually mentioned the hair loss to the doc, and she had me get blood tests for thyroid. Nothing was wrong there, and eventually it stopped. She said the stress from the surgery (emergency, hospitalized 3 weeks) may have caused it, but now reading some of the other answers it's possible it was the anemia. So yes, definitely get your doctor to do some tests!
  • ruby1387
    ruby1387 Posts: 77 Member
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    Hi. Check your stress levels. Try yoga or meditation for relaxation. I included a bowl of sprouts into my diet and found that my hairfall problem was gone. Try changing your hairstyle once in 6 months. Finally relax, it may just be the natural hair regeneration cycle i. e. it sheds and again builds up. It's normal.
  • darwinwoodka
    darwinwoodka Posts: 322 Member
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    See your doctor, get thyroid checked. I was on thyroid and still losing some hair. Doctor wouldn't up my dosage since it was within normal range. Went to a naturopath who increased my dosage and voila -- hair, nails and skin all better and I have enough energy for my workouts now!
  • crashmandi
    crashmandi Posts: 17 Member
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    I lose hair and have horribly easy to break nails when I have bad eating habits. It's happened when I've lost weight in the past, yes I was losing weight but I wasn't following a balanced diet. Have a good look at the quality of food you are eating,
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
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    Definitely see a doctor. Could be a metabolic disorder. Could be malnutrition. Could be many things. Only your doctor can tell you.
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
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    Definitely see your doctor. Were you on a low fat diet before? If increased fat intake has (possibly) been helpful why not keep it up at least till you've gotten your exam and blood work?
  • kittenkris
    kittenkris Posts: 112
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    Get your thyroid checked. My hair fell out in handfuls when I was diagnosed. If you have hypothyroidism you will loose weight easier when you start taking thyroid.
  • brattygrrl
    brattygrrl Posts: 2 Member
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    I've had the same problem. I lose hair by the clumps every day. I will be getting blood work done though every time I have had my thyroid tested there hasn't been a problem. Hopefully you find answers.
  • PhattiPhat
    PhattiPhat Posts: 349 Member
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    Just a quickie update on this in case anyone else is going thru this I know it's a bit alarming. I got results back from my blood tests. Requested a full physical from the Doc including checking thyroid and deficiencies, among other things. All came back normal. During the physical, he did suggest Rogaine if my tests came back normal (which he suspected they would be). He did check my head and reported new hair growth so he wasn't concerned. He gave me a B12 shot then sent me on my way to call him back for results, which is what I did today.

    The only explanation he can give me is that perhaps it was stress, and he didn't think it had to do with eating 1200 calories for a few months because 1200 calories was a reasonable amt for someone of my stature to lose weight. Whatever, Doc.

    Been at 2000 cals since May, and still losing so the Doc can go scratch. Thanks all for your support!

    eta: Hair loss has slowed as well.

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