Hair falling out...

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mirelaavdich
mirelaavdich Posts: 41 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Over the last two months I noticed that my hair was falling out a lot. I usually have increased hair loss with change of seasons so I did not pay much attention to it until I started pulling out fistfuls of hair. I started taking an iron supplement and eating a lot more of green leafy veggies. Also, a friend recommended using collagen powder. While the hair continues to fall out at about same rate I did notice a lot of new hair growth. I used the collagen for two weeks and experienced a lot of bloating and gain of 2lbs. I stopped it a week ago and finally lost the two pounds plus one.

Anyone experience this? Anything else I can use to help with the hair loss?

BTW, I am not stressed and have lost 76lbs since September 2016.
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Replies

  • Stella3838
    Stella3838 Posts: 439 Member
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    How many calories are you eating on average per day? And for how long have you been eating at that level?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    What kind of deficit are you running? How's your protein?
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,976 Member
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    Long term aggressive calorie deficits will cause hair loss. How many calories a day are you eating? I'm guessing that you restricted your food pretty significantly to lose 76 pounds in seven months.

    I'd say, #1 see a doctor - it also could be thyroid or some other deficiency that needs to be addressed. #2 eat at maintenance for 3-6 months, making sure you hit your protein goal every day.
  • LessCookiess
    LessCookiess Posts: 538 Member
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    I think everyone brought in some great points feel free to respond to questions asked to get additional information . I would reccomend seeing a doctor to get some help as well. Good luck!!
  • mirelaavdich
    mirelaavdich Posts: 41 Member
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    I have been eating 1200-1400 calories per day since September. On days that I am active a lot I eat about 1500 calories.

    I started exercising slowly (walking, Pilates, 7 minute workout) but for the last 4 months I have exercised 6 days a week (alternate running and strength training).

    I do have Hashimoto's, and PCOS (insulin resistant). I was pre-diabetic at my August 2016 check up. Just had the labs done in March. My thyroid levels are great and no longer pre-diabetic (A1C is 5.6). Doctor said I am doing great.

    I could be protein deficient as I eat mostly plant based and looking at my food diary protein intake is usually around 20%-30%. I am not vegan and do eat eggs daily. I am not a fan of meat (texture issue) but do eat a lot of beans and legumes.
  • mirelaavdich
    mirelaavdich Posts: 41 Member
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    cmriverside wrote: »
    I would strongly suggest eating at maintenance and making protein your biggest priority. It's not just hair that is suffering once you are at this point, you do understand that, right? It is your body eliminating unnecessary energy needs to stay alive. You've likely been under eating for a long time. 1200-1400 is very low unless you're tiny, older, sedentary.

    I have been debating changing to maintenance because I am only 14lbs to my goal of 145. Although it does not feel like I am under eating. My job keeps me very sedentary and I am only 5'5".

    After being so diligent about diet and exercise for some time it is difficult to determine when to slow down or change things up. And, most if it is for fear of reverting back to old habits.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,219 Member
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    If you're losing around 10 pounds a month, that's quite aggressive. I don't think you said how much you weigh, but you'd want to be 250+ pounds during that whole time in order for that weight loss rate to be even superficially a reasonable idea. But hair loss, even if you have the body weight to sustain that loss rate, is a Bad Sign.

    If you're getting 60-75g of protein a day consistently, that's maybe not terrible if your healthy goal weight is in the low 100s (like 100-125), but more wouldn't hurt anything, and could help. For those of us getting a high percentage of plant-sourced protein, I'd argue that getting more grams rather than fewer is a good thing, since some of the plant sources don't have a complete set of essential amino acids. Mixing multiple different plant protein sources helps with that, but some extra grams for insurance can't hurt.

    How long have you been eating plant-based? Is that new, too? When I turned vegetarian, I lost some hair. I assume it was because of consuming less protein, maybe/probably under-consuming protein, but that was 40+ years ago so I don't recall for sure.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
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    I agree with others, upping your protein, healthy fats and calories closer to maintenance wouldn't hurt.

    PCOS can definitely cause thinning hair. It would be a good idea to discuss it with your doctor.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,976 Member
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    mirelaavdich wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    I would strongly suggest eating at maintenance and making protein your biggest priority. It's not just hair that is suffering once you are at this point, you do understand that, right? It is your body eliminating unnecessary energy needs to stay alive. You've likely been under eating for a long time. 1200-1400 is very low unless you're tiny, older, sedentary.

    I have been debating changing to maintenance because I am only 14lbs to my goal of 145. Although it does not feel like I am under eating. My job keeps me very sedentary and I am only 5'5".

    After being so diligent about diet and exercise for some time it is difficult to determine when to slow down or change things up. And, most if it is for fear of reverting back to old habits.

    But at some point you have to listen to your body. Apparently you've been ignoring other sign of impending problems like hunger or fatigue or irritability or restless sleep.

    Your body is asking for something, I agree with AnnPT, I have a friend who went vegan and she lost a lot of hair at first until she got her nutrition dialed in. Try eating beans and rice and cornbread a lot. Those complete proteins are super important.
  • kali31337
    kali31337 Posts: 1,048 Member
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    For me, it's all about hormones and if I have a major hormonal shift, I lose my hair in horrific clumps. Trying to keep my hormones and stress in check along with bosley shampoo has really helped. I'm actually in one of those cycles now and it's not a whole lot of fun....
  • RedSquadronLeader
    RedSquadronLeader Posts: 84 Member
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    How's your fat intake? Lots of those micronutrients are fat soluble; if you've been doing very low-fat in order to hit your calorie goal try bumping it up to 30-40% intake. This doesn't take a lot ... coconut oil, avocado, butter, nuts, etc.

    Usually hair loss follows an aggressive deficit because people don't get adequate protein or fat intake.
    Also a higher fat diet proves to be beneficial to many people with Hashimotos and PCOS; you might want to do some reading on this.
  • cbelc2
    cbelc2 Posts: 762 Member
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    Your BMI is normal. Talk to your doctor and also work on getting enough protein (egg whites, Greek yogurt, whole grains, seeds, nuts, beans, fish if you can handle it.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    For me it was a vitamin D deficiency, a pretty severe one. Had to up the fat in my diet a hair and started a heavy duty RX supplement for 12 weeks. Hair was clumping out in an alarming way.
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,575 Member
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    I agree that Vitamin D is often the culprit in hair loss.

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