Hair falling out

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MrsGrindelwald
MrsGrindelwald Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone. My first time posting. I was just looking for some advice. I started calorie counting about 5 months ago using this site and things are going well, I've lost 39lbs in that time, going from 170-131

The problem is that for the first couple of months, I misunderstood how the net calories work and consequently, I wasn't eating enough, some days only netting under 700 calories.

I fixed this in the last 2 months and make sure I get my 1200 after exercise but I've been left with seriously thinning hair. I haven't got any bald patches yet and I've been taking high strength biotin and a multivitamin, plus making sure I get enough protein.

Does anyone know if this will fix itself in time or if there is anything else I can do?
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Replies

  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
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    Severe calorie restriction would contribute to this loss and should correct itself if you are consuming adequate calories, macros & micros. How far are you from a healthy weight? Is 1200 calories even enough given your activity?
  • karenlong7
    karenlong7 Posts: 15 Member
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    It will grow back in. I've been at about 1,200 calories for the last 10 months. I did have significant hair loss on the crown of my head three to four months in. I thought I would go bald for awhile. It started growing back 6 or 7 months in. I've got a ton of little short hairs that are about an inch long now. While I don't know if it made any difference, I did take Omega 3's and Collogen when it started falling out. Make sure your protein is high enough.
  • MrsGrindelwald
    MrsGrindelwald Posts: 8 Member
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    Sorry, I should have said my height in the post. I'm already at a healthy weight at 5'4. I have my profile set to sedentary so I can add in my steps manually and my DDP yoga so I get a good idea of what I'm actually burning. I'm not really sure what my goal is at the moment, just enough to get rid of my excess belly fat.

    I have my goal set at 1lb a week for now but may decrease that as I get nearer.

    Thanks for all the tips. I'm probably doing all I can at the minute and just have to be patient
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
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    MrsGrindelwald wrote: »
    Sorry, I should have said my height in the post. I'm already at a healthy weight at 5'4. I have my profile set to sedentary so I can add in my steps manually and my DDP yoga so I get a good idea of what I'm actually burning. I'm not really sure what my goal is at the moment, just enough to get rid of my excess belly fat.

    I have my goal set at 1lb a week for now but may decrease that as I get nearer.

    Thanks for all the tips. I'm probably doing all I can at the minute and just have to be patient

    I would even consider 0.5 pounds a week considering the current issue.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,973 Member
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    Another vote for either eating at maintenance for a while or creating a deficit of no more than 0.5 pounds per week, and making sure you are getting sufficient fat and protein.
  • MrsGrindelwald
    MrsGrindelwald Posts: 8 Member
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    ejg1010 wrote: »
    Congrats on your weight loss!
    I think the other posters above have answered your initial question about hair loss, but just as an aside it might be worth setting your goal now to 0.5 pounds per week as you're already in the middle of the healthy weight bracket for your height. The extra calories should help with getting in the extra nutrients. 1200 per day is quite low. If you increase your calories now that might make your loss more sustainable when you reach your end goal and switch to maintenance.

    Thank you. I will consider changing it sooner. Was going to leave it till I was about another 10lbs down but I may reconsider if it will help my hair situation
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,973 Member
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    MrsGrindelwald wrote: »
    Hey everyone. My first time posting. I was just looking for some advice. I started calorie counting about 5 months ago using this site and things are going well, I've lost 39lbs in that time, going from 170-131

    The problem is that for the first couple of months, I misunderstood how the net calories work and consequently, I wasn't eating enough, some days only netting under 700 calories.

    I fixed this in the last 2 months and make sure I get my 1200 after exercise but I've been left with seriously thinning hair. I haven't got any bald patches yet and I've been taking high strength biotin and a multivitamin, plus making sure I get enough protein.

    Does anyone know if this will fix itself in time or if there is anything else I can do?

    Out of curiosity, if I understand correctly, you were undereating for 3 months starting 5 months ago - when did the hair loss start?
  • MrsGrindelwald
    MrsGrindelwald Posts: 8 Member
    edited October 2018
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    Out of curiosity, if I understand correctly, you were undereating for 3 months starting 5 months ago - when did the hair loss start?[/quote]

    I noticed it about 6 weeks ago and started upping my calories. I've been taking the supplements I mentioned for about 3 weeks

  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,949 Member
    edited October 2018
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    1200 still isn't enough.
    It'll take months before you see improvements after increasing your calories.
    Also have your doctor check your iron levels, you're likely nutrient deficient since you've been eating very low calories (including the 1200) for a while. (Low iron can cause hair loss. Depending on your levels, you might need iron supplements for up to a year - and results could take as long - your doctor will know best). Also talk to your doctor about your deficit and how long you've been at it. If left untreated (and if it is true that you are iron deficient), severe anemia can be life threatening in the worst case. Hair loss is a sign things are not going well.

    This is a medical concern, so I hope you take my advice to see a doctor seriously. I'm kind of surprised no one else has mentioned it.
  • Azurite27
    Azurite27 Posts: 554 Member
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    As others have suggested, if you are at a healthy weight and just losing a little extra, you should change your goal to no more than .5 lb a week. And make sure to get enough fat, preferably healthy fat (over 50g).
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,973 Member
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    Ok, so hair loss took about 3.5 months to show up for you, thanks.

    We have a lot of under-eaters here who say they feel fine, and I like to tell them that issues like hair loss take a while to show up.
  • Beka3695
    Beka3695 Posts: 4,126 Member
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    It took probably 4 months for my hair to STOP falling out after I increased my calories. Unfortunately I increased too much and gained back over half of what I lost. I am expecting to see the hair loss start back up again. I came to the conclusion last go round that I would rather be bald than fat...

    Congratulations on your loss!!!
  • SisterSueGetsFit
    SisterSueGetsFit Posts: 1,211 Member
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    Maybe you could consider a little recomp (gaining a bit of muscle) to help with the perceived belly fat? You'll be upping your calories as you're likely burning more. I'm not a recomp expert, so someone else will have to weigh in, it's just a thought. 130 at your height is a very reasonable/healthy weight.
  • MrsGrindelwald
    MrsGrindelwald Posts: 8 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Ok, so hair loss took about 3.5 months to show up for you, thanks.

    We have a lot of under-eaters here who say they feel fine, and I like to tell them that issues like hair loss take a while to show up.

    I did feel fine during the first couple of months but then I stopped losing weight and lost hair instead! Since eating 1200, I'm losing weight too


    Beka3695 wrote: »
    It took probably 4 months for my hair to STOP falling out after I increased my calories. Unfortunately I increased too much and gained back over half of what I lost. I am expecting to see the hair loss start back up again. I came to the conclusion last go round that I would rather be bald than fat...

    Congratulations on your loss!!!

    Thanks. Fortunately, I haven't regained a single pound. Good to know that things do improve though :)

  • KelGen02
    KelGen02 Posts: 668 Member
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    I lost 72lbs in just over 10 months while counting calories and exercising regularly. I use to have big 80's long thick hair. About 4 months into the new lifestyle I noticed my hair was falling out in clumps and that I had started with some bald spots above my temples. I spoke with my dr, who tested me for thyroid and some other things to make sure there wasn't something else going on, test were all normal so she told me to take a supplement, increase my healthy fat intake. While my bald spots have since grown back, I still have very long thin hair. I went from needing two ponytails to hold up this hair to having to wrap the one pony around at least 3/4 times just to keep it from falling out of my hair. The hair is growing longer, and the bald spots are gone, but I never did get it to come back thick again. Its been two years since this happened, i even gained back some weight and still... hair is thin. I learned that hitting macros were just as important as hitting calories in order to properly nourish my body and losing too much too fast was not as awesome as I thought it was :s

    Good luck, talk to your dr if it continues.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    MrsGrindelwald wrote: »
    ejg1010 wrote: »
    Congrats on your weight loss!
    I think the other posters above have answered your initial question about hair loss, but just as an aside it might be worth setting your goal now to 0.5 pounds per week as you're already in the middle of the healthy weight bracket for your height. The extra calories should help with getting in the extra nutrients. 1200 per day is quite low. If you increase your calories now that might make your loss more sustainable when you reach your end goal and switch to maintenance.

    Thank you. I will consider changing it sooner. Was going to leave it till I was about another 10lbs down but I may reconsider if it will help my hair situation

    Hair loss is the symptom you’re noticing. That doesn’t mean it was the only negative effect. I would definitely bump up at least close to maintenance sooner than later.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    It took my hair several months to stop falling out after I was undereating also. 1200 was even underrating for me and I was severely vitamin d deficient.

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