Cutting carbs by half and hair loss

adchak
adchak Posts: 62 Member
edited November 30 in Food and Nutrition
I started my clean eating journey in May 2018 when I was 203 lbs. I was eating 1500/1600 cals abt 130 grams of carbs, 90-100 grms of protein and 30-40 grams of fat. I’m 43 yrs old female 5 ft 7 inches. I basically changedmy overall calories to 1300-1400 cals 50-70 grms of carbs, 90-100 gms of protein, 60-70 grms if fat. I started losing wt steadily for the first time. I amnow at 182-183 lbs.
My wt loss hasbeen slow and gradual. I ate green veggies, lean protein, reduced sugar and gave up grains completely. I am also hypothyroid so have to be super careful abt diet. I maintained the same amt of exercise 1-2 days strength training, added 3-4 days of walking 10,000 steps and only recently started taking barre classes to change things up.
My biggest complaint is hair shedding- long strands of hair coming out like crazy, I also feel a bit feverish not that I am runng a fever but every now and then I feel a bit down. Is this all because of lowcarb? All my blood workis normal
TSH 1.07
Free T4 1.2 (.5-1.7 ng/dL)
Free T3: 2.5 (2.5 to 5.5 pg/ml)
Ferritin 154 ng/mL (11 to 307 ng/mL)
Cortisol 9.7 ug/dL (5 to 25 ug/dL)
Vit D 34.4 (30 to 100 ng/mL)
Vit B12 390 pg/mL (180 to 933)
Testosterone 17 ng/dL (0 to 100 ng/dL)
Free testosterone 1.0 (.2 to 5.0)
Glucose 92 (65 to 100 mg/dL)
Freeinsulin 6.7 (0-17)
Total insulin issame 6.7 (0-17)

Should I increase my carbs? I dont want to go bald!!! But I also dont want to gain wt by uncreasing my carbs.
I have started taking collagen powder, Biotin, multivitamin, keratin capsules for the last 2 weeks. No change in hair loss so far. My doc basically said it happens when you lose weight and continues till I hit maintenance stage.

Any suggestions/thoughts are much appreciated. What have ithers experienced? I cut off 12 inches of ny long lustrous hair due to shedding!!! Pl help

Replies

  • lililomo2
    lililomo2 Posts: 250 Member
    edited November 2018
    my friend who initially told me about keto is also suffering from hair loss. i lost 20 lbs on keto but i also have a lot of hair so i can't relate but am on med carb now. i think you need to hold on because i DO know collagen makes a difference for people with hair issues, but two weeks might not be quite the timeline you're hoping for. supplements take time to kick in from what i understand? good luck!
  • adchak
    adchak Posts: 62 Member
    My doctor basically said that anytime wt loss happens hair loss willhappen. Its your bodys response to cutting calories etc. and it should eventually stabilize once you maintain wt. He warned me to not get into the yoyo wt gain/loss cycles because that kills the hair folicles for good.

    I am really trying to see if I should increase my carbs to reduce hair shedding and also feel better. Some days I wake up feeling feverish though im not runng afever, I also suffered a month witha sinus infection somethg Ive had only once so far in my 43 yrs. is my immune system getting compromised with the low carb diet I’m on.
    Thanks for everyones responses! Truly appreciate.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Hair loss and weight loss are often linked. Faster loss seems to make it worse in some. Carbs, or lack of carbs, most likely have nothing to do with it
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    adchak wrote: »
    My doctor basically said that anytime wt loss happens hair loss willhappen. Its your bodys response to cutting calories etc. and it should eventually stabilize once you maintain wt. He warned me to not get into the yoyo wt gain/loss cycles because that kills the hair folicles for good.

    I am really trying to see if I should increase my carbs to reduce hair shedding and also feel better. Some days I wake up feeling feverish though im not runng afever, I also suffered a month witha sinus infection somethg Ive had only once so far in my 43 yrs. is my immune system getting compromised with the low carb diet I’m on.
    Thanks for everyones responses! Truly appreciate.

    Have you increased your sodium intake? Your carb level (depending on how much of that is fibrous, therefor what your net carb intake it) could be low enough for you to be in ketosis. If that's the case, you need to make sure you are getting enough electrolytes to replenish those.

    For hair loss, yes, it's more common during weight loss, but it takes a long time for that to stop once you move into maintenance (think months, not days or weeks).
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    adchak wrote: »
    My doctor basically said that anytime wt loss happens hair loss willhappen. Its your bodys response to cutting calories etc. and it should eventually stabilize once you maintain wt. He warned me to not get into the yoyo wt gain/loss cycles because that kills the hair folicles for good.

    I am really trying to see if I should increase my carbs to reduce hair shedding and also feel better. Some days I wake up feeling feverish though im not runng afever, I also suffered a month witha sinus infection somethg Ive had only once so far in my 43 yrs. is my immune system getting compromised with the low carb diet I’m on.
    Thanks for everyones responses! Truly appreciate.

    Is it possible that you are perimenopausal and what you are experiencing is hot flushes? Hair loss during this time is not uncommon either.
  • adchak
    adchak Posts: 62 Member
    Got my last set ofblood work andwhile the DHEA isnormal I tested positive for ANA-antinuclear antibodies withdouble strand DNA which probably means Lupus. I have made an appt withmy GP andmyhair specialist hasfaxed her the test results.
    I am really shocked because other than hairloss i dont have any other symptoms. Will have to get addl tests done based on what my doc says. My hair soecialist confirmed that the hairloss is dueto ANAbeing present.
    Ifanyone hashad Lupus pl let me know.
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