Has anyone else experienced these things with weight loss?
KristenDrums10
Posts: 12 Member
Hi, everyone! I’m new to the boards, but not so new to fitness. I’ve lost 75 pounds over this past year & am now in the healthy weight range for my height! I’ve been experiencing some negative side effects, though, & am wondering if anyone else has experienced them, too?
1. I get extremely cold now. I used to be able to spend an entire day swimming in a freezing cold pool, lol, but now, even if it’s just a little bit cold wherever I’m at, I run the risk of getting really bad chills. It’s almost painful.
2. My hair won’t grow. I cut my hair right before I began my weight loss journey & it has barely grown. I’ve started taking vitamins but I’m not so sure that they’re helping. I miss my long hair.
3. I barely burn anything during my workouts anymore. I consider myself lucky if I reach 200 calories in an hour long class. I know that I’ve gone about as far as I can go with my weight loss (I’d still like to lose about 10 more pounds), but still. That can’t be right, can it? I’m really worried that I’m going to lose my progress because I’m not burning like I used to, & it also makes it really hard to stay within my calorie budget.
Now, I’ll take these minor side effects if it means that I get to feel this good with my weight loss, lol, but they are a bit frustrating. Are any of these common side effects with weight loss, & is there anything that I can do to “fix” them?
1. I get extremely cold now. I used to be able to spend an entire day swimming in a freezing cold pool, lol, but now, even if it’s just a little bit cold wherever I’m at, I run the risk of getting really bad chills. It’s almost painful.
2. My hair won’t grow. I cut my hair right before I began my weight loss journey & it has barely grown. I’ve started taking vitamins but I’m not so sure that they’re helping. I miss my long hair.
3. I barely burn anything during my workouts anymore. I consider myself lucky if I reach 200 calories in an hour long class. I know that I’ve gone about as far as I can go with my weight loss (I’d still like to lose about 10 more pounds), but still. That can’t be right, can it? I’m really worried that I’m going to lose my progress because I’m not burning like I used to, & it also makes it really hard to stay within my calorie budget.
Now, I’ll take these minor side effects if it means that I get to feel this good with my weight loss, lol, but they are a bit frustrating. Are any of these common side effects with weight loss, & is there anything that I can do to “fix” them?
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Have you had your thyroid levels tested? Those things can by symptoms of hypothyroidism. They might also be symptoms of certain nutritional deficiencies (micronutrients), or of some diseases. Have you spoken with your doctor?
How is your protein intake? That can affect hair growth, in addition to micronutrients.
These can also be symptoms of adaptive thermogenesis, which can be an effect of losing weight faster than possibly ideal. Essentially, if you train your body to expect continuing famine, by eating at a steep deficit for a long time, it gets good at being conservative with energy expenditure. If that's it, time might help, reverse dieting might help.
I lost a fair amount of weight decades back when I first went off to college, and was cold all the time. This time losing weight, I didn't get cold.14 -
Not 2, 1 to a small extent, but definitely 3. My hair grows annoyingly fast and gets annoyingly long. A couple of months ago I just took scissors and chopped my braided hair in half. It did get a bit thinner a few months after I attempted a month of larger deficit (at least that's what I think was the cause, it could have been anything). If you've only just started maintaining, give yourself a bit of time. Hair tends to take 3-4 months to react. If your deficit was too large or you weren't getting enough nutrients, or if it's simply the stress of dieting, it should stabilize in a few months, otherwise you may want to see a doctor. Focusing on nutrients is a good call for now.
Burning fewer calories is pretty normal. How are you measuring your calories burned? It's entirely possible to burn 200 calories an hour depending on your stats and type of activity, but there is also the possibility that you may be under-estimating them. How is your maintenance going? If your still slowly losing maybe you are under-estimating, and if your weight is more or less staying the same, you'll just have to accept those new numbers or increase your intensity.4 -
1. To a small extent. I'm a lot more heat resistent though! It definitely doesn't seem unusual to feel colder after weight-loss.
2. I've been in a small deficit (with occasional maintenance breaks) for nearly two years now. I feel like my hair growth has definitely suffered. I haven't been to a hair dresser in all that time and my hair hasn't grown as much as I'd expect. It's also thinner. I started taking vitamins 9 months ago and it took a few months, but then I started seeing shorter hairs pop up everywhere. They're still not fully grown in now, but I can see the improvement.
3. Your calorie burns, are you getting them from a HR based device? It's an inherent weakness, that you seemingly burn less calories as you get more fit (because your heart rate is slower). I've seen it happen with my own tracker, the numbers are lower now, underestimating compared to a calculator I use. But you aren't actually burning less calories with a lower heart rate. Aside from that, you are burning less calories than before because your body is smaller, that's the downside to losing weight 😉 but 200 calories doesn't sound very high for an hour, it might be an underestimation, hard to tell without knowing your weight in the type/intensity of exercise.4 -
Thank you for the responses! I really appreciate them,
Have you had your thyroid levels tested? Those things can by symptoms of hypothyroidism. They might also be symptoms of certain nutritional deficiencies (micronutrients), or of some diseases. Have you spoken with your doctor?
How is your protein intake? That can affect hair growth, in addition to micronutrients.
These can also be symptoms of adaptive thermogenesis, which can be an effect of losing weight faster than possibly ideal. Essentially, if you train your body to expect continuing famine, by eating at a steep deficit for a long time, it gets good at being conservative with energy expenditure. If that's it, time might help, reverse dieting might help.
I lost a fair amount of weight decades back when I first went off to college, and was cold all the time. This time losing weight, I didn't get cold.
I haven’t had my thyroid levels tested or been to the doctor in a long time, but I’ll consider doing that. I feel like my protein intake is okay. I definitely lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time.amusedmonkey wrote: »Not 2, 1 to a small extent, but definitely 3. My hair grows annoyingly fast and gets annoyingly long. A couple of months ago I just took scissors and chopped my braided hair in half. It did get a bit thinner a few months after I attempted a month of larger deficit (at least that's what I think was the cause, it could have been anything). If you've only just started maintaining, give yourself a bit of time. Hair tends to take 3-4 months to react. If your deficit was too large or you weren't getting enough nutrients, or if it's simply the stress of dieting, it should stabilize in a few months, otherwise you may want to see a doctor. Focusing on nutrients is a good call for now.
Burning fewer calories is pretty normal. How are you measuring your calories burned? It's entirely possible to burn 200 calories an hour depending on your stats and type of activity, but there is also the possibility that you may be under-estimating them. How is your maintenance going? If your still slowly losing maybe you are under-estimating, and if your weight is more or less staying the same, you'll just have to accept those new numbers or increase your intensity.
I am so jealous that your hair grows fast, lol. Of course I just HAD to cut my hair short last year, haha. My hair has definitely thinned out, too! I will give it some time since I’ve just about hit the maintenance stage.
I use my Apple Watch to track my calories. My maintenance is pretty stable. Every once in a while, I’ll lose maybe another pound or so & think “I’ve finally made it through this plateau!”, only to go back up into my maintenance area, lol. I guess I’ll have to intensify somehow.1. To a small extent. I'm a lot more heat resistent though! It definitely doesn't seem unusual to feel colder after weight-loss.
2. I've been in a small deficit (with occasional maintenance breaks) for nearly two years now. I feel like my hair growth has definitely suffered. I haven't been to a hair dresser in all that time and my hair hasn't grown as much as I'd expect. It's also thinner. I started taking vitamins 9 months ago and it took a few months, but then I started seeing shorter hairs pop up everywhere. They're still not fully grown in now, but I can see the improvement.
3. Your calorie burns, are you getting them from a HR based device? It's an inherent weakness, that you seemingly burn less calories as you get more fit (because your heart rate is slower). I've seen it happen with my own tracker, the numbers are lower now, underestimating compared to a calculator I use. But you aren't actually burning less calories with a lower heart rate. Aside from that, you are burning less calories than before because your body is smaller, that's the downside to losing weight 😉 but 200 calories doesn't sound very high for an hour, it might be an underestimation, hard to tell without knowing your weight in the type/intensity of exercise.
I’m glad to hear that these symptoms are fairly common, & that you’ve seen improvement! I’m hoping that in time, I’ll see improvement, too, lol. I guess it does makes sense that you would burn less as you lose, but it can be frustrating when you feel like you aren’t fully where you want to be yet! Haha.0 -
When I lost a large amount of weight it took about six months after the weight loss for it to hit my hair. It’s very normal to have slow growth and thinning following a large loss. Eventually it will go back to normal.
I agree that being cold all the time sounds like a thyroid issue, but it’s also partly a result of having lost your insulation! The way around that is to move more and generate more heat, since you are fitter now!
And yes, sorry, smaller people use fewer calories when exercising. The last few pounds are as hard as the first fifty! But again, you are fitter now, and it’s easier to move, so you can up the intensity of your workouts accordingly, which helps.3 -
Oh, almost forgot, congratulations on being in a healthy weight range! You rock!2
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rheddmobile wrote: »When I lost a large amount of weight it took about six months after the weight loss for it to hit my hair. It’s very normal to have slow growth and thinning following a large loss. Eventually it will go back to normal.
I agree that being cold all the time sounds like a thyroid issue, but it’s also partly a result of having lost your insulation! The way around that is to move more and generate more heat, since you are fitter now!
And yes, sorry, smaller people use fewer calories when exercising. The last few pounds are as hard as the first fifty! But again, you are fitter now, and it’s easier to move, so you can up the intensity of your workouts accordingly, which helps.
This is all very comforting to hear, lol! I guess it’s all just a waiting game now. I’ll have to have my thyroid checked out, though. Thank you for your input & for the congrats! Congratulations on your weight loss, as well!0 -
1. To a small extent. I'm a lot more heat resistent though! It definitely doesn't seem unusual to feel colder after weight-loss.
2. I've been in a small deficit (with occasional maintenance breaks) for nearly two years now. I feel like my hair growth has definitely suffered. I haven't been to a hair dresser in all that time and my hair hasn't grown as much as I'd expect. It's also thinner. I started taking vitamins 9 months ago and it took a few months, but then I started seeing shorter hairs pop up everywhere. They're still not fully grown in now, but I can see the improvement.
3. Your calorie burns, are you getting them from a HR based device? It's an inherent weakness, that you seemingly burn less calories as you get more fit (because your heart rate is slower). I've seen it happen with my own tracker, the numbers are lower now, underestimating compared to a calculator I use. But you aren't actually burning less calories with a lower heart rate. Aside from that, you are burning less calories than before because your body is smaller, that's the downside to losing weight 😉 but 200 calories doesn't sound very high for an hour, it might be an underestimation, hard to tell without knowing your weight in the type/intensity of exercise.
Excellent points, in the bolded. It's a myth that fitter people burn fewer calories doing the same exercise at the same (objective) intensity for the same amount of time at the same body size. People are swayed into believing that because the same exercise *feels* so much easier when fitter, and HRM may not estimate accurately since a fit person needs fewer, less frequent heartbeats to deliver the same oxygen content once the heart is stronger - that's kind of part of the definition of "fitness". It's oxygen consumption that correlates with calorie burn in certain exercises, not how fast the heart is beating as such.
Unbelievably 😉, even an Apple watch can estimate inaccurately. Compare other sources of estimates, ask questions on MFP (where there are a few actual experts who pop up on threads if you're lucky). Virtually no exercise estimating method is exact or unproblematic, but they can be close enough to be useful, if one avoids certain major pitfalls.4 -
I did not experience any hair loss or growth problems in the past when losing weight. I am always cold even when overweight but probably was more cold when I was slimmer. When I was lighter, I didn’t burn much during an intense workout either. The lighter you are, the less you tend to burn.1
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Excellent points, in the bolded. It's a myth that fitter people burn fewer calories doing the same exercise at the same (objective) intensity for the same amount of time at the same body size. People are swayed into believing that because the same exercise *feels* so much easier when fitter, and HRM may not estimate accurately since a fit person needs fewer, less frequent heartbeats to deliver the same oxygen content once the heart is stronger - that's kind of part of the definition of "fitness". It's oxygen consumption that correlates with calorie burn in certain exercises, not how fast the heart is beating as such.
Unbelievably 😉, even an Apple watch can estimate inaccurately. Compare other sources of estimates, ask questions on MFP (where there are a few actual experts who pop up on threads if you're lucky). Virtually no exercise estimating method is exact or unproblematic, but they can be close enough to be useful, if one avoids certain major pitfalls.
This is all very interesting information! I always thought that fit people would burn more just because they’re healthier & more active, lol, but that makes a lot of sense about heartbeats & oxygen levels. I I have considered that my watch might not be correct, especially since it’s so old, but I never want to overestimate my calorie burn, lol.I did not experience any hair loss or growth problems in the past when losing weight. I am always cold even when overweight but probably was more cold when I was slimmer. When I was lighter, I didn’t burn much during an intense workout either. The lighter you are, the less you tend to burn.
I’m glad that you didn’t experience any hair problems! You guys have all given me some comfort in knowing that the coldness & lower calorie come with weight loss, lol.1 -
KristenDrums10 wrote: »Excellent points, in the bolded. It's a myth that fitter people burn fewer calories doing the same exercise at the same (objective) intensity for the same amount of time at the same body size. People are swayed into believing that because the same exercise *feels* so much easier when fitter, and HRM may not estimate accurately since a fit person needs fewer, less frequent heartbeats to deliver the same oxygen content once the heart is stronger - that's kind of part of the definition of "fitness". It's oxygen consumption that correlates with calorie burn in certain exercises, not how fast the heart is beating as such.
Unbelievably 😉, even an Apple watch can estimate inaccurately. Compare other sources of estimates, ask questions on MFP (where there are a few actual experts who pop up on threads if you're lucky). Virtually no exercise estimating method is exact or unproblematic, but they can be close enough to be useful, if one avoids certain major pitfalls.
This is all very interesting information! I always thought that fit people would burn more just because they’re healthier & more active, lol, but that makes a lot of sense about heartbeats & oxygen levels. I I have considered that my watch might not be correct, especially since it’s so old, but I never want to overestimate my calorie burn, lol.
(snip)
In actual practice, fit people often do burn more *per minute* in exercise, and probably overall, because fitness means a person can either go at increased intensity (more calories per minute) for the same duration, or can do the same intensity activity for a longer duration or more frequently (without incurring an excess fatigue penalty).
What doesn't differ much with fitness is calories per minute at the same objective intensity (such as same running pace) and same body size.
Heart rate monitors specifically are reasonably good at estimating calories for steady state aerobic exercise for people with a very average heart rate response profile for their demographic. The further you get from that type of exercise and user, the less likely the estimates will be accurate.
A HRM is very likely to overestimate strength training (or things with a significant strength component), and interval workouts (the higher the intensity of the intervals, the more likely it will overestimate). If a person has a heart rate max relatively far from age estimates (which is fairly common), the more likely an inaccurate calorie estimate, unless there's an option to set personalized HR that the device will use. Also, usually there's an implicit assumption about average fitness levels, and it isn't very clear IMO what distorting effect that may have for an individual.
Note that some more recent technology fitness trackers will use factors other than heart rate to estimate calories, when they know what activity is being done . . . if they have good algorithms, make good assumptions, they could be more accurate more often than a pure HRM estimate. Some also now have fitness monitoring/estimating algorithms, will try to adjust for fitness level. Do they do it well? Not sure.
This is old, some of the specific device info is outdated, but the basics are excellent:
https://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak?month=2010034 -
1. Yes, not extremely cold, but cold enough that winter-time activities became much more of a challenge. I used to be able to tent-camp down to about 25F, now anything in the 40s makes me think twice.
2.Not so much, but most of my hair fell out already. What I did notice was how thin my fingernails got, and how easily they would tear from the smallest abuse.
3. Didn't really notice an inability to burn calories, not sure I'd believe that on face value. Did notice an increase in stamina and willingness to exercise and keep active though. That is, it wasn't a chore, it was something I wanted to do.1 -
In actual practice, fit people often do burn more *per minute* in exercise, and probably overall, because fitness means a person can either go at increased intensity (more calories per minute) for the same duration, or can do the same intensity activity for a longer duration or more frequently (without incurring an excess fatigue penalty).
What doesn't differ much with fitness is calories per minute at the same objective intensity (such as same running pace) and same body size.
Heart rate monitors specifically are reasonably good at estimating calories for steady state aerobic exercise for people with a very average heart rate response profile for their demographic. The further you get from that type of exercise and user, the less likely the estimates will be accurate.
A HRM is very likely to overestimate strength training (or things with a significant strength component), and interval workouts (the higher the intensity of the intervals, the more likely it will overestimate). If a person has a heart rate max relatively far from age estimates (which is fairly common), the more likely an inaccurate calorie estimate, unless there's an option to set personalized HR that the device will use. Also, usually there's an implicit assumption about average fitness levels, and it isn't very clear IMO what distorting effect that may have for an individual.
Note that some more recent technology fitness trackers will use factors other than heart rate to estimate calories, when they know what activity is being done . . . if they have good algorithms, make good assumptions, they could be more accurate more often than a pure HRM estimate. Some also now have fitness monitoring/estimating algorithms, will try to adjust for fitness level. Do they do it well? Not sure.
This is old, some of the specific device info is outdated, but the basics are excellent:
https://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak?month=201003
Thanks for the blog post! It was a good read! I’m going to try not to worry so much about my calorie burn & just keep doing my workouts & making healthier decisions, lol.YellowD0gs wrote: »1. Yes, not extremely cold, but cold enough that winter-time activities became much more of a challenge. I used to be able to tent-camp down to about 25F, now anything in the 40s makes me think twice.
2.Not so much, but most of my hair fell out already. What I did notice was how thin my fingernails got, and how easily they would tear from the smallest abuse.
3. Didn't really notice an inability to burn calories, not sure I'd believe that on face value. Did notice an increase in stamina and willingness to exercise and keep active though. That is, it wasn't a chore, it was something I wanted to do.
1. Yep, that sounds like me—I used to be able to swim in a freezing cold pool all day, but now I have to bring a jacket just sit in air conditioning, lol.
2. That’s interesting about your fingernails! I haven’t really noticed that with mine. It’s crazy how weight loss can affect people differently.
3. I know exactly what you mean by no longer viewing exercise as a chore! Lol. Most of my days are planned around my workouts. Like, I have to miss my favorite class next week to go to a party & I’m actually bummed about it, haha.0 -
Thyroid etc are always a good thing to check and to eliminate as potential complications.
You can add to all the above:
--nails growing slow and/or more brittle and growing faster after a day or two of extra calories
--resting heart rate that may be below where it would be if you were eating at the higher end of maintenance
Your concerns "hit" on a lot of things one observes when having some degree of adaptive thermogenesis.
Solution seems to be eating at maintenance. Perhaps pushing said maintenance as far as you can push it up without continuous / accelerated regain. And time. Have a look at reverse dieting with a pre-set "gain" budget, and/or look into a nice long diet break...
re: exercise burn: I would not be sure that either before or now are more accurate. A lot of it could be related to your apparent resting heart rate while the underlying calories getting burned are the same for the same amount of activity.5 -
Thyroid etc are always a good thing to check and to eliminate as potential complications.
You can add to all the above:
--nails growing slow and/or more brittle and growing faster after a day or two of extra calories
--resting heart rate that may be below where it would be if you were eating at the higher end of maintenance
Your concerns "hit" on a lot of things one observes when having some degree of adaptive thermogenesis.
Solution seems to be eating at maintenance. Perhaps pushing said maintenance as far as you can push it up without continuous / accelerated regain. And time. Have a look at reverse dieting with a pre-set "gain" budget, and/or look into a nice long diet break...
re: exercise burn: I would not be sure that either before or now are more accurate. A lot of it could be related to your apparent resting heart rate while the underlying calories getting burned are the same for the same amount of activity.
I’ve been trying to eat more & I haven’t noticed much of a change, although it’s only been about a week, lol. It might be my imagination, but it does seem like my hair is FINALLY getting a little longer ...3 -
Oh, the cold. The first two years were miserable. Always freezing. Now I preplan and take sweaters everywhere I might need one, although it still sneaks up on me in restaurants, and so on.
On the plus side, this miserable Southern heat and humidity doesn’t bother me much at all like it used to.
Hit a point where the hair growth was both slow and felt thin, but as I’ve settled into maintenance, it grows like a weed, and has thickened up again. No issues whatsoever with fingernails.
Nearly a hundred pounds lighter, my faithful Apple Watch doesn’t record as much of a burn, probably for the reasons stated elsewhere, including being harder to burn as rapidly at this weight versus the higher one, and takes a lot more to get my heart rate up. I’m pretty confident in what it records, though I miss those 300-400 hot vinyasa class burns. I used to turn my move ring five times a day pretty regularly, now my goal is three, and I’m very happy to see 4x once or twice a week.
But again, on the plus side, I’m not as hungry as I was at the larger weight, so it’s not a bad trade off.
One thing that I have found very peculiar is - and you may want to add this to your list- my body will do weird things before something is fixing to change for the better.
The overall mis-shapen lumpiness before a large “whoosh”. I got large hard lumps in my bicep area before my “batwings” shrank. I got tactile and visible cellulite before my thighs shrank. My stomach got pillow soft and very puffy a few days ago, and low and behold, my “shed roofline” ribs that stuck out as far as my hips have retracted noticeably and my waist now has a new curve to it.
I think that’s the one thing that has weirded me out the most of anything in this whole weight loss process.
Maybe we’re all claymation figures and don’t know it, lol.
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Fidgetbrain wrote: »How small did you need to get to be cold, asking for a friend who withers up and dies in a hot sweaty mess once the temperature reaches like 18C 😓
For me it got progressively colder pretty fast, maybe beginning with the first 25 pounds or so. I started 222+ and was chilled by the time I reached Onederland, and fricking freezing all the time by 175.
It passed off for the most part after a couple years, but merciful heavens, talk about chilled to the absolute bone.
I still need a hot drink after a smoothie with ice.
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Fidgetbrain wrote: »How small did you need to get to be cold, asking for a friend who withers up and dies in a hot sweaty mess once the temperature reaches like 18C 😓
This is not a universal effect!
Some people argue that the "being colder" is because of less insulation from less fat, and I'm sure that's in the picture. But I think there's more to it, maybe metabolic (?). I've been around my current weight twice in my adult life.
The first time, in college, when I'd lost (don't recall exactly) maybe 20-25 pounds or so, I was cold All. The. Time.
This time, losing 50+ to reach a similar body weight at age 60, I perceive no difference in my cold tolerance (or heat hatred/dysfunction) vs. when I was just over the line into class 1 obese . . . except that my very fingertips get colder in really cold weather (I live in an area where most of Winter is below freezing, and sometimes below 0F), so I need to wear gloves in cases where I previously didn't need them. I think that's maybe more of an aging/circulatory effect, maybe not purely a weight-loss one, though.
I was at BMI 20-point-something both times.4 -
springlering62 wrote: »Oh, the cold. The first two years were miserable. Always freezing. Now I preplan and take sweaters everywhere I might need one, although it still sneaks up on me in restaurants, and so on.
On the plus side, this miserable Southern heat and humidity doesn’t bother me much at all like it used to.
Hit a point where the hair growth was both slow and felt thin, but as I’ve settled into maintenance, it grows like a weed, and has thickened up again. No issues whatsoever with fingernails.
Nearly a hundred pounds lighter, my faithful Apple Watch doesn’t record as much of a burn, probably for the reasons stated elsewhere, including being harder to burn as rapidly at this weight versus the higher one, and takes a lot more to get my heart rate up. I’m pretty confident in what it records, though I miss those 300-400 hot vinyasa class burns. I used to turn my move ring five times a day pretty regularly, now my goal is three, and I’m very happy to see 4x once or twice a week.
But again, on the plus side, I’m not as hungry as I was at the larger weight, so it’s not a bad trade off.
One thing that I have found very peculiar is - and you may want to add this to your list- my body will do weird things before something is fixing to change for the better.
The overall mis-shapen lumpiness before a large “whoosh”. I got large hard lumps in my bicep area before my “batwings” shrank. I got tactile and visible cellulite before my thighs shrank. My stomach got pillow soft and very puffy a few days ago, and low and behold, my “shed roofline” ribs that stuck out as far as my hips have retracted noticeably and my waist now has a new curve to it.
I think that’s the one thing that has weirded me out the most of anything in this whole weight loss process.
Maybe we’re all claymation figures and don’t know it, lol.
Yeah, I’ve learned to take a jacket with me everywhere I go now, lol. At least the heat doesn’t bother you as much now!
I’m glad to hear that your hair started growing once you hit the maintenance stage! I’m just about there, so hopefully mine will start, too.
Man, I miss seeing this big numbers on the watch, too, lol.
That’s really interesting that your body does those things right before it changes for the better. I haven’t noticed anything like that, but maybe I haven’t been paying attention, lol.Fidgetbrain wrote: »How small did you need to get to be cold, asking for a friend who withers up and dies in a hot sweaty mess once the temperature reaches like 18C 😓
Well, my friend’s house had been progressively getting colder over my year long weight loss journey, lol, but then I realized that it was the weight loss causing the coldness probably around the 60 pound mark. I was leaving another friend’s house at night, & earlier in the day it has been warm enough to wear a hoodie. I was so cold that I was shivering, my teeth were chattering, & I felt like I physically could not move. No one else was as could I as was & they were all in hoodies, too. It was honestly so painful that I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.2 -
Coldness- common when you lose weight because you're losing fat which insulates the body. You lose it viscerally and subcutaneously.
Hair slow regrowth- usually an indication of not enough micronutrients, but also undereating can cause this especially with protein.
When you're smaller you burn less, but again if you're undereating, the same can happen.
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I don't buy the fat insulator theory. But, I DO buy the extended and / or large deficits cause some slow down that slowly and mostly resolves at maintenance (or weight gain) theory.
My n=1 contains an example of weight loss with "cold" effects to the point of an actual Raynaud's diagnosis by my GP (less than 3 months, sharp deficit of unknown size using the eat the least you can while exercising the most you can to lose fast and regain faster formula).
And the example of the current 7+ year attempt where at the end of year 2/~110lbs I would feel cold if un-moving for extended periods of time. This continued to year 3/another ~10lbs. By year 4+ it only happened if I under-ate / over-moved during the day, and usually more along the lines of over-moving (say after 3-4 hours of walking), or if I've sat at the computer all day long (>10hours at a time). Or if I've gone into a persistent deficit for more than a few days (even in the 500 Cal range). So I try to play in the 250 range... and move once an hour or so!
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I've always been in a bit intolerant to cold, even when overweight. Because I lost weight slowly, I didn't notice a huge switch, but am pretty a little bit more intolerant to cold than I was. I never noticed hair loss (but then again, I have a lot of hair, anyway), but have noticed my nails did seem to get weaker.
I haven't lost a significant amount of weight recently ( about 8 pounds slowly, then about 10 more, but more quickly), but do remember when I lost weight quickly as a teenager I was cold all.the.time and my skin was dry.2 -
I've been basically freezing since I started dieting in May 2019; the only respite is when I take diet breaks. I used to keep the temperature at 67-68 degrees; nowadays it's on 71 and a lot of summer days, we just turn the AC off and open the windows. I am constantly cold. The correlation with dieting is inescapable for me.
I haven't had hair on my head in many years, so I can't comment on that lol4 -
If I eat at a deficit I am freezing, but when I eat maintenance or more I am super hot.2
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Well now I know why I'm cold did not put it on the weight loss, twenty pounds down. Thanks2
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Fidgetbrain wrote: »How small did you need to get to be cold, asking for a friend who withers up and dies in a hot sweaty mess once the temperature reaches like 18C 😓
I run hot and have no expectations of being cold until best case after menopause, which is yet to start despite me being almost 55 >.<
I know how to deal with the cold - I've winter camped and have been too cheap to turn up electric heat to a "normal" temperature, but suffer during the heat, despite eating and drinking cold food and drinks, and wearing as light clothing as I can get away with.2 -
Thyroid etc are always a good thing to check and to eliminate as potential complications.
You can add to all the above:
--nails growing slow and/or more brittle and growing faster after a day or two of extra calories
--resting heart rate that may be below where it would be if you were eating at the higher end of maintenance
Your concerns "hit" on a lot of things one observes when having some degree of adaptive thermogenesis.
Solution seems to be eating at maintenance. Perhaps pushing said maintenance as far as you can push it up without continuous / accelerated regain. And time. Have a look at reverse dieting with a pre-set "gain" budget, and/or look into a nice long diet break...
re: exercise burn: I would not be sure that either before or now are more accurate. A lot of it could be related to your apparent resting heart rate while the underlying calories getting burned are the same for the same amount of activity.
Yes, some of the OP's issues could definitely be from losing a lot of weight quickly, so count me as another vote for eating at maintenance, preferably for at least a month or so.
Meanwhile, I'd suggest seeing the doctor to check thyroid and for deficiencies.2
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