Will Losing weight affect my hair?

[waist2011]

I am in the process of losing weight. I have lost about 40 pounds so far and have about 50 more to go. I am wondering if my massive shed is from my weight loss?

I eat better now than I ever have..I do cardio 5 days a week. I am making sure and taking my vitamins. So I *think* I should be ok. But would just the Calorie intake V.S Burn rate make my hair suffer?
:confused:

[chopandchange]

I think if you are aiming to lose the weight fast it could affect your hair. If you do it slowly over a reasonable period of time, then hopefully it shouldn't have too much of an effect.

[GoddesJourney]

If it's happening because you've cut down to much on calories, it can negatively affect your general health and actually make you put on more weight later on. However, it seems like you're losing weight by working out and eating healthy, and there's nothing wrong with that. Your hair should be fine.

[princessp]

Wow, that is quite an achievement, congratulations! I can't really speak to the original question, but i am really impressed (and inspired) at your goals.

[Purdy Bear]

Hair loss can be associated with quick diets, things like fad diets where you dont eat a full range of nutrients.

I would keep your quantity sky high, and your calorie within the normal range for your height and bone structure.

Fill up with fruit, and veg and make sure you get all your food groups. Keep a food journal which not only will be helpful for you to see what you eat, but also if your hair continues to change you can trace it back.

If you have any concerns go see your Dr to make sure.

Good Luck with your healthy eating plan.

[Stephichan]

This is an interesting issue. If we look at it from an evolutionary standpoint, I can see how decreased calorie intake+more exercise could cause your body to freak out and think that it has to be saving its resources.

On the flipside of that, your hair could be growing at a faster rate thanks to the better nutrition and exercise. This sounds confusing, but all individual hairs grow for a while and then are shed to make room for a new shaft. So, if your speeding up your growth rate, you're also speeding up the life cycle of a hair.

[Aynir]

I have also lost some weight in my past and at that time my hair grew slower and I had a lot more shedding :(. Tried to eat healthy and excercise at the time. But it's hard to tell whether my hair suffered from the diet or stress. It was a little stressful stage at my life.

I think eating a little more calories and losing weight slowly is the key. Calorie restriction can slow down metabolism so I think in that way it affects the hair and can cause some shedding and slow growth. But I think you are fine because you eat healthy and excercise.

P.S. Congratulations on your achievement, it's amazing!

[Tap Dancer]

I lost about 80 pounds in a little over 1½ years. It didn't affect my hair at all. Each person is probably different, though.

[doro357]

As long as you eat healthy,your hair should be fine. Just remember your body takes care of vital organs first. Your hair and nails come last.

[julliams]

I've heard that a low fat diet can have a negative effect on hair but I've personally been on many of those and never noticed any difference. I'm guessing they mean all the processed foods labelled "low fat" being used in place of other foods since ultimately "low fat" generally means "high sugar".

I would put the health of my body before my hair but I would think that a healthy diet would be good for both.

[VCurly]

In order to answer this question I need to ask a few of my own first:
How exactly are you losing weight? How fast? Do you have professional help? Having an Endocrinologist by your side will help you lose weight, keep you from shedding pounds too fast, and keep your diet nutritionally balanced, which should help with the shedding.
For some people, losing weight, at least at first, means losing hair. This may not be as bad as it sounds. Many overweight people have thin hair due to metabolic and hormonal imbalance: Syndrome X or poly-cystic ovaries, among others. In these cases, losing weight helps them regain nutritional and hormonal balance and actually helps their hair.
If you've lost weight very fast I'd expect some hair loss followed by stabilization and growth, or possibly even improvement of hair texture and thickness. Hair reflects general health: if you're doing exercise and eating well your hair will eventually show it.
But then, I'm not a professional: please consult with one.

[VCurly]

Oh, I reread your post, and noticed that you imply that you are shedding, and a lot. In this case you need to consult with a doctor or revisit with whoever is helping you lose weight: just to check that everything's fine. The great thing about having big hair is that it's an important health flag and can help you determine when you may have a problem.

[bumblebums]

This is an interesting issue. If we look at it from an evolutionary standpoint, I can see how decreased calorie intake+more exercise could cause your body to freak out and think that it has to be saving its resources.

On the flipside of that, your hair could be growing at a faster rate thanks to the better nutrition and exercise. This sounds confusing, but all individual hairs grow for a while and then are shed to make room for a new shaft. So, if your speeding up your growth rate, you're also speeding up the life cycle of a hair.

I agree--I think it's possible that you are eating better than you were before, which can only be good news for your hair. Getting more exercise is also good for your hair and skin, among other things. As long as you listen to your body and are good to yourself, your hair should respond in kind.

Good luck, and tell us how it turns out!

[Bethie]

For me, I have noticed a larger than normal shed, but the hair that is growing is healthier than then hair that was shed, so I'm not really complaining but it was a little scary for a while.

Grats on your weight loss!

[Anje]

It can make you lose some hair, yes. We've got a member here who has said her hair has suffered a bit after having bariatric surgery. At the same time, I'm sure that doing everything else right, such as good nutrition, sufficient protein within your caloric restrictions, vitamins, exercise, water, and rest will help keep hair loss to a minimum.

It's also worth considering that people shed for other reasons. Lots of folks lose some hair when the seasons change. So your shed may have nothing to do with the weight loss.

[GoddesJourney]

It may also depend on your mentality, on second thought. Women tend to stress out when they're trying to lose weight. We often stress out about the diet, the foods we can't eat (even worse when we eat them anyway) and just the weight itself. Some people make a really big deal about it and some people don't. Making a big deal about it and stressing out can actually make you put on weight due to stress and, yes, shed hair. Just a thought.