PDA

View Full Version : What about hair and diets?



pittsburgpam
July 9th, 2011, 03:04 PM
I just came home from a Dr's appointment with diet pills. Is there anything I should watch out for as regards to hair? Any effects it might have? I have some small concern that losing weight could have the same effects as being undernourished and hair loss, thinning, or not growing.

I stopped at the grocery store on my way home and loaded up on lean meats, yogurt, fruits and veggies. I have tons of all sorts of beans so I'll be making some soups to freeze. I also got two tubs of coconut oil so I'll use one for hair and one for cooking.

I meant to look at vitamins at the store and I forgot!

RitaCeleste
July 9th, 2011, 03:16 PM
There is a great site for all sorts of diets called FitDay. You can track exactly what you eat everyday, calories, % of protein all kinds of information is available on all kinds of foods. Its awesome!!! It really helps to make sure you eat enough and the right kinds of things. You want to make sure you eat over 800 calories a day, shoot for at least 1000 calories. Going below 800 calories per day has a tendency to cause problems with hair, think falling out. You also want to make sure you are meeting your protein requirements. If you are staying at 1000 calories a day at least and eating enough protein, your hair should still grow. Seriously, check out fitday.

luthein
July 9th, 2011, 03:25 PM
:( To me, 1000 cal sounds very low in conjunction with diet pills. My basal metabolic rate is 1400 cal and I'm 5'9" with a small frame. I'd suggest to talk to a nutritionist or your doctor about your caloric intake. You could also ask for a few sample meal plans.

Be gentle with yourself while you restrict your caloric intake. Stress can adversely affect your hair, as well. Moderate exercise and reasonable eating will help your plan last long-term.

slz
July 9th, 2011, 03:30 PM
What you need most for skin and hair health : fat. Which seems like it doesn't go well with diet -well, not really, you have to choose oils that provide omega 3 EFA. Hemp, canola, walnut oil ... etc.
But no fat = really really bad for hair and skin.

RitaCeleste
July 9th, 2011, 03:37 PM
I said atleast, 1200 is still pretty strict for most females. I was going for atleast, you should average around 1200 calories per day. More even if you are starting at a higher weight. But hair loss isn't common if you stay at 1000 calories or more per day. Say those diet pills affect appetite. Some days you may not eat much and you risk falling below 800 calories and your hair falling out! I lost a lot of weight, 90 pounds, although I gained some back this summer. I did it over a three year period though, so I wasn't rushing it. The longer it takes to get it off, the better your eating habits will become and the more likely you'll be to be able to keep it off. Don't work a diet like its a race and you'll get to the finish line and forget everything you've learned. Look at it as a process of learning how to eat better for life.

RitaCeleste
July 9th, 2011, 03:42 PM
I did an Atkins type diet, I ate fat and protein and ditched a lot of refined carbs. No sugar, no bread, no pasta. Go ahead, tell me how its gonna kill me to loose 90 pounds, have great skin and hair, go ahead. I didn't do it for my health, I did because I'm vain. As long as I look good at my funeral, Atkins is for me. lol

clairenewcastle
July 9th, 2011, 04:15 PM
Cod liver oil supplements have helped my hair in the past.
I also swear by eating eggs and wholemeal bread on a regular basis.

spidermom
July 9th, 2011, 04:24 PM
I did an Atkins type diet, I ate fat and protein and ditched a lot of refined carbs. No sugar, no bread, no pasta. Go ahead, tell me how its gonna kill me to loose 90 pounds, have great skin and hair, go ahead. I didn't do it for my health, I did because I'm vain. As long as I look good at my funeral, Atkins is for me. lol

What I like about Atkins is no writing stuff down, no calorie counting.

pittsburgpam
July 9th, 2011, 04:48 PM
I'll take a look. I have a large list of things to eat and basic guidelines. It's just healthy eating really. He did tell me to make sure that I eat protein for breakfast. I took the pill when I got home and I was really hungry (hadn't eaten before the appt), but after putting groceries away and eating a half dozen pretzel sticks, I didn't want to eat.

That's my weakness; bread, crackers and such. I rarely eat sweets, no candy or cookies or cake or anything like that and never have it in the house. But give me some chips and I'm happy. And cheese is a close second. I would be happy to come home from work and have some bread and cheese for dinner.

ChatNoir
July 9th, 2011, 05:11 PM
I'll take a look. I have a large list of things to eat and basic guidelines. It's just healthy eating really. He did tell me to make sure that I eat protein for breakfast. I took the pill when I got home and I was really hungry (hadn't eaten before the appt), but after putting groceries away and eating a half dozen pretzel sticks, I didn't want to eat.

That's my weakness; bread, crackers and such. I rarely eat sweets, no candy or cookies or cake or anything like that and never have it in the house. But give me some chips and I'm happy. And cheese is a close second. I would be happy to come home from work and have some bread and cheese for dinner.

Look, a low-carb diet is hard in the beginning. The body often craves quick carbs such as bread or crackers, especially in the evening, but try to think of it this way: When you eat quick carbs, your bloodsugar goes through the roof and you'll feel more hungry sooner. I second your doctor in going for protein for breakfast: omelet, egg and bacon or such is PACKED with protein, good for hair and good for you.

I would recommend taking a supplement of vitamin B if you have difficulties getting enough veggies, but only if you lack it. And cod liver oil is never bad. Especially since your body is used to other types of fibres and might... well... let's say it might stop for a while :p

I've lost about 25kg without diet pills, and low-carb diets are for me.

(feel free to PM me if you have any questions ;) I'm kind of into this dieting stuff!)

pittsburgpam
July 9th, 2011, 05:28 PM
If my body "stops" it would be a good thing since I normaly have the other problem. I have always had digestive problems (yeah, funny with my no-so-good diet). I've had gallbladder removed and I had a total hysterectomy because of a huge 3"x5" absess on my uterus because of diverticulitis. Everything was fused with infection and they removed it all. Luckily, didn't have to remove any bowel, just scraped the outer infected off. (sorry if TMI).

I checked out the FitDay and it's pretty cool. Set up an account and entered what I've had so far today (230 calories).

Thank you for the offer, I may take you up on it.

Javadandy
July 9th, 2011, 08:02 PM
I want to wish you all the success in your weight loss plans. I am a thyroid patient, but I was testing with good numbers and had a stable thyroid when I lost 45 lbs with a combo of sublingual hcg followed with some atkins. Carbs were not my friend, and I have maintained 35 lbs of the loss for the last 2 years and counting (water weight is some of the regain) and I feel very well. The thing about cutting calories is if you cut too low below your maintenance calories, you can have your thyroid slow your resting metabolism and that will result in temporary hair loss. My numbers went up (slowing metabolism) and I didn't realize what was happening, but my test numbers showed the slow down. In my case, my thyroid wasn't able to adjust but I tweaked my meds and everything was fine. For someone with normal thyroid function, the slowdown may still show as some hairloss, but this will gradually stop as your body adjusts to the diet and then resolve when you go into maintenance I was on my diet for about 2 months when my hair loss started. I didn't put 2 and 2 together at the time, I didn't know what was going on and ended up cutting my hair back. Big mistake. Just keep some awareness that this can happen, and keep as even a nutritional diet as possible. I hope this helps!