Dieting; hair

[GlennaGirl]

Well, now that I've found some extra hair...of course I'm afraid to lose it.

I am finally really buckling down on dieting. I've never been the same since my second and third pregnancies 5 and 2 years ago.

I've heard that sometimes, when people diet, their hair thins. Has this happened to anyone and does anybody have recommendations on how to prevent it?

[Euphony]

Oh boy, this might what's happening with me then. I haven't measured my circumference (I'm skeered), but I've been losing gobs of hair and not much weight. I started Nutrisystem on the 5th.

Sorry don't mean to damper your thoughts! I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.

[akurah]

I suspect, if you're eating healthy and "right", you're far more likely to see improvement in your hair than loss, even if while losing weight.

[girlcat36]

My hair got quite thin while I was on a very lowfat diet. At the time, I didn't make the correlation. Looking back, my hair began to thicken up when I was less strict with my diet. My body thickened up too, unfortunately.
I don't know how those celebrities can be so stick thin with those full heads of hair. Maybe extensions?

[zanne]

I just lost a lot of weight (60 lbs) and i had no issues at all with shedding or anything like that. As long as you're still eating a healthy balanced diet, you hair should benefit along with the rest of you. I think the hair issues only happen to people who do the scarydiet thing. When you deplete your system, everything suffers.
~scarydiet of course being my technical term for the crash/anorexia/hollywood diet plans;)

[Euphony]

I suspect, if you're eating healthy and "right", you're far more likely to see improvement in your hair than loss, even if while losing weight.
This is my thinking too (or at least was). Nutrisystem is supposed to be well balanced etc. I am however not seeing much weight loss, but my hair is sure coming out in clumps. Though I've always eaten a well balanced diet, I just have a nasty metabolism.

[Islandgrrl]

If you're dieting though, you might not be getting enough nutrients even if you are eating healthful foods. Good idea to supplement with a good quality multi-vitamin while actively losing weight.

I might just point out that dieting is just a wee bit stressful for most people. That could play into things, too.

[MsBubbles]

I've heard that sometimes, when people diet, their hair thins. Has this happened to anyone and does anybody have recommendations on how to prevent it?

:waving:Yes from me to the first part of the question. I think for me the issue was how fast I lost the weight. The faster I lost it (i.e. the more drastic the diet), my more hair thinning I'd have. I say 'thinning' because it was all over and not bald spots. This was when it was shoulder length, but now I'm right about BSL I don't want to lose ANY extra hair. I thought hard about certain nutrient and food groups to see what type of diet might help me lose weight without losing hair. My conclusion: A balanced diet (protein, carbs, fat, veggies, fruit, grains) just in less quantity! The way I lost my weight before was basically no carbs, all the while engaging in an ultramarathon training schedule. Insane! I lost fat, muscle, and hair :(.

This time I'm trying to follow the Body For Life style of diet, purely because I have the recipe book and can't come up with my own meal ideas :rolleyes:. I am at an ok weight now as far as the charts are concerned but I'd like to lighten the load on my knees for my chosen sport, plus getting up 3 flights of stairs to my appartment each day. The BFL system shouldn't let me lose weight as quickly as I did on the South Beach diet or another no carb diet, so I'm hoping I can lose 10-15lbs safely, and not end up looking haggard. (I know the SoBe diet allows for carbs after the first 2 weeks when you get to stage II, but for me, those first 2 carbless weeks were enough for my hair to give up and drop out!).

So I guess my advice based on my own body & hair (and of course yours is different!) is eat a well balanced diet, just less of it, lose the weight slowly, and diets that rule out entire food groups may well have a negative effect on your hair. I'm not gonna shoot for any 10lbs in 2 weeks supermarket magazine diets any more. It's all for the hair :D. I hope this helps!

[girlcat36]

I was eating egg whites, dry toast, dry salad, and agonizing over a slice of pizza. I took in very little fat. I worked out a lot too. So there was nothing left over for my hair, which the body considers expendable as far as nutrients go.
I can't believe how thin I was back then, and I thought I was being healthy.
I am a couple sizes bigger now, and that's fine. Gotta feed the hair!

[Kirin]

In a lot of diets, lack of protein is the main culprit in hair loss, and thinnning. I've lost hair on diets before, but had the best hair of my life on atkins, and loosing 60 lbs. Go figure.

[DotDotDot]

<snip> I can't believe how thin I was back then, and I thought I was being healthy.<snip>

I'm not going to pretend that I'm an expert on dieting, but I have heard several times that a moderate-fat diet is much better than a lowfat one. Your body does need fat in moderation. I'm sure it has to do with what someone mentioned before about having a balanced diet but still not getting all the nutrients you need.

[girlcat36]

I'm not going to pretend that I'm an expert on dieting, but I have heard several times that a moderate-fat diet is much better than a lowfat one. Your body does need fat in moderation. I'm sure it has to do with what someone mentioned before about having a balanced diet but still not getting all the nutrients you need.

I do agree with this. Now.

[Bucatini]

I don't know what causes it? But you might want to search some of the threads for the pre-natal vitamins or the hair/skin/nails vitamins and see what you think. Those might help maybe?

[GlennaGirl]

Thanks, everybody. I'm going to start taking a multi.

I am also keeping up with my protein...especially skim milk; I've been trying to drink skim milk each day. I heard something or other good about milk...

And I had tuna today.

Thanks a bunch...let's see how this goes.

[Darkhorse1]

Yes, if you reduce your protien intake, your hair will suffer. The key with dieting is a balance of all four food groups, and exercise. Make sure you stay HYDRATED! People don't drink enough water, and dehydration can affect your hair. Since I've been drinking much more water daily, I've noticed a change in my hair. My hair looks it's best if I drink a lot of milk--but milk and I don't get along, so I find other ways to get protein into my system.

I'm currently attempting to lose weight, and it's a slow, slow, slow process, but I'm not noticing too much hair loss--outside of regular shedding.

Good luck! :)

[psvzum]

This past September I went on a 28 day detox, consisting of alot of vitamins, broth and juice. I continued altering my diet after the fast/detox - increased calories slightly but not by an awful lot. I noticed, at Christmas, I was losing a heck of alot of hair. Much more than is "normal" for me. I'm not sure if it was my diet or just my time to shed. I'd say it lasted a month or so and now is back to normal.

[Curlsgirl]

Any type of diet from what I have heard from people will cause TEMPORARY hair loss IF LOST TOO QUICKLY. Those two things are key. Of course a balanced diet and vitamins are always good but I really think the other key is to lose slowly, say 1-2 pounds per week. That is what most good diets recommend anyway. It also gives your skin a chance to adjust so you won't have as much flab when you get to your goal. If you do lose some hair though it can't be fun, it should adjust as soon as you lose to goal. I belong to a diet forum where this is discussed and that is the overall experience from many people there. I'm sure protein helps but normally in a Lowcarb diet, a lot of protein is eaten and the hair loss still can happen. Too many words to just say LOSE SLOWLY huh? :o

[jel]

I also had fantastic hair growth (well, thickening - as I was a shorthair then, more than 5 years ago) when on Atkins. I did it properly, though, with lots of veggies and later adding some fruit, but no man-made carbs.

In my opinion, protein and healthy fats are essential for good skin and hair (good health in general), and that's what healthy low carb diets provide in abundance. My skin also brightened and toned up although I lost over 50 lbs (I also exercised, but not a lot). As I said, I was eating natural green stuff, but I also took a multivitamin + minerals.

[Darkhorse1]

A healthy diet = healthy hair. The more protein you eat, the better your hair will look. But choose GOOD protein. Tuna is an excellent soure of protein and omega 3 fatty acids, which are great for skin/nails/hair.

Keep in mind, excess of cafienne, smoking, alcohol will affect your hair. I'm sooo glad I don't live with my dad---smoker. I couldn't believe how nice my hair was when I was finally in a smoke free environment. :D

[Babyfine]

I went on a couple of "crash" diets in my 20's trying to lose weight for summer so I could get in a bathing suit. I ate very low fat. My hair did thin during those times, and was also dry and unmanageable. I never made the connection back then, either.
The good news is over the last year I have slowly lost weight (not much maybe 10lbs) due to trying to eat a very healthy diet and good exercise program(lots of walking) and my hair is better now I believe than last year, and not thinner at all!
so maybe slow and steady is the way to go.

Girlcat36, I always wondered that too, about those celebrities! Sometimes their hair is thicker than their bodies! and they color,bleach, blonde to black, to blonde-ect!
I'd be bald if I did that, LOL!

[GlennaGirl]

Thanks, ladies...I appreciate the help. This all pretty much confirms what I was thinking.

I'm going to try to lose very slowly and keep up my protein, and getting fats is really not a problem. I love vegetables and fruit so that's not a problem either.

Thanks so much!

[Curlsgirl]

Thanks, ladies...I appreciate the help. This all pretty much confirms what I was thinking.

I'm going to try to lose very slowly and keep up my protein, and getting fats is really not a problem. I love vegetables and fruit so that's not a problem either.

Thanks so much!

Good luck GlennaGirl!!! I'm rooting for ya! As soon as I get well I'm back at my balanced diet AND exercise!!!!!:cheese:

[busnutmedic]

I was eating egg whites, dry toast, dry salad, and agonizing over a slice of pizza. I took in very little fat. I worked out a lot too. So there was nothing left over for my hair, which the body considers expendable as far as nutrients go.
I can't believe how thin I was back then, and I thought I was being healthy.
I am a couple sizes bigger now, and that's fine. Gotta feed the hair!


I was never really drastically thin, but it sounds like I did more or less what you did (I did Body-For-Life)- I remember especially agonizing over pizza, lol. My hair only got thinner during that period. And I was thinner then by a few inches around my hips and now I can't believe I was really wanting to lose more!!

Lately I have been thinking that -*gasp*- I need to be happy where I'm at. Yes, while I'm looking at photos of lovely, tall, thin models I have moments where I think I must lose weight. But really...I've got to get out of that mindset.

Anyhow, good to hear that you're doing OK a few sizes bigger ;) The world keeps on turning, doesn't it!?

Bonnie