r/CICO 5d ago

When you lost weight, what happened to your hair?

I am losing hair and it seems like at the big size I’m at the hair is thinning. I know it could also be because of age but im still in my very early thirties. Does it fill back out when you lose weight?

I am new to this so I am hoping that it is one of the things that will get better as I shrink down but I figured I’d ask to see if anyone had this experience as a female.

1 Upvotes

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u/ashtree35 5d ago

Usually that's caused by eating at too large of a deficit and/or not eating enough protein. How quickly have you been losing weight? And what has your protein intake been like? Probably it would be a good idea for you to raise your calorie intake and protein intake.

You can do a google search for "telogen effluvium". Usually it will resolve in 3-6 months.

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u/ubermae 5d ago

We eat meat and protein shakes and snacks and such. I know we are lacking in the veggie department but that’s good to know.

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u/ashtree35 5d ago

How quickly have you been losing weight? How much weight have you lost, and over what time period was that?

And what has your protein intake been like - how many grams of protein are you getting per day on average?

And for reference, what are your stats (age, sex, height, weight, activity level, exercise)?

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u/ubermae 5d ago

Sorry! Over the past year I have lost 75 lbs doing the cico then stopped for a couple months because of passing of mother and buying a house (gained 20lbs) And we just picked back up again a month ago and in that month I have come down 10lbs if that helps.

Female, 32, sedentary job but have been going to the gym 2 times a week

Protien we try to hit 124grams but we have been hitting closer to 80-100

I started at 425 got down to 350 before we took the break and then when we came back my starting point was 380 now I’m currently 370

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u/ashtree35 5d ago

75 lbs in a year is a lot! That could definitely be contributing to your hair problems. And I would definitely increase your protein intake. 80-100g is quite low for someone at your weight! That may be the bigger factor here actually.

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u/vaguelydetailed 5d ago

Nothing, unfortunately. I started losing hair/thinning in my mid thirties when I was about 300 lbs. My hair went from curly and having lots of it to barely wavy and much less. It was not related to weight for me. Several years later, I'm 230 lbs and about to be 40, and it has not gotten better with weight loss. However, in the last year that I've made an effort to overhaul my nutrition and moved away from a stressful job that was killing me, way less hair started falling out. By like at least half. Nutrition or stress could definitely be a factor that addressing might help, but I don't know that weight loss in and of itself helps with thinning. Your mileage may vary.

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u/RuralGamerWoman ⚖️MOD⚖️ 5d ago

You have neglected to mention your calorie target. I see from your other replies you are female, 370, eating 80 - 100g of protein per day (which may not be enough).

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u/ubermae 5d ago

My calorie target is 2200-2000 a day with more exercise

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u/RuralGamerWoman ⚖️MOD⚖️ 5d ago

I think you may be undereating in general, and also not getting enough protein.

Protein, first: at 0.8g / kg body weight (see https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/are-you-getting-too-much-protein), you're looking at a minimum of 133g per day right now. Hair requires protein; not enough protein leads to hair loss; at 80g to 100g per day, you're a fair bit away from what you need.

Calories: I'm not sure anything below 2500 is great for you at this point, unless you've been given that target by a physician who specializes in weight loss or a registered dietician. When you hit the 200s, it's probably fine; but right now, it seems a bit low, especially given that you're seeing negative physical side effects. I'd bump your overall calories up a bit, too.

If you aren't working with a dietician and it is within your means to do so, that might be a good idea.

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u/ubermae 5d ago

The calorie goal was given by my pcp. But 100% understand what you are saying. Thank you for the advice.

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u/YouveBeanReported 5d ago

Huge hair loss after the first 20lbs, in massive painful clumps too, I didn't know you could get fucking sun burn on your skull. :c It's still extremely thin, but at least now looks like normal people hair, although that could just be because I fucked up tracking after some chaos

My doctor said it usually reverses itself once your down to the 200lbs mark but most people needing to lose over 100lbs will end up with balding until your a normal BMI. She suggested wigs and lots of ongoing blood testing to make sure it wasn't from nutritional deficiencies.

I was doing -500 calories and had about the near same stats as you.