Diet & exercise causing hair loss?

Okay so I went to the doctors yesterday and talked about diet and exercise. I am a 24 year old 5'3" girl that started about a year ago on the path to a healthier lifestyle, I started at 183 lbs and I now weigh 154 so I've lost about 30 lbs.

Let's start from the beginning: Every now and then I would have small episodes of alopecia that wouldn't bother me much since I was a child, hair would always grow back just fine. I was in remission for quite awhile, no problem.

Fast forward a bit: I started dieting about a year ago, normal diet taking in about 1,300-1,400 calories a day working out about 3-4 times a week but nothing too stressful. Starting around November I started to really become strict with myself, eating about 1,200 calories a day Mon-Fri trying to take in the right amount of protein and pushing myself to exercise at least 4-5 days a week. I always tried to eat only around 1,200 on weekdays and work out as much as I could (not eating back any exercise calories) so that I wouldn't have to worry as much once the weekend came.

Realizing now, since I've started that diet change that is when my alopecia came back and became more severe and aggressive once December came around. This is the first time I've lost all hair on the scalp and now my eyebrows and eyebrows are starting to thin. I've been getting very small fuzzy- like white hairs growing in and some long stronger wispy-like ones like it is trying to grow back but can't. Thinking it was the diet & exercise putting too much stress on my body and also most likely a vitamin deficiency even though I tried to get all vitamins within the 1,200 calories. Got my blood taken yesterday to get tested for any vitamin deficiency but I'm definitely thinking this is the answer as to why it happened.

Idea of my diet for Mon-Fri---
Breakfast- Oatmeal with 1 cup coconut milk
Lunch- 1 cup greek yogurt
Dinner- Two eggs w/ veggies or spinach (sometimes 4-6 oz chicken)
Snacks- 2 cups of honeydew melon, 2 tbsp PB

Exercise- 1 hour a day on the elliptical followed by a possible second workout circuit training for 30-60 minutes.

Weekends I do not count calories.

Looking at it now it does seem too strict and will probably revert back to the diet and exercise that I normally started with.

Views: 221

Replies are closed for this discussion.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by ataloss42 on June 8, 2015 at 12:18am

Hi,

     I'm not sure if that's what started yours but I've read about how extreme diets can incite telegon effluvium. I believe that's what happened to me too. I started a diet in January and in April, had lost 40lbs..That's when the shedding began. At least, that's what I think was the causal factor. Best of luck in your search for answers.

Permalink Reply by Pam D. on June 10, 2015 at 10:57pm

One thing I've learned from coming here is this condition is different for everyone and impossible to figure out the reason for it. I never had a problem w/hair loss until 3 years ago when I was 58. Nothing in my life changed; I've been retired for 10 years and lead a stress-free life.

If you suspect your diet and exercise might be the root cause, perhaps you could try changing what you do. Diet, exercise, and the alopecia may not be related, but I think ruling it out is worthwhile. If your hair comes back, well, yay! If it doesn't, you'll just have to move on from there.

Good luck.

RSS

Disclaimer

Any mention of products and services on Alopecia World is for informational purposes only; it does not imply a recommendation or endorsement by Alopecia World. Nor should any statement or representation on this site be construed as professional, medical or expert advice, or as pre-screened or endorsed by Alopecia World. Alopecia World is not responsible or liable for any of the views, opinions or conduct, online or offline, of any user or member of Alopecia World.

© 2024   Created by Alopecia World.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service