Hi,
I've been doing MRC since the last week of May 2011.
I've been reading this board but haven't commented before. So far I have lost 33 pounds.
I am 14 pounds away from my goal . I feel like I am in the home stretch and just need to keep motivated. I work out more than the MRC plan is really designed for. I have a personal trainer for an hour 3 days a week plus I do cardio or some other type of exercise at least 3 other days of the week.
I'm on the Meta-Protein plan, I started on the Meta-Slim plan but I was very tired all the time and I was really hungry. ( I fell asleep during the new 3D Transformers movie at 3 in the afternoon)
I take a multi-vitamin , fish oil , the big three, the glucose something , DIM and the 7 Keto stuff. ( I got suckered in to getting all the supplements , I'd really rather just take my vitamin and fish oil).
Anyway I have been noticing in the past week that I've been losing a lot more hair in the shower than I usually do. Has anyone else experienced this?
Is it because there are so few calories on the plan?
I'm not willing to cut down on my work outs because I am training for several races coming up including another half marathon. One consultant suggested I dial back the exercise. Personally I think that may be the worst advice you can give someone who is trying to lose weight.
Just thought maybe you guys might have an answer before I ask my consultant.
ps. you guys are great I've been reading you pretty much daily since I started the program.

Yes, I definitely had that the last time I did MRC. It started maybe 5 months into the program. I was doing pretty intense working out, almost exactly the same as you describe. I was taking flax oil, vitamin, and at one point mrc6 and cortitrim, but I didn't take those the whole time.

I started noticing the hair loss in the shower, just like you. I kept losing it until I stopped the diet when I got pregnant, so unfortunately I have no advice for you. Luckily, I'm Italian and have super-thick hair, so it wasn't really noticable except to me. However, it was definitely significant.

I always thought it might have been the lack of oils-- I almost always took mine, but I did miss a few here and there. It could definitely be the low-calorie thing, though. On the up side, you're very close to your goal, so I would just keep going and not worry too much about the hair loss because you will soon be adding more calories/fats back in, and hopefully that will fix the problem.

I'm with you-- I think their advice to cut back on working out is most likely not in your best interests. My center suggested adding half a bar after the workout to make up for some of the calories. I did that some, but part of me hated to because I just put so much effort into working off more calories, lol. It probably would have been better for me to do that, though, and really, half a bar is not that many calories. This time I'm not working out quite as often or for as long because my husband has to stay home with the baby when I go, and I just don't have the time that I did before. I haven't experienced hair loss yet, but I'm only in month three, and last time it didn't show up right away.

I do think it's probably a more common side effect of the program than they like to admit, but I wouldn't worry too much since you've only got 14 lbs. left. You should be there before you know it. I lost hair for a good three months before going off the diet, and although it seems like a ton in the shower, it's really not even over the course of a few months.

OMG!!!! Yes I lost so much hair that it started to scare me. There's an old post that I'll bump. I think you might fine it interesting. It's about that time of the month and it'll explain what our bodies do when we eat very few calories.

Wow thanks guys!
I guess I am glad it isn't just me but its a not so great side effect.
I used to have super thick hair.
I am hypothyroid too and I lost some hair from that before I got it properly diagnosed.
I guess this is incentive get to maintenance as quickly as possible.
I also just realized that unitl about a week and a half ago I was taking 3 total woman oils and 3 of my own fish oils until I ran out of my own fish oil from Costco. So I upped my total woman to 4 but I bet that is still less EFA's than the 3 and 3 combo I had been taking.
I think I better make the trip to Costco and maybe that will help a little...

Well, this information is troublesome. I am going on 4 months with MRC and am feeling a bit concerned. These symptoms are likely from more than a food deficiency....I hope.

I appreciate the information, though. I did the saliva test and found that I am low in some hormone levels...we are in process of correcting these. I could see where not addressing these types of issues could cause certain of these symptoms to arise...but I also don't want to be in a hurry to lose my weight so that I don't lose my hair!! LOL

Surely this diet isn't unhealthy for us, ladies. I think these symptoms point to other deficiencies besides food/calories. My periods are still alive and well

Tami

I don't think it's unhealthy for us to use to lose weight, but it definitely would be for the long term. The reason they have us take so many oils and vitamins is to help make up for the deficiencies in the diet. However, most anything in pill form is not as readily absorbed by the body as if it were in food we ate.

Although I have no proof of what caused my hair loss, I have never had a thyroid or hormonal problem and have never before or since experienced hair loss of any kind in my whole life. So, I absolutely believe it was the diet-- whether from deficiencies in fat or calories, I don't know. My hair loss stopped within a couple weeks of returning to a "normal" diet.

FWIW, my saliva test came back normal. MRC tried to sell me cortitrim and progesterone cream based off the results, but I didn't bite, and my doctor said my levels are completely normal and that based on those results, it was a sales pitch and not to mess around with hormone stuff not prescribed by a doctor. Also, I just had a full blood workup at my doctor's office, and my thyroid levels were great.

The hair loss doesn't greatly alarm me. It's not as if you will go bald! We're just talking about thinner hair for a short time, and it will probably only be noticable to you. It will grow back in, and you'll never know you lost it after a few months of eating more normally.

Hair loss is common with all kinds of weight loss, and it's usually most correlated with protein, but other vitamins/minerals may contribute.

I didn't start having problems until I hit 155 lbs. I'm 5'9" and I wanted to be 145 to 150lbs. The center tried to get me to go to 162lbs because that was the healthy weight for me but NO I wanted to be as small as I was in high school. This may be why I started losing my hair, period, having very bad constipation (sorry for the tmi), very low heart rate and not feeling healthy. If I thought this diet was unhealthy I wouldn't be on it. However I do agree with others that it's not healthy for the long run. Everybody is different and it will affect them differently but I do think that for me I tried to be Paris Hilton and get way too thin. lol

I'm getting back on the 3 fish oils and 3 total woman oils a day hopefully that helps. I might mention it to my consultant tomorrow , see if she offers any other advice.

I really do think its because there is such little fat and not very many calories on this diet. Also I am WAY more active than the recommended 30 minutes of light exercise 3 days a week. I was way more active than that before starting the program so I didn't want to change a good habit I already had. I do realize that this diet is not designed for very much activity .

Okay, I just want to say--I am not on MRC.

Hairloss. Yes, have had some and from the years of ongoing reading here at 3FC I can tell you it's extremely common with those of us achieving significant weightloss. Many women say that Biotin has helped them. You can get it lots of places--even Walmart or a health food store. You may want to make sure that it's condusive to your program before starting it.

I try to remind myself that I would rather wear a wig than be obese--although it is definitely not necessary yet. Also, many women report the hairloss slowing the further they get into their programs--whether they be calorie counting, meal delivery or whatever.

I definitely experienced some hair loss while on this program. I was definitely not one who exercised too much so that can't be the cause of it. I have started noticing some hair regrowth now and a reduction in hair loss. I am in Stabilization now but have been cheating more and more the last few months.

I mentioned my issue to my consultant and she recommended MSM. She didn't seem too worried. I also told her I'm adding back in more fish oil. Is MSM an MRC proprietary product or can I buy that at the regular store?

You can buy MSM many places, including Walmart. I've never taken it and probably won't, but if I were going to, I'd buy it elsewhere to save money.