So today while washing and detangling my hair I noticed that my hair was coming out in literal clumps. For a month or so I have been losing hair. I noticed a small bald spot and now today it was so much hair that it filled a sandwich bag. I'm African American so my hair does not grow as fast as others and I have no chemicals in my hair (natural hair). The only culprit I can see is the diet. I've been successful and lost 40 lbs in 3 months but I'd rather be fat than bald! I'm halfway to my goal so I'm not quitting but I think I may change to the IP Alternate Plan where I can have fruit and more diverse veggies. If not, I'll go back to weight watchers. I need my hair! I know the literature says its normal to lose hair on IP, but this is too much! I'm happy about my weight loss but my hair has literally gone down the drain!

Hm, I never heard of anything like this. It might not be your diet...
You said your hair was falling out for a month or so, and you've been dieting for 3 months...so it doesn't add up. Plus I don't think changing whats in your diet would make your hair fall out.

I'm not a hair expert but it might be lack of protein. I would suggest going to the doctors or a salon. I'm really not sure sorry.

Thanks. The unfortunate truth is that hair loss is a side effect of IP. I knew this before starting but I thought that since I've done other diets and have kept my hair that this would be fine as well. All IP literature says its temporary however with the clumps and bald spots I have now I can't see how this hair will be back anytime soon. :-(. On the flip side I will be going to get a thyriod scan in a few weeks although I had one 5 months ago and it was normal. The doctor wanted a follow up for nodules that were benign. So I know my levels are normal. I love IP and hate to give it up. :-(

You could have a Vitamin E deficiency. It can be caused by low fat diets according to the Mayo clinic. Vitamin E deficiency can cause hair loss among other things.

There was some good info in this thread earlier: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...itting-ip.html This is what got me using http://www.amazon.com/Purvana-2500-B...skin+and+nails. I was not loosing hair - then, and I really haven't had a huge loss of hair (clumps) - if it's because of this, or not I can't say. I have really notice my finger nails have improved, and my skin. I am switching to the Costco hair/skin/nails supplements though when I am out of the Purvana.

Have you tried Biotin, Biotin is a B vitamin and really works for hair growth..You should be able to get it anyplace that sells vitamins. I order mine online from Puritan, but pharmacies or GNC should have it.

I had thin hair to start with, and I have lost even more since starting IP. I can no longer style my hair and am seriously considering a wig or wearing a scarf like someone who is going through chemo. I really, really hope that it grows back. I am white and also don't do anything chemically to my hair. If you are prone to hair loss, it is a side effect of any weight loss program where the weight drops very quickly, especially weight loss surgery.

Thanks guys. I did try biotin. It will take it a while to work bc all the damage has been done. The good thing is that I have lots of hair so I can cover up any bald spots. I tried to post a pic of all that came out but couldn't from my phone.

I have been on IP for 8 months and have been losing hair also. I think it is caused from the hormonal changes with losing. I've lost hair with other diets and also after the birth of my children. It starts at about 4 months and I have lost quite a bit. I have been taking Biotin since the start. Luckily, I have a fair amount of hair and I am a hairstylist so I know how to fluff it up! You shouldn't have bald spots so I would check with your Doctor. I'll still take the thinner hair with the thinner body! Hopefully the hair will come back and not the weight! Good luck.

Thanks. I hope so to. :-)

Well i'll be honest this caused me to switch to alternatives as well! Within 2 weeks of starting IP my hair started falling out in handfuls! I started to get bald spots and my hair started to turn noticeable grey! Im 28 years old, white no treated hair. I tried everything and was so upset i quit IP all together in the summer put some of the weight back on and decided to try alternatives in november. Lost 20lbs in a month and NO HAIR LOSS!! However my hair has stayed "salt n pepper" i have it highlighted by a hair dresser to hide it. My wonderful hairdresser said its not gaining more grey however she did say then when ones PH balance radically changes it can make hair go grey.

Wow. I'm 32 and have noticed some extra gray as well. I have been doing alternatives since my second week on IP. I think I may start the alternate IP plan before I give it all up. IP works.

Hair loss is not only common with dieting, it's common with many other sudden changes in lifestyle. The more drastic the diet change, the more hair loss is likely, but even moderate dieting can cause hair loss. Usually your body adjusts and while you may not regrow it all before you reach your goal weight, you probably won't continue losing it, and you'll almost certainly grow it all back when your diet stabilizes. So not only may you have lost all the hair you're going to, you'll get it all back eventually (it can be permanent, but almost never is unless there's something else going on).

Even though I've had it happen many times before (mostly when I was younger and had a whole lot more hair to lose), I was very upset when I started losing more hair then usual a few years ago, because the loss was quite noticeable at the front of my scalp. My doctor wasn't concerned, and said "when you're done dieting, it'll all grow back." He told me I could use Rogaine if I wanted (I didn't).

I thought I had lost all the hair I was going to, but then I started on a diet partly modeled after IP and I've been getting a new wave of hair loss (and I really can't afford to lose any more in the hairline area).

It sucks, but I would rather be bald than fat, especially knowing that the baldness is only temporary. Of course, I'd really prefer to be neither, and someday I will (unless I take so long to lose the weight that I start losing hair from aging).

On the plus side, it's a lot easier to "fake" having hair with wigs and weaves than fake being thin. Spanx can only do so much.

It is actually a side effect of rapid weight loss, not IP specifically. It can happen on alternatives just as easily as IP. Your body may have adjusted better the 2nd time around, which may explain the lack of hair loss when you went back to dieting.

Yeah, the hair loss stunk. You have to do what your comfortable doing. Just be careful not to fall back into old eating habits...(it's so easy to do, especially when you're not in ketosis).