Hi All,

I posted a bit ago about losing a lot of hair. Started about a week and half ago (been on the program about 3 months). I asked my coach about it and she said she would email me some information- Days come and go and no email, so I emailed her again and asked about it- no response. When I weighed in this week, she said she was double-booked, so she would answer questions next week. Am not happy with that, really thinking the cost of the coaching is not worth it. UGH.

Anyway, today I was washing my hair and good size clump came out. I am totally freaked out. I just got my hair back after my last pregnancy, so I am not thrilled about going through this again. If it keeps coming out in clumps I won't have any left! Anybody have any advice? I read in the packet they gave me that some hair loss for women is to be expected, but it says it should be slight, not clumps!

I have been losing more hair than normal on this diet and recently more than I had hoped. It is due in part to the calorie deficiency. Are you taking biotin?

Since you lost hair also during pregnancy, this may be a sign of hormone imbalance. Best guess is estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and thyroid hormones, in particular the active T3 form. If I were you, I would see a doctor and make sure this diet is healthy for you. Low carb diets induce significant changes to your hormone balance (hypothyroidism) and some people may be more sensitive to it. If this problem persists, your body is telling you something is not right. I would not rely on coaches that may be more interested in raking in money.

i've experiencing the same problem...i have a known thyroid issue (tho last check of my labs a few weeks back they were still WNL)..

While there is biotin in the IP multi-vita ..i dunno if its enough ...so i've started taking extra in hopes it will help. If you have started the Omega III then maybe thats something else to consider....

If you are really worried, and haven't seen your MD/PCP since started the plan, and are able to ...i would do that for certain, your coach sounds like my coach...only interesting in making more money. When i tried to talk to my coach about her thoughts on my hair loss she tried to set me up with an appointment with her husband who runs a clinic that isn't covered by insurance....first visit 350$!

I began taking 10,000 mcg of biotin and a collagen supplement the second week of IP (since I read on here that hair loss was an issue) and I have only been on IP for about 6 weeks. I haven't noticed any more hair loss than normal yet, however, I also went to conditioner only cleansing (no shampoo) about a month prior to IP and I only wash my hair about twice a week as it is curly.

http://www.webmd.com/beauty/hair-sty...r-healthy-hair

I recommend reading this and make sure you eat some of these foods. I watched a similar case as yours in the tv-show 'food hospital' and it really worked for hair re-growth

How much more weight do you want to lose? This is my 11th week and I have noticed an increase in hair lost. Even though I'm 15 lbs from my goal, I'm considering phasing to P2 and P3. I let my hair go to its natural grey this spring (after dying it for 15+years) and I can't do both grey AND thin hair. It seems quite a few continue to lose weight while phasing out and I hope to do the same.

What Lolo70 said!

It is completely normal to lose your hair after pregnancy. Your body normally holds onto your hair during pregnancy and then about two months after birth, your scalp releases all of the hair that you did not shed while pregnant. My son is almost three and my hair just finally grew back in!

I have lost some hair on the diet as well, but I was in bad need of a trim. I just got my hair cut and seem to be loosing much less now. Sometimes when going on a diet such as IP, it is a shock to your system and that can cause hair loss. I would get a trim and make sure you are taking your vitamins. If you hair still continues to fall out, then get your thyroid levels checked.

The hair loss after pregnancy is mainly due to the rise of estrogen during pregnancy and the sudden fall after delivery. There it might be regarded as normal, but it is still a consequence of alterations in hormone levels. I also do not know anybody who lost their hair in bushels and there were a lot of pregnant women around me lately. So, massive hair loss may mean you are more sensitive to hormonal changes.

Sudden starvation due to caloric restriction or low carb does lead to some drastic changes in hormone levels in all people. But these should rebalance after several weeks. Your hair follicles contain hormone receptors. In males it is for dihydrotestosterone. I do not have time to look up women. Maybe they are more sensitive to estrogen or estrogen derivatives as the pregnancy hair loss would suggest. Your hair falls out because the levels of these hormones change suddenly and thereby affect hair growth in a synchronous manner. If hair continues to fall out, it is a sign that hormones are not adjusting. Hair loss is also one of the symptoms of low thyroid function and low carb does lower the levels of active T3. This may have nothing to do with vitamins, though hypothyroidism does seem to go with low B12 (http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com...sted-your-b12/).

In my opinion, if symptoms persist after the first 3-4 months or get worse, it is better to be on the safe side and go for a check-up or at least talk to a doctor. I find the IP advice from the prospectus very lacking. They give the impression the diet is medically supervised, when in fact it is mostly not. Therefore, anybody going into such a diet should be aware of what could happen. Best would be to actually do this diet under supervision of a doctor if the coach is not an M.D. or at least a chiropractor with endocrinology experience. Some people just are way more sensitive to the effects of low carb/low calories, particularly when the diet is done longer than just a couple of months.

I am one of the people who was way more sensitive to the VLC diet. I developed hypothyroid AFTER starting IP. Symptoms like major hair loss are nothing to mess around with. Get checked out!

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all the advice and replies! I am taking biotin, but I started about a week ago, so I don't know if it has had time to kick in. I also bought a shampoo (Not Your Mother's Long and Strong), that has biotin in. It is probably a marketing ploy, but it smells nice anyway.

Losing hair after pregnancy is totally normal. I don't know anyone who didn't lose some hair, and my loss was completely within normal parameters according to my dr. It is because you don't shed hair while pregnant, so after delivery all the extra comes out. I have really long, think hair so for me that meant have a ton of "baby hairs" around the hairline (lots of flyaways!) and for whatever reason I lost a ton out of the back of my head, but not super noticeable and completely normal according to my OB/GYN. I got it cut when my daughter was 4 months to have it evened out and it seemed to help.

I did have my T3 checked before I started IP, but if this doesn't let up soon, I will have it checked again.

I did read one theory that 3-4 months in can see an uptick in the loss of hair because of the rapid release of hormones held in the fat. And that would describe the point that I am at. And I think a few other people too.

I agree that the coaching/ IP stuff isn't very helpful at ALL about this issue. I have been really disappointed in my coaching in general. More about the money for them in my mind.

I have a bit more weight to lose, so I don't want to transition off for about 3 more months. But if it gets bad enough, I might have to reconsider that.

So, I am considering cutting it short while I potentially wait out the 3 month slump, and hope it is temporary.